Chapter 127: Inspection Difficulties, Meeting an Old Friend Again!

It was raining.South Station.

Fine raindrops were swept by the wind, breaking through the rain shelter from the side and beating against Cheng Ye's raincoat.

Taking advantage of the temporary clearing of the previous batch of people, four staff members rushed in with mops, quickly cleaning up the mud that had been tracked inside.

Today was the third day since the inspection station had reopened. Although the Void Mist still lingered and the rain continued endlessly, there had been no large-scale eruptions from the fog passages. Overall, things were relatively stable, and the number of scavengers coming and going had seen a modest increase.

From the start of his shift, Cheng Ye had been busy for over two hours straight until ten o'clock, finally getting a chance to sit down and catch his breath.

Based on past experience, the next wave of foot traffic would peak around noon at twelve, corresponding to those who had set out after seven in the morning when daylight broke.

"Snake, have someone bring me a pen, bring several more, and get me a new notebook too. This one's finished," Cheng Ye said, squeezing the inkless ballpoint pen. The pen barrel spun half a turn between his fingers as he leaned back in his chair and called out.

"Yes, sir!" Snake grabbed the defense communicator hanging on his chest, quickly gave a few instructions into the microphone, then continued helping the staff clean up the muddy water.

This job was truly troublesome.

The mud mixed with gravel and grass roots couldn't be poured directly into the drainage system. If it got clogged, they would have to wait until after the inspection station closed to clear it overnight.

But the inspection station was explosively dangerous at night, no one dared go out, even the guards had to huddle in their posts.

So they could only solve the problem at its source, using filters to strain it several times, carrying away the large chunks of mud for disposal, and only then daring to drain the remaining dirty water through the pipes.

Cheng Ye watched for a while, and when someone brought him the pen and notebook, he couldn't help shaking his head as he took them.

All things considered, Quarantine Zone B should be the area with the lowest danger, moderate trouble, and the heaviest workload.

For people with real capability, the "cost-effectiveness" ranked last among the four zones, not even as good as Zone D but for someone determined to play it safe, like Lee Matteo, this was paradise!

Based on the information he'd gathered from chatting with scavengers over the past few days, he had already summarized quite a bit of high-value intelligence.

Most people, after leaving the buffer zone, wouldn't venture beyond a hundred kilometers around Happiness City.

Those who dared venture deeper into the wasteland were either highly skilled small teams or desperate gamblers betting everything on making it big.

The former had extremely low infection probability, even lower than the convoys from neighboring Zone A.

Because these teams, in order to safely seek profit in the wasteland, had established rules so strict they were almost harsh. Many of these rules made even Cheng Ye click his tongue when he heard them.

As for the desperate gamblers, there was no need to say more. Out of ten who went out, maybe two or three would return, if that. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet

Even worse, these lucky two or three who made it back had basically a one hundred percent infection rate.

When encountering such people, he would directly send them to isolation, guaranteed to be correct.

Setting aside these two situations, within the hundred-kilometer scavenging circle, the busiest place was undoubtedly the ruins of Chuan City, which was right nearby.

As a mega-city from the old era with nearly ten million people, even though Happiness City had been scavenging it for decades, the concrete jungle still hid inexhaustible treasures.

Not to mention other things, just carrying back a bag of rebar was worth more than a day's labor.

Other items like gold bars and gold jewelry were common finds, with people bringing some back from time to time.

More importantly, Chuan City ruins were watched by the Blood Dragon Corps. Even if there were infected sources lurking around, they couldn't stir up much trouble, making the safety factor very high.

Beyond Chuan City ruins, within a hundred kilometers there were also four county towns, thirty-four townships, and hundreds of scattered villages.

These places, while more dangerous, hid another kind of "treasure."

Like the young man who had just left, he had dug up four stalks of thick-leaved, vigorously growing White Water Grass from Dapo Town, sixty kilometers south of the buffer zone.

This was one of the few mutated plants in Shi Province that grew in the ground but wasn't affected by transcendent curses.

