"The inspector assessment in Xinghou Sanctuary City actually doesn't require human participation in the evaluation?"

His gaze swept across the text on the screen again, and Cheng Ye's heartbeat inexplicably quickened by half a beat as he realized the value of the four-piece set.

This was simply a pie falling from the sky.

Compared to Happiness City's trainee promotion process that required layers of practical assessment tests, Xinghou's assessment was ridiculously simple.

It was like a math problem, right was right, wrong was wrong, with the answer written plainly on the surface.

Unlike Happiness City, where beyond meeting professional competency standards, one also had to learn to pick sides, navigate interpersonal relationships, and even "repay debts" for their parents' generation.

"Hmm, looking at it this way, after advancing in Xinghou's job ranks, it probably leans more toward the permissions I want rather than being directly tied to real power."

Cheng Ye rubbed his chin, quietly contemplating the pros and cons of this system.

The easier something was to quantify and meet standards for, the more ordinary its value typically was.

Even Happiness City was extremely cautious about delegating power.

Given Xinghou Sanctuary City's scale and system, it certainly wouldn't tolerate such simple expansion of power.

To put it bluntly, this assessment standard for inspectors was almost no different from the assessment of ordinary departmental positions within Happiness City.

It was more like training employees who followed procedures rather than decision-makers who could handle things independently.

"If they're only screening employees, the conditions naturally wouldn't be too harsh. Like these three current ones, each one simpler than the last."

Cheng Ye couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Energy response greater than 35?

When he boarded the flying wing earlier, Li Changfeng had mentioned his energy response was 35, so he should meet the standard.

5,000 certification photos? Pure time accumulation, taking 500 per day, it could be completed in ten days!

The only somewhat challenging one was memorizing the trainee materials, but this was exactly what Cheng Ye was most interested in.

Under different systems, Xinghou's requirements for inspectors were definitely different, and the information hidden in the materials was precisely the capital needed to survive in the wasteland.

"I feel like I can complete the trainee assessment in at most half a month!"

Cheng Ye was secretly excited.

He hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise.

No need to waste effort on cracking codes, just complete the tasks to unlock permissions. This saved him enormous trouble.

As for whether there would be human assessment during later upgrades?

Cross that bridge when he came to it. First, advance to the highest possible level.

Thinking this, he picked up the "scale-like" detector and began operating according to the phone's instructions.

Although the patch cables were densely packed, each patch was labeled with numbers corresponding to body parts marked on the phone, wrists, chest, thigh roots. They felt cool and comfortable when applied.

After attaching them, Cheng Ye tapped "Start Detection" on his phone. A tingling electric current suddenly flowed from the patches into his body, like countless tiny ants crawling.

He instinctively tensed his muscles to resist, and the numbers on the screen immediately began jumping:

[21]

"Not enough."

Cheng Ye gritted his teeth and suddenly surged the power within his body. The blood vessels on his arms instantly bulged like blue earthworms swimming under his skin.

The numbers on the screen frantically climbed:

24, 27, 30, 35... finally stopping at 37. No matter how much more force he exerted, he couldn't advance another step.

"Success!"

As he relaxed with relief, his tense muscles suddenly loosened, and the tingling electric current disappeared without a trace.

However, before he could remove the patches, those clinging to his skin suddenly began heating up, especially the few attached to important areas. The temperature grew higher and higher, hot enough to make his brow furrow.

[Talent Detection in Progress]

A prompt appeared on the screen.

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow but didn't rush to remove them.

This level of heat was still within tolerable range. He wanted to see what other tricks Xinghou's detector had.

Unlike energy detection that emphasized efficiency, after all, users might need frequent testing, so speed was essential, talent detection was obviously different. A person might only test once or twice in their lifetime, so naturally it was made extra detailed and slow.

After a full ten-plus minutes, the heated patches finally began cooling down. But before Cheng Ye could relax, another batch of patches started heating up.

This time the heat was more concentrated, almost entirely focused on his chest area.

What made his expression change was that as the heat intensified, the wild grass totem on his chest actually appeared without warning. Light green patterns swam across his skin like living things, gently writhing.

The next second, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his body's surface, as if stimulated by some force, producing a strong stress response.

[Body Constitution Talent Detected, Calculating Talent Level]

Impressive!

