Unpaid Internship, The Checkpoint's Unspoken Rules!

"Sir, we've arrived at the North Checkpoint. Please take your belongings. We welcome you to ride with us again."

The driver stopped the bus at the platform, still four hundred meters from the checkpoint, and turned to look at Cheng Ye.

"My Defense Communicator ID is 41504, surname Tian. If you need a ride later, feel free to call me."

"You're going to pick me up in a bus?"

Cheng Ye found it a bit amusing.

He figured this was the third person, after Uncle Dong and Gwen, who wanted to invest in him.

What was strange was that the latter two had only met him once, exchanged only a couple of sentences, and then wanted to invest.

"Well, no, besides the bus, I also do deliveries for the Public Works Department. I have a small van."

Master Tian then pointed out the window towards the checkpoint. "If you can get the charging permit from the Public Works Department, I can drive this small van out of the checkpoint too."

Cheng Ye nodded and entered the ID into his Defense Communicator. "Just a heads-up, you might never get a call from me."

"No, I'm a good judge of character. People like you, the more stable the environment, the less likely you are to be confined."

"I hope you're right."

Grabbing his backpack, Cheng Ye got off from the rear door and squinted at the distance.

Xingfu City's buffer zone had an outer border, enclosed by iron netting forming a massive arc, designed to block external personnel and irrational Infected.

Sharp spikes on the three-meter-high netting were maintained and replaced at regular intervals, and a watchtower was set up every five hundred meters. In terms of security, it far surpassed the buffer zones of other Sanctuary Cities.

As long as they couldn't fly or burrow, any Infected or human wanting to enter the buffer zone had to pass through three checkpoints:

The Central Main Checkpoint and the North and South Checkpoints.

However, unlike the Main Checkpoint, which was built at the beginning of Xingfu City, the latter two could only be expanded upon the initial framework.

The North and South Stations were officially completed twelve years ago. The Inner City construction team drove the foundations twenty meters underground with heavy machinery, ensuring these behemoths could withstand any impact!

Their overall shape resembled ancient cities, square and eight meters high. The nearly one-kilometer-long city walls lay like gray behemoths, forming a closed internal space covering nearly twelve hundred mu.

Directly in front of the city gate, eight channels resembling modern highway toll booths were neatly arranged like the gaping maw of a giant beast.

Each channel entrance was equipped with automatic rising and falling steel spike barriers and self-sensing machine gun turrets. Once the metal detector coils embedded in the ground detected someone attempting to break through, they would immediately unleash their full firepower, riddling the intruder with bullets.

After passing through the entrance, the Inner City was divided into six zones.

Entering individuals would be directed to one of the first four separate zones for inspection based on their type.

Zone A: Vehicles primarily.

Zone B: Primarily Scavengers and ordinary people with Resident Permits.

Zone C: People from other Sanctuary Cities.

Zone D: Special personnel, such as Sentinels on patrol, Inspectors on external duty, and Guards from the Inner City.

The other two zones, Zone E, is the office area, and Zone F is the combat readiness area.

The former is where Cheng Ye will be "onboarding," while the latter is the resting area for the checkpoint's patrol Guards.

"This place truly deserves to be called a checkpoint!"

Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The Central Main Checkpoint was only for Refugees and survivors, so it was set up more simply to reduce their wariness and fear.

But the North and South Stations were the face of Xingfu City, where personnel from surrounding Sanctuary Cities came and went.

If they were dilapidated and shabby, they would inevitably be looked down upon, disgracing the higher-ups of Xingfu City.

Furthermore, Xingfu City was an industrial Sanctuary City, so they had to showcase their strength a little in places like this to attract more cooperation.

"You there, what are you standing around staring at? Get in line to leave the city!"

Cheng Ye, standing not far away and looking around, attracted the attention of several on-duty Guards under the checkpoint's city wall.

The North and South Stations corresponded to the East and West Factions.

Eastern people generally used the South Station to enter and exit, because as long as they followed the rules, they would basically not be deliberately made difficult.

If they took the wrong path and came to the North Station, they might only be squeezed and disgusted with a few words when leaving the city, but when entering the city, they would definitely be thoroughly extorted, and a layer of oil and water would be scraped off.

Therefore, Cheng Ye, with an Eastern Face, standing here was indeed somewhat conspicuous.

As for the passage mentioned by the Guards.

There were three gates under the city wall. The small gates on the left and right were for people, and the large gate in the middle was for vehicles.

It wasn't yet eight o'clock, the opening time, but more than ten people were already waiting by the small gate on the right side of the city wall, queuing to head to the desolate ruins.

"I'm talking to you, are you pretending not to hear?"

Seeing Cheng Ye remain indifferent, the two Guards walked over, cursing.

But the next second, upon seeing the badge that appeared in Cheng Ye's hand, their expressions changed drastically.

