Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 185: Full of vigor, the practical assessment begins!
Central checkpoint.

As the busiest place in the entire buffer zone, nearly five thousand people are checked in every day.

Cheng Ye stood at the entrance and watched for a while.

Sure enough, most of those who passed the inspection were middle-aged people in their thirties and forties, mostly in family units, with three or four members. Unfortunately, they were all forcibly influenced by the traveler. If they had migrated here on their own, they would most likely have discovered a bunch of golden legends.

A notable characteristic is that the children in these families are mostly under 8 years old. Due to long-term malnutrition, most of them look like modern four or five-year-old children, which is the stage where they cannot do work and need to be taken care of by special people.

At the entrance of the checkpoint, a huge poster was displayed, listing a series of preferential resettlement policies:

Children under 8 years old can receive a free bag of nutritional syrup daily using their resident ID card. Families with two children can directly apply for resettlement housing in shantytowns. Employment is prioritized for new residents, with designated work assignments. There are also medical points providing free medical treatment and distributing commonly used and deworming medications.
Cheng Ye's gaze swept across the poster, and he saw the words "Spark Alliance" in the upper right corner, next to which was the familiar Mount Everest image, and below were two lines of smaller text:

[The Alliance of Spirits' Rest and Recuperation Agreement stipulates that eligible individuals can enjoy preferential treatment in any sanctuary city within the Alliance.]

Anyone who violates these regulations will be severely punished by the Spark Alliance.

"A pact between super-sanctuary cities?"

Cheng Ye paused slightly.

Although the painful lessons of the extraordinary era caused humanity to lose the foundation for great unity and the prerequisite for embarking on the path of centralized power.

The various factions are divided, each adhering to its own ideology, but they can still form alliances on certain issues.

For example, resettling the new generation.

After all, the population isn't randomly generated. The core of the recovery period is to restore the total population and accumulate strength for the next era of development.

If even the new generation doesn't care, then the "rest period" becomes empty talk.

The fact that these people are being received by the buffer zone is also a good thing for the subsequent construction of satellite cities.

At least families in satellite cities, even those with children, should already have the basic ability to survive.

Unlike modern times, children in the wasteland generally develop survival skills by the age of 10. The differences lie only in physical condition, experience, and logical thinking.

At exactly 12:30, the two entered the office area through the internal passage.

It was Wang Kang's first time visiting the station building, and his eyes were full of curiosity as he looked around and touched everything.

Many prosecutors had already arrived in the courtyard, gathering in small groups to exchange information about the satellite city, much like the lively atmosphere before each exam in school, when they had arrived at the exam hall but were not allowed to enter.

Upon seeing Cheng Ye bring Wang Kang in, everyone's eyes immediately turned to them, followed by a chorus of greetings:
"Prosecutor Cheng, you've arrived."

"Prosecutor Cheng, you and Prosecutor Wang have really pioneered this kind of thing at our checkpoint."

"Impressive! I've seen the assessment materials you submitted. A true hero among the young!"

"Our Dongren has a rising star like Inspector Cheng. The old stationmaster must be very pleased to know that he has him."

"Prosecutor Wang, nice to meet you. I am..."

A group of people surrounded the two of them, and Wang Kang was momentarily stunned.

Fortunately, Cheng Ye helped with the introductions, and he quickly calmed down and responded to each question without appearing awkward.

While engaging in social interactions, Cheng Ye observed the situation discreetly.

Everyone seemed more friendly than before in the ward, especially those who were obsessed with taking sides, like Gu Xinjing, a third-phase prosecutor, who all came over to say hello.

As for the fourth-phase prosecutors, although they did not approach them proactively, their eyes revealed a hint of goodwill.

Could it be
After exchanging greetings with everyone and those who only had a vague impression of him dispersed, Yang Xingwen walked over and first offered his congratulations.

"Congratulations, Prosecutor Cheng, Dabo Town is a treasure trove."

