Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 171 Abnormal Cooperation, Pinghai Tower!
Perhaps it was because the thought that had been supporting my spirit had finally been fulfilled, or perhaps it was because I had been pushing myself to the limit in all the information-related skills that I had been working hard to master.

Cheng Ye slept exceptionally soundly that night.

I started sleeping at 6:30 in the morning and didn't wake up until 4:00 in the afternoon.

The moment he stood up, his bones and muscles cracked and popped.

The voice was deep and sustained, as if a fierce tiger was roaring inside him.

Tiger Power.

Is it almost finished?
Cheng Ye was quite surprised. He stretched his limbs a couple of times. After he finished leveling up two Information Level skills last night, he also equipped Tiger Power and Mobile Shooting.

To his surprise, after a few days of delay in familiarizing himself with the area, Huli's progress not only did not stagnate, but instead accelerated by leaps and bounds.

After sleeping all night, the progress, which was originally 60%, has jumped to at least 85%, and it looks like it's about to be completely finished.

"Hmm, does learning these common skills also have a built-in cooldown period?"

"No, it should be that the body's absorption speed has an upper limit. Once this limit is exceeded, the learning speed will become slower and slower. After a period of buffer, the absorption can be accelerated again?"

Cheng Ye pondered to himself that this unexpected discovery was like a pleasant surprise that had fallen from the sky.

Standing in the room, he slowly moved his body, adjusting his breathing rhythm according to the way 'Tiger Power' was used.

With each breath, one can feel the power hidden beneath the surface of the body growing ever stronger.

His current strength can no longer be measured by ordinary new martial arts methods.

Because of the physical enhancement brought by the Wild Grass Physique, his strength is far more terrifying than that of an ordinary four-force martial artist, almost comparable to a martial artist who has opened six ordinary meridians.

Once equipped with the "Iron Body" and entering the pseudo-embryonic state, their strength will be able to rival that of a true embryonic realm master.

However, in this era of extraordinary beings, force is ultimately just a means of self-defense, physical fitness, and ensuring one's own safety.

Ultimately, gaining true status depends on intelligence and skill.

After exercising for a while, until he was slightly sweating, Cheng Ye picked up his defense phone. The screen showed two missed calls, one from Sang Hezheng and the other from Da Long.

He first called Sang Hezheng back, and after a short pause, the call was answered.

"Inspector Cheng, I applied for and processed all the vehicle certificates this morning. Do you want to register them under the inspection station's name, or operate them independently as a private company?" Sang Hezheng's voice came through, as efficient and direct as ever.

"Is there any difference?" Cheng Ye asked, as he didn't really know much about vehicle operation permits.

"Since you are renting batteries from the checkpoint, there is no issue of battery wear and tear, so there are no complicated approval procedures. The difference is not significant; the main difference is in the charging cost."

Sang Hezheng patiently explained, "If you register under the name of the checkpoint, the charging procedures will be handled by the checkpoint. When you apply for the electricity card, you will need to go through the checkpoint's logistics procedures. Then, you will need to go to the checkpoint every month to pay according to the amount of electricity charged. Perhaps your inspectors can get a discount, but you need to ask the logistics department for details."

"If it's an individual customer's application, I can help you apply for a charging card. Charging will be charged at the market price. Currently, the summer charging fee is 15 contribution points for every 100 kWh of electricity. You need to pre-deposit 1,000 kWh for the first time, and the points will be deducted directly from the charging fee."

"Wait a moment, let me call logistics to ask."

Cheng Ye hung up on Sang Hezheng under the pretext of doing so, and tapped lightly on the screen of the defense communication device with his fingertips, quickly calculating the accounts in his mind.

To be honest, the charging price for individual users is rather expensive.

The total battery capacity of the six vehicles is 1050 kWh. Even if you charge them with 10% charge left each time, you still need to add 945 kWh of electricity each time. Based on market prices, each charge would cost 140 contribution points.

This doesn't even include vehicle wear and tear and battery rental costs. It's equivalent to making two or three round trips to satellite cities, and just charging alone costs this much. The cost is simply too high.

