Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 27: Passing grade, stubborn and self-willed!

"Please come in."

A strong, resonant voice came from the room. Cheng Ye turned around, patted Raul's stiff shoulder, and pushed the door open to enter.

As the stationmaster of the North Station, Bean Downs has a private office with an area of ​​150 square meters.

The office is divided into inside and outside.

In the outer area, huge floor-to-ceiling windows fill the entire west wall, offering a panoramic view of the wilderness outside the checkpoint.

A large, dark walnut desk stood by the window, its surface neatly stacked with leather folders and brass paperweights, while an old-fashioned clock ticked steadily in the corner.

The inner lounge area is separated by a sandalwood screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl patterns, through which the outlines of leather sofas and a wine cabinet storing whiskey can be vaguely seen.

This is an older man who knows how to enjoy life.

Cheng Ye stepped in slowly, his gaze sweeping across the wall opposite the door, where photos of past duty station chiefs of the North Checkpoint were hanging, finally settling on the solo photo in the center.

The man in the photo has a neatly trimmed, graying beard and sharp eyes like a hawk; he is the quintessential British gentleman in Cheng Ye's stereotype.

At this moment, the real person was sitting behind the executive desk, half a cigar between his fingers, flipping through documents, and the ash fell into the carved wooden ashtray, accumulating into a small pile of light gray snow.

"Station Chief Downs, hello. I am Cheng Ye, the trainee prosecutor who came to the North Inspection Station today to report for duty."

"Young man, I've heard of you."

Binn Downs slowly raised his head, put down the documents, and smiled, “But that goes back seventeen years, when your grandfather was still alive.”

"My grandfather?"

Cheng Ye remained calm and composed.

Liu Bi has kept the details of Cheng Long's death a secret, only saying that he would tell him the truth when Cheng Long completed his first field mission and was able to survive independently, let alone the "grandfather" whose name he had never even heard of.

Wait a minute, where did the original owner get so many amazing relatives?
With that kind of background, he shouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state in the inner city, dying as a mere cough cough.

"Ah, you don't look like Jackie Chan at all, but you really do look like your grandfather!"

Towns' gaze was somewhat unfocused, and he spoke incoherently, as if reminiscing about events from long ago.

It took more than ten seconds for him to gradually come to his senses.

“If you hadn’t fired, I would have given you a 90 out of 100 for your performance today. You’ve shown more potential than Jackie Chan at your age. You’re more mature and more resourceful than him.”

"If you only fire one shot, I will lower your score to 70. Knowing how to use the rules to protect yourself and to restrain your enemies, a wise person always deserves praise!"

"But unfortunately, you fired two shots, so I can only give you a passing grade of 60. Don't learn from Cheng Long, and don't learn from Liu Bi. They got to where they are today not because of their strength and recklessness, but because of luck."

As if instructing his own juniors, Towns spoke slowly, occasionally flicking his cigarette ash.

"Alright, don't worry too much. I have some connections with that old man Cheng Wu. Although he was too ashamed to ask me to take care of the younger generation before he left, I won't give special 'attention' to a junior like you at a time like this."

"Stay inside the checkpoint and I'll guarantee your absolute safety; no one will target you specifically."

"Outside that line"

Downs pointed out the floor-to-ceiling window, and Cheng Ye turned to look. He saw a widened yellow line, about three meters thick, stretching across the front of the eight inspection lanes.

The yellow line is particularly conspicuous. To cross the yellow line, one must leave the passageway, which is equivalent to going to the wilderness outside the quarantine zone.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"That's all. Thank you for your help, Station Master Towns. I will remember it!"

Cheng Ye bowed slightly, feeling a greater sense of goodwill towards the old man in front of him.

Given his status, there's no need to deceive him. If he really wanted to do something underhanded, there are plenty of ways he could have done it.

But the fact that they were able to say these things means that the Western faction is not as monolithic as they think, and there must be different voices within it.

This makes sense; it would be strange if a faction only had one voice.

"Alright, now that you've reached 60 points, you deserve this first evaluation. Also, remember to come and get my signature before each rotation."

Towns pulled a blank sheet of paper covered in text from the leather folder.

The top half of the white paper contained Cheng Ye's basic information, while the bottom half was the internship evaluation section, with the vermilion seal of the North Inspection Station stamped at the very bottom.

According to the checkpoint's rules for probationary officers to become full-fledged officers, Cheng Ye needs to obtain three evaluation papers from each of the central checkpoint and the north and south branch checkpoints in order to leave the probationary period and become a full-fledged first-term inspector.

Towns' willingness to give him a card at this moment clearly indicates his approval of his performance during the reporting, which, in terms of both methods and character, meets the minimum standards of an attorney general.

Of course, Cheng Ye guessed that if he could get Towns' so-called '90' points, he would have two, or even three, cards in his hand.

but.
"Thank you, stationmaster!"

"Go."

Cheng Ye nodded, folded the evaluation sheet, put it in his backpack, and left the office.

Somewhat surprisingly, Raul didn't leave; he stood by the railing not far from the office, waiting for him.

