Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 178 The Iron Fist of the Community, No One to Back Him Up!
What does it feel like to be discovered, chained up, and arrested?
As the "Fire Ghost King" of the Hundred Ghosts Gang, Mu Shuang was already skilled at directing his subordinates to do this kind of thing.

After all, gangs from other places would occasionally come to the vicinity of Happiness City to cause trouble and disrupt the "peace" here.

When you encounter this kind of person, you'll always be made a prime example of them, and your assets will be confiscated.

But when it came to experiencing it firsthand, being pushed and shoved by the militiamen towards the community, listening to their shouts and feeling their surveillance, Mu Shuang felt a sense of novelty and wonder.

Of course, this is based on the premise of "absolute safety".

If we were truly captured by the enemy, we would be thinking of how to escape by now, and we wouldn't have the mind to enjoy these experiences.

We walked all the way back to the entrance of the community.

From a distance, you could see Mr. He, who was over sixty years old, waiting in front of the community gate, eager to try.

However, upon walking further in and seeing Mu Shuang's face clearly, Old He was stunned. "How come it's a girl?"

“Old He, this is someone Lord Cheng specifically requested to be interrogated, so I’m afraid we can’t let you use torture first.”

Erlong scratched his head awkwardly.

Ever since Cheng Ye got the results of his interrogation, Old He was so angry that he couldn't sleep all night. He even got up in the middle of the night and interrogated all four of them, but he still couldn't get anything out of them.

"Don't worry, I'm just looking around, out of curiosity." Old He chuckled awkwardly, but his gaze swept over Mu Shuang's neck and wrists as if he were examining a piece of meat ready to be cut.

Mu Shuang couldn't help but shudder, thinking of the "Skin-Peeling Ghost" who was the most skilled in interrogation among the Hundred Ghosts Gang.

What kind of monsters live in this community?!
As you walk further into the mall, you bump into Da Long and a bald middle-aged man.

"Thank you so much, Master Tian, ​​for bringing this over in person." Da Long said with a polite smile.

"Not at all, I happen to be free right now."

"Okay, let's exchange numbers so we can contact each other if needed."

“No problem. Old Zhang told me about the community last time, but I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to come over.”

The two exchanged pleasantries, behaving like old friends.

As they passed each other, Master Tian's gaze lingered on Mu Shuang's face for a few seconds before calmly looking away.

However, it was this look that made Mu Shuang's heart skip a beat.

That gaze was so steady, so calm.

It's just like those 'old hunters' in the wilderness who prey on people, hiding an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Moreover, it seemed to carry a hint of contemplation and reminiscence.

Before she could think it through, Erlong gave her another push, and she could only stagger into the mall passage.

After passing through the dimly lit passage, the view suddenly opened up.

Mu Shuang subconsciously looked up, only to be frozen in place by a scene she would never forget!

The mall's multi-level floors were packed with people.

Countless eyes looked down from all directions, and she was like a boxer from the old days about to step into the ring, the center of attention.

Instead of cheers and excitement, she was met with anger, hatred, indifference, and an uncontrollable murderous intent that overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.

Being stared at by thousands of eyes is far more suffocating than being pointed at by thousands of guns.

this moment.

She suddenly understood what Jiang Chuan had said before.

他 说:

At that moment, I felt my blood freeze, but it wasn't out of fear of being pointed at with a gun or of dying.

Instead, they were overwhelmed by an emotion that combined the feelings of thousands of people, making them feel that everything they did was a mistake.

And at this time.

"kill!"

Someone shouted first, like igniting a powder keg.

"kill!!"

"kill!!!"

Shouts of battle rose and fell, growing from a few scattered individuals to echoing throughout the entire mall. The buzzing sound seemed to materialize, causing the walls to tremble slightly.

Mu Shuang's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

She experienced life-or-death battles in the wilderness, fighting hunters to the very last moment.

I've witnessed battlefields where blood flowed like rivers, and infected creatures fought humans to the very end.

She also crawled out of the mass grave and survived several attacks by the source of infection.

But during those times, she was free, she was the judge, and she held the life and death of others in her hands.

Now, she is the one being judged, oppressed by the resentment and hatred of countless people, forced to taste this surging anger.