How expensive!
In contrast, residential electricity is fully subsidized, so residents don't have to spend a penny.

After Cheng Ye finished calculating, he immediately felt a pang of regret.

Not to mention that this is still summer. When winter and spring come, the low temperatures will reduce battery life, increase charging demand, and electricity prices will at least double, making the expenses even more outrageous.

Of course, the advantages of charging at market price are also obvious.

No approval procedures are required; you can decide how much to deposit as you wish. As long as it's not so outrageous as to attract attention, no one will care.

However, if you are affiliated with a checkpoint and settle accounts and keep records every month, people may notice something is amiss.

"How about we put three vehicles under the company's name and three under individual accounts?"

Cheng Ye pondered for a moment, then dialed the checkpoint's official WeChat account and was transferred to the logistics department.

Sure enough, the benefits for prosecutors did not disappoint.

The logistics staff on the other end of the phone were exceptionally polite. "Inspector Cheng, if you register your vehicle under the inspection station's name, each vehicle will have a monthly free electricity allowance of 200 kWh. Any amount exceeding this will be charged at 10 contribution points per 100 kWh."

"This is a benefit," the logistics staff member said, before introducing a bunch of regulations and restrictions.

In summary, there are two points worth noting.

All vehicles registered under the name of the checkpoint are subject to temporary requisition. If any damage occurs during the requisition period, the inspector is responsible for the repairs, which is the price to pay for enjoying the benefits.

Secondly, affiliated vehicles can enter and exit through checkpoint D, without having to queue for inspection at checkpoint A like ordinary caravans. If there are goods involved, as long as they are not involved in malicious reselling or exploiting loopholes, they will not be subject to a cut by the checkpoint.

"That's good!"

Cheng Ye made a decision immediately.

Even if his off-road vehicle is privately owned, he can still enter through entrance D when he enters the buffer zone.

The two armed pickup trucks were originally there to protect the transport vehicles, so it didn't matter if they lined up in Zone A at the entrance to the buffer zone.

Most importantly, transport vehicles are used to haul goods, and the checkpoint itself has a number of transport vehicles, so the probability of them being requisitioned is low.

Armored pickup trucks are different. If they are requisitioned in an emergency and damaged, it will be a hassle to deal with repairs.

He immediately called Sang Hezheng back and explained his decision.

Sang Hezheng readily agreed and said he would get it done before 8 p.m.

The implication was that he could pick up the car after 8 p.m.

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Ye breathed a sigh of relief. "The 200 kWh of free electricity each month is pretty good; I can also occasionally charge the collector for 10 kWh."

"Moreover, the monthly system can also alleviate some of the financial pressure."

The thought that he finally had the right to use fast charging made Cheng Ye feel much more at ease.

But when I opened the panel...

Well, I didn't even get 1% battery charged while I was sleeping.

I pressed the bedside lamp switch, but as expected, there was no response; the buffer zone had lost power again.

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, the entire city experiences a major power outage for 12 hours.

"A single hydroelectric power station might be enough to support the buffer zone, but now there are so many satellite cities."

As industrial zones reached full production capacity and satellite cities proliferated, a continuous influx of migrants caused the previously abundant electricity supply to become insufficient.

"It seems that in the future, each satellite city will have to build its own biogas power plants and solar power plants to make up for the electricity shortage, otherwise industrial production will not be able to be carried out at all."

But that's a story for another time. Cheng Ye then dialed Da Long's number again.

"Sir!" Da Long's voice on the other end of the phone was urgent. "The fifth person we've been keeping an eye on seems to have sensed something's wrong. He disappeared from his residence last night and hasn't returned yet. Should we send people out to search?"

“No need to search.” Cheng Ye wasn’t surprised. This person was smarter than the four who were caught, and it was normal for him to run away now that he had managed to hide under his nose for so long.

"Just keep an eye on those four for now. They haven't made a move, have they?"

"Don't worry! We've arranged for more than twenty militiamen to guard the detention center in shifts. Not even a fly can get in. There's no way anyone can rescue them!"

