Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 342: Abnormal Inspection, Poaching in Person!

The inspection station at Twin Moon Lake was truly quite shabby.The overall structure was nothing more than wire mesh and steel plates simply fastened together, dividing the area into left, middle, and right sections.

The left and right sections both hung signs reading "Public Convenience," presumably for the farmers' daily use when entering and exiting the gathering place.

The middle section bore three large words, "Outsiders," and was internally split into a left and right half.

Guided by an armed pickup truck, the armored vehicle slowly drove into the right side of the Outsiders section.

This area was about the size of two basketball courts. It was tightly enclosed by wire mesh, with four sentry towers standing tall at the corners.

Each sentry tower was manned by three guards: one responsible for observation, one on high alert with a rifle, and the other operating a mounted machine gun.

For ordinary infected bodies, such defenses were more than enough.

As for stronger infected bodies or high-risk infection sources...

Entities like the Starfish Epidemic or the Interminable Shadow Puppet... Even if Happiness City encountered them, they had no foolproof countermeasures and could only minimize losses as much as possible.

As a small to medium gathering place, Twin Moon Lake naturally lacked the means to establish a stronger defense line. If they encountered a threat of that caliber, they could mostly only leave it to fate.

"Inspector Cheng, please do not step out of the vehicle yet. We will conduct a comprehensive disinfection of your vehicle."

That deep male voice came through the radio once more.

After Cheng Ye agreed, four staff members in protective suits quickly walked over from the back of the quarantine area.

Each carried a sprayer filled with chemical solutions on their backs. They walked straight to the sides of the armored vehicle and carefully sprayed and cleaned it, not missing any potential threats that might have been brought in from the wilderness.

Whether it was a gathering place or a shelter city, the methods of disinfection were largely the same.

Humanity could only rely on this seemingly clumsy method, repeatedly washing every hidden corner of the vehicle to ensure no residual infection sources were brought inside.

The only difference was that shelter cities would use machines for the initial pretreatment, significantly saving on labor costs.

For a small to medium gathering place like Twin Moon Lake, however, outsiders were already rare. In these situations, they had to rely entirely on manual labor to complete the decontamination.

The four staff members bustled back and forth, each replacing their chemical buckets a full five times. A layer of grayish-yellow muddy water quickly accumulated on the ground.

Cheng Ye moved the vehicle from time to time, cooperating so they could thoroughly wash away the grime stuck in the tire treads.

After rinsing the basic parts like the body and tires, the four respectfully retreated. Soon, another group came in, holding rags to carefully wipe it down.

In total, four different shifts of workers rotated through. It took a full hour before the basic disinfection of the vehicle was completely finished.

'They really are quite strict,' Cheng Ye clicked his tongue inwardly.

While this kind of work looked simple and tedious, it was actually one of the most effective ways to isolate infection sources.

As long as they could ensure no residue was brought into the gathering place, they could basically avoid over sixty percent of infection risks.

However, disinfecting the vehicle was merely the prelude; the main event was yet to come.

Checking whether the people in the vehicle carried infection sources, or if they were infected bodies themselves, was the primary method of avoiding risks.

Soon, a middle-aged man in a gray uniform slowly walked out from the back of the quarantine area, followed by three young apprentices holding clipboards.

"Inspector Cheng, please have yourself and the esteemed guests in your vehicle undergo the quarantine inspection one by one."

As his words fell...

Liu Bi opened the door and stepped out without hesitation. The moment his feet touched the ground, he stretched expansively, visibly relaxing his entire body.

Yet, the more relaxed he appeared, the more nervous the middle-aged man sitting behind the inspection desk became. The hands resting on the table could not stop trembling slightly.

Not to mention the three young apprentices, who all stood straight and rigid. Their faces showed a mix of anticipation at seeing higher-ups and heavy restraint and nervousness. They looked like soldiers waiting for inspection, not even daring to breathe loudly.

'Why does it look like Brother B is the one inspecting these four?' Cheng Ye found it amusing and could not help but shake his head.

Although he had already served at the Central, South, and North Stations, he had never received personnel from an outside shelter city.

The only outsiders he had interacted with were the merchant caravans from Hai Province. When that group saw him, it was like mice running into a cat; they were filled with sheer tension and did not dare relax for a second.