Xinghou actually had this kind of detection method. Cheng Ye was somewhat startled but allowed the detector to continue working.

Another ten-plus minutes passed. When the last patch finally cooled down, the screen finally displayed detailed data:

[Body Constitution Talent: Excellent]

[Response Intensity: 7]

[Estimated Maximum Improvement: 11]

[Improvement Method: Locked (Please unlock Level 2 or higher permissions to view)]

[Estimated Evolution Directions: Locked (Please unlock Level 4 or higher permissions to view)]

"Talent can actually be actively improved and evolved?"

Cheng Ye was stunned.

He had always assumed that the talents humans awakened in the wasteland era were innate, like Dai Zun's Iron Body talent, the result of genetic "lottery."

Including many related books that described it this way, the aftershocks of the previous transcendent era had stirred the gene pool, allowing humanity to complete a leaping transformation within eighty years. Only this could explain the vast difference between wasteland people and those of the old era.

Without this, three short generations could never have catalyzed such dramatic evolution.

However, the information he was getting now seemed to point in another direction.

Human talents in the wasteland weren't entirely predetermined by birth, there were also opportunities for postnatal change?

This was worth deep thought.

Cheng Ye pondered while removing the patches from his body.

With the detector, he could more conveniently know the strength changes each skill brought in the future.

Much more intuitive than using nutrition paste as a measure before.

"Hmm, it was 35 before. Camel Endurance should have provided me with 2 points, pretty good effect."

During the beef jerky incident, he had already equipped this Level 1 talent he'd obtained through search.

At the time he only felt more energetic, not expecting the specific numerical value to increase so much.

2 points of energy response translated to nearly a 5% improvement, quite considerable for a Level 1 skill because searching now only required 20% charge value with no failure probability, it was practically guaranteed profit.

If he could charge freely every day and search freely, his strength could double in four days.

Of course, this was an idealized result.

Simply piling up high numbers would definitely become harder the further he went, and would only slow down the accumulation of information density.

To achieve qualitative leaps and advance job ranks as quickly as possible, he had to search for high-level skills and transcendent abilities!

"Time to sleep. Once the migrants arrive, I might not be able to sleep comfortably for ten days to half a month."

Cheng Ye shook his head, temporarily setting these thoughts aside and diving into the covers.

His nostrils were surrounded by the scent of cotton and faint mustiness mixed together, yet it strangely brought peace of mind.

He didn't know if those proposals would actually be useful, but if they were truly adopted, there should be news tomorrow because the refugees would arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest, leaving no extra time for Happiness City to deliberate.

During this process, whether the checkpoint could get any benefits would depend on Station Chief Ding Yishan's maneuvering.

The inspectors below, ultimately, only had the role of doing the work without qualifications to compete for power.

The night passed without incident.

Since the end of the Stand-In Starfish operation, Happiness City had fallen into long-lost tranquility.

After shedding its usual tension and clamor, it actually had the appearance of a peaceful frontier town, detached from worldly concerns.

At 5:30 AM, the alarm rang.

Normally, with work starting at seven, there was no need to get up this early but the collector had used 20% yesterday, and without a charging station to supplement it, only 8% had recovered over the day.

There was still a 12% gap that needed to be filled at the Works Department parking lot, which would take about half an hour.

Cheng Ye let out a long yawn, turned over and got up, first checking the download progress of Xinghou Connect.

Over the past 7+ hours, only 4% had downloaded, slow as a snail.

"At this speed, it looks like it'll take more than 144 hours."

He clicked his tongue, yanked out the charging cable, stuffed the phone into his backpack, and shuffled to wash up.

The temperature seemed even lower.

The water pipes were frozen, leaving only a small stream flowing from the faucet.

The moment cold water splashed on his face, all remaining sleepiness was driven away.

Cheng Ye stood by the window and stretched languidly. The cool morning light rushed over, momentarily making him feel refreshed all over.

Going downstairs and leaving the residential complex, Master Zhang was already waiting at the entrance with the bus.

The headlights glowed amber in the morning mist. The street was empty, with only the whistling cold wind making the roadside trees rustle.

"To the Works Department parking lot."

"Right away."

Master Zhang responded and turned the key to start the vehicle.

When they arrived at the parking lot, nine overnight vehicles were already parked inside with six empty spaces remaining.