Da Long's voice was full of confidence, "It's just that these four people are too stubborn. Old He interrogated them for half the night, but they still said that they came to visit and refused to say anything else."

"It's alright, tell Old He not to stay up late, I'll be there in a bit."

Cheng Ye hung up the phone, carried a bucket to the water room, took a quick cold shower, changed into clean clothes, picked up his backpack, and headed to the mall.

Last night's torrential rain was quite powerful, and even the B7 area was not spared, with low-lying areas along the roadside filled with water.

The murky water was covered with yellow mud and bits of trash, making it look particularly messy.

What's even more alarming is that many sewer openings are emitting yellow sewage, and a sour, rotten stench wafts on the wind, making people instinctively cover their noses. Several community workers are using hooks to painstakingly clear the blockages from the sewer openings.

The black mud was shoveled out and piled up by the roadside, waiting to be transported away later.

"We can't let this happen once the pedestrian street is built."

Cheng Ye shook his head as he looked at the scene, but there was nothing he could do to solve it.

The underground pipe network of the entire buffer zone is connected. The pipe network of Zone B7 is only a small section of it. Even if the blockage here is cleared, if other areas are still blocked, sewage will still overflow into this area.

To completely solve the problem, the higher authorities need to take the lead in dismantling and replacing the entire old pipeline network in the buffer zone, but that would be a huge undertaking.

It's estimated that it won't be completed in less than six months or a year, and it might even take several years.

We will only have enough manpower and resources to completely renovate the pipeline network once the buffer zone is expanded and upgraded.

All we can do now is have people clean the blockages regularly to minimize the frequency of sewage overflows.

Cheng Ye quickened his pace, bypassing the flooded sections of the road, and soon entered the mall.

The place where Jiang Chuan was previously detained and interrogated has now been converted into a temporary detention cell.

A group of militiamen with guns were standing around the entrance, their dark muzzles pointing in all directions. Even the ventilation windows were guarded. Unless someone extraordinary came to the rescue, there was absolutely no way they could save the person.

"My lord, we've tried everything, but nothing works."

Da Long quickly stepped forward, his face full of trouble. "These four don't seem like ordinary assassins. They seem like deeply hypnotized suicide squads. No matter how you torture them, offer them benefits, or try to trick them into saying that their accomplices have confessed, they are completely unresponsive. They just keep repeating the same few phrases."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the detention room.

Four people, bound together, sat in the corner. Thick iron chains, as thick as an arm, were wrapped around their arms and calves, several times like binding rice dumplings, leaving only their heads barely able to turn.

His exposed wrists and ankles were covered with whip marks of varying depths, some of which had even scabbed over.

It was clear that Mr. He, who was in charge of the interrogation, had tried his best, but still failed to extract any valuable information.

“Just pick one out, and I’ll interrogate them myself.” Cheng Ye’s tone was calm and unwavering.

"Yes!"

Da Long immediately turned around, signaling the militiamen to open the cubicle door and pull the person out by the iron chain.

The makeshift interrogation room was next to the detention room. It was a small room of about ten square meters, with an iron table and two chairs in the middle.

The person pulled in was a young man, who looked to be in his late twenties. He had a fair complexion and no calluses on his hands, making him look like a clerk who spends most of his time indoors.

But who would have thought that this person was actually a true master of the Embryo Realm?

During the arrest, he fought Da Long to a standstill, but was eventually forced to surrender only when dozens of guns were pointed at his head.

"What's his name?" Cheng Ye sat behind the iron table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface.

"He said his name was Wang Qing, but he wouldn't answer any other questions." Da Long stood to the side, still clutching half a chain in his hand, in case the other party suddenly attacked.

Cheng Ye nodded, signaling Da Long to untie the iron chains binding Wang Qing's upper body.

As the chains clattered to the ground, Wang Qing stretched his shoulders, a hint of pleasure appearing on his face. He showed no fear of being a prisoner, but rather appeared as relaxed as if he were there to keep a date.

"What's the purpose of watching me?" Cheng Ye asked bluntly.