"The Inspector system originally spread out from our Happiness City, making us the patriarchs of the inspection stations in various shelter cities and gathering places. Therefore, no matter where we go, it feels like a real, practical assessment to the local inspectors,"

Niu Fu explained with a smile. "This is especially true for the gathering places collaborating under our Happiness City. If we just nod in approval at their inspection process, this middle-aged man and those three apprentices will receive rewards from the gathering place's lord tonight, and they'll have a smooth climb up the ranks within the inspection station..."

Before he could finish, his gaze swept over the large camphor tree symbol hanging at the back of the station's quarantine area. His voice abruptly halted, and he helplessly shook his head.

He had forgotten again; this place was no longer a collaborative gathering place of Happiness City.

Cheng Ye naturally picked up the conversation. "It's fine. Seeing how good their attitude is, even if they've defected to Radiant Rainbow Shelter City, it won't affect our normal passage."

"Absolutely. After all, offending us would be a disaster for Twin Moon Lake," Niu Fu nodded, saying no more.

The two quietly watched Liu Bi undergo the inspection, only to see the middle-aged inspector breaking out in cold sweat.

Liu Bi muttered something, seemingly intending to give Twin Moon Lake a show of dominance, frightening the middle-aged inspector until his face turned blue and white.

The three apprentices behind him were even more at a loss. They looked like truant students caught red-handed by their teacher, standing frozen in place without daring to move a muscle.

After more than ten minutes, Liu Bi waved his hand impatiently. Only then did the middle-aged man look as though he had been granted amnesty, hastily bowing and gesturing for Liu Bi to wait in the rear area.

"Brother Niu, you go ahead. I'll bring up the rear," Cheng Ye stated.

"Alright," Niu Fu replied, pushing the door open to step out.

His left arm was still secured in a splint, but he walked with his chest out and head high, not showing the slightest bit of vulnerability from his injury.

The inspection process was much simpler this time. After just three minutes of confirming there were no open wounds under the splint, Niu Fu successfully passed and walked toward Liu Bi's area.

Next was Yin Ruofeng. The process was similarly swift, and he completed his inspection in no time.

"Inspector Cheng, I..." Zhang Daping, half-lying in the back seat, gulped with a troubled expression.

With a broken leg, moving was inconvenient for him, and he was stressing over how to get across.

Unexpectedly, two staff members hurried over from the back of the quarantine area, pushing a wheelchair.

"Don't worry, they're quite thoughtful." Seeing Liu Bi gesturing from a distance, Cheng Ye smiled and nodded at Zhang Daping.

The door opened, and Zhang Daping hopped out while leaning on the doorframe. He sat steadily in the wheelchair and rolled himself to the inspection desk.

After the middle-aged inspector completed the basic testing with the three-piece temperature-checking kit, he rolled up Zhang Daping's pant leg for a careful look. Upon confirming it was merely a fracture without any open wounds, he immediately ordered an apprentice to push the wheelchair and take Zhang Daping to the rear area.

Once Yin Ruofeng took over the wheelchair and settled Zhang Daping, Cheng Ye finally took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped out of the armored vehicle.

In a mere instant, prying eyes converged on him from all directions.

It was not just the guards in the sentry towers staring at him; returning farmers in the two "Public Convenience" sections and Covert Agents hiding in corners—dozens of gazes in total—all locked onto him simultaneously.

If a newcomer had never experienced such a scene, they would inevitably feel nervous being watched by so many people.

But Cheng Ye was already accustomed to it. Back when he worked his shifts in District B, he was scrutinized by thousands of scavengers every day; that spectacle was much larger than this.

Not to mention, in Dabo Town, Inspector Cheng was like the sun—he automatically drew attention wherever he went.

"Ahem."

A slightly pungent chemical scent wafted through the air. Cheng Ye coughed lightly and strode toward the inspection desk.

His extraordinarily young face, even slightly younger than the three apprentices, appeared somewhat incongruous in such a solemn environment.

However, the middle-aged inspector—who had only shown blind nervousness when facing Liu Bi and Niu Fu earlier—suddenly sprang to his feet upon seeing him approach, his body instinctively wanting to retreat.

Just as he lifted his leg, he abruptly remembered his identity and the current setting. He forcefully rooted his feet to the spot and sat back down, pretending to be calm, though his fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the table tightly.

"Master, what's wrong?" The young man behind him noticed the anomaly and quickly lowered his voice to ask.

