Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 30 Isolation Chamber: Ample Search Targets!
Since everyone is trying to maximize their benefits within the rules, Cheng Ye has no reason to put on airs.

The main theme is: Unrestrained!

When it's time to be timid, be timid to the end; when it's time to be reckless, never hesitate.

Following Raven's instructions, I swiped the charging station with my identity badge, and the station immediately entered power supply mode.

After removing the stake, Cheng Ye pretended to examine the gun body, but in reality, he manifested a pendant in his right hand and gently fastened it.

Surprisingly, the collector pendant, which was stuck outside the socket when charging the power strip, was now directly inserted into the gun body.

"Oh, is it clipping?"

Cheng Ye raised the gun tip in surprise and looked inside. He found that he could only faintly see the luster of a pendant at the top of the gun tip. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't notice that there was something stuck inside.

"Could it be because the charging gun's circuit is inside?"

This is a major discovery!

Cheng Ye was immediately delighted, his mind racing as he realized the secret to "stealing electricity" in the future.

If the pendant needs to form a circuit to absorb energy, then everything makes sense.

The live and neutral wires of a power strip are close together, so you can just clip them on the outside. However, the positive and negative terminals of a charging gun are separated by a distance about the length of a little finger, so you have to go deep inside to make them contact at the same time.

"That's great. We can hide it inside without worrying about anyone noticing anything unusual."

After last night's major power outage, he has realized that this pendant is not something he can simply throw away.

An alarm will be sounded immediately in case of any unexpected situation.

In addition, with a retrieval mechanism within a ten-meter range, even if the pendant is taken away, Cheng Ye can recall it with a single thought.

Of course, hiding it directly inside the gun body without anyone noticing is undoubtedly the safest option right now.

"Cool!"

Cheng Ye brought up the collector panel.

After discovering the charging number in the upper right corner, the lightning bolt symbol representing the charging process also changed accordingly.

When using 2.5kw of AC power, the symbol is light gray, as if it might disappear at any moment.

Now, with a 7kW DC power supply, the symbol has finally solidified into a solid gray, settling firmly on the interface.

As you concentrate, two lines of slightly smaller text pop up on it.

Current energy replenishment efficiency: Weak (lv.3 energy)

[13.32 hours remaining until full charge]

"Finally, it can display the recharge time, and it even adds a description of the recharge efficiency?"

Surprisingly, this panel can continuously update its functions.

Cheng Ye looked at it for a while and suddenly found it strange.

So it turns out that electricity isn't the lowest level of energy; it can actually reach level 3?
"From now on, when I'm on duty, no one is allowed to touch this post without my permission, understand?"

Hang the charging gun back on the charging station.

Cheng Ye thought for a moment, then turned to the raven and the owl and gave them instructions.

The two men nodded hurriedly and assured him, "Don't worry, sir, this is a private charging station at our checkpoint. Anyone who dares to secretly charge their devices is stealing our checkpoint's public property, and according to the rules, it's a capital offense!"

"Ah."

Since charging is linked to battery wear and tear, and private charging stations are one of the sources of income for inspectors, ordinary people really don't dare to steal electricity unless they're tired of living.

The only potential problem is that the ravens and owls, seeing that he hasn't used it for a long time, might secretly do him a favor by using it on others.

But after this warning, Cheng Ye believed that the two of them wouldn't have the guts.

"Come on, take me to see the other warehouses!"

After leaving the garage, Cheng Ye went to the other three warehouses in Quarantine Zone A.

First is Warehouse No. 3, which is about the same size as the garage. Inside, boxes of nutrient solution and various isolation equipment are neatly stacked. In the corner, there are two rows of shelves filled with bullet boxes.

As for the 'illegal materials' that Raven mentioned, Cheng Ye did not see them.

However, as these supplies are a major source of extra income for duty inspectors, it's unlikely that anyone would forget to take them with them when they leave work, let alone store them here for the checkpoint to clear out after seven days.

"With the recent torrential rains, it may be difficult to buy nutrient solution outside. If you need it, Your Excellency, you may take a couple of boxes with you when you change shifts."

Pointing to the nutrient solution piled in the corner, Raven offered a reminder.

Cheng Ye gave an ambiguous "hmm," but deep down he had no intention of taking the nutrient solution with him.

With the prosecutor's power, there are countless ways to manipulate happiness coins; there's no need to resort to such blatant methods.

Moreover, during this time he had gradually figured out the survival rules of the checkpoint:
Others are greedy for big gains, he's greedy for small gains.

Others may be greedy, but he is not.

In this way, even if the higher-ups in Happiness City suddenly crack down on undesirable practices, they won't immediately target him.

"Go check out the isolation ward."

Next to Warehouse No. 3 is Isolation Warehouse No. 1.

Although the two buildings are adjacent to each other, their styles are quite different.

The isolation chamber, constructed of thick concrete, is shaped like a rectangular fortress. Rows of small ventilation windows are distributed on both sides of the wall. Each window is only about five centimeters long and wide, resembling a modern prison and exuding a sense of solemnity and oppression.

Walking around the corner to the front, the thick, rough exterior walls exuded a damp, musty smell.

