Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 163 Frenzied Learning, Scrap Car Sale!

"As expected, information-based skills, like extraordinary skills, are also quite special."

Cheng Ye frowned slightly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the notes section of the skill panel.

I've searched for so many people's skills before, and this is the first time I've seen one marked with a star.

This undoubtedly shows that information skills have a threshold; one must cross a certain standard to truly enter this field.

Think about it now.

Ordinary skills only concern physical modification; the only difference is the degree of enhancement.

Information-based skills, however, involve the brain, which makes them different.

While browsing through books in the library, Cheng Ye had come across many claims that "developing the brain can dramatically increase memory and turn someone into a genius."

At the time, I believed it to be true and was eager to try it out.

Later, after getting to know those top researchers, I realized that 99% of people's talents are set from birth, especially memory and brain capacity. Only those who excel in childhood can maintain their excellence. Only one in ten thousand geniuses can discover and transform themselves later in life.

Now, receiving so much external information at once is clearly beyond the limits of his talent.

According to the probability given by the collector, there is a 50% chance of losing memories.

This side effect is too fatal; even if it's just the unhappy moments from his childhood that he loses, it will make his current personality incomplete.

Not to mention losing some professional knowledge, it's definitely a case of picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon, it's not worth it no matter how you look at it.

Without the slightest hesitation, Cheng Ye immediately rejected the second option!

Looking at the remaining two descriptions, the first one means using skills purely as tools.

For example, the skills previously required to modify charging stations can now be used immediately by simply searching for them and spending some action points, without any negative impact on oneself.

This approach is suitable for niche skills, such as tailoring, which you might only use a few times in your life. When you really need it, you can just use it with action points, without having to learn it yourself and take up mental space.

However, mechanical knowledge is clearly not included in this category.

Whether it's the current need for vehicle maintenance or the engineering technology required for the future development of Dabo Town, mechanical research is an indispensable core element that must be thoroughly mastered.

"Joint mounting."

Cheng Ye murmured these four words, feeling a mix of emotions.

I never imagined that the route I chose back then would have such a growing impact.

Fortunately, I didn't impulsively choose those risky options back then. Now, after joint modifications and adaptations, the third option has become particularly suitable.

Is this a learning accelerator?

Cheng Ye temporarily suppressed his desire to investigate further, his gaze sweeping over Sang Hezheng's Lv2 skills, finally settling on 'Basic Mechanical Principles'.

Those intermediate-level repairs, identifications, and assembly skills may seem like they're a level higher, but they're actually all application-level things.

When learning something, you have to start from the basics. If you don't build a solid foundation, it's easy to go astray when you try to apply it later.

As for source track technology, Cheng Ye has put it last for now.

Firstly, according to Sang Tao, Sang Hezheng did not have the authority, and he himself did not understand it.

Secondly, even if we understand the principle now, we can't build this thing under the current conditions.

If you learn something you can't use right away, it's better to thoroughly understand the mechanical fundamentals that you can use immediately.

The panel flickered.

After a job rank is promoted, the probability of searching for Lv2 skills is 50%.

Search successful

[Civilization Collector has successfully recorded: Basic Mechanical Principles☆ (lv.2)]

It was done in one go, and Cheng Ye didn't waste any time, immediately striking while the iron was hot and searching a second time.

This time, the target is 'intermediate mechanical identification'.

The panel flickered even more violently than before, and all the illusory text blurred completely several times. It looked like it was about to fail, but then it suddenly froze, and a reassuring message popped up:

Search successful

[Civilization Collector has successfully recorded: Intermediate Mechanical Identification ☆ (lv.2)]

"Not bad, luck is on my side today."

Cheng Ye turned off the panel, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Once the car is assembled, fast charging won't be so troublesome anymore.

Even if it costs some contribution points, at least there's a place to replenish energy, making it easier to continuously search for skills later.

Ideally, I should unlock all the mechanical skills before the contracted tasks begin, and then try to get my hands on that growth factor and fuse it with the Heart-Protecting Fire.

When the time comes to take on a contract, I'll have more confidence.

"Master Sang, I'm very interested in the principles and would like to start learning from the very basics."

