Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 277: Arriving at the Fief, Dabo Town's Beginning!

South Inspection Station.Cheng Ye had informed them in advance. Hearing there were three thousand people, Lei Hu simply opened a dedicated migration lane specifically for him. A striking sign reading "Dabo Town" hung above the lane, with staff arranged outside to help maintain order.

By the time Cheng Ye arrived, Wang Kang was already organizing the first batch of people to register and board the vehicles in an orderly manner.

These were the residents who had participated in the initial construction of Dabo Town during the previous Contract Responsibility Assessment. Including the survivors from Luo Kuke's side, after receiving treatment, only 671 people were still qualified to head to Dabo Town.

There was no other way. The more than three hundred disqualified individuals had either suffered severe mental trauma from Immortal Object Contamination, risking a sudden loss of control if they returned to Dabo Town, or their prolonged exposure had caused intellectual decline and memory loss, rendering them unable to properly participate in the satellite city's construction.

Rather than taking them along to suffer, it was better to arrange for them to go to a stable place.

Through Cheng Ye's arrangements, all of them were diverted to the Tianyuan Community. If nothing else, making a living there would definitely not be a problem, and any future job openings would prioritize them.

As for the remaining people, without exception, they firmly expressed their willingness to follow him back to Dabo Town.

"Don't push, everyone! There are plenty of vehicles. Women and children board first!" Wang Kang shouted while standing next to the convoy. One Public Bus after another threw its doors wide open, and the crowd boarded orderly under the staff's guidance.

As the "favored son" of the Idealist Faction, requisitioning public buses from the Public Works Department only required a single word.

The Public Works Department directly approved the use of ten public buses. Each bus could transport around fifty people per trip, meaning the three thousand individuals could all be delivered in just six trips.

Seeing Cheng Ye approach, Jiang Chuan, who was standing to the side recording the event, handed his camera to a colleague nearby and walked up with a smile. "Inspector Cheng, heading out of the city this time, do you still feel the same unfamiliarity as our first trip out?"

"Not anymore." Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone calm. "Not only is it not unfamiliar, but it actually feels like I am returning to my true home."

"Lost your sense of belonging to the Buffer Zone?"

"Not exactly," Cheng Ye said mildly. "I just do not have much sense of belonging to a Buffer Zone controlled by the Integrity Supervision Department."

Jiang Chuan could not help but smile, catching the underlying meaning in his words. "Director Liu has gone out on a mission. Once he returns, the situation should improve significantly."

"Is that so?" Cheng Ye paused, recalling how Liu Kun had turned into a big ice block that night, and gave a noncommittal response:

"Pass a message to Station Master Ding for me. I already have some leads regarding the Starship information. Once I interrogate the complete results out of them, I will hand it over for his review immediately."

"Ah?" Jiang Chuan blanked for a second before his face filled with pleasant surprise. "That is fantastic! The Station Master has been so worried about the Starship matter these past few days that his hair has turned significantly whiter!"

This reaction inevitably caused Cheng Ye's gaze to sharpen slightly, letting out a silent sigh in his heart.

Jiang Chuan's Belief of protection, pinned on Ding Yishan and the Buffer Zone...

In this quagmire woven with Power, such a pure Belief was destined to never be fulfilled in his lifetime.

"Jiang Chuan," Cheng Ye sighed with emotion, reaching out to pat his shoulder. "Think carefully about your Belief. If Station Master Ding is willing to let you go, I wouldn't mind having you come to Dabo Town. That is where you should truly be protecting. The Buffer Zone... at least for now, isn't worthy of it."

The expression on Jiang Chuan's face shifted slightly, and he gave a soft nod. "Inspector Cheng, the Inspection Station is currently at the center of the storm. If I leave, the Station Master will have no one to help him run errands. Once everything settles down, I will make the right choice."

"As long as you decide for yourself." Cheng Ye changed the subject. "By the way, do you know Qin Zhaoye?"

"I know him. He has come looking for the Station Master many times over the past few days, demanding that our Inspection Station quickly hand over all guards for him to manage. Whether it is the staffing quota or the personnel, he wants everything handed over to him." Jiang Chuan gritted his teeth, evidently nursing a deep hatred for Qin Zhaoye's ugly attitude.

