What kind of standing did a Duty Station Chief have at a checkpoint?
According to Liu Bi, he was the successor handpicked by Xingfu City's upper echelons to become Chief Station Master.
To become a Duty Station Chief, you either had to make a major contribution to Xingfu City or possess exceptional personal abilities.
If Ding Yishan died unexpectedly, the next Station Chief would be chosen from among the Duty Station Chiefs.
That's right. Deputy Station Chief Halin couldn't inherit the position directly. Though he had an advantage over the others, he still had to compete fairly against the other Duty Station Chiefs.
In Cheng Ye's view, a Duty Station Chief was basically a prince.
If Ding Yishan, the emperor, died, they would choose a new emperor from among Halin, the crown prince, and the other princes.
Whoever won would depend entirely on who had the stronger hand when the brothers turned on each other in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
Of course, that was just a metaphor for their power struggle. In their personal dealings, the Station Chief and the Duty Station Chiefs were equals.
"I saw Towns this morning, and no Infected got into North Station. Nothing will happen here."
"As for South Station and Central Station..."
Cheng Ye froze. Could he really have gotten so lucky that he'd picked North Station and just missed a disaster?
Under normal circumstances, Central Checkpoint rarely ran into difficult Infected.
After all, powerful Infection Sources took a heavy toll on their hosts. Those that could make the long journey to Xingfu City were mostly things like Death Whisper Tentacles—creepy-looking, but not very powerful.
Quick Checkpoints were a different story.
Take Barrett, who'd been infected by a Rotten Vine. He'd been locked in an Isolation Pod for four days, and still hadn't reached the outbreak stage.
If a powerful Infected like that went berserk among a crowd, it could take out a whole group of people in minutes.
"It's not your fault. Just wait patiently."
Cheng Ye tried to reassure the nervous Four Brothers.
He led by example, settling down beneath an umbrella and patiently waiting for more news.
If a Duty Station Chief died unexpectedly, no matter which area it happened in, all three checkpoints had to be sealed off immediately and placed on alert.
No one could enter or leave.
Just like the people in the neighboring Quarantine Zone B, the dozens of people lined up to enter the city could do nothing but wait for the alert to be lifted.
Wait, Xi Mo was waiting to go out for treatment, too. He'd passed inspection by Cheng Ye, an inspector, only to get stuck here. He really had terrible luck.
"Central Checkpoint and South Station both have Dongren inspectors right now. No matter which one died, Ding Yishan will have a headache. The balance was already precarious, and now things will probably tilt even further toward the Xiren."
"I don't know whether that's good or bad for me. I just hope Ding Yishan doesn't lose it..."
His thoughts churned.
Inspectors might seem impressive to ordinary people, but who knew how precarious their lives were behind the scenes?
Cheng Ye could only try to look at the situation from a higher vantage point and assess the impact of any changes in the balance of power.
If I were Ding Yishan, what would I do?
"The Dongren inspectors are weak because there's a gap in the younger generation. But if you look further up, they still have plenty of middle-ranking talent. Brother B mentioned before that among the veteran Fourth Stage inspectors, the Dongren are slightly stronger than the Xiren. At the highest level, Fifth Stage inspectors, they lead four to two. It's only from Third Stage and below that the Xiren have a major advantage."
"Besides, the Dongren hold two of the three Duty Station Chief positions. That's what's kept things from getting out of balance."
"Now an Eastman Duty Station Chief is dead. So next..."
He analyzed the situation step by step.
Cheng Ye's eyes suddenly lit up.
From Ding Yishan's perspective, the most pressing issue was undoubtedly the vacant Duty Station Chief position.
If the Dongren managed to hold on to two Station Chief positions, the situation would return to its previous stalemate.
But if the Xiren claimed the vacant position, the balance of power in the checkpoints could change dramatically in an instant.
With the situation on fire, how could Ding Yishan spare a thought for a lowly Trainee Inspector like him?
Even if Cheng Ye took the most pessimistic view and Ding Yishan was dead set on killing him, he could still give the vacant position to one of his own.
At worst, he'd flip the table and defect to the Xiren. Who was he supposed to be afraid of?
There were only two ways to get by in a secure government job.
Either you kept your head down, drank tea and read the paper, stayed out of every faction's business, and dutifully worked until retirement—or you fought your way up. If you had no backers, you relied on your own methods; if you didn't know how to pick a side, you let your abilities speak for you.
Cheng Ye couldn't choose the first path, and he didn't want to. The Wasteland wasn't a civilized modern society. People at the bottom had no right to choose whether they lived or died.
As for the second path, his strongest backer, Cheng Long, had died before they'd even met. All he had left was Liu Bi.
But Brother B alone wasn't nearly enough to protect Cheng Long's only descendant.
"Brother Long may be gone, but he left me plenty of goodwill to draw on. If I kick the bucket at a critical moment like this, anyone with an agenda could make a fuss about it. Ding Yishan would have a real headache!"
The more Cheng Ye thought it through, the clearer it became.
Only when the struggle between the East and West Factions reached a boiling point and neither side could gain the upper hand would they turn their attention to the people at the bottom.
No one knew whether that would take days or months, but one thing was certain: he had plenty of time to prove his worth!
"Inspector Cheng! Hey, over here."
Hearing someone call his name, Cheng Ye snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward the voice.
To his surprise, it was the Xiren inspector from the neighboring Quarantine Zone B.
He was a skinny, middle-aged man with a receding hairline, deep-set eyes, and a distinctly European face.
Was this old weasel, who kept shoving people into the Quarantine Zone, here to kick him while he was down?
"I got word that He Fei from Central Checkpoint—Station Chief He—died unexpectedly!"