After flipping through it once, Cheng Ye pointed to the two principle manuals on the table.

Sang Hezheng was not surprised at all and nodded with a smile: "No problem! Our Machinery Bureau doesn't have many booklets, but each one contains a lifetime of experience accumulated by veteran workers. As long as you learn and understand them thoroughly, you will be able to quickly and accurately find the problem when you encounter unfamiliar equipment in the future."

"Also," Cheng Ye paused, then voiced another thought that was on his mind, "if the regulations of the Machinery Bureau allow it, I happen to be on vacation these few days and would like to learn in person here, to see the equipment and get familiar with the processes. Do you think that's feasible?"

“Why not!” Sang Hezheng readily agreed, but as soon as he finished speaking, a troubled look appeared on his face.

"how?"

“I’m sure I welcome Inspector Cheng to come and learn, but as you can see,” Sang Hezheng pointed into the factory, where large and small vehicles filled the warehouse, and the walls were covered with refurbishment orders, and the whole place was bustling with activity.

"The factory is piled with work, and external demand is still coming in. My old bones will probably be working non-stop, so I probably won't have time to explain things to you in detail. My two sons have no experience in training people, so I'm afraid they won't be able to teach you well."

"Hey, it's no problem!" Cheng Ye laughed and waved his hand, "I can study it myself. Learning isn't something that can be done overnight. I'll study it until I'm familiar with it and then figure it out slowly. I don't need to trouble you to take the time."

During my three years of graduate studies, my supervisor never taught me step by step. I spent my time in the library researching literature and learning from experienced engineers on external projects. I did all sorts of odd jobs, from serving tea and water to running errands. Even so, I had very few opportunities to touch engineering equipment.

Given his current status, there will obviously be no obstacles for him to use the equipment in the factory.

As for teaching
As soon as Sang and Zheng left, Cheng Ye didn't linger. He focused his mind on his personal panel and equipped himself with the basic mechanical principles.

Select the combined mount mode to replace the slow-moving shooting.

The panel flickered slightly, and the next second, Cheng Ye felt as if something had been gently stuffed into his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. It wasn't clear knowledge, but more like a vague "sixth sense".

How to describe it? It's a bit like when you enter the exam room in school and see the test paper. You know that you've seen the test points in the textbook, but you can't remember which page it was on.

"It seems this is the protection mechanism of the joint mount. These memories will only gradually emerge once I actually start learning."

Cheng Ye understood immediately. He reached for the first principle manual on the table, but before he could turn the page, his gaze fell on the author's name.

Reagan Carl!?
Is it because he shares the same name as the station chief at the checkpoint, or did he write this manual?

With questions in mind, he opened the table of contents and found that the manual was about the basics of "mechanical transmission". Just by looking at the chapter titles, many of them were junior high and high school physics knowledge that people on Earth had learned.

But then I thought, this knowledge has probably been lost in the wasteland long ago. After all, no one can now patiently study from elementary school to university and spend sixteen years building a foundation like in the old days.

In order to enable technicians to get started quickly, the physics knowledge related to machinery had to be extracted and compiled into this "crash course manual".

However, this approach also presents a significant problem: physics and mathematics are inherently intertwined. Learning only fragmented physics knowledge related to mechanics can at best produce skilled technicians, but it is unlikely to produce individuals capable of conducting research and development or understanding in-depth principles.

Ok?
Gone?

Cheng Ye was pondering the talent cultivation model in the wasteland, his hands still turning the pages of the book. By the time he realized it, he had already turned to the last page of the thick, fifty-page manual.

The whole process was incredibly smooth, without the slightest lag. It was like reading a book I had read before; every knowledge point and every principle seemed familiar, and I understood it without any obstacles.

He had indeed learned this knowledge when he was on Earth, but he had long forgotten most of it.

But now.
Wow.

Suddenly, it felt like something had been lifted from my mind, and the content I had just read flooded back, from the basic concepts of mechanical transmission to the schematic diagrams of specific structures. Every detail was crystal clear, and it automatically formed memory anchors in my mind, so I would never forget it easily again.

