Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 96 Under the Spotlight, a Test of Ideals!

There were still people standing outside, so Li Ma didn't dare say anything more. He quickly pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and stuffed it in:

"The list of inspectors who are still in the buffer zone has been categorized; you can see for yourself."

Unfold a corner of the paper.

Upon noticing several Eastern names listed below the Western names, Cheng Ye's expression tightened slightly, but he calmly closed the note.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me." Li Matai grinned, but there was no real smile in his eyes. "When you really become the stationmaster, just don't forget the favor I did for you today."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out, his steps light as if he was afraid that staying for even a second longer would cause trouble, without the slightest hesitation.

Watching his figure disappear from sight, Cheng Ye stuffed the note into his pocket and pondered silently.

The current version of the checkpoint is "factional alignment".

The top-level fifth-term inspectors were fighting tooth and nail for the position of station chief, leaving the lower-level officers with no way to get involved and only able to stand by and watch helplessly.

Ding Yishan's sudden call to "cultivate new talent" effectively shifted the focus of the power struggle onto him, the trainee prosecutor.

Leaving aside phases four and five, prosecutors in phases one and two certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity.

Even if it's just to get acquainted with someone, it's a sure-fire way to make money.

After all, if he really manages to pull through, just like Li Matai said, his power will be comparable to that of a station chief. If he were to leak even a little bit of resources, it would be enough to give them a hard time.

The problem is, the first person to jump out and rush to the center of the storm shouldn't have been Li Matai.

Cheng Ye asked himself honestly, and realized that his relationship with Li Matai was far from that level. Cheng Long had also had little personal interaction with this "old scoundrel" during his lifetime.

Factions?

idea?

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow, already having the answer in his mind.

Li Matai was clearly not a staunch supporter of the Western faction, much less a confidant of Ding Yishan.

Otherwise, not only Harlem, but the entire Western community would not tolerate him.

"I didn't expect this old scoundrel to actually be half a novice?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh inwardly and sit up straight.

The original intention faction holds the belief that the residents of the buffer zone and the defense line of the checkpoint are equally important, and the two complement each other and neither can be abandoned.

But the half-original faction is different. Their only obsession is to guard the checkpoint as a barrier. They are not concerned with factional struggles or power shifts, but only with ensuring that the people in the sheltered city can live one more day.

They may never take sides, and may even deliberately adopt a "just getting by" attitude.

But when it comes to crucial moments, they always find their own way to help those who "can still get things done."

"Does Li Matai think I'm the kind of person who gets things done?"

Following this line of thought, he suddenly remembered.

The day they met, after he had examined the four brothers, Li Matai took the initiative to come over and start a conversation.

Before this, even though the two had some free time at noon, they hadn't contacted each other.

"He's a wonderful man."

Cheng Ye lowered his head and muttered to himself.

Someone else walked in through the door, and when he looked up, he saw a familiar horse face.

"Uncle Zhou, oh my, what brings you here too?"

Zhou Changhai was carrying a large, bulging, transparent bag. Instead of supplements, it was filled with books.

There are yellowed old magazines, as well as some handwritten thread-bound books about dealing with infected individuals.

Judging by the number of books, there were at least thirty or fifty; it was clear that someone had specifically inquired about his preferences before coming.

"Cheng Ye, why didn't you tell Uncle Zhou about your injury?"

Zhou Changhai put his book bag on the table, quickly went to the bedside, grabbed his hand, his voice trembling slightly, his eyes reddening, "You don't know how scared I was when the station chief notified us this morning. Your father passed away early, so our checkpoint has to take good care of you no matter what."

"This was the fault of Uncle Zhou and the other fifth-term prosecutors. They didn't protect you newcomers properly. Don't worry, this kind of thing will never happen again!"

He spoke so loudly that the first-phase prosecutors who rushed over were immediately speechless.

As expected of the fifth cohort, their skill level is truly high.

If they were sitting inside and heard these words, they would probably immediately prostrate themselves in worship.

But to everyone's surprise, an even louder sound came from inside.

Cheng Ye took Zhou Changhai's hand and said sincerely, "Uncle Zhou, what are you saying? From the day we became prosecutors, we all put the peace of the buffer zone first. When the wave of infection comes, how can I hide behind the residents!"

Inside the ward, Zhou Changhai's expression stiffened slightly for a moment, but then turned into a deeper smile. He patted Cheng Ye's hand forcefully: "Good! Good lad! That's right! As expected of the Cheng family, you have the spirit of prosecutors in your bones!"