Yang Xingwen said with a smile, "When residential houses are built there in the future, I'll have to buy one, so you'll have to give me a discount."

"Prosecutor Yang, what are you saying?" Cheng Ye pretended not to understand.

"Hehe, you don't know this," Yang Xingwen lowered his voice, "This morning, quite a few people came to me, wanting me to select them to enter Dabo Town. There are two fourth-term and three third-term applicants. But guess what? The station rejected the applications of the two fourth-term applicants for 'insufficient experience'."

He paused, then added, "In addition, all applications to exchange to Big Wave Town were rejected."

"I really didn't know that." Cheng Ye's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged.

Good heavens, Old Ding has blocked all avenues to ensure his rise to power?

The fourth-phase inspectors are not allowed to enter Dabo Town, and the inspectors from other towns on the list cannot be replaced.

In addition, Wang Kang, who did not participate in the initial assessment, suddenly appeared on the list of those to be assigned to specific tasks.

This was practically a blatant declaration to everyone at the checkpoint that the location of Dabo Town was reserved for these two trainee inspectors.

"Prosecutor Yang has given up; he's moved to Hexi Town."

"I've given up too, and I plan to go to Wanzi Town."

Yang Xingwen spoke frankly, without any extra emotion in his tone, "Prosecutor Cheng, your only opponent now is Rocco. That guy is a real troublemaker, just like Garcia. He'll most likely go against you, so you have to be careful of him."

"Thanks." Cheng Ye nodded. "I'll reserve a house for you in Dabo Town in the future."

"Hahaha, then I've hit the jackpot!" Yang Xingwen laughed loudly. "Seriously, maybe in the future, when your checkpoint develops, I'll have a chance to rotate there. Don't complain about my lack of ability then."

Cheng Ye smiled and agreed, but he knew perfectly well what was going on in his mind.

Ding Yishan paved the road so smoothly, ostensibly to protect him, but in reality, he also put him in a precarious position.

But if you want to carry the flag, that's how it should be.

The arduous path to becoming a king requires courage and determination; one must overcome all obstacles, forging ahead through mountains and crossing rivers.

Following Yang Xingwen's gesture, Cheng Ye glanced sideways.

Not far away, in a group of Westerners, four prosecutors were huddled together talking in hushed tones, one of whom was Garcia.

Standing beside him was a blond man with a high nose and sharp eyes, whose gaze never left him.

The moment their eyes met, they both understood the emotions in each other's eyes.

In Cheng Ye's eyes, this Prosecutor Rocco did indeed resemble Garcia somewhat, with a morbidly stubborn look in his eyes. You could tell at a glance that he was the kind of mad dog that would relentlessly tear you apart once he got his hands on you.

To Rokuk, Cheng Ye's eyes were filled with indifference, as if he were looking at an unimportant object, even with a touch of coldness towards the dead.

interesting.

Rococ strode over, immediately attracting the attention of the more than fifty prosecutors present.

"Hello, Cheng Ye."

He extended his hand, a polite smile on his face, "I didn't expect we both chose Big Wave Town, what a coincidence."

"Hello, Prosecutor Luo."

Cheng Ye extended his hand with neither humility nor arrogance, and the two shook hands.

Ok?
The moment their hands touched, Cheng Ye felt a deliberate force coming from the other's hand, and when he looked up, he met Rokuk's mocking gaze.

Having lived in Happiness City for so long, I've only ever met shrewd and calculating people, and I've never encountered anyone who wants to confront me head-on from the start.

how?

Finally, a brainless villain has emerged?
Cheng Ye couldn't help but twitch his lips, and suddenly increased the force in his hand. There was a soft "crack" sound, and the sound of bones rubbing together was heard.

Rokuk, who had been smiling faintly just a second ago, suddenly turned grim, and the force in his hand increased dramatically.

The air around them seemed to freeze, and everyone's eyes were focused on the two people's clasped hands.

Both hands turned red at a visible speed, and the veins bulged faintly.

