"Sir, we've arrived at North Checkpoint. Please take your belongings with you. We hope you'll ride with us again."
With the checkpoint still four hundred meters away, the driver pulled over, stood up, and turned to Cheng Ye.
"My Defense Communicator ID is 41504. My surname is Tian. If you need a ride later, you can call me anytime."
"You'll come pick me up in the bus?"
Cheng Ye couldn't help but laugh.
Counting Uncle Dong and Gwen, this was already the third person who'd wanted to invest in him.
Strangely, the last two had only met him once. They'd barely said a few words before offering to invest.
"Not the bus. Besides driving it, I also do deliveries for the Public Works Department. I have a small truck."
Master Tian pointed out the window at the checkpoint. "If you can get the charging permit from the Public Works Department, there's no problem taking the truck out of the checkpoint."
Cheng Ye nodded and entered his ID into his Defense Communicator. "Just so you know, you might never get a call from me."
"No, I'm a good judge of character. People like you won't stay trapped for long, especially somewhere comfortable."
"Let's hope you're right."
Picking up his backpack, Cheng Ye got off through the rear door and squinted at the distance.
Xingfu City's Buffer Zone had an outer perimeter surrounded by iron fencing. It formed a huge arc, meant to keep out outsiders and mindless Infected.
The three-meter-high fence was topped with sharp barbs, which were replaced and maintained at regular intervals. Watchtowers stood every five hundred meters. In terms of security, it far surpassed the Buffer Zones of other Sanctuary Cities.
Unless they could fly or tunnel underground, both Infected and humans had to pass through one of three checkpoints to enter the Buffer Zone:
Central Main Checkpoint and the North South Sub Checkpoints.
But unlike Central Main Checkpoint, which had been built when Xingfu City was founded and could only be expanded within its original framework,
the North South Stations had only been completed twelve years ago. The Inner City construction crew had used heavy machinery to drive their foundations twenty meters underground, ensuring the enormous structures could withstand any impact.
They resembled ancient cities: square, eight meters tall, with walls nearly a kilometer long stretching like gray beasts across the landscape. Together, they enclosed an area of almost twelve hundred mu.
In front of the gates, eight lanes resembling modern highway toll booths stood in neat rows, like the open throats of a giant beast.
Each lane was equipped with automatic steel-spike barriers and sensor-activated machine-gun turrets. If the metal detection coils embedded in the ground detected anyone forcing their way through, the weapons would immediately unleash their full firepower and riddle the intruder with bullets.
Past the entrance, the checkpoint was divided into six zones.
Entrants were sorted according to type and sent to one of the first four separate zones for inspection.
Zone A: Mainly vehicles
Zone B: Mainly Scavengers and ordinary people with Resident Permits
Zone C: People from other Sanctuary Cities
Zone D: Special personnel, such as Sentinels going out on patrol, inspectors sent on Field Missions, and the Inner City's security forces
The remaining two zones were Zone E, the office area, and Zone F, the readiness area.
The former was where Cheng Ye would handle his "hiring" paperwork. The latter was the rest area for the checkpoint patrol guards.
"Now this is what you call a checkpoint!"
Cheng Ye couldn't help marveling to himself.
Central Main Checkpoint was used only by refugees and survivors. Keeping it simple helped ease their wariness and fear.
But the North and South Checkpoints were the face of Xingfu City, and personnel from the surrounding Sanctuary Cities all passed through them.
If they looked shabby and run-down, people would think less of them, and Xingfu City's leadership would lose face.
Besides, Xingfu City was an industrial Sanctuary City. It needed to show off its strength a little in places like this to attract more partnerships.
"Hey, you there! What are you standing around looking at? If you're leaving the city, get in line at the passage!"
Cheng Ye had been standing nearby, looking around, and caught the attention of several duty guards beneath the checkpoint walls.
The North South Stations represented the East West Factions.
Dongren usually entered and left through South Station. As long as they followed the rules, they were rarely given a hard time.
If they went the wrong way and ended up at North Checkpoint, they might only face a few sneers and nasty remarks when leaving the city. But if they tried to enter, they'd be thoroughly shaken down, with no shortage of money skimmed off them.
So with his Dongren face, Cheng Ye stood out like a sore thumb.
As for the passage the guard had mentioned:
There were three entrances beneath the walls. People used the smaller doors on either side, while vehicles went through the large central gate.
It wasn't even eight yet, when the gates opened, but more than ten people were already waiting by the small door on the right, lining up to head out into the wasteland ruins.
"I'm talking to you! Pretending you can't hear me?"
When Cheng Ye didn't react, two guards came over, cursing under their breath.
But the next moment, they saw the badge in Cheng Ye's hand, and their faces changed at once.