According to the manual, its effects were quite remarkable. After crushing the leaves and adding a special solvent, centrifugal separation could extract a transparent liquid.

When this liquid was applied to protective suits, shields, or weapons, it would immediately glow with a pale purple fluorescence upon contact with infection sources or abnormal environments, blocking considerable infection risks. In the wasteland, it was a life-saver.

The purchasing point in the buffer zone offered this grass at 50 contribution points per stalk after a 5% commission, so four stalks meant 200 points.

Even at the official exchange rate of 1 to 7 for Happiness Coins, that was a full 1400 coins.

Running off to repair pipes, working yourself to death for half a year could barely save up that amount, proving just how high the returns from scavenging could be.

"Zhang Xiaofan, 24, 9:41, inspection process as follows: confirmed no infection risk, harvest: four stalks of White Water Grass, self-reported destination: around Dapo Town."

Cheng Ye muttered as he recorded the recent inspection process, his pen tip scratching across the paper.

This was the most burdensome work for Zone B inspectors, taking up nearly 70% of their workload.

Although the records didn't need to be complex, just recording names, ages, entry times, brief inspection processes, and most importantly, harvests and destinations for filing to facilitate future tracing, Zone B simply had too many people. Calculating six hundred people recorded per day, there was basically no time to rest.

And after he finished recording, the clerical staff in Zone B couldn't idle either. They had to collect all the information in the evening and type it word by word into the buffer zone's servers for storage.

Through the resident system, these records would correspond with each person's basic information. With a click, you could clearly see someone's entry and exit frequency over the past six months, what they brought back each time, and their common activity locations.

Using this miscellaneous data for analysis was actually the prototype of modern big data.

Through big data changes, they could immediately analyze threat changes around Happiness City and analyze a person's risk level from the source.

For example, people who went out to distant places daily would undergo more complex inspection processes than others.

Or if someone frequently went to the same place, they needed to analyze whether there were any problems.

They could even see resource distribution from harvest changes and analyze the reasons behind such distribution.

Of course, these ideas were currently just a vague framework, not even counting as a feasible plan.

Why?

Cheng Ye finished writing the last character, threw his pen on the table, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh because the inspection station was just too damn poor!

Even if Ding Yishan understood the benefits of big data and informatization from the materials and sent people to try moving in this direction, gradually analyzing the benefits and wanting to improve the current situation step by step, the inspection station's training system had long determined that this system could never be fully implemented.

Not a single inspector had the opportunity to properly learn data management or genuinely experience the benefits that big data could bring.

Nor would any inspector be interested in sitting in front of a computer typing code.

Just like Li Changfeng, the Level 4 inspector from Xinghuo Sanctuary City, who only had a superficial understanding of items that used source guidance technology.

This was enough to prove that inspectors everywhere, no matter where they were, had no time to learn such peripheral knowledge.

Naturally, the inspection station could only dump these "detailed tasks" on the clerks.

But the problem was, even if the clerks understood, they had no authority to submit budget applications upward.

Cheng Ye had specifically gone to look at the computers the clerks used, and sure enough, they were the "big butts" he had imagined.

The entire inspection station's four zones combined had only eight computers.

Two per zone, one for inputting information and one for backing up data.

For processing basic records, the speed was passable, but for learning and researching from scratch, even Cheng Ye felt dizzy after sitting and watching for a while.

Because the computer system wasn't the familiar Windows he knew, but a server-specific system purchased from Xinghuo. All data operations were implemented through command lines, with everything focused on simplicity and practicality.

Even if you pulled out old-era programming books and wanted to research something on this system, well, let's talk about something more practical.

Just inputting basic information kept them busy until midnight every day. Where would they find energy to study?

As for more advanced algorithm models and real-time warning systems, those were even more impossible pipe dreams.

In the modern world, even selecting and training from billions of people might not produce many talents.

Expecting these ordinary people in Happiness City to do research was less realistic than waiting for Xinghuo to develop finished products for purchase.

Of course, this brought us back to the original problem.

No money.