"In... In..."

The middle-aged man stuttered twice, but the second half of the word was choked back down his throat. Ultimately, he did not dare to voice it.

To claim that an inspector from Happiness City was an infected body based solely on his own perception, without any concrete evidence...

Did he have a death wish, or did he want to drag the entirety of Twin Moon Lake down to the grave with him?!

Even if there really was a problem with the young man before him, as Twin Moon Lake's inspector, he could only follow the rules and complete all the procedures. He absolutely dared not draw a conclusion on his own authority.

'Hm?'

'An Ability User?'

Cheng Ye's footsteps paused slightly. He caught a unique energy fluctuation from the middle-aged man and could not help but feel a bit surprised.

Large shelter cities generally did not have strict requirements for an inspector's strength. They valued loyalty and execution capability far more. Even the Torch Inspector System did not focus on combat capability when screening inspectors.

'Could it be that small gathering places are the exact opposite, adopting a "capable ones rise, mediocre ones fall" policy, prioritizing those with special abilities to serve as inspectors?'

However, he did not stop walking. He continued to approach steadily, his gaze clearly landing on the middle-aged man's face.

The man's forehead was dripping with cold sweat, and his pupils dilated uncontrollably, clearly trapped in extreme fear.

The three apprentices could only watch helplessly as their master trembled like a leaf. Completely at a loss, they stood there, unsure whether to step forward to help or continue maintaining their silence.

It wasn't until Cheng Ye stopped three paces from the desk that the middle-aged man woke up as if from a dream, slapping the table and shooting straight up.

"You... You can't come any closer!"

"Oh?" Cheng Ye tilted his head slightly, his gaze carrying a hint of inquiry. "It seems you... saw something on me?"

"No! I didn't see anything!"

The middle-aged man frantically shook his head, raising a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. His voice trembled. "My ability allows me to see the Life Qi on everyone, but you... you don't have any Life Qi on you."

'Life Qi?' Cheng Ye frowned. He searched his memory but found no relevant definition for this term.

'It must be a specific name this middle-aged man gave to what his ability sees.'

'He can see a certain aura emanating from the human body?'

'This actually sounds like a pretty good ability. He can distinguish humans from infected bodies with just a single glance?'

'In that case...'

"What is your name?" Cheng Ye forced a smile and discreetly opened his System Panel.

"I... I'm Zhang Weidong," the middle-aged man hurriedly replied.

The top right corner of the panel immediately displayed the name and Cooperation Level data. To Cheng Ye's surprise, Zhang Weidong's Cooperation Level started at thirty-seven percent, which was almost comparable to the average of the scavengers he routinely verified at the checkpoint.

Moreover, after a quick glance, he was even more surprised to find that this man possessed an Lv4 ability.

'He's actually... an inheritor Ability User blessed by a Transcendent Creature?'

Unconsciously, the smile on Cheng Ye's lips deepened. He simply raised his hand toward the apprentice nearby. "Help me find a stool. I want to have a good chat with Inspector Zhang."

"Uh..." The apprentice was stunned but did not dare talk back. He quickly ran to the quarantine area and brought over a stool.

At this moment, in the eyes of outsiders, Cheng Ye—who was supposed to be undergoing an inspection—sat down boldly.

Meanwhile, Zhang Weidong, who was responsible for the inspection, stood nervously behind the desk like a passing drifter.

One sitting, one standing. If someone who didn't know the situation saw them, they would likely mistakenly believe Cheng Ye was the inspector.

No, more accurately, they would say Cheng Ye was the inspector of Twin Moon Lake.

"Inspector Zhang, how old are you this year?" Cheng Ye asked casually.

"Thir... Thirty-four." Zhang Weidong still hadn't recovered his wits, gritting his teeth to force an answer.

"Don't be nervous," Cheng Ye nodded, his tone carrying the weight of someone with experience. "You are the inspector now. Whether you encounter an infected body or a high-risk infection source, you must maintain your calmness as much as possible; otherwise, it's very easy to make a misjudgment."

"In this position, we bear the responsibility. If we inspectors make a misjudgment, the sense of security of those going out will plummet, and our superiors will question our abilities. Wouldn't you agree?"

Hearing the subtle warning in Cheng Ye's words, Zhang Weidong secretly exhaled. He could only force a smile and sit down on the chair opposite him.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his tone. "I wonder if Inspector Cheng's surname, Cheng..."