"Send me a copy of his information later," Cheng Ye said in a flat tone. "It is beneath the Station Master to fight with this kind of person, but if it is me, I do not have that concern."

"Alright!" Jiang Chuan nodded heavily, not the least bit worried about whether Qin Zhaoye would cause trouble.

After all, the Inspector Cheng standing before him was no pushover. From his internship to today, it had only been half a year, yet he had successfully secured the position of a core Inspector.

Tracing back through history, such promotion speed was only matched by a similar record back when Cheng Wu was still the Station Master.

From then on, the Inspection Station had stopped looking at individual ability and instead heavily prioritized seniority. There had never been another meteoric rise like Cheng Ye's.

The two chatted idly for a few more moments. After the first batch of residents smoothly departed, Cheng Ye waved his hand, walked down the lane out of the Inspection Station, and got into the off-road vehicle waiting at the entrance.

"Let's go."

"Alright." Mu Shuang nodded, lightly stepping on the accelerator. The off-road vehicle trailed behind the public bus convoy.

The military legion arranged personnel to sweep the route from Happiness City to Dabo Town every day, but absolute safety still could not be guaranteed.

Wu Rui led his squad, driving two armed pickup trucks at the very front, responsible for clearing the path and keeping watch.

The convoy drove along the National Highway Overpass. Outside the windows stretched swaths of urban Ruins, creating a fleeting illusion of having traveled back to the old era.

Reaching the fork in the road, the convoy turned toward Wenlu County. The journey was relatively smooth.

However, just as they drove onto the Township Road leading to Dabo Town, Cheng Ye froze. The personnel arranged by Davidson were actually already constructing the entire Township Road! Not only had they cleared an eight-lane-wide subgrade, but the foundational engineering was also already complete, leaving only the road surface paving. The speed was downright absurd!

Raul stood at the intersection wearing a safety helmet, followed by a group of second-generation Westerners.

Clearly, everyone knew today was Dabo Town's migration day and had specially rushed over to show their faces and curry favor.

The off-road vehicle stopped, and Cheng Ye rolled down his window, smiling. "Not a bad speed. I am very satisfied."

Raul smiled first, then immediately claimed credit. "Inspector Cheng, we have also completely hauled away and disposed of all the construction waste cleared out from the interior."

"Oh?"

A trace of surprise flashed through Cheng Ye's eyes, and he nodded again. "Good, good! How many more days will it take to finish building this road?"

"Based on our current progress, it should be completely finished in about eight days!" Raul quickly replied.

"Maintain this efficiency, and I will definitely give you important roles in the future," Cheng Ye casually offered the promising prospect, ignoring Raul's excitedly flushed face. His gaze swept over the second-generation Westerners behind him. "If anyone else wants to join, bring out your real skills. I do not want superficial window dressing; I only want unique strengths that others lack."

He paused, looking at Raul. "I have discussed how to select people with your father. You should be clear on that, right?"

"Rest assured, Inspector Cheng! I will definitely arrange everything properly!" Raul immediately patted his chest in guarantee.

By speaking like this, Cheng Ye had once again cemented Raul's position as the "leader of the second generation" within the crowd.

Rather than hiding the news of his impending appointment as the Leaping Wilderness Station Master and hastily selecting personnel right before the deadline.

After chatting with Davidson, a fifth-stage Inspector with a vast estate who managed a large family, Cheng Ye had immediately decided to selectively spread the news in advance.

A Faction needed to be cultivated, and trust needed to be established ahead of time.

His target was precisely these second-generation Westerners!

Moreover, they were the second generation who were not only children and could not directly inherit their fathers' positions.

Most of the people present had several brothers, making it entirely impossible for them to compete for the single-inherited Inspector positions.

Therefore, upon receiving the news, they would naturally think of currying favor with him to forge their own paths to success.

This meant that even before taking office, he already had a group of usable second-generation subordinates.

Coupled with the Inspector resources behind these people, whether it was running a business, mobilizing supplies, or dealing with troubles, as long as he gave Raul a heads-up, there was a high probability that it could be resolved seamlessly.

Leaving the intersection, the convoy drove on the neat subgrade, completely free of the previous potholes.

