Means, Guts, and Grit!

"That's all I know, Inspector. If you have any other questions—"

"No more."

Cheng Ye didn't make things difficult for the few guards at the entrance, who were clearly at the very bottom of the checkpoint food chain.

It wasn't that he'd suddenly grown generous. A little probing had already given him an idea of where the trouble he might face was coming from.

But was it really a problem?

If he wanted to establish himself at the checkpoint, he couldn't rely on being someone's son. He needed means, guts, and grit.

In a sense, this place was still an extension of the Wasteland, just with a few more rules for protection.

His fingertips brushed the Buffalo Combat Pistol at his waist. The cold metal ran from his palm up his arm.

He looked up and glanced at the dark gun ports in the city wall.

When he noticed the guard operating the machine gun deliberately avoiding his gaze, Cheng Ye gave a quiet laugh.

"All right. They should be ready, too. Help me open the gate."

"Ah, yes! Of course!"

The tall guard looked as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He took three steps in one, hurrying back to the gate to swipe his card and verify his identity.

Thud.

The heavy blast door slowly swung outward from the inside. As the opening grew wide enough for three people to pass side by side, the scene beyond gradually came into view.

It wasn't as high-tech as the Inner City. The overall style was very much in keeping with the Buffer Zone's Old Era aesthetic.

A straight main road paved with dark gray epoxy stretched toward the far end of Zone E. Several trucks waiting to leave the city were being inspected there.

Square, neatly arranged workstations lined both sides of the road. Their dark green plastic-steel windows were half open, and acrylic electronic signs stood by their doors, their red LED displays scrolling through labels like "Records Room," "Archives," "Reporting Room," "Inspection Room," and "Disinfection Station."

The torrential rain had fallen all night, flooding parts of the Buffer Zone, but there wasn't much standing water here.

Several staff members in blue work uniforms pushed squeegees back and forth to clear the water. The rain was swept into the drainage ditches on either side as soon as it hit the ground, leaving only winding trails of water behind.

"You can go straight to the Reporting Room. The staff there will register you as a North Station inspector."

"Thanks."

The tall guard found it strange that Cheng Ye hadn't given him a hard time and had even thanked him.

When he'd called himself a tool earlier, he hadn't been putting himself down. He'd been stating a fact.

After all, the Wasteland had no use for idle people. Being treated as a tool by an inspector was an honor.

But now he felt a little strange.

It must be my imagination. How could an inspector treat us like people?

The gate closed.

Watching the figure gradually blur in the rain, the tall guard shook off the absurd thought along with the raindrops.

Yes, it had to be his imagination!

After entering Zone E, Cheng Ye didn't hurry to report in. He stood where he was and looked around for a while.

The staff coming and going, as well as those clearing water along the roadside, were all Xiren.

As the only Dongren around, he certainly stood out at North Station.

Strangely, though, everyone acted as if they couldn't see him. No one looked at him strangely.

Even when he looked their way, they jumped aside as if startled, as though he were a raging beast.

"Are they that afraid of me?"

Cheng Ye was a little surprised, but he also thought that he'd made the right move.

Rather than head to South Station first, where everything looked rosy, only to be kept in the dark about the rules and shoved into a ditch to die,

he'd rather make a beeline for North Station, prepared to fight from the very start, even if it meant a fight to the death.

Just like now. Everyone knew that the Dongren inspector had come here to "cause trouble." Ordinary people who couldn't afford to get involved in the Factional Struggle were naturally eager to keep themselves out of it, afraid of being dragged in.

That left the enemies, who were now easy to identify.

Two or three dozen pairs of eyes watched him from the workstations along the road. Even when Cheng Ye stared back, those gazes didn't waver. They were full of amusement and contempt.

In the few minutes since the guards had sent word, they'd already pulled up all of Cheng Ye's information. They'd also figured out why he'd been transferred to the Quick Checkpoint's quarantine post.

He'd offended a West Faction inspector, yet still dared to come to North Checkpoint? Did he really think the Xiren were soft persimmons anyone could squeeze?

Besides, ordinary people at the checkpoint were just trying to earn a living, so they were afraid of offending inspectors.

These people weren't.

They were all in line to inherit their fathers' inspector positions. Who would take a kid whose father had died young and who'd risen to his position early seriously?

Amid the strange atmosphere, Cheng Ye headed for the Reporting Room.

The staff along the road immediately ran off, disappearing into the alleys between the workstations.

The young people in the workstations, however, opened their doors in unspoken agreement and gathered in twos and threes at the entrances, loosely surrounding Cheng Ye and the Reporting Room.

"Hello. I'm a Trainee Inspector, reporting to the Quick Checkpoint on my first day."

At the window, Cheng Ye took out his Identity Badge.

The Reporting Room was about twenty square meters. A young man in his twenties sat behind the window.

He had the standard Western face, gray-blue eyes with a few dark red veins in the whites, and greasy hair plastered to his temples. It was obvious he'd stayed up late the night before.

"Do you know the rules at the Quick Checkpoint?"

The young man looked Cheng Ye up and down and muttered, making no move to take the Identity Badge.