"Oh, the first station chief of Happiness City's Inspection Station, Cheng Wu, is my grandfather."

Since it wasn't the first time someone had asked about his family background, Cheng Ye naturally replied, "My father, Cheng Long, was a Fifth-Tier Inspector at the station, and I am currently a First-Term Inspector. You should have some understanding of Happiness City's inspector system, right?"

"I do! Of course I do!"

Hearing the name "Cheng Wu," Zhang Weidong's eyes visibly lit up.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, he actually stood right up and bowed deeply to Cheng Ye.

"I was able to walk the path of an inspector entirely because I had the privilege of reading the three fundamental manuals for inspectors written by Station Chief Cheng Wu. Meeting the descendant of Station Chief Cheng Wu today, it is only right that I perform the Apprentice's Ceremony!"

After saying that, he straightened up and bowed three more times in succession, his posture extremely respectful.

This left Cheng Ye somewhat flabbergasted. He hadn't expected Cheng Wu's reputation to have influenced not only Torch, veteran inspectors like Li Changfeng, and researchers like Yu Yong...

But now, even in an inconspicuous small gathering place like Twin Moon Lake, an unknown inspector had walked the path of an inspector because of him.

Left with no choice, Cheng Ye had to stand up as well and return the bow.

Who would have thought that the moment he bowed, the three apprentices behind him immediately felt immensely pressured and hurriedly bent over to bow as well.

The five of them simply stood in the quarantine area, bowing to one another under the peculiar gazes of the onlookers. The scene was bizarre in the extreme.

However, after such formalities, it wasn't completely without gain.

The Cooperation Level in the top right corner of the panel skyrocketed, shooting straight up to sixty-two percent. It was incredibly fast.

Upon sitting down again, the wariness and unease on Zhang Weidong's face had clearly faded significantly, replaced by deep confusion.

A person's reputation is like the shade of a tree.

Could the descendant of Happiness City's first station chief be an infected body?

The probability was simply too small. No, it should be said that it was absolutely impossible.

Furthermore, the Inspector Liu accompanying Cheng Ye was a genuine Fourth-Stage Inspector. It was even more impossible for there to be a problem.

Then the Life Qi he couldn't sense...

"I have a special ability that might conceal the kind of Life Qi you see," Cheng Ye pondered before taking the initiative to explain.

"There's an ability like that?" Zhang Weidong was momentarily dazed, instinctively wanting to say he had never seen an ability capable of masking Life Qi.

But on second thought, he had been guarding Twin Moon Lake for eight years and had met very few outsiders. Let alone a heaven-blessed prodigy like Cheng Ye, who hailed from a Hegemon-Class Shelter City's inspection station. Their horizons and experience were simply on entirely different levels.

He steadied his mind and simply ordered over his shoulder, "Dashan, check his temperature."

"Yes, Master."

The apprentice behind him hurriedly picked up the instruments from the table, quickly walked over to Cheng Ye, and carefully recorded his physical data.

After a round of testing, aside from his slightly slower heart rate, all other indicators were completely normal.

A strong individual's heartbeat was naturally slower than an ordinary person's. As long as it didn't drop to a non-human level, it was within a reasonable range.

"Inspector Cheng, all data shows no abnormalities. Logically speaking, I should let you pass right now."

Zhang Weidong's face carried a hint of constraint, yet his tone grew increasingly solemn. "But please understand, as an inspector sitting in this position, I must be responsible for everyone behind me. Next, I still need to ask you about some details."

He paused and added, "My apologies. Inspector Liu has already informed us of your complete itinerary, but I still want to confirm it with you once more."

"No worries. Ask away," Cheng Ye nodded in consent.

"During this field mission, did you encounter any infection sources or infected bodies?"

"Yes," Cheng Ye nodded frankly. "We ran into quite a few. Some were driven off, while others were directly dealt with."

"Among them, were there any unknown infection sources or special infected bodies?"

"There were," Cheng Ye announced the name without a second thought. "The Interminable Shadow Puppet. Have you heard of it?"

A trace of bewilderment flashed across Zhang Weidong's face, and he shook his head.

Gathering places had limited access to information. Even though they were equipped with Defense Terminals, there was no detailed database on infection sources inside.