Just like the last time we clashed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhou Changhai told him to get some rest and then turned and left.

But in the instant he turned around, Cheng Ye noticed that the smile in the horse-faced man's eyes vanished immediately.

"Is this guy desperate to become the station chief?"

Cheng Ye was somewhat surprised.

Li Matai was able to come first because of their friendship and his status as a hoodlum.

But Zhou Changhai is different. No matter what, he should be the last to appear, and shouldn't perform before the other first and second-term prosecutors.

Starting the tune so high inevitably makes those behind secretly curse.

As expected, after Zhou Changhai left, the inspectors standing at the door did not come in, but hesitated for a while before turning around and leaving.

Only after he finished receiving all three sets of medications for the day did new footsteps begin to be heard again.

"Prosecutor Cheng, do you remember me? I'm Zhao Jia. We were born only six years apart, and we even went to the same school in the inner city!"

"Wow, Prosecutor Cheng, you're amazing! We first-term trainees would retreat as soon as we see an advanced fusion entity, but you dared to go up to it. We admire your courage!"

"Prosecutor Cheng, putting everything else aside, if you ever need any help in the future, just let me know. I'll be there whenever you call. Our younger generation of prosecutors really needs a leader like you!"

"."

One by one, prosecutors whom Cheng Ye had never met or even known by name filed in.

While exchanging pleasantries and trying to become acquainted, each person carried a stack of books.

It could be a dozen or so books, or twenty or thirty.

The quantity was clearly controlled, not exceeding the stack brought by Zhou Changhai, but a lot of thought was obviously put into the selection of books.

Most of them are practical books on fighting infected organisms; old-fashioned magazines only make up a small portion and are considered as supplementary items.

What surprised Cheng Ye was that among so many books, there were none that were the same as each other at a glance.

"There's even this benefit?!"

A genuine smile appeared in Cheng Ye's eyes.

Now, without having to actively collect information, these inspectors are sending it over as a favor; it's like a windfall.

At this rate, it won't be long before he's able to open a survival library.

"Thank you, thank you!"

After seeing off the last prosecutor of the first phase, Cheng Ye had just caught his breath when, a little over ten minutes later, the prosecutors of the second phase arrived one after another.

Currently, 54 inspectors are out on duty and have not returned, while 96 remain at the checkpoint.

Excluding the 47 people from the Westerners' side, the Easterners' camp had a total of 49 people.

However, according to the list provided by Li Matai, the Western camp currently has 55 people, while the Eastern camp has only 41 people, with 8 people "defecting to the enemy".

In the midst of the factional struggle, the Western prosecutors certainly couldn't come to visit him, but the Eastern prosecutors who had secretly joined the Western camp were not absent.

After a brief interaction with this group, Cheng Ye finally understood why the Eastern camp was becoming increasingly weak.

Leaving aside the issue of skill level, since they are all from the first and second phases, their skill levels are roughly the same.

Staying at the checkpoint is sufficient, but once they step into the wilderness, they could lose their lives at any moment.

However, in terms of morale, the prosecutors from the Eastern camp were indeed far inferior to those who had sided with the Westerners.

The former are more like academics, mostly coming from the inner city to take over their fathers' jobs.

They haven't experienced any major disasters or calamities, nor have they developed the will to forge ahead in the face of adversity.

He was merely a prosecutor who had taken on the job, passed the assessment, and barely possessed the ability to perform his duties and protect his life.

The latter is more like a practical fighter, like Raul. He never stayed in the inner city as a child, but grew up in the checkpoints with his father and learned the rules inside the checkpoints very well. He also knows how to climb up the ranks and strive for the qualifications of the third and fourth phases.

If the environment is stable, academics can grow step by step, gradually catching up with the experience gained by practitioners over many years. With the complete education they receive in the inner city and the systematically constructed mindset, they can go much further on the path of prosecutors.

But in the current chaotic situation, with no leader, there is simply no extra time for the academic faction to slowly develop.

“Indeed, if the East could produce someone who could unite all the prosecutors, the situation could be turned around.”

Cheng Ye's internal evaluation.

The "old guys" are still here; the new generation just needs to develop steadily.

If someone can step forward, either to stop the factional infighting from starting or to draw the conflict to themselves, then the others can grow in peace and weather this crisis.