The central sliding steel partition door is as heavy as a gate, with two glaring slogans painted on its surface in yellow:
Isolation is an honor, escaping it is a crime.

[Isolate for the City of Happiness, isolate for the future of humanity]

In Cheng Ye's mind, this place would at most hold some "three-no" people (people without a job, residence, or legal status).
But even before he got close, he could already hear it was as noisy and chaotic as a vegetable market inside.

How many people are in quarantine?

"271 people."

Are you kidding me? So many people? If this were all the people in quarantine at the North Station, that would be one thing, but nearly three hundred people are being detained in just one quarantine area A?
How many people leave the city each day? Does everyone have to stay here for several days before they can leave?
Cheng Ye's brow twitched as he stared at Raven verifying his identity, and the doors of the quarantine warehouse slowly opened to both sides.

A stench of dampness, decay, and the odor of sweat assaulted my nostrils, making them ache as if it were a physical assault.

Looking inside, the isolation cells are indeed modeled after modern prisons.

A network of crisscrossing metal corridors runs through the space, with isolation chambers arranged in a honeycomb pattern.

In each cramped space of less than five square meters, four iron bunk beds were stacked one on top of the other, leaving only a narrow passageway and a corner drain, crammed with people like sardines in a can.

Hundreds of eyes looked over at the same time, some blank, some wooden, some barbaric, and some even showed a hint of surprise when they discovered that Cheng Ye was from the East.

Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, and instead of retreating, he advanced a few steps and met Cheng Ye's gaze.

Visibly, the raised heads rose and fell like waves, as if they were being pressed down hard by an invisible giant hand, and then quickly slumped back down.

Ah.

Many people, seeing his youth, thought he was an easy target and wanted to take advantage of him.

Little did they know that by entering this place, they had already relinquished their right to survive to others.

If a corrupt prosecutor arranges for someone to be locked up with a high-risk infected person, it's almost certainly a death sentence.

"etc."

Cheng Ye reacted quickly, his mind instantly becoming active.

Since the right to live has been given to others, doesn't that mean that people here are more cooperative than when they are locked in isolation cages undergoing inspection?
Although the probability of getting a "Golden Legend" may not be as high as careful observation outside, at least you have a stable search target!

Thinking of this, Cheng Ye suddenly became interested and looked around the isolation ward.

Now that we have this opportunity, if we can find a suitable target, why not search for him?

After all, with the charging station to replenish the energy, we should be able to accumulate enough search opportunities again by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

Compared to passively accumulating attempts and waiting for the target to appear, it is obviously more worthwhile to improve strength as quickly as possible.

"My lord, my lord, I have been in quarantine for seven days, please let me out!"

"Sir, I can vouch for myself that I am absolutely not infected. Look at my energy level, I'm as hardworking as a horse, I work diligently every day, the virus wouldn't even have the heart to infect me!"

"Sir, I'm reporting him! He's definitely infected! He stares at my butt every night and often tries to touch me inappropriately!"

"grown ups."

Cheng Ye walked forward along the corridor, and the people inside the isolation pods seemed to have gone mad, clinging to the railings and screaming.

Upon hearing someone report it, Cheng Ye instinctively turned his head.

Holy crap, this guy is absolutely amazing!

With his round face, buzz cut, and mustache, the burly man shouting "report" perfectly matched Cheng Ye's stereotype.

As for the person he reported, well, he'd believe them if they said they were cut from the same cloth.

"Sir, I was just joking with him. How could I possibly be infected?"

"Sir, he's lying. Last night he even stuffed a sock into my mouth to stop me from calling for help."

have to.

So you've started playing, haven't you?

Too lazy to care about the love-hate relationship between the two, she realized that she was likely a part of the other's game.

Cheng Ye shook his head and continued walking forward.

The world is full of surprises.

The survivors who traveled from afar were of mixed quality, but those locked in the isolation wards truly demonstrated what a stark difference in quality meant.

To find a suitable search target
Suddenly, Cheng Ye stopped in front of the isolation ward numbered '48'.

What a strong and muscular man!

On the lower bunk of bed number 2 sat a man whose size was comparable to Brother B's.

He was as tall as an iron tower, with muscles as bulging as steel bars. His exposed forearms had bulging veins, and his hair, as sharp as steel needles, stood on end. He exuded a sense of power that could explode at any moment.

"come here!"

When Cheng Ye called him over, the man paused for a moment, then bent down slightly and leaned towards the isolation cage.

"What is your name?"

Barrett Stewart.

When were you locked up?

Four days ago.

"what reason?"

"Because I was the only one left out of our entire team of eight who died, the prosecutor believed that I was at high risk of infection and needed to be quarantined here for 15 days before I could leave."

"15 days, that's a long time?"

Cheng Ye remained calm and secretly opened the panel.

[Barrett, 57%, Searchable for: Intelligence, Items, Skills]

Sure enough, those locked in the isolation wards didn't need much coercion; their cooperation rate easily reached over 50%.

Without hesitation, Cheng Ye immediately pressed the search button with his mind.

I don't need many skills, I just want to find one that can increase my combat power.

However, the next second, looking at the panel that appeared in front of him, a huge wave of shock surged in his heart.

Search successful!

Barrett Stewart (Parasite)

(End of this chapter)