Seeing this, Cheng Ye simply picked up his own Defense Terminal, brought up the relevant data on the Interminable Shadow Puppet, and handed it to him.

Zhang Weidong hastily took it. His eyes rapidly scanned the contents on the screen, and his expression could not help but shift slightly.

"To think there is such a special infected body..."

"Yeah, that guy is not easy to deal with." Cheng Ye nodded and simply began explaining the process of encountering the Interminable Shadow Puppet,

its eerie abilities, and the countermeasures he had figured out, summarizing everything concisely.

From the eerily dressed old woman figure, to the spooky funeral procession, and finally to the terrifying Shadow Giant—each segment of the experience exuded a horrifying level of danger.

Not only did Zhang Weidong listen with rapt attention, but even the three apprentices behind him didn't dare to breathe too loudly, their eyes full of earnest focus.

When Cheng Ye finally finished, Zhang Weidong's attention wasn't on the method of dealing with the Shadow Giant. Instead, he swallowed hard and croaked, "Are you saying... you ate the ghost meal from that funeral procession?"

"Of course. Otherwise, do you think I'm lying to you?" Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't dare!" Zhang Weidong hurriedly shook his head but couldn't help asking, "Then how did you judge that there was no problem with the ghost meal?"

"First, it was confidence. I have certain means to confirm that the ghost meal didn't carry significant hidden dangers. Second, logical deduction. When facing an intelligent infected body, we have to stand from its perspective and figure out how it would arrange each wave of its attack..."

Cheng Ye simply stood up and spoke eloquently in front of the four.

Although the core reason was that the Giant Louse had sensed a craving for food at the time, whether it was the weighing of pros and cons before making a move, or the logical review afterward, it was not difficult to deduce the true purpose of the Interminable Shadow Puppet.

This step-by-step explanation completely broke down the practical combat experience of fighting a special infected body, leaving the four listening as if utterly entranced.

This was far more capable of making someone feel the perilousness and hardship involved than just reading words off cold data files.

"Old Niu, what was I like when I first went to a gathering place back in the day?"

Leaning against the wire mesh fence, Liu Bi watched Cheng Ye "lecturing" the four like an instructor. He couldn't help shaking his head, though a faint smile rippled at the corners of his mouth.

"Brother Bi, you're asking a question when you already know the answer." Niu Fu laughed along. "Back then, you insisted on dragging the inspector examining you over to look at a high-risk infection source inside a containment box. You scared the living daylights out of the poor guy; his face went totally pale."

Liu Bi burst into laughter. He rubbed his hands together and asked enthusiastically, "Wanna bet?"

"Oh? Again?" Niu Fu raised an eyebrow. "What's the bet?"

"We'll bet on whether he'll walk over by himself later, or if he'll be respectfully escorted over by that Zhang Weidong."

Liu Bi patted the railing and immediately scrambled to speak first, "I'll pick first this time. I bet he'll strut over handsomely amidst the awe-struck gazes of that group. That kid is cocky as hell."

"Hmm..." Niu Fu mulled it over and gladly nodded. "Then I'll bet that Zhang Weidong will be bowing and scraping to Inspector Cheng, thoroughly won over by him, and the two will act like old friends at first sight."

"Heh, let's bet 200 credits. If you lose, the debt you owe from before gets completely written off."

"Deal!"

If they arrived at Radiant Rainbow Shelter City, the identity of a Source-Binder would certainly be impossible to hide and would be directly detected.

But precisely because the information about Source-Binders was already public, there was no need to worry about being blocked from entering the city.

The truly difficult part was actually a small, information-poor gathering place like Twin Moon Lake.

Once an anomaly was discovered, one would have to spend a great deal of effort explaining it.

And with the status of an inspector from Happiness City, was there really a need to waste breath explaining the origin of one's abilities?

At this moment, the two finalized their bet and exchanged a smile.

Evidently, both felt that Cheng Ye's performance this time would undoubtedly score a perfect mark once again.

Over ten minutes later.

Cheng Ye sat back down in his chair. The top right corner of the System Panel showed that although Zhang Weidong's Cooperation Level hadn't experienced another massive spike, it had steadily risen to an impressive seventy-five percent.

"Inspector Zhang, it seems you're very interested in the outside world?"

