Era Limitations, Vortex of Struggle!

Leaving the library, Cheng Ye opened his status panel and glanced at his Charge Value.

44%

Calculated against a maximum of 200 degrees, the difference of 6% was 12 degrees.

"Just this last bit is simple. I'll charge it at home tonight, and I'll have enough for one search tomorrow."

The power usage for residents in the Buffer Zone was still too strictly limited.

Cheng Ye hadn't considered sneaking into the factory, or looking for charging spots on buses or transport vehicles, where there would definitely be high-power charging ports.

But after thinking it over, he still felt it was a bit too risky.

With his current identity and strength, he couldn't afford the consequences of being discovered.

If anyone reported his anomaly to the Inner City, and he was mistaken for some kind of special Infected, it would likely bring instant disaster.

"Steady, don't get reckless!"

Cheng Ye chanted inwardly, quickly casting aside any inappropriate thoughts.

He looked up at the sky.

A fine mist blurred the air, and the overcast clouds hung low and heavy as before. It seemed another heavy rain was coming.

Affected by this, the curfew in the Main Urban Area had indeed been activated immediately, causing the returning buses to become empty.

By the time Cheng Ye verified his identity all the way back to the Electronics Factory Staff Residential Area, it was already close to 9:30 PM.

Uncle Dong's shop had closed early. The back kitchen of the Big Meat Canteen still had lights on; they were likely preparing ingredients for the next day.

"I really need to get used to living alone as soon as possible."

Cheng Ye shook his head.

Two months had passed in a flash. Busy with martial arts training, busy with passing the Inspector's assessment, he hadn't felt time drag.

But now that Liu Bi was gone, he didn't even have anyone to talk to.

As if sensing his thoughts, Cheng Ye had just reached the fifth floor and hadn't even had time to open his door when the Defense Communicator clipped to his waist rang.

Taking it out, Cheng Ye sighed. It was indeed Luo Xiaoxue.

His "father," whom he had never met, was truly lucky to have found such a loyal and righteous friend in the Wasteland.

If it were him, he wouldn't dare to guarantee he could still take care of a friend's offspring so diligently after their passing.

"Hey, Sister Luo, I just got home."

After closing the security door, Cheng Ye answered the phone.

"You're supposed to take office at the rapid checkpoint tomorrow, why are you still coming home so late today? Shouldn't you be resting well?"

"I went to the library to read for a while. Mainly, I haven't directly fought any Infected yet, so I wanted to prepare more in advance to deal with them calmly when the time comes."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.

"Cheng Ye, don't be so tense. Relax a bit." Luo Xiaoxue slowed down her speech as much as possible and comforted him:

"When I first went to the front lines back then, I was in a similar state to you. I always thought of the Infected as Flood and Fierce Beasts, afraid that one slip-up would cost me my life. Only after I encountered them in real combat did I realize that much of fear is self-inflicted."

"The Infected are, after all, just Mortal Flesh. Those so-called special abilities only pose a truly fatal threat when they form a Large-scale Tide. As long as you follow what I told you yesterday, you'll be able to hold on until your Brother B returns."

It had to be said that neither Liu Bi nor Luo Xiaoxue had much talent when it came to Scheming.

Although both of them knew that this personnel transfer had already dragged Cheng Ye into the vortex of the East and West Faction struggle, they still held onto a sliver of hope, fantasizing about being able to lie low until the storm passed.

Am I overthinking things?

A flicker of confusion flashed in Cheng Ye's eyes, but it quickly vanished the next second, his gaze becoming firm once more.

He only had one life, and there was no room for a Second Trial and Error.

Before he possessed the strength to disregard any Conspiracies and Tricks, it was always right to make the worst-case scenario plans.

"I'm aware of this, Sister Luo. Don't worry. Going to the library to read is also a form of relaxation. After all, I trained too hard with Brother B a few days ago, and the aches and pains haven't recovered yet."

"Exactly, you've clearly changed into a different person."

On the other end of the line, Luo Xiaoxue also chuckled.

"Then get some good rest. Your Brother B has already made arrangements before you leave. No one will make things difficult for you at the South Station tomorrow. Everyone there is from the East Faction, and they all owe your father a favor."

"South Station?"

Cheng Ye's smile abruptly vanished. "Sister Luo, if there are no accidents, I plan to go to the North Station first."

"What?"

The sound of a kettle falling to the ground immediately came from the receiver, followed by Luo Xiaoxue's roar: "Are you crazy? The North Station is full of people from the West Faction. Do you, a newcomer, not want to die fast enough?"

"Garcia is still lying in the Infirmary. The people from the West Faction hate Liu Bi to death. You were brought up by Liu Bi. If you go there, won't they target you until you die?"

Luo Xiaoxue's tone was unusually agitated.

If she hadn't met Cheng Ye, if she didn't understand Cheng Ye's style and way of thinking, she would have just thought this kid was having a moment of madness and could be persuaded to change his mind.

But precisely because she understood that Cheng Ye had his own way of thinking and his own decisions, she couldn't understand why he would risk danger by going to the North Station!

And she couldn't imagine how crazy Liu Bi would go if he returned and heard Cheng Ye had stubbornly rushed to North Station from the start and gotten into trouble.

After all, even veteran inspectors from the East Faction would have a headache for a long time after being rotated to North Station.

You, a rookie who hasn't even been to a rapid post and is a trainee inspector, going to the enemy's stronghold, isn't that just asking for death?

"Also, it's easy to provoke the King of Hell, but hard to deal with minor devils. Even if the station chief at North Station doesn't make things difficult for you, the guards and staff on duty below, won't they make things difficult for you at every turn?"