"Come on, what are you standing there for?" Erlong gave her a push.

Mu Shuang stumbled and fell to the ground.

"What, are you scared?"

Erlong squatted down, a half-smile playing on his lips. Their eyes met. "You're our enemy because you're dealing with Prosecutor Cheng!"

"Anyone who dares to threaten our future, we'll crush them first!"

"Do you know? To keep watch on you, more than sixty brothers worked in shifts day and night. No one dared to relax. They could only endure the thirst and hunger. If they needed to go to the toilet, they would rather poop in their pockets than leave."

"What do you think they're relying on to keep going? Money? Orders?"

"You'd never guess, they're all vying to stake out you, because you're blocking Prosecutor Cheng's path, and also blocking..."

"Our path!"

After saying that, Erlong stood up and suddenly exerted force with his arm muscles.

The chains were dragged roughly, and Mu Shuang's body was also dragged along, step by step, towards the detention cell.

At that moment, she did not struggle.

She suddenly felt a pang of regret, not for testing Cheng Ye, but for deliberately playing a cat-and-mouse game to test his methods.

It's not that I regret fighting against so many people, being an enemy of a community of thousands, and blocking their "path."

Instead, she regretted mocking Jiang Chuan for being arrested by a group of ordinary people.

Why would she look down on ordinary people?
Why would someone feel humiliated by being arrested by an ordinary person?

Mu Shuang's mind went blank for a moment, and it wasn't until Erlong dragged her into the detention room that she slowly came back to her senses.

The air in the detention cell smelled of rust and sweat, with a barely perceptible odor of feces and urine.

In the corner, four unfortunate souls, just like her, were huddled together.

Upon seeing her enter, the four men stared blankly, then suddenly revealed eerie smiles and repeated in unison:

"I've come here to take a look!"

Ok?
Mu Shuang paused, her brows furrowing slightly. Such consistent words, actions, and foolish expressions were definitely not the behavior of a normal human being.

She almost instantly realized that the four people were most likely affected by the source of infection.

A bird in a daze?
A troublemaker?
Intelligent ants?
People who exhibit this kind of dull and foolish behavior can basically be categorized into these three types.

Considering the four people's previous suspicious behavior, Mu Shuang quickly ruled out the former.

The "Staring Bird" effect lasts for 180 days, causing people to stare blankly for longer and longer periods until they are completely out of it for the last three to five days.

"Hey? What do you want to see?"

The four of us paused for a moment, then spoke in unison again, "I want to see what's wrong with Cheng Ye."

Okay, we can rule out the "brain-degrading ants" as well.

People infected by this parasite will gradually have their brains shrink and become insane. The more they think, the faster they deteriorate, and it becomes impossible for them to give the exact same answer to four people.

"A treacherous worm," she murmured, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. "So, another mercenary who's taken on a mission?!"

Recently, quite a few assassins and mercenaries have indeed infiltrated the area around Happiness City.

Many of the lesser ghosts of the Hundred Ghosts Gang were also killed by these people, and the various ghost leaders were patrolling and arresting people with great momentum.

I never expected these people to be so bold as to dare to break into the interior of Happiness City.

You don't want to live anymore, right?

However, considering that their mission target was Cheng Ye, Mu Shuang could understand their adventure.

Because Cheng Ye's outward appearance suggests that he is just an ordinary, weak trainee prosecutor.

Even though she had witnessed Cheng Ye's fight with the fusion entity that night, she found it difficult to connect it with the "monster" she had just seen.

After all, the person shown in the video is just an ordinary person who has only recently started learning martial arts and has some wisdom and courage.

But his performance just now was truly at the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Moreover, his fighting style was completely different from when he fought the fusion that night.

That fearless fighting style, that ruthless way of fighting that disregarded pain, reminded her of the Crimson Blood Army she had seen in Guangdong Province.

I don't care about skills, I only want to subdue the enemy as quickly as possible, even if it means mutual destruction.

"But it's only been a month since the Stand Starfish went off its attack."

Mu Shuang couldn't help but shake her head.

She had never seen anyone undergo such a dramatic transformation in just one month.

Unless they are superhumans who awaken overnight in the early days of the new era, their combat power will not experience a qualitative leap.