On the contrary, it will only cause the new generation to gradually lose their ambition in the process of choosing sides, and their minds will be filled with nothing but fighting for power and climbing the social ladder.

After the first and second phases, the few remaining third-phase prosecutors made their appearance. The gifts they brought were no longer ordinary items; they included many books related to the supernatural realm.

This is precisely the kind of precious information that Cheng Ye is most interested in, and it is absolutely impossible for it to circulate on the market.

At the same time, the favors Cheng Long had made before his death finally began to take effect.

Anyone who carries the labels of "third phase" or "Eastern People" has received favors from Cheng Long to some extent.

If he can establish himself and rise to power, he will immediately gain the support of this group.

As for the fourth-term prosecutors from the Eastern camp, and the remaining three fifth-term prosecutors.

As the sun began to set, no one else came.

Cheng Ye vaguely guessed that these people would probably not show up in batches for the next few days, unlike ordinary prosecutors who were in such a hurry to show their faces.

After all, the fourth-term inspectors are already the backbone of the checkpoint, and every move they make needs to be carefully considered.

"Wow, Brother Cheng, how come you have so many books here?"

Wang Kang woke up groggily and was startled to see his hospital room door open as he walked in.

One corner of the large living room was filled with all kinds of books, no less than three hundred at a glance.

The air was filled with the faint scent of ink, mixed with the unique, aged aroma of old books.

"Someone knows I like reading, so they specially brought it to me to help me pass the time."

Cheng Ye got up and stretched his limbs a couple of times.

After equipping himself with the Wild Grass Physique for just one day, he felt that most of his injuries had healed.

It should take about three to five days to fully recover.

"Come on, I'll take you to training as soon as you wake up. You'll be on duty in a few days, and with your current skill level, you're simply not up to the task."

Training Course.

Cheng Ye sat quietly in the rest area, his gaze fixed on Miao Yang's figure as he guided Wang Kang.

Unlike Liu Bi's simple and crude teaching methods, Miao Yang has been training new recruits for many years, so his teaching ability is beyond doubt.

But he also noticed that every now and then, Miao Yang would sigh imperceptibly and shake his head slightly.

Clearly, Wang Kang's foundation was far inferior to that of an average person.

"Prosecutor Wang, please throw five hundred punches, making sure you use only half your strength each time."

"Fifty percent of your strength?" Wang Kang was taken aback, his face showing difficulty. "But I... I don't know how to define fifty percent?"

“Uh,” Miao Yang paused, trying to put it simply, “It’s like you feel like you’ve put in effort, but not to the point of using all your strength, that’s about 50%.”

"it is good!"

Wang Kang nodded, clenched his fist, and began to punch the target.

thump.

thump.

The dull thud of punches echoed across the training ground.

When it comes to diligence and hard work, Wang Kang is truly remarkable. He takes every punch very seriously, even though his movements are still a bit clumsy.

But the more this was the case, the more Cheng Ye felt it was a pity.

Although Ding Yishan had been merciful enough in his treatment of these "sinners," giving each of them time to learn and a chance to fight for their lives, it was still not enough!

If Wang Kang were given a few years to learn and train diligently, he might truly grow into an excellent prosecutor.

But now, having just passed the probationary assessment, he's being forced into a new role and directly assigned to a rapid checkpoint.

"Not everyone is like Jackie Chan, who can be forced to do things."

Cheng Ye sighed inwardly.

Miao Yang walked over and sat down beside him. "Prosecutor Cheng, there's something I'm not sure if I should say?"

"Just tell me."

"Instead of bringing Prosecutor Wang here to learn these basics, why don't you take him to the prison to deal with two death row inmates, or to the isolation ward at your checkpoint, and find two infected individuals to practice on?"

"You mean he has no bloodlust?"

“More than that.” Miao Yang shook his head. “Killing instinct is something that people are born with; it needs to be dug out from the bottom of their hearts. There’s no question of whether it exists or not.”

He paused, then hesitated before speaking, "I don't know how you managed to unleash that murderous urge within you, but one thing is certain: Prosecutor Wang cannot be trained in the same way as ordinary people."

Why? Because he is kind?

"Yes, you could say that." Miao Yang nodded. "His kindness outweighed his killing instinct. If he can't change that and doesn't recognize the evil in human nature, that killing instinct will never be unearthed, let alone make him a qualified soldier."

Over the years, Wang Kang was the first person he had ever led out of the inner city.

Upon contact, the differences were quickly noticed.