Upon arriving at Dabo Town, the first batch of five hundred residents had already disembarked. Everyone's faces were brimming with excitement, inexplicably birthing a sense of belonging.

Of course, compared to a few days ago, today's Dabo Town had already become a chaotic mess.

Supplies were stacked several meters high in the open clearings, and the excavated Ruins were also piled with materials. Everything looked utterly disorganized everywhere.

But it was precisely these supplies that made the crowd even more excited, almost to the point of jumping up and shouting.

"Li Jie, Chang Kai, same as usual. Organize your team members to patrol. Follow the previous routes, and do not be negligent!" Cheng Ye immediately assigned tasks.

"Yes, sir!" The two quickly responded, starting to search through the crowd for familiar team members.

It was somewhat regrettable that Huang Liang, whom Elder Ou had previously acknowledged, had sacrificed himself. Liu Jianjun and Bao Dashan, who had guarded the Camp, along with the two patrol captains from the red zone, had also been affected by the Immortal Object Contamination and were listed among the three hundred eliminated individuals.

After all, the patrol members had come into direct contact with the chaos, leaving their mental states much worse than those of the residents who had stayed inside the prefabricated houses.

Fortunately, the carpenter Sun Dazheng, Ma Mingyuan who came seeking the Cheng family's reputation, and Lin Xiaoshan from the mining area had all tagged along. The Core Team on the residents' side was still fairly intact, saving him the trouble of reorganizing.

With the addition of Hou Genbao, a shrewd man, coordinating things, it likely would not take more than a few days for Dabo Town's manpower to be straightened out and twisted together like a strong rope.

"Today's core task is tearing down the Ruins!" Cheng Ye stood on high ground, shouting into a Megaphone at the continuously arriving residents. "First, demolish all the derelict buildings within the safe sectors! Pile the scrap at the old location, and I will arrange for trucks to haul it all away together!"

Having recuperated at the Medical Clinic for so many days, the crowd had long been nurtured back to full vigor. Receiving the task at this moment, they showed not the slightest resistance.

After piling their luggage onto the beds in the prefabricated houses, everyone immediately grabbed Tools and threw themselves into the work with blazing enthusiasm.

As the saying goes, Sharpening the Axe Doesn't Delay Chopping Wood.

Spurred on by the first batch, the second batch of arriving residents were also terrified of falling behind. They dropped their things and joined the demolition teams.

At the same time, the supplies delivered in advance were sequentially unboxed, and tools like shovels, pry bars, and wheelbarrows were distributed into everyone's hands.

Even for that century-old Government Building in the center of town, which Cheng Ye had originally intended to repair and reuse, he simply issued a demolition order now that supplies were abundant.

This old building held far too many hidden dangers. As his fief and an independent satellite city, Dabo Town had to be constructed to the highest specifications. It made no sense for others to live in new houses while he guarded a pile of hazards.

At ten in the morning, the fourth batch of five hundred people arrived.

Cheng Ye climbed to the roof of the Government Building and looked down. The town was already densely packed with silhouettes, and the sound of hammering and knocking echoed everywhere. Wave after wave of construction waste was being carted to the town entrance and piled up.

Hou Genbao also arrived with the fourth batch. After a few brief instructions, the people from the Yongxing Community swiftly threw themselves into work. Compared to the old residents who had participated in the earlier construction, the community members worked with higher efficiency and far more systematic team coordination.

This also proved that Cheng Ye's choice was correct. During Dabo Town's initial startup phase, utilizing the "veterans" from the Buffer Zone was far more worry-free than recruiting Drifters. Once the foundation was stable, it would not be too late to recruit people from the Drifter Faction.

Seeing that everything was on the right track, Cheng Ye arrived at the banks of the White Water River. He changed into his Fire Lotus Battle Armor, put on a waterproof Helmet, and with a leap, sank to the bottom of the river.

So many days had passed, and the Demonic Eye Sponge had already been contained. Would that Rongdong collapse from water seepage?

Carrying this curiosity, he made his way all the way to the riverbed, and sure enough, it was exactly as he had imagined.

The bottom of the river was pitch black. The once brilliant purple Halo had long vanished. Cheng Ye clicked on his helmet's flashlight, illuminating the riverbed.