“Sir, I’m just here to take a look.” Wang Qing didn’t hesitate at all, repeating the same old excuse, his tone as flat as if he were saying, “The weather is nice today.”

"You're so stubborn."

Cheng Ye chuckled, then changed the subject, "I'm curious, since you had designs on me, why didn't you shoot me when I was alone? Or plant a bomb in my room, or at the very least, poison me?"

"If you could sneak into the buffer zone unnoticed, surely you couldn't have failed to get a gun or a packet of poison?"

“Sir, I just…” Wang Qing was about to repeat his old words when Cheng Ye interrupted him.

"So what do you want to see?"

Wang Qing paused, a strange smile appearing on his face, "I want to see what's wrong with you."

"Then did you see it?"

“No.” Wang Qing immediately shook his head. “So I need to take another look, to see it more clearly.”

“Okay, so how do you want to see it?” Cheng Ye stood up, walked in front of Wang Qing, and looked down at him.

Crack.

When the two were less than half a meter apart, Wang Qing's expression suddenly froze, as if a machine had stuck for two seconds. Then his eyes became unfocused again, and he began repeating the same old line: "Sir, I just came to take a look."

Cheng Ye returned to his seat thoughtfully and waved to Da Long: "Change players."

Over the next half hour, Da Long brought in three more people for interrogation.

But whether they were facing a burly man with a face full of scars, a middle-aged man with a sinister look in his eyes, or a laborer who looked like he was from the bottom of society, the four men gave the same answer.

I just came to check on you and see if there was anything unusual about you.

Once pressed for details, one will "get stuck and restart" like Wang Qing, falling back into the same cycle.

"My lord, shall we use torture?" Da Long asked in a low voice as he watched Cheng Ye fall silent.

"No need, this might be a special kind of brainwashing hypnosis that requires special methods to resolve."

Cheng Ye shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the panel.

Just like when they were first caught, the four of them were still 100% in terms of teamwork, without the slightest fluctuation.

No matter how he asked questions or disrupted the rhythm, the four of them maintained the same level of cooperation after restarting, as if they were programmed to only accept the answer "come and see".

Is he an assassin like Master Hetian?
Or was he influenced by a Wish-Bearing Extraordinary who was skilled in mind manipulation?
Or perhaps it's infected with some kind of special infectious agent that can distort consciousness?
Regardless of the method, if we can find a way to keep people 100% cooperative, the search will be much easier from now on.

After thinking it over, Cheng Ye did not immediately ask anyone for advice, nor did he try to use intelligence gathering to break the deadlock.

Instead, he took out the Firefly Token from his backpack and began searching for relevant information.

After getting used to it these past few days, he has discovered how useful it is.

Not only can it search for things of unknown origin, but it can also ask contextualized questions.

Its internal data processing logic is far superior to that of Defense Connect.

Such as right now.

Cheng Ye typed in the search box: "When interrogated, the person only repeats 'Sir, I just came to check on things,' what's going on?"

The screen quickly displayed a message: "No matching records found. Please provide more key information."

He thought for a moment, then reorganized his thoughts and typed a more specific description: "During interrogation, the person being interrogated only repeats a fixed script in response to any question. When key information is touched upon, the script 'freezes and restarts,' and then continues to repeat the original script after recovering. What's going on?"

This time, the search box did not provide an answer directly, but instead popped up a dialog box for additional information.

He was prompted to provide more details.

"Hey, it works."

Cheng Ye shook his head and added all the details of the interrogation.

After clicking submit, the screen on Xinhuotong flickered a few times, and the progress bar slowly climbed.

Half a minute later, a bold black word finally popped up in the center of the screen.

Pinghai Tower

"Hey, it really is some organization?"

Cheng Ye frowned slightly. The name of this organization was somewhat similar to the one that Master Tian had mentioned before, the one he had joined.

Shanhai Tower, Pinghai Tower.
Could it be that the two are brother organizations?

　P.S.: Two chapters delivered, a bit late, sorry~~
　　P.S. 2: I'm posting this to ask for your guaranteed votes at the beginning of the month~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)