"Listen to me, if you get into trouble at North Station, Brother B will smash the entire checkpoint!"

Luo Xiaoxue's emotions grew more agitated, her voice trembling, giving the impression that if Cheng Ye didn't agree now, she would immediately rush out of the Defense Communicator.

"Sister Luo, please don't get agitated, don't scare Yiyi, listen to me."

Originally, Cheng Ye didn't want to explain so much, but he thought about how well Liu Bi's family treated him.

If he didn't clarify his choice, Luo Xiaoxue would probably worry herself sleepless.

"I know everything you're saying, don't worry. Didn't you say it yourself yesterday? I'm as shrewd as people from the Old Era."

"Then why are you so stubborn now?"

"It's not stubbornness, it's human nature, Sister Luo. Let me ask you a question, what do you think is the relationship between inspectors and the staff and guards below?"

Luo Xiaoxue was silent for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice: "There are only two ways to become an inspector: either inherit from your parents, or be appointed by the station chief when a vacancy arises. Those who have no hope of climbing up might be friendly to you, but those who are qualified to move up, because you have no descendants, will wish they could devour you alive."

"Wrong!"

Crack.

Thunder boomed outside the window.

The rain intensified, and large raindrops hammered against the glass, sounding like war drums.

"Wrong?"

"Sister Luo, the waters at the checkpoint are far deeper than you think."

Cheng Ye stood up and pushed open the window, letting the sound of the rain drown out his voice. "As long as the system of hereditary succession isn't changed from above, anyone at this checkpoint who dares to show ambition for a position will offend all inspectors from the East and West Factions and become everyone's enemy."

"Put yourself in their shoes, if Brother B wants to pass down the inspector position to Yiyi in the future, but someone in the station is eyeing that position, would you just let it go?"

"In some aspects, the East and West Factions are locked in a fierce struggle, but in other aspects, it concerns the interests of all inspectors. Even if they hate me to the bone and wish I would die the next second, they wouldn't dare to cross the line before I die."

Luo Xiaoxue fell into a long silence. The only sound from both ends of the microphone was the rushing rain.

This was an angle she had never considered before.

Now that Cheng Ye brought it up for her to think about carefully, it seemed to be true?

This was also a limitation of the era, making Luo Xiaoxue unsure of the relationship between the Inspector and the guards below.

If it were ancient times, it would be easy to understand. The head of the checkpoint was the emperor, and the inspectors below were feudal lords.

If a feudal lord died without an heir, the emperor could grant his fief to meritorious officials and generals.

But if the feudal lord was still alive, some would impatiently try to obtain the fief by killing the feudal lord.

Could the emperor tolerate this?

Could the other feudal lords tolerate this?

Even taking a step back, even if everyone wanted this feudal lord dead, they wouldn't tolerate the ministers below having such thoughts.

Why?

Because who could guarantee that their descendants would definitely be able to secure the position of inspector!

If no one shouts for me today, I will be shackled tomorrow; it is all self-inflicted.

Precisely because he understood this, Cheng Ye wasn't worried at all about being difficult at North Station.

Moreover, even if someone acted foolishly like Garcia, he had plenty of ways to deal with them.

"Then isn't it the same for you to go to South Station?"

Luo Xiaoxue held back for a long time, but in the end, she was still somewhat unconvinced.

Even if the people below didn't make things difficult for you, would the Inspectors and the station master of the West Faction let you go?

"This involves another issue, Sister Luo. Can you trust me?"

Cheng Ye sighed.

Some things ultimately couldn't be said directly. For example, the person who most wanted him dead right now was Ding Yishan, while Halin might not necessarily want him to die at North Station.

After all, if Cheng Ye, the "3," died, the East Faction could immediately promote a strong candidate, at least a "6" or "7," to fill the gap in the East Faction's combat power.

And the West Faction had just lost a "General." With this shift, the power balance between the two factions would return to a delicate equilibrium.

So going directly to North Station now, even without familiarizing himself with the express lane, was a relatively safe choice.

If he had followed Liu Bi and Luo Xiaoxue's advice and gone to South Station without knowing anything, it would be too normal for a probationary inspector to have an accident.

"I can trust you, but... Brother B and I don't want to see it."

"Brother Cheng Ye, and me!" Liu Yi's voice also rang out from the microphone. Although she didn't know what they were talking about, she definitely couldn't be left out.

"Haha, Yiyi, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"It's thundering, I'm so scared. Daddy isn't home, I'm worried about Daddy!"

"Don't worry, next time your Daddy goes out, will Brother Cheng Ye go with him to protect him?"

"No, no. Daddy said you're very weak and told me to protect you when I grow up."

Hiss.

That stings.

"Sister Luo, you should hurry and take Yiyi to sleep. I promise, there won't be any problems."

After Yiyi's teasing, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before.

"Besides, even if they give me trouble, I can just go straight to South Station tomorrow, and they won't dare say anything."

"You promise?"

Seemingly realizing she couldn't dissuade him, Sister Luo sighed and could only relent.

It wasn't because she couldn't think of a way to refute Cheng Ye, but rather Cheng Ye's performance last night and his current maturity gave her a fleeting sense of how Cheng Long felt when she first met him many years ago.

"I promise, I'll definitely be alive when Brother B returns!"

Ps: The world-building of this book is now officially unfolding. The following is the first major plot arc. Let's establish a firm foothold.

Ps2: The traffic has finally arrived. New readers, please give me your votes, collections, and continued reading!