The crowds were all squeezed at the departure station coming out of the main city area.

Cheng Ye had only been in line for a few minutes when another one to two hundred people gradually arrived.

He squeezed into the crowd and listened carefully. Sure enough, everyone was residents planning to migrate and leave.

"Happiness City is easy to enter and convenient to leave. Fortunately, we don't need to handle any complicated procedures, saving us trouble."

"It's just a pity I haven't spent all my happiness coins yet. I can only take them outside to find someone to trade for things, don't know how many supplies I can get back."

"Let's go, let's go. Still thinking about spending money? If there's another infection tide, this place might be completely destroyed. Didn't you see so many people got blown up by missiles without even leaving their doors?"

"True, no matter how important money is, it's not as important as staying alive. This Happiness City is just so-so. The broadcasts blow it up to the sky, but actually it can't withstand any real trouble."

"Good thing I prepared early and exchanged all my money for ammunition. That's hard currency, you can trade for supplies anywhere."

"Where are you all planning to go? The nearest super sanctuary city is over a thousand kilometers away."

"We'll see when we get out there. Winter's coming soon. Wherever the benefits are good, that's where I'll settle."

"That's right. This winter will definitely be very cold. I think Happiness City will probably lose another tens of thousands of people at minimum. Just don't know which unlucky ones it'll be."

"..."

The speakers were all pessimistic about Happiness City's future, as if they'd had enough grievances staying here.

However, Cheng Ye also noticed quite a few people had hesitation on their faces, just mixed in the crowd without saying anything.

"Full up. Passengers, please wait for the next bus."

The buses that no one paid attention to before the infection tide could now be packed full, truly remarkable.

Cheng Ye waited in line for over twenty minutes before finally squeezing onto the bus with the crowd.

The car was full of people carrying large packs, just like university buses during summer and winter breaks, loaded with students returning home.

Everyone's face carried anxiety and unease, along with some anticipation for new life.

Change locations, and the past becomes the past.

No one knew what the outcome of this journey would be, but at least they were leaving the current mess behind.

Soon, the Chemical Factory Residential Complex station arrived.

Under the strange gazes of everyone in the packed car, Cheng Ye squeezed off through the back door and took a long breath of relief.

"Goodbye, have a safe journey!"

He waved and shouted.

Quite a few people in the car were immediately stunned, complex and melancholy expressions flashing in their eyes.

But some also showed faint smiles, waving back at him. From their lip movements, they seemed to be saying:

Look forward!

Yes, people must look forward.

Happiness City lost a large batch of old residents, but would welcome a large batch of new ones in the future.

The reason the leadership let things be was probably because they felt even if these old residents stayed, the buffer zone would hardly improve. Better to eliminate them all and bring in new people to try again.

"But repeatedly starting from zero only accumulates 0-10 experience. Where do we accumulate the 10-100 experience for later?"

Cheng Ye watched the bus gradually disappear with its load of migrants, unable to help sighing.

In this world, one ultimately had to first protect everything at hand before talking about development.

Otherwise, no matter how good the situation, one infection tide could devastate it all.

Entering the residential complex.

There weren't too many traces of battle here, only newly added bullet holes on the walls silently telling of the fierce fighting that had occurred not long ago.

Reaching the fifth floor, just as he was about to knock, the door was pushed open from inside by Liu Yi.

"Mama, it's Brother Cheng Ye!"

"How did you know?" Luo Xiaoxue came out from the inner room wiping her hands, her face full of smiles.

"I remember Brother Cheng Ye's footsteps. When he reached the third floor, I heard him!"

"Yiyi is so amazing."

Cheng Ye bent down and said gently, "Next time don't just open the door when you hear footsteps, okay? What if bad people imitate them?"

"No, no," Liu Yi looked up seriously and shook her head. "Yiyi can tell if footsteps are imitated. Many people have imitated Dad's footsteps before."

"Hiss..."

Cheng Ye sucked in a cold breath, his heart skipping a beat. Could Liu Yi also have some special talent?

He instinctively opened his panel, but no searchable options appeared.

"Come in. Looking at your expression, you're quite tired too."

Luo Xiaoxue spoke to herself, then looked up at him. "You definitely went out to kill infected entities the night before last, right?"

"Mm."

Cheng Ye nodded and closed the door behind him.

"I had some bad luck, somehow attracted a high-level fusion body that chased me around killing all night. Only managed to deal with it in the second half of the night."

"High-level fusion body?" Luo Xiaoxue was immediately shocked, quickly looking him up and down. "You weren't injured, were you?"

"No, just some flesh wounds."

"Take it off, let me see."

"Uh..."

Cheng Ye smiled awkwardly but still lifted his shirt as instructed, revealing his upper body covered in dark purple bruises.