An iron mesh fence separated Zones A and B. The Xiren inspector walked over and spoke in a low voice, his expression complicated.
"What?! He Fei?"
Cheng Ye sucked in a sharp breath, his memory instantly returning to his first day as a trainee at Central Checkpoint.
Back then, the broad-browed, wide-eyed Station Chief He had personally taken him to Quarantine Station 8. He'd even asked the other inspectors to look after him, the new trainee, and his words had been full of warmth and concern.
They hadn't seen each other since, but Cheng Ye had called He Fei three days ago to ask for time off.
He'd even reminded him, "Don't let Station Chief Ding and everyone else down."
And now, just a few days later, He Fei was dead?
"A special Hydrophilic Type Infected got into Central Checkpoint. Its abilities are bizarre, and they're still investigating Station Chief He's death."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I may be Xiren, but I never get involved in the East West Factions' disputes. I just focus on doing my job. Whether you're Dongren or Xiren makes no difference to me."
Without any regard for what Cheng Ye might be thinking, the Zone B inspector wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "But we're both inspectors. If an Infected gets into my area, you can't just stand by and watch me die."
So that was what this was about.
Cheng Ye had been wondering why the man had gone out of his way to come over, telling him about the situation at the checkpoint and insisting he stayed out of the factional struggle.
Turns out he was just a retire-in-peace kind of old hand.
For people who coasted through the job, not causing trouble was the greatest achievement of all.
He shoved every suspicious person into an Isolation Pod, making it so hardly anyone could pass through the checkpoint. That was a "genius" way to coast through the job!
"Let's get acquainted. I'm Li Maitai."
"Cheng Ye."
They exchanged names, and just like that, they'd made a connection.
Cheng Ye hadn't expected the first inspector he met at North Station to be someone he got to know under these circumstances.
No wonder the man sent people to the Quarantine Zone the moment anything seemed off. Now Cheng Ye understood why.
For someone who was coasting through the job, the biggest accomplishment was avoiding trouble.
"I know how you Dongren do things. You can call me Li Maitai. A lot of people do."
He chuckled, then continued, "I got unlucky and was assigned to Zone B this week. There are too many people there. It'd be great if I could work with you in Zone A instead. It's safer, and there's less hassle."
"I'm only a Trainee Inspector, and this is my first time at a Quick Checkpoint. You're teasing me, Inspector Li. If we worked together, I'd be the one learning from you..."
"I'm not teasing you."
Li Maitai sobered up and shook his head repeatedly. "There's nothing new at this checkpoint. Whatever happens in the morning, everyone knows by the time we start work. The way you taught those brats a lesson was pretty ruthless. They're spoiled, all right, picking fights with just about anyone. If they knew what your dad had done..."
"Ahem. I'm curious, though. When you went to the Isolation Pod, how did you figure out in just a few words that the person was Infected? That was a completely new Infection Source. Don't tell me you just got lucky."
"Sorry, you guessed right. I really did get lucky."
Cheng Ye's face twitched. He hadn't expected Li Maitai to guess the truth so directly.
But even though it was true, that answer sounded dismissive, as if he didn't want to get close.
Fortunately, the shrill emergency broadcast finally fell silent.
He looked up at the watchtower. The two warning flags had been replaced with one. It was now the Yellow Flag.
"Damn, what rotten luck."
Li Maitai couldn't help grumbling. "It's already two o'clock. We'd have been off in two hours, but now every inspector off duty has to gather at Central Station. Those of us on shift will be stuck here until evening."
"Until evening?"
Cheng Ye scratched his head, his expression unchanged, though a faint trace of delight stirred inside.
Quarantine Zone A barely saw a soul. Even if he had to stay until evening, there'd be little to do.
And if the next inspector didn't come to relieve him, wouldn't that mean he could keep charging?
At this rate, he'd be able to replenish enough energy for another search before his shift ended!
"Guess we'll just have to stick it out. Damn Infected. At least the Yellow Flag means the station can close at eight. Otherwise, sixteen-hour shifts would wear out even someone made of iron."
Li Maitai sighed, then suddenly lowered his voice and leaned closer. "Inspector Cheng, if there's danger, don't leave me to fend for myself. Help me out once, and I'll give you twenty Contribution Points. How about it?"
"Deal!"
Cheng Ye agreed without hesitation.
For one thing, if an Infected went berserk in Quarantine Zone B, it would affect Zone A as well.
Besides, twenty Contribution Points was a decent amount. He'd just have to stand here, fire off a few shots, and provide backup. Why not take the money?
"Interesting. Turns out finding Barrett made them think I actually know what I'm doing?"
Back at his seat, Cheng Ye pondered the situation and suddenly realized how unbelievably good this start was.
If he hadn't taught Xiao Deng a lesson and had simply run into Barrett in Quarantine Zone A, people would probably have thought he'd just gotten lucky.
But first he'd shown what he could do, giving everyone the impression that he was tough. Then he'd gone to the Quarantine Zone and figured out in a few words that Barrett was Infected. That made all the difference.
He knew how to navigate office politics, and he had the skills to back it up.
In the eyes of those inspectors, he'd probably already gone from "the new Dongren trainee" to "a tough guy you'd better not mess with."
"Man, this is perfect! Plenty of time to charge up, and not much danger."
"Once I'm fully charged tonight, I'll search the Quarantine Zone again. If I don't find an Infected, I'll get a skill. If I do, I'll earn Contribution Points, bolster my reputation, and cancel the search to get double the Action Points!"
"This really is the best possible start!"
PS: Happy weekend, dear readers! Here's 3.2k words for you.
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