"This"

Cheng Ye tried to recall the contents of one of the pages and was able to accurately say which page described the meshing principle of gear transmission, and even remembered the tooth count of the gears in the illustration.

It's not just about rote memorization, but about truly understanding the underlying logic.

Ok?
What the hell!

He immediately put down the manual "by Regan Carr" and grabbed another, thicker book on principles.

This time, he focused intently, trying to capture the feeling of learning, but the experience was still wonderful.

As your eyes scan the text, the knowledge points seem to drill directly into your brain, without any obscure or difficult parts. Even complex mechanical structure diagrams are as intuitive as looking at everyday objects.

Wow.

Damn it.

Another sixty-page manual has been finished.

Cheng Ye took out his defense communication device and glanced at the time. Only fifteen minutes had passed since he opened the first page.

This learning speed is just outrageous!
He quickly opened his personal panel and looked at the skill bar, where he saw the changes.

[Basic Mechanical Principles (9.17%)]

"Does this mean I'm almost 10% of the skill content?"

Cheng Ye was slightly taken aback.

The process was simpler than expected, but it was in line with the collector's consistently powerful style.

He put down the manual and didn't rush out to find Sang Hezheng, much to the surprise of the old master craftsman.

Instead, he gathered all the remaining manuals on the table and started flipping through them one by one.

Indeed, once you understand one thing, you understand everything.

These five aspects should, in principle, be listed under a large mechanical category.

These categories were separated to facilitate learning for future generations, thus cultivating talents in different fields.

Now that everyone is learning together, Cheng Ye doesn't feel any obstacles at all.

With the support of basic mechanical principles, many knowledge points can be grasped at a glance, making them easy to understand.

He did not hesitate to address those things he could not understand at the moment.

"Equip intermediate-level mechanical identification and replace Tiger Force!"

What's it like to have two information-related skills applied at once?
Cheng Ye felt his head suddenly sink, and his originally clear thoughts became somewhat murky as if shrouded in thick fog.

It's a bit like having stayed up all night, suppressing all the thoughts that had just popped into your head, and even making you feel depressed.

In just a few minutes, my mood, which had been bright just moments before, suddenly became somewhat depressed, as if I had a tightness in my chest.

"It seems that learning two information skills at once is my current limit."

Despite feeling his limits, Cheng Ye didn't back down. He took a deep breath and continued flipping through the pages. More than thirty manuals flew through his hands, the rustling sound of the pages particularly clear in the quiet room.

He needs to spend tens of seconds reading each sentence carefully to fully understand a page containing three or four hundred words of pure text.

However, for the illustrated parts, just a few glances are enough to imprint the mechanical structure and component connections in the diagrams in one's mind, not even missing the dimensions marked on them.

Especially as the progress bars for the two skills gradually increase, scrolling becomes smoother as you go further.

Obstacle?

nonexistent!

bottleneck?

Obviously, that's even less likely.

Half an hour passed, and nearly half of the fifteen manuals had been flipped through. Cheng Ye raised his hand to rub his slightly sore eyes and glanced at the progress on the panel.

The basic level of mechanical principles has reached 16%, and the intermediate level of mechanical identification has even reached 27%.

"Not bad, it seems that the Lv2 information-related skills are genuine, and the amount of knowledge given at once is indeed substantial."

Cheng Ye was secretly delighted.

Of course, it is also related to the fact that he now has a learning platform. If he didn't have these readily available materials and had to figure things out on his own, his progress would definitely be much slower.

After resting for a few minutes, he continued reading.

This time it was even faster, almost like going through the motions, glancing at it a few times before turning to the next page.

For some people with slow reading speeds, it might be impossible to read it even once in such a short time.

suddenly.

He stopped pointing and glanced towards the office door.

Sang Tao's younger brother, Sang Zhe, appeared outside the door at some point, looking in with a surprised expression.

The two locked eyes.

Sang Zhe quickly gave a polite yet awkward smile, "Prosecutor Chengcheng, I'm here to pick up something, please continue!"

"It's alright, go ahead and get it."

Cheng Ye smiled slightly and continued flipping through the pages, seemingly unconcerned.