About five seconds later, as if they were on the same wavelength, the two released their hands at the same time.

To everyone's astonishment, Cheng Ye's hand only turned red for a moment when he loosened his grip, and the redness quickly faded away with the slightest movement, soon returning to its normal bluish-white color.

Rococo's right hand, however, was frighteningly red, with several deep finger marks clearly visible on the back of his hand, as if it had been pinched by iron pliers.

The third-term prosecutor's attempt to intimidate the probationary prosecutor failed.

Many people around were surprised. Even the fourth-phase prosecutors who had been standing at a distance changed their gazes, which were originally full of admiration, and were now filled with an inscrutable astonishment.

From the time he left the inner city until now, Cheng Ye has only been practicing martial arts for a little over four months, while Rokuk has been a veteran inspector who has been on duty at the checkpoint for more than ten years. How could he lose to a newcomer in terms of strength?
“Prosecutor Cheng, not bad strength.” Rokuk’s face darkened slightly, his voice forced out through clenched teeth, tinged with stiffness.

"It's funny."

Cheng Ye shook his head, raised his chin slightly, and a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes. "My greatest strength is not power, but deathmatch. Inspector Rokuk, would you like to try it with me?"

A death match?

The faces of the Western prosecutors who had gathered around immediately changed.

Garcia, in particular, had an undisguised emotion flash across his face, clearly recalling the humiliation of being hung up and beaten by Liu Bi.

"A fight to the death?" Rococo took a half step back, as if he had heard a joke. "Prosecutor Cheng, let me give you a piece of advice: young man, don't be too impetuous."

"Then I'll give you a piece of advice: old man, don't try to take advantage of your age."

Cheng Ye took half a step forward, their noses almost touching, sparks flying between them.

The East and West have been at odds for years, and the current situation is not unusual. Prosecutors from both sides often jump into the ring and beat each other up as if they were enemies.

But this is the first time a probationary prosecutor has been forced into this situation by a third-stage prosecutor.

Immediately, the Eastern prosecutors who had been watching the commotion stopped laughing and silently moved to stand beside or behind Cheng Ye, forming a silent formation.

Seeing this, the Westerners quickly stopped their chatter and hurried to Rocco's side. The two groups were clearly separated, and the air was thick with tension, as if they might explode at any moment. Cheng Ye cracked his neck, his knuckles making a slight popping sound, and was about to take another step forward.

A man emerged from the station building, his voice slightly deep as he spoke:

"Prepare for the assessment!"

It's Harlem.

Wearing a gray-brown trench coat, Harlin strode out of the building. His hawk-like gaze swept across the room, lingering on Rokuk for a few seconds before moving to Cheng Ye's face and pausing for a moment.

When Harlin noticed Rokuk's right hand, which was still glaringly red and with increasingly clear fingerprints, his face darkened. Without saying a word, he turned and went back into the station building.

However, this shout extinguished the tense atmosphere in the room like a bucket of cold water.

Everyone seemed to have suddenly forgotten the confrontation, and they all turned around and walked into the station building in a hurry, as if nothing had happened.

Within seconds, only two groups of people remained in the courtyard.

Besides Wang Kang, Yang Xingwen and Gu Xinjing also stayed behind, as did Rokuk's group of four and Cheng Ye's side.

Wang Kang, young and impetuous, took a half-step forward, but was quietly pulled back by Yang Xingwen.

Gu Xinjing stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face: "Inspector Cheng, the assessment is about to begin, don't delay the important matters."

“That’s right, let’s go.” Cheng Ye nodded and took the lead towards the station building.

A low-key approach is a strategy when dealing with homeless people and other agency staff, in order to achieve goals more smoothly.

But there's no point in keeping a low profile when facing a group of "colleagues" at the checkpoint.

If you want to be a role model for the younger generation of people in the East, and you can't even hold up this small stage, what right do you have to talk about power?
Watching the four people each take a picture of the statue at the entrance, Wang Kang even kicked it a couple of times out of curiosity.