During his recounting, Cheng Ye could clearly sense that what interested Zhang Weidong wasn't entirely the battle of wits and courage against the Interminable Shadow Puppet. Instead, it was more about the details of encountering an infection source in the vast wilderness and responding calmly to it.

In other words, when Zhang Weidong heard about the special infected body, what he displayed wasn't fear, but pure curiosity.

This mindset alone was already a core quality required of an inspector.

"Yes," Zhang Weidong nodded repeatedly, raising a hand to gesture at waist height. "Back in the day, I also traveled extensively with a merchant caravan. It's just that the caravan disbanded after an accident, and my wife was pregnant, so I thought about finding a place to settle down for a bit. I never expected that one stop would turn into eight years. My son has already grown this tall."

"Oh? Then why didn't you think about settling in a shelter city, but came here instead?" Cheng Ye asked casually.

"Hehe, it's not that I hadn't thought about going to a shelter city."

Zhang Weidong scratched his head, his tone tinged with a bit of helplessness. "It's just that my son's uncle was here at Twin Moon Lake. Once I heard this was a rare place in Shi Province where crops could be grown, and since we came all the way from Hu Province without any survival skills to lean on, completely unfamiliar with the place, we could only come rely on him."

As the two chatted idly, the previous tension vanished entirely.

As if possessed by some strange impulse, Cheng Ye suddenly smiled. "Then have you ever thought about going out and exploring the world again?"

"Uh..." Zhang Weidong was taken aback, his eyes filled with confusion. "What do you mean by that, Inspector Cheng?"

"You're only in your early thirties this year. You haven't even walked half of life's journey yet," Cheng Ye leaned against the backrest of his chair, his tone relaxed. "If you really have thoughts of going out and exploring, I could point you toward a few clear paths."

'Hm?'

The three apprentices behind Zhang Weidong all froze in unison.

If the first half was just ordinary small talk, the second half was basically openly poaching Twin Moon Lake's talent!

'Good heavens, this is only his first inspection, and it's right inside Twin Moon Lake's inspection station...'

'Directly poaching someone in front of everyone, without even trying to avoid suspicion?'

'Is this... okay?'

However, what made the hearts of the three apprentices sink even further was that their master showed absolutely no intention of refusing. Instead, he nodded solemnly, his eyes filled with curiosity as he pressed further. "Inspector Cheng is right. I've indeed been a bit restless these past few years. May I ask what exactly these clear paths you mentioned refer to?"

"Say it right here?" Cheng Ye turned his head and glanced at the nearby sentry tower. The guards on the tower were staring intently in their direction.

Although it was impossible for them to hear what was being discussed, they presumably found it very odd.

However, the sudden whim to temporarily poach him stemmed from two factors. First, Zhang Weidong possessed an Lv4 skill that could distinguish whether an examinee was infected based on "Life Qi." This ability couldn't be more perfect for preliminary screening. Additionally, he already had the foundation of an inspector, meaning there was absolutely no need to train him from scratch.

With these two points combined, it was inevitable that Cheng Ye felt overjoyed at discovering such talent. After all, he would be taking office at Yueye Shelter City next year. He couldn't just have a bunch of second-generation kids working under him; he needed at least a few of his own Confidants, and they had to be capable, practical talents.

How to find people?

Before setting off, he had harbored the idea of poaching talent from the outside.

Twin Moon Lake might be a bit small, but it wouldn't stop him from testing the waters here first.

"Ah?" Zhang Weidong paused, then followed Cheng Ye's gaze to the sentry tower. He jolted and hurriedly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes! Inspector Cheng will be resting in the gathering place tonight. I wonder if I have the qualifications to come knocking on your door to bother you?"

"Just come," Cheng Ye smiled faintly. "You probably also like listening to the radio normally, right?"

"Yes! I listen every day!" Zhang Weidong nodded eagerly, then added, "The broadcasts from Happiness City and Radiant Rainbow Shelter City are staggered by exactly half an hour. We don't have any other means of entertainment, so every night we fall asleep listening to the radio."

"It seems you know quite a bit. That makes it even more convenient."

Cheng Ye didn't say anything further. His gaze swept over the three apprentices behind Zhang Weidong, and he asked with a smile, "What about you guys?

Do you want to go out and explore the world?"

The three were momentarily stunned, then nodded repeatedly as if waking from a dream.

They were all hot-blooded young men. Who would willingly be trapped in this tiny patch of a gathering place?