Still moving at an exaggerated speed, Sang Zhe grabbed a handful of parts from a nearby cabinet and hurriedly fled.

This Prosecutor Cheng is too strange. Is this how you read a book?

However, he didn't mean to offer any reminders; everyone has their own habits, and we should learn to respect them!

His own way of doing things makes him seem eccentric to others, like he's getting stuck on a rut.

The door was gently closed, and Cheng Ye was completely unaware. He finished flipping through all the manuals in two and a half hours.

call.

I've received so much information that my mind is getting increasingly foggy.

It seems that not only are there limits to skills and equipment, but learning speed is also somewhat restricted.

However, upon opening the panel, in such a short time, Cheng Ye had already pushed the progress of both Lv2 skills to over 30%.

Principle 33%, Recognition 42%.

"Looks like I have some talent too. At this rate, I can master a Lv2 skill in two days."

Cheng Ye looked at the progress on the panel and was very satisfied.

Compared to the fusion of the four forces, even with the aid of the collector, it would still take at least ten days.

You can learn these information skills, and you can master one in two days, which is much less efficient.

More importantly, the two skills can be advanced simultaneously. As long as the energy is sufficient, it is not a problem to learn all the Lv2 mechanical skills in Sang and Zheng's hands within a week.

He tidied up the manual, got up and walked out of the office, calling out, "Master Sang, I have something to do here, I'll be going now, I'll come back tomorrow!"

"Alright!" Sang He looked up from the pile of parts, smiling and waving.

really.

Busy inspectors simply don't have much time to learn these things.

Like Cheng Ye, who can quietly stay in the room and read for more than two hours, and then decisively leave afterward, instead of asking questions and eagerly wanting to know something beyond the manual.

This composure alone is already stronger than 99% of the apprentices.

"Sang Tao, see Prosecutor Cheng off for me," Sang Hezheng called out again towards the corner.

"Coming!"

Sang Tao readily agreed, got up, washed the door handle, and quickly followed Cheng Ye, seeing him out of the Machinery Bureau gate.

"Prosecutor Cheng, you are welcome to come and inspect our work at any time."

"Haha, definitely!"

Compared to Sang Zhe, Sang Tao's personality is much more cheerful, like a normal young man in his twenties.

Cheng Ye strolled out the door, not taking the bus back to the city, but jogging all the way back.

Extensive air exchange and highly repetitive physical exercise are the best ways to restore brainpower.

Sure enough, after running all the way back to the city, the drowsiness in my head dissipated considerably, and I even felt the urge to "learn another round" of material.

However, he took out his defense phone and glanced at the time. It was just past three in the afternoon. He then found Master Tian's number and dialed it: "Master Tian, ​​are you off work yet?"

"I'm off work, I just finished handing over the car."

"Then come to the central checkpoint, I'll take you to a good place."

Cheng Ye said with a smile that he planned to go to the junkyard to check the situation first. If the car was so badly damaged that it was unusable, he could change his approach sooner.

When Cheng Ye reached the outside of the central checkpoint, Master Tian was already waiting at the door.

However, Master Tian couldn't get into the checkpoint, so Cheng Ye went to the logistics department to ask about the location of the scrap yard. Unexpectedly, it was next to the garbage disposal plant in the southern suburbs.

"Is Inspector Cheng taking me to go garbage dumping?"

After getting off the bus, Mr. Tian was surprised, but his curiosity only intensified.

"In a sense, it really is."

Cheng Ye smiled and led Master Tian along the cement road toward the garbage treatment plant.

The faint stench of decay that was present in the buffer zone became exceptionally strong here, so strong that it made one's eyes sting.

Fortunately, after turning a corner and moving upwind, the stench lessened considerably, and a large courtyard surrounded by a towering wall appeared nearby.

Several guards stood at the entrance, and sentries patrolled back and forth. As soon as the two approached, a guard respectfully came forward to greet them, clearly having been notified by the checkpoint in advance.

"Inspector Cheng!" The guard raised his hand in salute.

"Okay, take us to see those scrapped cars."

"Okay, please follow me!"