"No."

Cheng Ye shook his head honestly. "I was a trainee at the Central Main Checkpoint before. This is my first time at the Quick Checkpoint, so I don't know what special rules there are here."

"Good that you don't know."

The young man stood up and gave a quiet laugh. "Inspector Cheng, you might not know this, but every Trainee Inspector who reports to the Quick Checkpoint has to prove on their first day that they're capable of working here."

"How do I prove that?"

"Simple." The young man picked up a few sheets of paper and came out of the room. Standing beside Cheng Ye, he pointed into the distance. "See those trucks at the end of the lane, waiting to leave the city? The third one, yes. Here are the declarations for all the cargo on board. During our inspection, we found several items that didn't match."

"All you have to do is find three discrepancies, and you'll pass the reporting assessment."

Following the young man's gesture, Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes and looked.

There were six trucks being inspected. The other five belonged to Xiren, while the third belonged to a Dongren.

"That's it?"

The young man paused, then gave a faintly mocking smile. "That's it."

They didn't dare make things difficult for Cheng Ye outside the rules. But within the rules, making a Dongren fight another Dongren would be so entertaining.

"Pike, he's coming over. Close the truck."

"Sure."

When Pike noticed Cheng Ye heading toward the truck, he immediately put away the papers in his hands.

"All right, sir. Your cargo checks out."

"Does it?"

The Dongren driver, who'd been on edge, immediately let out a sigh of relief.

He usually entered and left the city through South Station, but after last night's downpour, the roads from the suburbs to South Station had been blocked from end to end. He'd had no choice but to come to North Station to declare his cargo.

These people had quite an appetite. He'd slipped them nearly two hundred Happiness Coins before they'd finally agreed to approve his cargo.

"Wait."

Just as the Dongren driver was about to get into his truck, Pike raised a hand. "Sorry. A Trainee Inspector thinks there might be a problem with your cargo. Please get out and cooperate with a second inspection."

"What?"

The Dongren driver's face changed drastically as he followed Pike's gaze.

Damn it.

He'd actually seen a Dongren inspector at North Checkpoint. What was going on?

"S-sir?"

The driver was clearly at a loss in front of Cheng Ye.

Normally, he could make hundreds of trips without an inspector personally stepping in over something as minor as a vehicle inspection.

It would've been fine at South Station, where he'd been making regular payments for so long that he knew some of the inspectors. But at North Station—

If the contraband in his truck was found, he'd be dead for sure!

Every industrial product smuggled out of Xingfu City could fetch two or even three times its normal shipping price.

Because of the cargo declaration, the checkpoint took most of that profit when the goods entered the city, leaving the driver only a small cut. Everyone tacitly agreed to pretend nothing had happened.

But now he'd been stopped before he could leave. If the contraband came to light, the consequences would be unthinkable!

"I received a report from the Reporting Room that several items in your truck don't match your declaration, so I came to check."

"Huh?" The driver's face darkened. He couldn't help looking at Pike.

But Pike happened to lower his head at that moment, clearly avoiding the driver's questioning gaze. The driver's heart sank.

Fine. You took my money and reported me anyway. You want me dead, is that it?

A flash of madness crossed the driver's eyes. Even his gaze toward Cheng Ye grew more hostile.

But then—

"Don't be nervous. If I remember right, you're Old Zhang from the Autumn General Store in the East District, aren't you?"

Cheng Ye casually made up a name and smiled. He deliberately slowed his speech. "I bought a charger for my Defense Communicator from you once. Don't you remember me?"

"A c-charger?"

The driver was clearly stunned. His surname was Bai, not Zhang, and he'd never heard of an Autumn General Store in the East District.

But when Cheng Ye said that, the driver suddenly paused and caught on. Perhaps there was still a way out.

The moment he realized he could survive, his anger vanished. His eyes brightened, and he quickly replied, "Sir, how could Old Zhang forget you? I just didn't expect to see you on duty at North Station!"

"Going out in this rain? The roads around North Station get slippery during the Rainy Season. It's not easy to get out. Why didn't you go through South Station?"

Cheng Ye circled the truck and kicked a burr at the edge of a tire.

There was no oil production around Xingfu City. All the trucks ran on batteries, and their boxy shape looked just like the Dajinbei from the Old Era.

"Ah, to be honest, sir, I planned to go through South Station last night. It's closer, too. But then it rained all night, and there was too much water in the city to drive through, so I had to come around to North Station and take this route."

The man was clearly a seasoned expert at running cargo and smuggling.

As "Old Zhang" answered instinctively, his mind raced, turning over the syllables Cheng Ye had deliberately emphasized.

To survive in this line of work, having a good eye wasn't enough. He also needed the quick wits to deal with danger.

"The roads around North Station get slippery during the Rainy Season."

North Station. Slippery roads.

Picking out the key words, Old Zhang swallowed and immediately understood what Cheng Ye was hinting at.

And the words "it's not easy to get out" hadn't closed the door. They meant there was still a way to turn things around.

As for "Why didn't you go through South Station?"—

He knew about the struggle between the Dongren and Xiren at the checkpoints. Old Zhang's pupils contracted, and he immediately understood.