Considering Cheng Ye's apparent inability to feel pain, she seemed to ponder.

More than half an hour passed.

Mu Shuang repeatedly reviewed the details of today's disguise, but still couldn't figure out where the flaw had occurred.

She was certain that there were no listening devices installed in Building 7, nor were there any informants inside.

But how exactly did Cheng Ye determine that she was on the fourth floor and even pinpoint which room it was?
"Come out, the magistrate wants to interrogate you!"

The iron door to the detention cell was pulled open, and Da Long walked in wearing a short-sleeved shirt, his face filled with undisguised excitement.

He glanced at the four dazed people in the corner, then looked at Mu Shuang with the same look he had on a very precious "trophy".

Seeing this expression made Mu breathe a slight sigh of relief.

It seems my identity hasn't been exposed yet.

At the same time, a sense of curiosity arose in her heart: how would Prosecutor Cheng interrogate her next?

Is the question about the four men's dazed behavior? Or is it an interrogation about why they were secretly monitoring him?

Or perhaps, like Jiang Chuan, he asks completely unrelated questions and launches a series of baffling "combination punches"?
As Da Long dragged him away on the iron chain, passing the four men, he heard them mutter in unison, "Look for something unusual, look for something unusual."

In an instant, Mu Shuang shuddered and began to understand why Cheng Ye had been added to the task list.

But before she could pause to think, Cheng Ye had already changed into clean clothes and was sitting behind an iron table in the interrogation room next door.

He turned his head, and their eyes met.

It was that same enigmatic smile again, the one that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking, as if he were facing Ding Yishan.
These prosecutors who manage to stay in their positions are really not easy to deal with!
"Dalong, release her upper body and go get her a glass of water," Cheng Ye instructed.

"Yes, my lord."

The upper part of the chain was unlocked, and Mu Shuang moved her shoulders. A light cough caused her ribs to burn.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed found that several bones were broken. Fortunately, it was a single fracture without displacement. After a week of immobilization, he could move around again, and after three to five weeks of rest, he would be fully recovered.

Da Long quickly brought over an enamel mug of warm water and placed it in front of Cheng Ye, as she had requested.

"Drink up, you seem very thirsty."

"How did you know?" Mu Shuang raised an eyebrow.

“I told you, you’re more curious than the previous four people.”

Cheng Ye shook his head slightly and gestured for him to proceed.
Mu Shuang paused for a moment, then picked up the enamel mug and drank it all in one gulp, without worrying about whether it was poisoned or mixed with any special drugs.

"Let's get her another cup."

When the second glass of water was brought over, Mu Shuang drank it down immediately, her eyes filled with even more doubt.

After Da Long took the cup away, Cheng Ye tapped his finger lightly on the table: "I want to ask you a question."

Mu Shuang remained silent, waiting for what was to come.

"Were the patterns on those two enamel mugs the same?"

"Huh?" Mu Shuang was stunned, then gently shook her head.

"Is it different, or do you just not know?"

"do not know."

"Do you understand how I knew that?"

Cheng Ye shook his head and laughed, "I originally thought you had systematically studied infiltration, disguise, and reconnaissance, but now it seems you're only half-baked."

"You!" Mu Shuang's eyes widened immediately.

When interrogating Jiang Chuan, at least they followed the rules and asked for his name and age. How come it became Cheng Ye's one-sided test and reprimand when it came to her?
Which prisoner would notice if the pattern on the enamel mug handed to him had changed?
However, the next second, her face suddenly froze.

"July 27, 3:41 pm, this is the first time we met."

"On the bus to the southern suburbs, Mr. Tian and I went to the junkyard to pick out parts and sat in the first row of the back section. You were in the second single seat on the left, wearing a beige top, jeans, and light green sneakers with a worn patch on the toe of your left shoe."

Cheng Ye spoke calmly and deliberately, pausing briefly after finishing his sentence, "Am I right?"

Mu Shuang pursed her lips, not out of stubbornness, but because she herself couldn't remember what she was wearing that day.

But she did have such an outfit in her wardrobe; it was a disguise she had specifically bought from residents of the buffer zone.

"Do you remember what I was wearing that day?" Cheng Ye asked again.