Rokuk watched from behind, his face so gloomy it could drip water. He suddenly waved his hand and led his men inside.

Garcia quickened his pace and whispered, "His strength has improved by leaps and bounds. It seems that Cheng Long's martial arts talent has been passed down to him. It's my fault for not investigating clearly beforehand."

"It's alright, even if it's strong, it's still just brute force."

Rococo's face was grim, but he didn't blame Garcia for his poor investigation at all. "Wang Kang is yours to handle later. I'll deal with him. Is that alright?"

“No problem!” Garcia readily agreed, then added worriedly, “The stationmaster is protecting him for the promotion. If we lose, we’ll be his stepping stone.”

"Huh? You've come this far, and you still don't think you're just a stepping stone?"

Rocco chuckled, then suddenly stopped and looked at the astonished Garcia. "You don't actually think that Station Chief Harlin made me choose you as my partner so that I could beat Cheng Ye, do you?"

"Huh?" Garcia was taken aback, and his face instantly turned ugly.

"It's okay for an ordinary person to be a little muddle-headed. But if you're a prosecutor and you're still this muddle-headed, you're not far from death."

Rokuk gestured for the other two in the small circle to leave first, then said to Garcia, "No matter what grudges you had with him before, you need to be more mindful of this assessment. This is not an occasion for you to seek revenge. The entire higher-ups are watching how you perform. All the records will be sent to the inner city for the deputy city lord and the various department heads to review. Think carefully about the consequences."

"As long as you perform well and prove your worth, all your previous underhanded tactics will be forgiven, and the station chief will definitely compensate us. But if you back down, you won't have a place at the next checkpoint."

"I"

Garcia stood there, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty, before finally letting out a long sigh. "What if we win?"

“That’s more like it, that’s the kind of spirit you need.” Rokuk reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “If we win, I guarantee your name will be on the list of prosecutors promoted to third-term prosecutors at the end of the year.”

The words fell.

Garcia's dejected expression vanished instantly, replaced by a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

The two remained silent as they walked up the stairs, but a hint of resentment flashed in Garcia's eyes once again.

This time, however, the resentment was no longer directed at Cheng Ye, but rather at the back of Rokuk walking in front of him.

Like a venomous snake, it chooses its prey to devour it.

Enter the venue.

Cheng Ye did not sit in the same row as Li Matai as before, but instead led Wang Kang to integrate into the Dongren group's area.

The seating in the meeting room was arranged according to rank. The fourth-term inspectors were in the first row, the third-term inspectors occupied the second and third rows, and the first and second-term inspectors were in the back.

Amidst the polite concessions of the first and second cohorts, Cheng Ye unsurprisingly took the center seat in the fourth row, and Wang Kang also benefited by sitting next to him, his face showing a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

Ding Yishan was still wearing his reading glasses, sitting in the center of the meeting room looking through the documents.

一批12座卫星城消耗了25名检查官，其中除了问路县是3人制，剩下的11个点位都是2人搭档。

But Cheng Ye counted the number of people present and found there were 64 people. It seemed that in addition to the people who participated in the assessment and Wang Kang, the intern, there should also be those who rushed back in the past few days, as well as the prosecutors who did not get a spot at the beginning.

This is really exciting! A chaotic battle involving more than sixty people, forming 32 teams.

Even if only 100 people are selected from each group, it still involves the mobilization of more than 3,000 people, so the scene will definitely be quite large.

However, the second batch of 12 satellite cities only required a total of 24 people, and less than half of them were able to obtain the contracted qualification. The rest were just there to make up the numbers.

One p.m.

After the bell rang, Ding Yishan nodded slightly, and Harlin immediately stood up and picked up the microphone:

"The 7th Plenary Meeting of Prosecutors of the Happiness City Checkpoint in its 35th year has officially commenced!"