"Sir, since you know Old Zhang, you must know what kind of man he is. I never do anything illegal."

"If there's anything that doesn't match, it definitely isn't my cargo. It belonged to the people who came last night. They asked me to take it out for them."

"Oh? Who?"

A glint flashed in Cheng Ye's eyes, and he smiled in satisfaction. Old Zhang grew even more certain that he'd read the situation correctly.

He gritted his teeth and looked straight at Pike. "It was Camilo Luke from the West District, a worker at the Wisteria Factory. He asked me to take some things to a settlement outside the city. He said it had already been arranged."

"The Wisteria Factory."

The factory made small industrial goods for the Xiren. Pike's expression changed, and he was about to say something.

But Cheng Ye's expression turned stern, and he cut him off. "Bring them out. I heard there are three items. Maybe those are the ones that don't match."

"Sure thing, sir. Just a moment."

Old Zhang opened the rear of the Dajinbei and quickly pulled out three black packages wrapped in oilpaper.

"Open them!"

The oilpaper was peeled back at the corners, revealing colorful PCB Boards. They were all electronic components.

"Good heavens! These are industrial goods the Buffer Zone explicitly forbids individuals from exporting!"

Cheng Ye wore a look of "anger." "Camilo Luke must have a death wish, smuggling things like this out!"

"All right, you can go. Today, I'll get to the bottom of this and find out who's brazen enough to openly violate the rules of the Buffer Zone!"

"Yes, yes, sir."

When Cheng Ye waved him away, Old Zhang's eyes lit up. He thought he really had been lucky to escape death.

Even though he seemed to have been dragged into the East-West Faction's struggle, he'd made up his mind: next time, even if the sky fell, he'd enter and leave through South Station. He'd rather break his contract than be unable to get out.

Damn North Station. Damn Xiren. To hell with it!

The Dajinbei roared to life, leaving the three oilpaper packages behind as its tires skidded over the trails of water and sped away.

It was obvious that Pike wasn't the only one with a sour expression. Every Xiren in the distance who'd seen what happened looked as if they'd swallowed a dead fly.

That was it?

Cheng Ye picked up the packages and curled his lip. It really was a kid's trick. Naive as could be.

"Three items. That's enough to prove it, right?"

"You're good." Taking the Identity Badge Cheng Ye handed him, the young man went back into the room with a sour expression and quickly tapped at the keyboard to complete the hiring paperwork.

Outside the Reporting Room, the young men exchanged glances. They were surprised and stunned, but more than anything, they shared the same frustration as the young man: they had no way to fight back.

The dog-eat-dog showdown they'd expected never happened. Cheng Ye had used his authority to put pressure on the driver with ease, and the Dongren driver had cooperated in shifting the blame, pinning it on the Xiren instead.

"Jamie, you're not really going to process his appointment that easily, are you?"

A voice came through the earpiece. Jamie, who was about to return the Identity Badge to Cheng Ye, looked even more upset.

"Your uncle was beaten by Liu Bi and taken to the infirmary. He's still being treated for his injuries."

"Shut up!"

Jamie cursed under his breath, but his fingers loosened as if of their own accord. The Identity Badge slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

Water rushed along the road.

By the time Jamie ran out, the current had already spun the Identity Badge down to the edge of the storm drain, where it had caught among a pile of trash.

"Good work. Keep humiliating him like that. Make him dig it out of the garbage!"

A burst of laughter came through the earpiece. The young people gathered around had no idea what was going on. They thought Jamie had humiliated Cheng Ye this way, and they all gave a light round of applause.

At first, this left Jamie at a loss. But when the others encouraged him with their looks, he immediately grew bolder.

"Inspector Cheng, you were the one who failed to catch it. Don't tell me you want me to help?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Cheng Ye scratched his head and smiled honestly. "No need. I can pick it up myself."

With that, he bent down and walked toward the drainage ditch. Amid the jeers, he stooped to pick the badge out of the rubbish heap and casually wiped it on his trouser leg.

"Hahaha, what a coward."

"With guts like that, you dare come to our North Station?"

"An inspector digging through rubbish—now that's a sight!"

"."

The jeers came one after another. Though they caused Cheng Ye no real trouble, the young people took pleasure in this kind of mental humiliation.

Jamie wore a disdainful smile too, as if he'd led the others to victory in a battle against the Dongren.

"Hello. I've completed the registration."

Cheng Ye walked back and wiped the Identity Badge clean with his clothes. "I'm an inspector at North Station now, right?"

Jamie didn't know why Cheng Ye was asking. He paused, then gave a nasal "Mm."

But in the next instant, he froze.

Cheng Ye, who had just been smiling, flicked his wrist. The badge spun through the air in an arc and went right back down the drain.

"Go pick it up for me!"

PS: Here's another 4,500-plus words for you. Too bad the rules for new books don't allow bulk releases, or I'd really love to drop a dozen chapters at once, haha~

PS2: The usual three requests are back. I'm holding out my bowl—please bookmark, vote with your monthly tickets, and keep reading~~