Luo Xiaoxue's expression immediately changed. She quickly came over and examined him carefully all around before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "Really just external injuries, but you took too many risks."

"No choice. I'm already doing pretty well."

After becoming familiar, those polite formalities were unnecessary.

Cheng Ye wasn't worried that mentioning the high-level fusion body would scare Luo Xiaoxue. The past was past, and him standing here perfectly fine was the best proof.

"Actually, that's perfect. I was just thinking of finding you a reason to stay in the medical facility for ten days to half a month."

"Medical facility?"

Cheng Ye frowned. "Is the inspection station situation going to be very complicated next?"

"Not very complicated, extremely complicated." Luo Xiaoxue emphasized her tone. "After the last Nightmare Parasite incident, twelve inspectors died in the following six months, with seven lost in just the first two months. Now with massive population movement, countless infection sources will inevitably be brought in, but those senior inspectors are still on external duty and haven't returned. Having you step up at this time is too dangerous."

She spoke while pulling out a red packet from a box, pouring it into a cup and mixing it with hot water. "Regular synthetic painkiller, can reduce some pain and speed up bruise recovery."

"Thanks."

Cheng Ye took the cup, his fingertips touching the warm walls, then looked up. "Sister Luo, I've gotten a pretty good grasp of the station's situation recently and understand the inner city factions somewhat. I want to ask about my father."

"A fifth-term inspector shouldn't have died so suddenly, right?"

"Can't wait anymore?"

Luo Xiaoxue seemed to have expected this, nodding lightly. "There are some things I can't say much about, and Liu Bi didn't tell me too much either. But one thing I'm very clear about your father's death, he had already anticipated it before taking action. He informed us in advance and arranged his affairs. It definitely wasn't some conspiracy, and it doesn't have much to do with Ding Yishan or the entire inspection station."

"What did he go do?"

"I don't know the specifics, but the current rumors, the official explanation is..."

Luo Xiaoxue paused, hesitating for a moment before spitting out five words, "Assassinating An Xingfu."

"Hm? The City Lord?"

Cheng Ye's heart sank, but his face remained composed. "An inspector killing the City Lord, how can the inspection station still exist?"

"You should know about our Happiness City's three major factions now, right?"

"Mm."

"When your grandfather was still around, our Happiness City actually didn't have an Idealist faction. There were only three major factions: Transcendent, Technology, and Inspection Station, all equal in status, jointly managing Happiness City."

"The Transcendent faction controlled military power, responsible for training legions, clearing surrounding infected entities, and repelling covetous glances from nearby settlements and sanctuary cities. Their external authority was the greatest."

"The Technology faction was responsible for civil development and research on infection sources. Due to the difficulty of getting started, they were the weakest of the three factions, basically having no voice."

"The Inspection Station was positioned between the two. Your grandfather was also a founding elder with support from numerous elders and extremely tough methods, so he could establish the foundation from the beginning."

Luo Xiaoxue looked somewhat wooden, recalling as she spoke. "Later, the Transcendent faction suffered increasingly heavy casualties from constant warfare, gradually falling from their position as faction leader. The Technology faction stabilized their position and rose step by step to become Happiness City's new dominant force. As for the Inspection Station..."

"An internal conflict erupted then. The Inspection Station split into Original Intent and Idealist factions. The Original Intent faction led by your grandfather faced fierce resistance from the Idealists. The two sides broke into intense disputes and confrontation. Who would have thought the Idealists would actually convince the elders who originally supported the Original Intent faction? Your grandfather's resistance failed, so he chose to take a group of confidants and leave for distant places, never to be heard from again."

"At that time, your father was still in the inner city, only sixteen years old. Just like you now, he was forced to come out and take over as inspector. He not only had to bear pressure from all sides but also face constant targeting and harassment from the Idealist faction within the Inspection Station."

"With no choice, he could only join the Pioneer Corps to first avoid those power struggles. But during the two and a half years he was away, the buffer zone lost the Original Intent faction's protection, and various infection sources invaded continuously. The population suddenly dropped by seventy percent, almost to the brink of collapse."

"Finally, the Idealist faction admitted their mistakes and voluntarily withdrew from the Inspection Station. Some left Happiness City directly, while others entered the inner city to accept elder orders. Hmm, the current Works Department is controlled by the Idealist faction. After they withdrew, the Inspection Station was again controlled by the Original Intent faction's remnants, and only then could your father return to officially begin his inspector career."

Cheng Long's first half of life could definitely be made into a movie full of ups and downs.

Just listening to Luo Xiaoxue's calm narration, Cheng Ye could imagine how suffocating that overwhelming pressure must have been.

Moreover, Cheng Long had no collector in his hands, everything was fought for step by step through his own efforts.

"So Ding Yishan is also a remnant of the Original Intent faction?"