In the blink of an eye, their impatience, disgust, and disdain vanished, replaced by ingratiating smiles and reverence.
"I-Inspector, sir."
Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the tall guard who'd spoken first. His voice shook. "What brings you here?"
"Director Ding ordered me to transfer from Central Main Checkpoint to the North South Stations for duty. Today's my first day."
"Director Ding's orders?"
The guard froze, then asked without thinking, "You're here for duty? Shouldn't you be going to South Station?"
"I wanted to come to North Checkpoint first. Is there a problem?"
"N-no problem!"
There was an unspoken understanding among the guards:
No matter how fiercely the East West Factions fought within the checkpoint, or how intense the inspectors' rivalries became, none of it had anything to do with low-ranking guards like them.
Whether Ding Yishan or Halin was in charge of the checkpoint that day, neither would give them a chance to become inspectors.
With the path to promotion already locked, getting involved in factional infighting was the stupidest thing they could do.
Even with Cheng Ye's Dongren face, these Western Guards had to treat him like one of their own and look after him.
Otherwise, one report from him wouldn't get them killed, but they'd definitely lose the hard-won security of their positions.
The guard took Cheng Ye's badge and scanned it with his Defense Communicator. The respect in his expression deepened.
"Inspector Cheng, please come in. You'll handle your hiring paperwork at the fourth window in Zone E. I've already notified them."
"Good. You don't mind if I wait here for a bit?"
"Hm?"
"I'm waiting for a few people. Otherwise, they won't be ready, and it'll be a pain to deal with them one by one later."
Cheng Ye smiled with narrowed eyes. The guard first stared blankly, then realized what he meant and couldn't help shrinking his neck.
He'd seen plenty of arrogant people, but this was the first time he'd met anyone as arrogant as Cheng Ye.
"Got something to say?"
"No." The guard hurriedly shook his head. "Sir, we're just tools of the checkpoint. Whether you or another inspector wants to use us, we wouldn't dare think otherwise."
"Is that so?"
Cheng Ye stepped forward and casually rested his left hand on the man's shoulder. "Then tell me what the situation is at North Checkpoint."
"Uh, well..."
"You just said you were a tool, and that I could use you. What, can't I use you now?"
"I-I wouldn't dare."
The tall guard was startled. A thin layer of cold sweat broke out across his back, and he could've slapped himself.
Why'd he have to be so nosy? The man was just standing there looking around. He could've left it alone.
Now look at this. The guy was clearly no pushover.
If he didn't say anything, he'd offend him outright.
But if he did, and the guy went in there and caused trouble, wouldn't he get dragged into it too?
Damn it!
After cursing the manufacturer of the guard beside him in his heart, the tall guard could only answer with a pained expression. "Sir, what would you like to know?"
"Give me an overview of the people at North Checkpoint, from the most powerful down."
"From the most powerful down?"
Thankfully, Cheng Ye wasn't asking for some inspector's private information. The tall guard relaxed slightly and hurriedly explained:
"The most powerful person at North Checkpoint is definitely the Duty Station Chief, Mr. Benn Towns. Next is the Deputy Station Chief, Evan Davidson. But the Deputy Station Chief is always out on Field Missions, so you rarely see him."
"After the two station chiefs, the inspectors—people like you—have the most power. The checkpoint rules say you're randomly assigned to the ABCD Zones, with rotations every week."
"Each shift runs either from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon or from four in the afternoon to midnight. So every week, eight inspectors rotate through here."
"Go on."
"B-below them are the inspectors' children. They handle paperwork and records at the checkpoint and verify the information of people entering."
"They're on the payroll?"
Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes. "As far as I know, an inspector's children aren't supposed to work at the checkpoint until they inherit the position, right?"
"In principle, you're right, but..."
The tall guard faltered. "To make sure the children know the job if an inspector dies and they inherit the position, the Station Chief has allowed them to intern at the checkpoint without pay. They take on some of the work to get experience ahead of time."
"Unpaid internships. Nice trick."
Cheng Ye couldn't help sighing. That was clever.
What was the checkpoint's pay, anyway? Did they really expect people to live on the few Happiness Coins they handed out?
Just staying at the checkpoint and skimming a little off the top could bring in several times more than a salary.
Even an honest man like Liu Bi, who never took a cut, could easily bring home over a thousand Happiness Coins a month.
This so-called "unpaid" arrangement could only fool idiots.
No, even idiots ought to understand what it meant to wield a little power inside a checkpoint.
"What comes after them?"
"After them are ordinary people like us: Observers, guards, staff, errand runners, people who deliver meals. Basically, we help the inspectors with whatever they need. As long as you're in the checkpoint and not outside, we'll come whenever you call, without a single complaint."
Before you continue