Do you recognize the evil in human nature?

Cheng Ye paused slightly, a scene flashing through his mind.

The boss, accompanied by two young men, stood guard in front of the security door. It was that moment that completely changed him.

Stop having unrealistic expectations of this wasteland and start truly excavating its murderous nature.

But now, how should Wang Kang be discovered?

Cheng Ye suddenly realized that the question Ding Yishan had raised was not as simple as he had thought.

They are able to take the lead at the checkpoint and guide the younger generation of inspectors to grow.

The infection surge that led 300 people from Tianyuan Community to clean up Zone B-7 is completely different from what happened.

The community's three hundred people have already been trained in the military and are the result of their training. After he takes over, he only needs to issue orders and lead by example. The rest of them will automatically follow his lead and unleash their full fighting power.

But inspectors like Wang Kang are completely different from the academic inspectors in the station.

Murderousness trapped by kindness, courage hampered by cowardice, and confusion about why one is fighting.

"Indeed, I came from the modern era, and my goal has always been very clear."

"I want to survive in this harsh wasteland, to live a quality life, and to relentlessly pursue the extraordinary, constantly becoming stronger. Every step I take is leading me to the end of this road."

“I won’t get lost, and I won’t be confused. Even before the collector was activated, I always had the idea of ​​leaving Happiness City and the checkpoint if I encountered danger, and venturing into the wilderness and other sanctuary cities.”

“But these people are different; they were forced to leave the safe inner city and take over the position of prosecutor.”

"Fear stems from the fear of repeating the mistakes of our parents and dying in some unknown corner."

"The confusion stems from the fact that the path for the younger generation to move up has been gradually blocked by the expansion efforts of previous generations and the loss of power of checkpoints. Now, the only path left is to choose sides."

A series of thoughts intertwined in my mind.

Before this, Cheng Ye had never thought about these things in detail, but the people and events he encountered today made him gradually see through the crux of the problem beneath the surface.

These young people from academia don't lack ability, but rather opportunity and a philosophy that would make them willingly take up arms.

The original intention school lacks the necessary ideals because they have lived in the inner city since childhood and have no perception of suffering. Those empty slogans are too abstract for them.

Idealist ideas are even less feasible. Who would be willing to give up their status and dignity as a prosecutor and truly immerse themselves in the lives of the residents like him, becoming a local leader?

Only the ideals of the extraordinary have enough appeal!

Only the power and sense of security brought by individual excellence can drive these young prosecutors to pursue it and choose sides!

"Perhaps it is precisely because I did not follow the path of the extraordinary, but instead inherited some idealistic ideals, that Ding Yishan saw a different possibility and was willing to give me this opportunity?"

"It's not about mentality or ability; there are plenty of people at the checkpoint who possess those qualities."

Cheng Ye pondered to himself.

Strength can be gradually accumulated through the collector, but one's mindset needs to be constantly adapted to this wasteland; otherwise, one will only become a brute force-bound overlord.

Unfortunately, it's too difficult to fathom the thoughts of these old foxes who have spent decades in the wasteland.

After all, on this land, any wrong decision has a price far exceeding simply losing one's position.

The slightest mistake could cost you your life.

Therefore, every move must be carefully planned, and every decision must be based on repeated weighing of options, allowing no room for rashness.

Upon realizing this, Cheng Ye felt a sudden sense of clarity and understanding.

So, Ding Yishan arranged for Wang Kang to come over, perhaps to see how he would impart a set of ideas different from the Extraordinary School?

Wang Kang is the most typical representative of the academic school: kind, confused, trapped by his goodness, yet lacking an instinctive fervor for supernatural powers.

Ding Yishan presented him with such a "half-finished product" not so much to train his combat capabilities, but rather as a test of his ideology.

Can we forge a new path that is neither based on factional infighting nor on the worship of power?

If someone can step forward, then promote them to a higher position and completely rewrite the existing structure of the checkpoint from the younger generation.

Kick out the worship of power and the pursuit of the extraordinary.

If you can't get out of this situation, then everything is over.

Unless he's strong enough to smash the entire checkpoint with one punch, Ding Yishan sees him no differently from any other prosecutor.

"That's easy. Getting back into the lives of the people is too simple for me, the one in charge of Tianyuan!"

　P.S.: Late update delivered. I slept terribly last night, and my brain is all foggy today, so I'm having some writer's block. Thank you for your support, readers!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)