Following the guards into the compound, Cheng Ye realized that the desolation of the southern suburbs had given this parking lot a large enough space.

Looking around, hundreds of broken vehicles were piled up haphazardly on the muddy ground.

There are all kinds of vehicles: transport trucks, pickup trucks, vans, and lorries. It's like a giant car graveyard.

However, every single one of them was in a terrible state.

Some of the car bodies were rotten into twisted lumps of iron, lying crookedly on the ground.

Some structures barely managed to stay together, but the roof was crushed in a large dent, like a flattened tin can.

Some vehicles were riddled with bullet holes, not to mention those that looked relatively intact but whose tires and internal components had long been removed, leaving only the shell standing there.

In addition, a square indoor garage was built in the yard.

The guard pulled open the heavy metal roller shutter door, revealing hundreds of vehicles inside, but the interior was much more intact than the exterior.

Most of the damage involved only involved impact marks on the front, body, or rear of the vehicle, but all the tires were removed.

"Wow, there are so many scrapped cars at the checkpoint?" Cheng Ye couldn't help but ask.

With just a quick glance, he estimated that there were no fewer than five hundred wrecked cars parked there.

"They were all delivered recently; previously, there were only two or three hundred at most."

The guard scratched his head and explained with a smile, "It's not all from the checkpoint. Recently, other departments have also been sending their scrapped vehicles here. They're waiting for the Mechanical Services Department to have some time to come and see if they can be repaired and reused."

Just then, a bald, middle-aged man rushed in from outside, greeting them with a smile from afar: "Prosecutor Cheng, hello, I am the person in charge here, Sonny Valentine."

"Hello."

Cheng Ye extended his hand, and the two shook hands lightly.

The guard glanced at Master Tian and tactfully stepped aside.

"Currently, there are a total of 612 cars in the parking lot. 378 of them are severely damaged outside, while 234 of them are relatively intact inside the garage."

Sonny Valentine was also notified and, knowing the purpose of Cheng Ye's visit, began to introduce himself directly:
"The pricing methods for parts are different on both sides. Outside, the price is calculated based on the whole vehicle, with 100 contribution points per vehicle. Apart from the chassis, which must be left behind, you can disassemble and take whatever you want, whether it's parts or wiring. However, you cannot disassemble parts across different vehicles. You will be paid the price for the number of vehicles you select."

"The items inside are sold individually, regardless of their quality. The starting price is 50 contribution points, and the maximum is 350 points. Here is the price list, you can take a look."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper covered with writing from his small bag and handed it to Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye took it and glanced at it. The price was the same as what he had inquired about from Li Matai before, so there was no problem.

Before he could speak, Sonny Valentine added, "Because of the satellite city development, all the departments sent over all their previously stockpiled scrap cars, hoping to see if they could be put to use. But now the parking lot is so full, so we've put together a temporary promotional event."

"If you select ten cars outside at once, we'll give you a 20% discount."

"If you take ten or more parts from the garage, we'll give you a 10% discount."

Cheng Ye was stunned by the activity, while Master Tian next to him seemed to be thinking, "Is the reason for sending over scrapped cars to release vehicle quotas?"

“Hmm?” Sonny Valentine paused for a moment, then laughed, “Looks like this guy knows his stuff! That’s right, when various departments want to apply for new vehicles, they have to release the old quotas first, so they’re rushing to pile up all these junk cars here to free up slots.”

Seeing that Cheng Ye didn't understand, Master Tian continued, "For example, the Public Works Department has a quota of 100 vehicles, but only about 70 are used on a daily basis. The remaining 30 quotas are occupied by these abandoned vehicles. Otherwise, according to the rules, if the quota is empty, new vehicles must be added. The Public Works Department doesn't have that many funds, and it's not worth spending money on useless vehicles."

"Oh, I see!"

Cheng Ye pondered for a moment and instantly understood the intricacies of the matter.

It means taking the funds allocated from above for buying cars and using them elsewhere to generate returns.

Wait until you need a car before canceling your spot and buying a car.

But now it's a good deal for him; with this promotional policy, he can save a lot of money.

(End of this chapter)