Mu Shuang shook her head with a grim expression. "At 7:17 a.m. on July 28th, I was loitering in front of the convenience store."

Cheng Ye continued, his tone as calm as if he were talking about someone else, "You stared at me for four minutes on the street corner, then followed two middle-aged men who were going to work, and walked past the store as if nothing had happened. That day you changed into a denim jacket, black pants, and gray flats."

After saying that, he paused briefly, then added, "Right?"

Mu Shuang remained silent, but her eyes gradually became complicated, like ripples spreading across a deep pool after a stone has been thrown in.

"On July 28th, at 7:7.37 PM, I walked out of the Public Works Department building, and you watched me from the bus stop as I boarded the bus."

"On July 29th, at 7:6.45 AM, I went to take out the trash, and you deliberately rummaged through the trash bag I had thrown away."

"On July 29th, at 7:8.19 PM, you followed me all the way back to my neighborhood from the Machinery Bureau."

“I was sleeping in the house that night, and you kept watch over me from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m..”

"."

Cheng Ye nodded and shook his head at times, as if reciting a menu.

Like an instructor testing investigative skills, he meticulously analyzed the time and scene of every encounter, even down to the clothes she wore.

"In 7 days, you changed 12 outfits, 7 pairs of shoes, and 3 hats."

"You disguised yourself as a man twice and an old man once, making it difficult for me to tell your gender."

His last sentence was tinged with mockery. He looked at Mu Shuang and pressed, "Am I right?"

However, after saying that, Cheng Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The warning range for a flame is about fifty meters, but in complex scenarios with many people, it will shrink to twenty or thirty meters.

The first two times, it was Huo Miao who noticed the spying gaze and took notice of Mu Shuang.

But later on, whenever she appeared, the flame would immediately pop up as a warning, so he didn't have to worry about it at all.

The little guy seemed to have memorized Mu Shuang's scent. No matter how she changed her appearance, he could always spot her immediately whenever she appeared in his sight.

How can you fake it now?

It can't be hidden at all.

Sure enough, after all these details were laid out, Mu Shuang no longer asked, "How did you find out about me?"

She remained silent, her lowered eyelids concealing the emotions within, only the cooperation level in the upper right corner of the panel subtly changing:
71.6% → 79.3% → 84.1%
It quickly broke through the 90% mark and settled at 91.4%.

Cheng Ye nodded to himself.

Teamwork is always easiest to improve during the first encounter.

They were all strangers, and their behavior patterns were not yet clear. Even for an extraordinary person like Liu Kun, the difficulty was far less than imagined.

"Mu Shuang doesn't shy away from his own problems."

He thought to himself, "People like this are actually easy to get along with. As long as the superior can maintain their dominance, there shouldn't be any trouble."

With the intuitive reference of compatibility, Cheng Ye can easily grasp the personality traits of a person.

People who can face their own shortcomings are often sensitive and better at perceiving the flaws of others.

Such people are born with charisma and are potential leaders who can subtly gain people's trust.

If you are kind and generous, your future path will be wide open, and you will have success no matter which way you go.

However, if one is stubborn and inflexible, and prone to getting stuck on trivial matters, it will become a double-edged sword, hurting both others and oneself.

What kind of person is Mu Shuang?
Cheng Ye tapped the table lightly with his fingertip and suddenly spoke: "Alright, you did well. You can ask me a question."

"I asked you?" Mu Shuang suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

She had asked him several times before, but Cheng Ye had calmly deflected her questions each time.

The sudden granting of permission has caught many off guard.

We can't exactly do what those four idiots next door did and ask, "What's wrong with you?" That would be too stupid.

So, she remained silent for half a minute before slowly speaking:

"Where do you think I went wrong?"

what.

He's actually someone who likes to overthink things.

Cheng Ye immediately understood. If it was the former, he should be focusing on the flaws and asking questions, rather than dwelling on his own mistakes.

However, Cheng Ye was not surprised, after all, Mu Shuang was still young, only 28 years old.

Similar to him, but unlike him, Mu Shuangsheng certainly did not experience systematic learning in the chaotic world.

Differences in upbringing are even more crucial.