Especially when it meant following an inspector from a Hegemon-Class Shelter City like Happiness City to see the world. It was simply an opportunity they could only dream of.

"Inspector Zhang, these apprentices of yours aren't bad either. They look quite squared away," Cheng Ye stood up and casually praised them.

If Zhang Weidong hadn't reacted earlier because he didn't expect Cheng Ye to poach him directly to his face, then right now—having struggled in the wilderness and gathering places for half his life—how could he possibly fail to hear the deep meaning in Cheng Ye's words?

He hastily followed suit, standing up with a face full of smiles. "Inspector Cheng, your eye is truly sharp! These three lads were all carefully selected by me from the gathering place. Each of them is bold yet meticulous, just lacking a bit of practical experience. After being praised by you like this, haha, who knows, they might be overjoyed for days!

"Come, let me escort you over."

The two walked side by side in the front, chatting with faces full of smiles. The atmosphere was so warm it seemed like they were old friends of many years.

Behind them, the three apprentices followed excitedly, their faces flushed bright red. Even though they hadn't directly participated in the conversation, they felt a sense of elation at being validated by a big shot.

As they passed through the quarantine area, Cheng Ye cast a casual glance and saw Liu Bi curling his lips in sheer frustration.

On the flip side, Niu Fu nearby was grinning like a split-open, overripe apricot, the corners of his mouth stretching almost to his ears. It was truly bewildering.

"Inspector Cheng, your vehicle still needs to undergo an interior decontamination."

Zhang Weidong slowed his pace and said respectfully, "If it's convenient, please arrange for one person to stay behind. Our Lord has already prepared a banquet. Please rest assured, we will also arrange a meal of the same standard for the person staying behind. We absolutely will not neglect them."

"Alright." Cheng Ye nodded, then looked at Zhang Daping. "Steward Zhang, since your leg makes it inconvenient and troublesome for you to attend the banquet, why don't you stay here and watch the vehicle? How about it?"

"Sure, sure. Inspector Cheng, just go without worry. I will definitely keep a close eye on things here!"

Zhang Daping nodded repeatedly in delight. Attending a banquet in a wheelchair with a broken leg was truly too inconvenient.

Moreover, being trusted by Cheng Ye to stay behind and guard the vehicle—which contained several boxes of Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoots—was undoubtedly a rare showing of trust.

"Please!" Zhang Weidong once again made an inviting gesture.

It wasn't until the group crossed the quarantine area and reached the end that he stopped and respectfully said, "Inspector Cheng, I still have to go back to my post. Please exit through this passageway. We have already arranged for a dedicated person outside to handle your reception."

"Alright. See you tonight."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly, watching Zhang Weidong return to the inspection station with a brisk step.

Liu Bi walked up with a depressed look on his face. "Did you feed him some magic potion or something? Why is he being so attentive?"

"Oh, is that so?" Cheng Ye unconsciously shook his head. "This man has a somewhat special ability. Staying here is a waste of his talents. I plan to poach him back and train him a bit."

"Huh?" Liu Bi was taken aback. "Don't tell me you straightforwardly said you wanted to poach him?"

"Yeah. I saw that he really wanted to go out and explore the world, so I gave it a try. I didn't expect him to actually have those thoughts."

"Hahahaha..." Niu Fu's hearty laughter exploded from the side, laughing so hard his shoulders shook.

Liu Bi twitched the corners of his mouth, waved his hand dismissively, and simply quickened his pace, walking ahead with an impatient look on his face.

This reaction left Cheng Ye somewhat stunned. He turned to look at Niu Fu, his face full of confusion. "Brother Niu, what's wrong with Brother B?"

"Nothing. This is his roundabout way of validating you."

Seeing Niu Fu's unfathomable expression, Cheng Ye became even more bewildered. "Could it be... that poaching someone to their face was the wrong way to do it?"

"It's fine. It's not like we're forcibly taking him away. Aren't we still discussing it?"

Niu Fu waved his hand carelessly. "With our status, we can do whatever we want when we come to these small gathering places. It's nothing more than paying out a little benefit and giving a few nods of approval."

He paused and winked, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Well, aside from this Zhang Weidong, if you catch the eye of anyone else, just say the word. Later at the banquet, who knows, maybe Lord Zheng will directly bundle the person up and give them to you as a greeting gift just to curry favor with us."

...