The inspection station had no money. Even if there were occasional surpluses, they should be used where they mattered most.

"This wave of great migration is an excellent opportunity. If the inspection station could get some funding, life would be comfortable," Cheng Ye wiped the water stains splashed on the table edge with a rag, silently pondering.

The risky confrontations and probing between him and Ding Yishan had basically confirmed one thing for him.

This inspection station was worth staying at.

This Station Chief Ding was someone he could work with!

If he really planned to make something of this place rather than just muddle through, collect some benefits, and run, the key point was whether the inspection station actually had upward potential and whether Ding Yishan had enough courage to tear open the current situation.

If the upper levels were stagnant water and the people below only cared about forming cliques and taking sides, no matter how many ideas he had, he wouldn't find anywhere to apply his strength.

But if Ding Yishan could use this great migration as an opportunity to secure some real authority for the inspectors from above, it wouldn't need to be much. Even just a little would be enough for the inspection station to upgrade its equipment and fix the broken Central Station first.

As for the future...

"I'm not even a station chief yet, but I'm already worrying like one, thinking about the inspection station," Cheng Ye deliberately drew out his tone, imitating the way many scavengers spoke when leaving, praising himself, "Anyone who knew would have to say, 'Inspector Cheng, how great!'"

As soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help grinning first. After laughing, he felt somewhat cold.

Probably from sitting too long, his blood circulation was getting sluggish again, and the rain's chill was seeping through the gaps in his raincoat.

He stood up, planning to move around a bit.

The mud on the ground had been mostly cleaned up by Snake and his team, leaving only a few shallow water traces. A quick mop would restore the usual cleanliness.

Looking into the distant curtain of rain, it seemed like a few more scavengers carrying sacks were walking this way, their figures swaying in the rain but when these people got closer, they were diverted to the surrounding areas and didn't come to Gate B.

A good thing?

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. With fewer people coming, he could rest a bit longer.

This thought had barely emerged when Zone C suddenly erupted with a crackling burst of gunfire, popping like frying beans, sharp and clear in the rain.

The smile on Cheng Ye's face instantly faded. Looks like he wouldn't be hearing six bell chimes today.

He quickly walked to the isolation fence between Zone B and Zone C, looking over.

Dong Xing had already holstered his pistol and was standing in a pool of blood that hadn't yet been washed away by the rain, looking down at the four corpses at his feet with complex emotions.

The exposed skin of the four people was covered with a thin yellow membrane, like insect flesh membrane, which could definitively confirm they had been infected.

Were they "geniuses" from the surrounding small settlements of the past?

Or were they "migrants" influenced by the Walker who had already started arriving one after another?

These two thoughts flashed through Cheng Ye's mind.

Dong Xing noticed his gaze, looked up through the rain, and shook his head, his lips moving.

From the lip movement, it was Footpower Worm.

A special infection source that could make people forget fatigue and keep moving forward.

Calling it malignant would be inaccurate.

Because the method to remove Footpower Worm was very simple. As long as the infected person maintained the thought that they must keep moving forward for over half a month, the infection source would die from exhaustion due to the constant energy supply.

Because of this characteristic, many bold migrants would actively seek out Footpower Worm infection when crossing thousands of miles of wasteland, because collapsing from exhaustion on the road posed obviously greater risks than losing control after infection.

But its fatal aspect lay in "relaxation."

If they were delayed by something and stopped midway, or suddenly had the thought that they were finally close and could breathe easy, the lurking worm source would explode instantly.

Just like these four corpses looked now. If they hadn't been killed, they would have indiscriminately attacked living beings until they died of exhaustion.

After the cleanup team arrived to begin containment, Dong Xing walked over and said in a low voice through the isolation fence, "What a pity. They should have been migrants wanting to settle in our Happiness City, but their luck was bad and they got infected by Footpower Worm."

"They were just queuing in Zone C..." Dong Xing's voice carried fatigue and self-blame, "Sigh, it's my fault. I saw them all about to collapse from exhaustion, so I spoke out of turn and said, 'Now that you've reached Happiness City, you can relax completely. Don't worry about anything, just go to the settlement point and rest well for a few days, don't think about anything.'"