If Mu Shuang continues to struggle amidst suppression and doubt, she will inevitably develop a mindset that focuses more on what she loses or what mistakes she makes, rather than on what she can gain or learn.

"You lost because you went it alone."

Cheng Ye didn't keep him in suspense. After a pause, he added, "Human strength has its limits. If I were to arrest you, I could mobilize one or two hundred people, or even three or five hundred, to surround and monitor you. But you are all alone. You have no room for error, and you have no confidence to take risks in any decision you make."

"No," Mu Shuang pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

Infiltrating mission, the enemy is in the open, we are in the shadows.

The numerical advantage is merely a post-hoc assessment by the victors, not a decisive factor.

Sometimes, too many people can cause trouble, breed betrayal and chaos, and ultimately lead to mistakes.

Just like when the Hundred Ghosts Gang arrests gangs from other places, she always uses only elites, never hundreds or thousands of people to surround them. Too much of a show of force would only alert the enemy.

"Don't you understand yet?"

Cheng Ye clapped his hands in acknowledgment, and Da Long walked out of the interrogation room with a smile. Soon, he dragged in a man wearing a black hood. The man was limp and looked like he had been knocked unconscious.

Who is this?
Mu Shuang frowned, not recognizing him at first glance.

But when her eyes swept over the familiar clothes, shoes, and the bracelet on her wrist, she was stunned.

"Da Long, let Jiang Chuan catch his breath."

"Hehe." Da Long laughed and pulled off the black hood.

Jiang Chuan had his eyes closed, a hint of resentment still lingering on his face, and his lips were twitching as if he wanted to curse.

"This"

Mu Shuang was suddenly stunned and looked at Cheng Ye in disbelief.

But Cheng Ye still had that smile on his face, that incomprehensible smile.

"You already know who I am?"

"Mu Shuang, Director Liu's clerk, fifth-term clerk at the checkpoint."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly and recounted the information he had found.

The cooperation level on the panel fluctuated wildly, jumping like an electrocardiogram, reflecting Mu Shuang's turbulent emotions at that moment.

She couldn't believe that her identity had been exposed so quickly.

Or did Cheng Ye know her identity from the very beginning?
"Do you think I sent people to capture Jiang Chuan? Do you think 'fighting alone' means I have many men under my command? Don't you have any?"

"wrong."

Cheng Ye stood up, stretched his shoulders, and said in a suddenly solemn tone, "Those who follow the right path receive much help, while those who stray from it receive little."

"Your infiltration appears to have sunk to the bottom of the buffer zone, blending in with the people here."

"But this kind of infiltration is really too low-level; it's just child's play disguise."

“I don’t know anyone in that building, but everyone there could be one of my people. They could report you, expose you, and help me deal with you.”

"why?"

"Because from the very beginning of your infiltration, you isolated yourself from the masses. Your infiltration was a solitary struggle, avoiding the gaze of others from the very beginning."

"Understand?"

Cheng Ye spoke the last three words slowly and deliberately, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing straight into Mu's eyes.

Mu Shuang trembled all over, opened her mouth, but her throat felt blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a single word.

She suddenly remembered the heavy gazes cast upon her from the mezzanine level when she was being escorted into the mall.

Yes, she previously thought that Jiang Chuan being captured by ordinary people was a great disgrace and a laughing stock that would be ridiculed for a long time.

Why would she think of uniting with these ordinary people from the lower class to provide a deeper layer of cover for her disguise?

My thoughts drifted like a tangled mess.

Over the years, under Liu Kun's assignment, she served as the Fire Ghost King in the Hundred Ghosts Gang. She believed she had done a decent job, but she had never received a word of praise. Even Jiang Chuan felt that she was becoming more and more like a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) person, difficult to approach, as if she had become a different person.

Looking back now, she certainly deserved it; anyone could have done what she did.

Leading the little devils to capture outside gangs, they went to a neighboring province to retaliate against forces targeting Happiness City. The Hundred Ghosts Gang has tens of thousands of members, but after so many years, it is still a disorganized mess and has never formed a real organizational force.

Now, Cheng Ye's incisive point made her understand something.

In fact, she has always been running away from certain things and has never dared to face them directly.