"This meeting serves as a practical assessment for the construction of the second batch of satellite cities, aiming to select inspectors with competence, responsibility, and construction capabilities."

"First, announce the list of prosecutors who have obtained practical experience!"

Xipo Town:

"Wali Town:."

They read out the original list that was initially released, without mentioning any personnel exchanges.

"A total of 53 people have qualified for direct assessment across 12 satellite city locations. There are also 13 people on the reserve list."

Harlem glanced around the room and said, "Now, please choose your partners and write their names on a piece of paper and hand it to the staff for tallying."

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff distributed information sheets.

Since the partners had made prior arrangements, they mostly sat together, making the form filling process easy.

Two copies of the documents are required, and basic information must be filled in.

Cheng Ye quickly filled in his part, then took Wang Kang's form to complete the information, and handed it in as well.

The statistics were compiled in just a few minutes, and Harlem spoke again, announcing the final list of competing satellite cities.

Previously popular towns like Xipo and Tantou have suddenly become deserted.

原本6组12人竞争的点位，如今变成2组4人对决，且全是4期+3期的豪华配置。

Meanwhile, the competition between Yang Mingxuan's Hexi Town and Yang Xingwen's Wanzi Town became fierce, turning into a chaotic battleground of eight people.

In the other towns, apart from Dabo Town, there are 3 locations where 4 people compete in 2 groups, and the rest are all 6 people competing.

No more, no less, exactly 32 groups, 64 people in total.

"Rococ, Garcia"

Cheng Ye pondered to himself.

Needless to say, Garcia, that sick dog, will definitely chase after him and bite him relentlessly.

What about Korokuk?
The two had no prior connection, so Cheng Ye would never believe that he was standing up for Garcia.

What is that for?
Did you want to lower his guard so you could use a praising-then-criticizing trick during the assessment?
Or is it a deliberate attempt to lower one's stance first, leaving room for maneuver regardless of winning or losing?
Having learned from Li Matai's experience, Cheng Ye did not dare to underestimate these third-term inspectors at the checkpoint.

Even if he is slightly inferior in martial arts, his more than ten years of experience in the wilderness are undeniable. His professional knowledge may not be as good as his, but when it comes to the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, he is definitely not as straightforward as he seems.

"Brother Cheng?" Wang Kang's voice pulled him back to reality.

Cheng Ye snapped out of his daze and saw that a staff member had already placed a document in front of him.

A line of large text was printed on the cover:
Detailed Explanation of the Standards for the Second Batch of Satellite City Practical Assessments

"coming!"

Having finally obtained the assessment criteria he had been longing for, Cheng Ye immediately focused his attention and opened the documents.

But as soon as his eyes landed on the first page, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Each assessment team can recruit up to 500 migrant workers.

This assessment will be conducted on-site and in a practical manner at the designated assigned locations.

[Assessment period: 3 days (72 hours)]

[Core performance indicator: Basic campsite setup must be completed within 72 hours, including the following elements]
1. Temporary accommodation (enough to shelter 500 people from rain and cold)
2. Security and vigilance (establish at least 3 sentry posts and patrol routes)
3. Basic supplies (setting up drinking water points and food distribution areas)

4. Personnel Registration (Complete the entry and grouping of all migrant information)

[Evaluation Criteria: Practicality (30%), Efficiency (30%), Cohesion (20%), Innovation (20%)]

This assessment will be conducted under covert surveillance throughout; cheating in any way is strictly prohibited.

[Special Note: This assessment will provide initial points, which can be redeemed for personnel, resources, etc.]

[Special Note: All conflicts within the area shall be handled by the assessment team; checkpoints shall not intervene. If large-scale casualties occur, the assessment will be considered a failure.]

　P.S.: After each day's update, Sanjin will also read through the entire text for polishing and revision. Therefore, there may be some minor changes the next day, but these do not affect the overall plot. They only affect the order of the text, specific word choices, etc., to ensure a smooth reading experience. Thank you for your understanding, dear readers!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)