Cheng Ye casually pointed to a spot further inside, directing Master Zhang to back in and park. He skillfully took the charging card and got out.

After Master Zhang went to the rest area to wash up, Cheng Ye plugged in the gun, swiped the card, and confirmed charging, a smooth sequence of actions.

However, even if Master Zhang didn't see it, he could discover the anomaly just by looking at the battery level when he returned but this kind of thing would seem strange no matter how he explained it.

Cheng Ye simply omitted all explanations. As long as he didn't speak up, there would never be a need for "explanation."

On the contrary, voluntarily offering explanations would be more likely to backfire and invite more questions.

Time passed 6:20.

The panel popped up, battery full. The glowing green progress bar steadily stopped at 100%, and the full charge value looked reassuringly solid.

Looking at the Xinghou Connect, Cheng Ye suddenly had a strong premonition that if Liu Kun hadn't changed his mind yet, he would definitely try to leave and enter the city today.

After all, once the migrants arrived, checkpoint pressure would surge dramatically, and inspections would only become stricter.

At that time, trying to hide his identity and enter without being discovered would definitely become much more difficult.

Moreover, Liu Kun was a member of Happiness City's upper echelon and would surely become busier in the future, leaving him no time to leave Happiness City for external activities.

"Let's go to the checkpoint."

Cheng Ye removed the charging gun. The bus left the parking lot and arrived promptly at the checkpoint entrance at 6:40.

Compared to yesterday's tardiness, today he was a full twenty minutes early but as soon as he got off the bus, Cheng Ye was startled by the scene before him. More than twenty 6.8-meter medium trucks were neatly parked in front of South Station.

Workers in Works Department uniforms were unloading cargo together with guards. Boxes upon boxes of items were carried down and piled in the open area like a small mountain.

"What's this?"

He couldn't help walking over, his gaze falling on the opened boxes.

The boxes contained nutrition paste, but the packaging was completely different from the common transparent bags on the market, there were yellow, blue, and black varieties.

In all his time in Happiness City, this was Cheng Ye's first time seeing nutrition paste in colored packaging.

"Good morning, Inspector Cheng!"

A familiar guard saw him approaching and explained with a smile, "These are all military-grade nutrition pastes. The station chief ordered last night that all three checkpoints need to stockpile sufficient quantities."

He pointed to bags of different colors, "The yellow bags are for rapid physical strength recovery, they take effect immediately after drinking. The blue bags supplement mental energy, useful when you've been outside for a long time. The black bags are the most powerful, they can temporarily enhance physical performance, but they're strong and can have side effects after drinking."

"There's such a thing?"

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and picked up a yellow nutrition paste bag to weigh it.

The bag was much more substantial than ordinary nutrition paste, feeling hard when squeezed, like a well-sealed compressed biscuit.

He shook the bag, the paste inside barely moved, obviously quite concentrated.

"Can I drink a bag to taste it?"

"You can drink as much as you want!" The guard smiled even more warmly, "Starting today, each inspector has a daily quota of 100 bags of these three types of nutrition paste. If you need any, just tell the station staff and they'll deliver them directly to your designated location."

Well, well.

Before troops move, provisions go first.

Cheng Ye's heart stirred. It seemed yesterday's suggestions he'd offered might not all have fallen on deaf ears.

Ding Yishan's reaction speed suggested he was really going to take action?

Tearing open the yellow bag's seal, a light sweet fragrance immediately wafted out. The paste inside was thick as melted toffee, nothing like ordinary nutrition paste's watery consistency.

It even had a sweet osmanthus flavor when chewed, sweet but not cloying. He could finish a whole bag without feeling harsh on the throat.

After the paste went down, within half a minute, a gentle warm current spread from his stomach, immediately dispelling the morning chill.

Not bad, good stuff!

Cheng Ye's eyes lit up. What he lacked most now was something for rapid physical recovery.

Not just for duty needs, but because if he managed to search transcendent skills from Liu Kun, who knew how much energy it might consume.

Having these yellow-bag nutrition pastes would be excellent, greatly reducing dependence on ordinary nutrition paste.

"Besides nutrition paste, is there other stuff?"

"Yes!"

The guard immediately pulled out a printed list from a nearby box and handed it over, "Everything recorded on this list can be claimed by each inspector according to their quota. Please take a look."