Luo Xiaoxue sighed and nodded. "Yes. His father followed your grandfather back then and is still missing. When he became station chief, the trusted inspectors he personally trained were later taken by your father to carry out missions and all died outside."

"The Inspection Station now has no elder support. Station Chief Ding can only rely on Liu Kun, hmm, Liu Kun is also a remnant of the Original Intent faction. The two barely maintain the station's situation together, unable to let this place completely become a tool of inner city factions while trying to preserve some autonomy."

"Ah?"

Cheng Ye was suddenly stunned, completely dazed.

His mind felt like it had been stuffed with tangled hemp. His previous understanding of the relationship between the Inspection Station and inner city factions was shattered by these few sentences.

"So what does this have to do with assassinating An Xingfu..."

"This was a unanimous decision by the three inner city factions. Each faction had to send people. Ding Yishan originally planned to casually assign someone, but your father insisted on joining, saying he wanted to use this opportunity to find the possibility of becoming transcendent. The final result..."

Luo Xiaoxue's tone grew heavy as she reached this point, and she didn't continue.

"The three major factions, no, Happiness City's people went to assassinate their own City Lord?"

"Mm, so I said these are rumors. After all, An Xingfu hasn't appeared publicly for 16 years. What exactly happened, only Ding Yishan and those who decided this matter know. Even your Brother B only knows the general situation."

Luo Xiaoxue shook her head lightly. "And now, someone must take the blame for the Stand-In Starfish incident. Unsurprisingly, it'll fall on the Inspection Station. You should go recuperate, which will let you avoid this whirlpool. Wait until everything completely settles down!"

Beep, beep beep.

A pickup truck marked with the Inspection Station logo stopped steadily in front of the Happiness Gate.

Several guards exchanged glances and immediately stepped forward quickly.

"Special period. Please exit the vehicle for inspection and pass through the isolation and disinfection station on foot."

"Are you blind? Don't you see the Inspection Station logo?"

The passenger window of the pickup rolled down, revealing a young face. His palm heavily slapped the emblem on the door.

However, the guards looked at each other and didn't move their feet at all. The leader even straightened his back, "Sorry, Captain Chu gave a death order. Anyone entering the inner city from the buffer zone, even if Director Liu came personally, must pass through the isolation and disinfection station on foot."

"Hm?"

The young man raised an eyebrow, hearing the implication in the guard's words. Just as he was about to get out, a hand from the back seat pressed his shoulder.

"Achuan, get out." The person in the back seat spoke with a calm voice. "We're not some privileged class. Rules should still be followed."

"Station Chief..."

Achuan looked back, ultimately suppressing his emotions.

The car door opened, and Ding Yishan got out first, his face showing a somewhat kind smile as he looked at the guards. "Everyone is dutiful and responsible. We're the ones causing you trouble."

Though his smile was gentle, when the guards saw it, each one inexplicably shivered.

Especially the lead guard captain, his Adam's apple moved as he could only bite the bullet and say, "It's good that Station Chief Ding understands."

"Understand, naturally I understand."

Ding Yishan waved his hand, signaling the pickup to return the way it came, then walked toward the small door beside the main gate with Achuan. "Let's go."

"Sir." After walking just a few steps, Achuan finally couldn't help but say through gritted teeth in a low voice, "This starfish incident isn't our problem. With the mother source's strangeness, how could our Inspection Station have the ability to screen it out in advance? Now making us take the blame, this..."

"Normal. With such a big incident, others definitely won't take the blame. Who told us we're the weakest?"

Achuan choked up and ultimately swallowed the rest of his words, though his expression remained ugly.

The two walked through the isolation and disinfection station one after the other.

Two leaves fell, showing the names 'Ding Yishan' and 'Jiang Chuan' respectively.

However, Jiang Chuan's leaf also had a number marked '1'.

This meant he only had one last chance to enter the inner city this year. If he wanted a new opportunity, he'd have to wait until next year's refresh.

"Sir, the Red Tiger has been growing more vigorously these past two years, yet the inner city is reducing everyone's entry quotas. Seems they really plan complete internal-external isolation."

"Who knows? We can't manage that much anyway."

Ding Yishan shook his head, dropped his leaf into the collection bin, and stepped out of the isolation station.

Whoosh.

An indescribable fresh air instantly enveloped his entire body, so gentle it was like walking into spring morning mist.

The alloy ground beneath his feet carried a slight coolness, and even the summer heat dissipated by more than half, as if in one step he had crossed from one world into a completely different realm.

However, before the two could steady themselves, a black pickup quietly stopped in front of them.

The driver's window slowly rolled down, revealing a rugged face covered in a full beard. "Get in. You're still the Inspection Station chief after all. Don't tell me you really plan to walk in like ordinary people?"

"Well, criminals should look like criminals."

Ding Yishan smiled and nodded slightly. "Director Liu, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you again this time."