In an instant, the compliance rate on the panel plummeted, dropping below 20% in a flash, and then soaring to 95% in a flash, fluctuating wildly like a roller coaster.

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment, then realized that this silly kid was probably getting stuck on something again.

Focusing solely on one's own problems prevents one from seeing the essence of the problem.

If this mindset doesn't change, things will only get more and more painful.

But Cheng Ye also knew that if he pointed this out now, Mu Shuang's cooperation might not be able to reach 100%.

Okay, with so much material already, one more won't make a difference.

After considering Mu Shuang's purpose and identity, Cheng Ye could already guess some things.

If it's not Jiang Chuan who accompanies him out into the wilderness next, but Mu Shuang instead, it would be too much of a waste to lay a trap for the future just for a search opportunity.

So Cheng Ye sat down again and changed the subject, "If we play again, and I let you dodge while I catch you, do you think you can win?"

"Win," Mu Shuang stared at Jiang Chuan, who had collapsed in the corner, and gently shook her head.

"So do you know where the problem lies?"

"information?"

"Information is only one aspect," Cheng Ye shook his head. "In future missions, the person issuing the mission may not have detailed information, which you will need to investigate yourself, and it is also the key to survival. More important than information is support."

"support?"

"If I get the people from three units in Building 7 of the community to cooperate with you, are you confident you can win?"

"Hmm," Mu Shuang said thoughtfully, then shook her head.

"What if everyone in all sixteen buildings of the community plays along with you, pretending with you?"

Mu's eyes lit up, but he still shook his head.

"You're not even confident about this?"

"No," Mu Shuang said softly, "There are over four thousand people in the community. The price of playing games with me would be too high."

"is it?"

Cheng Ye turned to look at Da Long: "Da Long, what if I asked you to lead 4,800 people from the community to put on a show for her?"

"Whatever the master says goes!" Da Long grinned. "Not only acting, but even building a human wall is no problem!"

"So, what do you think is her problem?" Cheng Ye asked again.

"Of course it's because I don't have someone like you backing me up!" Da Long shrugged, his tone slightly irritating. "Unlike me, I just need to do what you tell me to do."

The sarcasm in those words was impossible to hide.

Hearing this, Mu Shuang felt a tremor in her heart, and inexplicable emotions surged up.

She blinked, somewhat surprised, but when her eyes met Cheng Ye's, she couldn't help but force a smile.

"Prosecutor Cheng, you didn't already guess that I was going to switch places with Jiang Chuan, and you're deliberately telling me that, did you?"

"If you think it's intentional, then it is intentional; if you think it's useful, then listen to me."

Cheng Ye raised his chin. "Da Long, aren't you going to release them?"

Da Long smiled and stepped forward to unlock the chains, repeatedly apologizing, "I'm so sorry, Miss Mu, I only just found out who you are. I'm so sorry for offending you! If you feel wronged by being tied up, or if anyone in the community has gone too far, Da Long will kowtow to you to apologize!"

He paused, then added, "But I have something to tell you: even if you get all four thousand people in Dafu Community to come together to help you, the authorities still have ways to get you out."

"Oh, you trust him that much?" Mu Shuang couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

Compared to Jiang Chuan, Da Long seemed to have been bewitched by Cheng Ye, and was as loyal as a suicide soldier.

According to the information she found, Cheng Ye had only been in contact with Tianyuan Community for a month.

However, Da Long did not reply. After unlocking the chains, he stood respectfully to the side.

Mu Shuang stood up, stretched her body, and a sickening "crack" sound came from her chest.

After the event, she gently shook her head and said, "Prosecutor Cheng, if you expect me to be as obedient as Jiang Chuan and Da Long, I probably can't do it."

"is it?"

Cheng Ye shook his head slightly, secretly amused.

Looking at the upper right corner, Mu Shuang's level of cooperation stopped steadily at 100% the moment she stood up.

What a stubborn guy.

It seems that if I want to command Mu Shuang in the future, I will have to put in a lot of effort to train him.

Unlike Jiang Chuan, who had long since smoothed out his rough edges through the ways of the world and had his own set of principles.

Hmm, thinking of this, Cheng Ye suddenly felt a little curious the moment he clicked the search bar.

What will Mu Shuang's beliefs be?

(End of this chapter)