The residual sponge tissues had been thoroughly scraped away by the Cleanup Team, leaving no traces that might trigger a secondary infection.

The entrance to the Rongdong had also changed its appearance. After losing the Demonic Eye Sponge's protection, large amounts of Water Flow had poured in, scouring the originally narrow entrance into a massive breach roughly five or six meters wide.

Cheng Ye swam in through the breach, relying on his Fish-Mimicking State to grope through the darkness, his heart brimming with delight.

This underground space, highly likely carved out by the Myriad Command Earth Dharma Conch, had already shrunk once in size after being defeated by Tan Ming. It was only about a tenth of what it originally was.

Yet, having reached this level, despite so many days passing, it had not shrunk much further and remained stable.

This meant that as long as he could pump out the water inside and seal the entrance, he could restore the Space to its former state.

'The Chamber can seal rules, which can block the Belief left by Tan Ming, but at the same time, it insulates the interior. It will allow me to use Runes inside, subsequently modifying it into a special space. Including Resources searched up in the future... they can also be used in this underground space without dissipating into the outside world.'

'The Constraint Eye can also allow me to establish the internal rules, ensuring that the development inside is executed according to my ideas. This is equivalent to my own personal secret space. Not bad, truly not bad!'

After completing his inspection lap, Cheng Ye floated to the surface.

Restoring the Rongdong, sealing the entrance, and opening a surface tunnel was a massive project. Furthermore, he could not mobilize a construction team and could only rely on himself to slowly figure it out. At the very least, he had to thoroughly comprehend the Chamber's technology and produce a finished product before he could initiate the project.

However, he was not in a hurry. The space was hidden at the bottom of the White Water River, so he had plenty of time to polish it.

In the future, once he fulfilled Tan Ming's Life Force Rune and obtained the Trait reward of the Myriad Command Earth Dharma Conch, perhaps he could further transform the Rongdong. This path of development absolutely had boundless prospects.

Changing out of his battle armor, the fifth batch of people also began to arrive. The crowd was even larger, messily cramming the town.

Chatter echoed everywhere, making one's head buzz.

Nevertheless, the order had not descended into chaos. The crowd was merely discussing amongst themselves, curious about the Wilderness and the world outside the Buffer Zone, whilst imagining the future of Dabo Town.

Cheng Ye watched for a while and did not rush forward to organize them. At the very least, he had to wait until the first three days had passed before everyone could calm down and enter a formal construction rhythm.

Huang Sheng was already organizing personnel, dividing the area into sectors for unified demolition.

Zhu Xiang had set up a temporary medical station and unpacked the purchased medical supplies, currently sorting them into categories.

Cheng Ye had not brought along the three hundred Militiamen from Tianyuan when he left. After all, the community also needed an armed force.

But Li Jie and Chang Kai's teams had been reassigned under Wu Zhihong, beginning to form the foundational policing force of Dabo Town.

Because the town only had a population of three thousand, a maximum of fifty Guards would be needed to handle both patrols and order maintenance.

Once everything stabilized, even if the population surged again, they could simply recruit more guards from among the residents.

Everything awaited reconstruction, yet was arranged in perfect order.

Waiting until the sixth and final batch of manpower arrived, Wang Kang stepped off the bus. Cheng Ye simply decided to act as a hands-off manager, handing over all administrative affairs:

"Xiao Kang, don't rush today. Don't be in a hurry to build the prefabricated houses. I have also bought many tents, enough for us to endure for three to five days. Distribute them by household. First, concentrate our forces on demolition."

"Got it, Brother Cheng. You go handle your business, I'll watch over things here." Wang Kang took over the work, growing increasingly steady.

Cheng Ye strolled around for another lap. Confirming that there were no omissions, he impatiently climbed into the off-road vehicle and drove in the direction of the Hydroelectric Station.

The supplies to repair the Hydroelectric Station had also been transported nearby.

This was something he had specifically emphasized, and they had even arrived a day earlier than the supplies within the town.

When he reached the Hydroelectric Station, sure enough, the surrounding area was piled high with repair materials covered in tarps.

Cheng Ye pushed the car door open and took a walk around, unable to resist pumping his fist in excitement.

The day he had waited so long for had finally arrived!