Cheng Ye took it and flipped through it, immediately stunned.

Just the first page listed fifty items, from reinforced protective gloves, stab-resistant boots, multi-function helmets, to portable detectors, emergency lighting sticks, medical kits, and even compressed biscuits, energy bars, sleeping bags, water purification tablets, and so on.

After flipping through three pages, there were nearly 150 items total, covering almost all equipment needed for field duty.

"This is... emptying out the checkpoint's entire reserves?"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but be amazed.

Regarding the contracting matter, he had thought about seeking benefits for the checkpoint and getting inspectors some share of power but as soon as this thought emerged, he had suppressed it.

Why?

Because his identity was simply too awkward. A trainee inspector who had just started not long ago being able to see the problems with migrant diversion and propose optimization plans was already outstanding enough.

But if he also jumped out to worry about the checkpoint's big picture, scheming how to fight for power and benefits for the entire department... that would be too strange.

These matters were things the station chief level should consider. If not them, it would at least be the turn of fifth-term, fourth-term veteran inspectors to ponder.

They hoped for promotion and eyed the station chief position, so naturally they would rack their brains seeking benefits for the checkpoint to accumulate their own capital but as a small trainee, taking care of his own post without problems, mindful of Happiness City's overall situation, this was already excellent enough for full marks.

Being too aggressive would risk bringing fire upon himself but now it seemed Ding Yishan had obviously made his choice, planning to use the migrant opportunity to expand the checkpoint's power outward.

He just didn't know if Happiness City's upper echelons would agree to his choice.

After all, once inspectors got involved in contracting and gained actual administrative power over districts, combined with public opinion brought by the migrants, their power would expand like a snowball.

Easy to give, but if the upper levels wanted to take it back later, it would be difficult.

"Inspector Cheng?" Seeing him motionless for a long time, staring blankly at the list, the nearby guard proactively suggested, "If you can't decide what you need, I'll have someone send one of everything according to minimum quota to your quarantine area first. You can see which ones are useful, then give instructions later, how about that?"

"Alright, thank you for the trouble."

Cheng Ye snapped back to attention and nodded lightly.

If inspectors really were going to get involved in the contracting matter, these supplies would probably have to wait ten days to half a month, until migrant settlement got on track, before truly coming in handy.

For now, there was no rush.

He handed the list back to the guard and turned toward the checkpoint office building.

However, after just a few steps, when his peripheral vision swept toward the station chief building, a direct stare suddenly collided with his.

On the fifth floor corridor, a figure stood quietly there, gaze falling directly on him.

Cheng Ye instinctively looked up.

The moment their eyes met, the smile on his face imperceptibly contracted for an instant.

How curious.

No one had expected this face, firmly imprinted in his predecessor's memory, to reappear under such circumstances.

And facing his gaze, the face's owner actually nodded slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Hey, still smiling!

Cheng Ye's steps paused for half a second, then the smile on his face bloomed again, even richer than before.

Since Ding Yishan was willing to show himself, it meant he had completely accepted the door-opener offered last night.

This was planning a face-to-face probe?

Cheng Ye was slightly intrigued. His steps moved unhurriedly toward the office building while his mind began frantically calculating again.

Under normal circumstances, facing an old fox like Ding Yishan, he would definitely choose to retreat and advance, waiting for Ding Yishan to make the first move but now was different.

If the checkpoint really was going to interfere with the migration tide, the upcoming conversation might directly determine his position in this chaotic situation!

Whether to continue as a marginal trainee inspector or gain some power beyond trainee level.

"Using this opportunity to test my ambition?"

"But what you've exposed has precisely revealed your own ambition first."

Walking to the inner side of the entrance, just avoiding Ding Yishan's line of sight, Cheng Ye put away his smile, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

He had to admit, compared to the "straightforward" Harlin, he was beginning to quite like Ding Yishan.

Revealing his own choice openly, coming with answers to ask questions, as long as one could realize this point, it was almost a free answer question but it was precisely this kind of free answer that seemed more difficult and tested the upcoming response more.

However, honestly speaking, dealing with this kind of old fox who followed rules really gave one the excited feeling of meeting a worthy opponent!

Moreover, only with this kind of person sitting in the station chief position could those below truly have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.

If Harlin were in charge instead, the current situation would probably be completely different.

[NEXT CHAPTER]