Before he finished speaking, he angrily punched the isolation fence.

"It's not your fault, don't overthink it," Cheng Ye paused, trying to keep his voice steady, "Even if the infection hadn't been exposed, asking about their travel route and timeline would have revealed the abnormality. They would have been sent to isolation for observation anyway. The outcome might not have been much better."

"Inspector Cheng, you don't need to comfort me. I was confused," Dong Xing forced a smile that looked worse than crying, "People infected with Footpower Worm can actually be saved if kept in isolation rooms. As long as we constantly remind them they haven't reached their destination yet and keep them thinking about moving forward, even if it's just walking back and forth in the room, they can survive half a month and get through it."

He paused, his voice slightly hoarse, "After identifying Footpower Worm, inspectors should actually help these people. But I just saw them about to collapse and only thought about comforting them, forgetting the most crucial step."

Cheng Ye fell silent.

This was the most grinding aspect of inspection work, both the difficulty and the essence.

Not only did they have to act like sieves, identifying infection sources one by one and blocking risks firmly outside the inspection station to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands in the buffer zone.

They also had to find a way out for those entangled by special infection sources who still had a thread of hope but this was too difficult.

The bizarre rules of special infection sources relied entirely on inspectors' experience to judge and guide.

Very few people could be comprehensive. Even Cheng Ye didn't dare say he could have done better than Dong Xing in that situation just now because he knew about the Walker, he would be more alert to such situations and might have shot directly.

"We still need a set of modern analysis and detection tools like Xinghuo has, scientific procedures," Cheng Ye quietly watched the containment team put the four people in body bags, place them on stretchers, and carry them away, thinking heavily.

"Otherwise, relying purely on inspectors' experience, we might screen out not just infected bodies, but also those who could have lived."

Just like those four migrants earlier, if there had been recording machines to let them upload their movements, with backend data automatically analyzing their tracks and providing judgment opinions, inspectors would handle things much more calmly.

Suddenly, Dong Xing's voice came from the other side of the isolation fence, "Inspector Cheng, someone's coming to your area."

"Oh, okay."

Cheng Ye turned around and saw that indeed, in the rain curtain at Zone B's entrance, a figure wearing a knee-length black raincoat with two bulging waterproof bags on each shoulder was walking this way, stepping deep then shallow through the mud.

The rain hood was pulled very low, almost covering the entire face. Only the hem of the raincoat could be seen swaying with each step, splashing up strings of muddy water.

Returning to sit behind the inspection table, Cheng Ye squinted slightly, his vision instantly piercing through the rain curtain.

Generally speaking, solitary scavengers had an infection rate of basically over 80% when inspected.

Moreover, the infection sources they carried were often not common mainland varieties but would frequently produce "surprises" that caught people off guard.

If not for Dong Xing's regret just now, Cheng Ye would have already placed his hand on his gun when facing such a person.

But now, his gaze deepened, and he didn't rush to act, only continuously observing and analyzing.

Hmm?

Cheng Ye's eyebrows suddenly furrowed.

Why did this feel somewhat familiar?

His memory had always been exceptional. He could often remember the general content of many documents after just one reading.

After coming to this wasteland world, perhaps due to changing bodies, his memory had inexplicably strengthened further, which was why he had recognized the backpack at first glance yesterday.

And now, this figure's way of walking was very familiar, as if...

"Damn, why does this look so much like how I walk?"

As soon as this thought emerged, even Cheng Ye was stunned.

He stood up with a whoosh, walked several steps to the edge of the rain shelter, and carefully examined the figure through the fine rain curtain.

Just then, the scavenger had reached the passage entrance and seemed to sense his gaze, pausing slightly. Then he slowly raised his head, reached up to lift the rain hood that had been pulled low, revealing the face hidden beneath.

Almost instantly, both people froze simultaneously.

Ah?

It was Chu Yunfeng?

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