"Hmm? Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but be curious.

Following the usual villainous tactic, Raul should now say a few harsh words to tell him that this is not over.

As long as he stays at the North Checkpoint, those spoiled brats will unite and target him relentlessly. This matter won't be resolved unless he's willing to kneel and beg for mercy.

However, reality was quite the opposite of what he had imagined.

“Prosecutor Cheng, if possible, I would like to make a deal with you.”

Raul walked over, his face no longer stiff as before, his expression calm with a hint of ingratiation.

"Oh, tell me."

“Garcia is Jamie’s uncle. He’s targeting you largely to avenge his uncle. We encouraged Jamie back then just to see the Eastern prosecutor make a fool of himself. To be honest, we would have done the same thing today, whether it was you or another Easterner. It’s not that we’re deliberately targeting you.”

Cheng Ye gave a nasal "hmm" to signal him to continue.

"The struggle between the two factions is a conflict between prosecutors, a conflict of interests, and has nothing to do with us juniors who don't know when we will be able to take over."

At this point, Raul lowered his voice, "Jamie's father only has one son. Even if he kneels down to you today, he can still be a prosecutor. But I'm different. My father has four sons, and I'm the eldest. If I give in to you today, he will never let me inherit the position."

"So you want me to play along with your act?"

“No need.” Raul quickly shook his head. “As long as you don’t tell anyone what happened today, and don’t spread it around among the Easterners like Uncle Jamie Garcia did, I guarantee that nothing happened today, and everyone will forget about these unpleasant things.”

Hmm, this is something.

Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes and looked the blond boy up and down.

The others still exuded a naive and ignorant air, but in Raul, he had already detected a shrewdness that was beyond his years.

"What can I get?"

"A promise."

Raul immediately became serious, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the button on his cuff. "This is the most valuable bargaining chip I can offer after much thought. As long as it doesn't involve the factional struggles within the prosecutor's office, I can guarantee that within the North Station area, no matter what happens, I will unconditionally protect you once."

"Or to be more precise, even if it involves direct conflict between factions, and you're trapped in the North Station, I can buy you some time to call the Easterners for help."

Cheng Ye didn't care about the first half, but his eyelids twitched after listening to the second half.

"You seem a bit too bold?"

"You're welcome."

Realizing the deal was done, Raul breathed a sigh of relief and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

“There’s only one prosecutor’s position, and all three of my brothers are eyeing it. Do you think I should wallow in the mud with them, or should I befriend someone who dares to fire a gun at a checkpoint?”

"Alright, I'll pretend nothing happened today."

Cheng Ye waved his hand and left.

They're just a bunch of spoiled brats raised in a greenhouse; when it comes to ruthlessness, they can't even compare to the kids in the orphanage.

Moreover, he hadn't planned to expose this matter to the outside world, so getting Raul's promise in return was an unexpected surprise.

However, after taking two steps, Cheng Ye suddenly stopped and turned around, startling Raul so much that he almost developed PTSD.

"Is there anything else?" Raul suppressed the panic in his heart.

"I think I'm on duty in Area A today. It's my first time here, so could you give me a ride there if you're going the same way?"

"my pleasure."

Damn it, you should have said so earlier! You scared me half to death.

Raul breathed a sigh of relief, but also made up his mind to stay away from this plague god from now on.

Actually, we should have thought of this earlier. How could someone who dared to come to the North Station on their first rotation be completely unprepared?

It's just that the other party was so young that everyone had the illusion that they could be easily manipulated.

In reality, they were no match for Cheng Ye; his methods were far more ruthless than those of some second-phase prosecutors.

What's most troublesome is that this guy knows how to exploit the rules of the checkpoint.

Dealing with someone with brains like this is best left to the prosecutors in Harlem's faction to worry about.

"This young man is too arrogant. I think he won't last more than a few rounds before he dies."

The footsteps outside the door gradually faded into the distance.

A figure emerged from behind the office screen; it was none other than Deputy Station Chief Evan Davidson.

"He acts ruthlessly but his foundation is unstable. In the end, he is nothing more than stubborn and self-willed, harming both himself and others."

"That's why I said he's a bit like Cheng Wu."

Towns chuckled and replied, "But if young people aren't spirited, can they even be called young people?"

This statement seems to have a hidden meaning; it's clearly a double entendre.

Davidson's expression changed, and he suddenly straightened his back. "It's because I've been busy with fieldwork lately and haven't been strict enough with discipline. Station Master, don't worry, this kind of thing will never happen again."

"That's good. The North Station has been quite noisy lately, it's inevitable. It would make us a laughing stock for outsiders."

P.S.: Thank you Hinat, Zhuangshi Qieman, Daoyou Yidao, and Shuyou 20170701 for the monthly tickets!

PS2: It's a new week, and I'm planning to try and get on the new book charts. I sincerely ask everyone to check out the latest chapters every day and give it a follow-up read. This is really important for a new book, as it affects a series of subsequent recommendations. Thank you so much!
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(End of this chapter)