In the blink of an eye, their previous impatience, disgust, and disdain vanished completely, replaced by faces full of fawning and respect.

"Inspector sir."

The tall guard who spoke earlier broke out in a cold sweat, his voice trembling slightly. "What brings you here?"

"Director Ding's orders. I've been transferred from the Central Main Checkpoint to serve at the North South Stations. Today is my first day."

"The Director's orders?"

The guard paused, then instinctively said, "You're on duty, shouldn't you be going to the South Station?"

"I wanted to come to the North Station first. Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem!"

There was an unwritten consensus among the guards:

No matter how fierce the fight between the East West Factions within the checkpoint, or how intense the open and covert struggles between inspectors, it had nothing to do with them, the low-level guards.

Because whether Ding Yishan or Halin was in charge of the checkpoint today, they wouldn't be given the chance to become inspectors.

Since the path for advancement was already blocked, interfering in factional infighting was the most foolish choice.

Even though Cheng Ye had an Eastern Face, they, the Western Guards, had to treat him like one of their own and serve him well.

Otherwise, if a report was filed, they wouldn't die, but their hard-earned official status would surely be gone.

After taking Cheng Ye's badge, the guard swiped it on the Defense Communicator, and his respect deepened.

"Inspector Cheng, please come in. The place to complete your onboarding is at the fourth window in Zone E. I've already notified them."

"Alright, is it okay if I wait here for a moment?"

"Hm?"

"I'm waiting for some people. If I'm not ready later, it'll be too troublesome."

Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes and smiled. The guard was taken aback at first, then immediately realized what he meant and couldn't help but shrink his neck.

He had seen many arrogant people, but this was the first time he had seen someone as arrogant as Cheng Ye.

"Do you have something to say?"

"No," the guard quickly shook his head. "Sir, we are just tools of the checkpoint. Whether you want to use us or other inspectors want to use us, we wouldn't dare to have any other thoughts."

"Is that so?"

Cheng Ye took a step forward, placing his left hand on the guard's shoulder. "Then you can tell me exactly what the situation is here at the North Station?"

"Ah, this..."

"You just said you were a tool and that I could use you. What, now I can't use you?"

"N-no, I wouldn't dare."

The tall Guard was startled, a fine sweat breaking out on his back. He wished he could slap himself.

Why was I so nosy? He was just standing there looking. Why did I have to say anything?

Now look, this guy is clearly no pushover.

If I hadn't said anything, I would have offended him directly.

If I did say something, and this guy causes trouble inside, I'll be the one taking the blame?

Damn it!

Cursing the manufacturer of his fellow Guard under his breath, the tall Guard could only say with a pained expression, "Sir, what aspect would you like to know about?"

"Tell me about the power hierarchy at North Station."

"Power hierarchy?"

Thank goodness he's not asking for personal information about a specific Inspector, the tall Guard breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "The highest authority at our North Station is definitely the on-duty Station Chief, Mr. Ben Downs. Below him is the on-duty Deputy Station Chief, Evan Davidson, but the Deputy Station Chief is always out on Field Missions and rarely seen."

"Besides the two Station Chiefs, Inspectors like yourself hold the most power. The rules of the Checkpoint dictate that the ABCD Zones are randomly assigned and change once every week."

"The shifts are from 8 AM to 4 PM, and 4 PM to 12 AM. So, there are always 8 Inspectors rotating here on a fixed schedule each week."

"Continue."

"Further down are the children of the Inspectors. They are responsible for organizing documents and information within the Station, as well as verifying the identities of those entering."

"Do they have official positions?" Cheng Ye asked, narrowing his eyes. "As far as I know, the children of Inspectors shouldn't be allowed into the Checkpoint before they inherit their positions, right?"

"In principle, that's correct, but..." The tall Guard stammered, "To prevent a situation where an Inspector sacrifices themselves and their child is unable to familiarize themselves with the work after inheriting, the Station Chief has allowed them to intern at the Station without pay, taking on some tasks to train in advance."

"A fine 'internship without pay'," Cheng Ye couldn't help but sigh. What a clever tactic!

What is the salary at the Checkpoint? Are they really expecting people to live off those few Happiness Coins they give out?

Staying at the Station, even a little bit of skimming off the top could yield several times the salary.

Even an honest person like Liu Bi, who never skims, can easily earn over a thousand Happiness Coins each month.

The so-called "unpaid" now can only fool idiots.

No, even idiots should understand the meaning of having power by staying at the checkpoint.

"What's below that?"

"Below that are ordinary people like us, with observers, guards, staff, and errand runners, food deliverers, anyway, just helping the inspector. As long as we're inside the station and not outside, we'll come whenever you call, without complaint!"

ps: The trial recommendation will be up tonight, and the plot is just entering the main storyline. Please vote, add to collection, and follow-up reading.