Chapter 101: Raw material crisis, Harlem’s problem!
The times are progressing and the environment is changing.
When the checkpoint was first established, the rules were strict and each inspector had strict KPI tasks.
If you fail to complete it, you will be pulled out at the meeting to be scolded, and your salary will be deducted and your rank will be demoted.
But as Li Matthew said, each generation is worse than the previous one.
After Ding Yishan became the station chief, the checkpoint had become a semi-free organization with loose rules.
Senior inspectors are active outside Shi Province all year round. Except for completing their missions, they usually only return to Xingfu City on the eve of winter every year, resting and setting off again at the turn of spring and summer.
Low-level and mid-level inspectors are not idle when they are not on duty. They either take on field missions to gather intelligence or travel between various gathering places and sanctuary cities.
However, in the past six months, due to the influence of extraordinary opportunities, the contradictions between the upper levels have gradually penetrated into the lower levels, resulting in the trend of taking sides becoming more and more intense.
Coupled with the chain reaction caused by the unusual celestial phenomena, the danger level in the wilderness soared, leading to the "grand occasion" of nearly a hundred inspectors huddled in the buffer zone.
Under the special atmosphere, Ding Yishan and Harlin seemed to have disappeared, never showing up on their own initiative, allowing the inspectors below to form cliques.
Actually, this was the first time Cheng Ye met the deputy station chief after the internship assessment.
The feeling Harlem gives people is completely different from Ding Yishan.
As the chief examiner of the prosecutor trainee assessment, Cheng Ye always felt that Harlin was a bit like his high school class teacher.
When it comes to poor students with the lowest grades, they are always treated with a cold eye, and that look of disdain is almost written directly on their faces.
However, the attitude towards top students with outstanding academic performance is completely the opposite, making people feel like they are in spring breeze.
It’s a pity that Harlem’s “spring breeze” only stayed on him for a few days.
As the cultural assessment ended and the martial arts assessment began, he was no longer seen in a good mood, only indifferent and official manner.
But now, that spring breeze seems to have appeared again.
Harlin was already standing behind the isolation door of the inspection area, with his arms folded across his chest and a faint smile on his lips.
Cheng Ye calmly opened the panel and took a look.
The result was as expected.
[Harlem, 0%, searchable range: none]
This was the second completely uncooperative person he encountered after activating the collector.
Chu Xuan is still young, and after being repeatedly warned by his parents, it is understandable that he is wary of strangers.
But Harlem.
Just from this 0% cooperation, we can clearly see the relationship between the two people at the moment.
It can’t be said to be an enemy, but it’s probably not far away.
Seeing Cheng Ye remained silent, Harlin didn't find it strange and continued, "It's a great achievement to bring back a piece of extraordinary mineral material for the inspection station. I have agreed to Stationmaster Downs's proposal to help you open some of the authority of the official inspector in advance. I hope you can maintain this momentum. Good job!"
It turns out that when Qin Feng made the call, Harlem and Towns were together?
“Thank you, Deputy Station Master!”
For the first time, Cheng Ye acted not so "sensible" and deliberately added the word "secondary" in front of the webmaster.
Hearing his implied meaning, Harlin curled his lips in boredom, waved his hand, and left with his two confidants.
Only when the three figures disappeared from his sight did Cheng Ye slowly breathe a sigh of relief.
Back to before he was hospitalized, he could have a good chat with Harlem and they had no problem talking about anything.
But now it’s different. Ding Yishan has pushed him to the front and met all the Eastern prosecutors.
At this time, there was no more unnecessary communication with Harlem.
Talk and laugh in case someone reveals it.
It's not that he will be labeled as a traitor, but it's inevitable that some stupid people will gossip behind his back.
After the little episode.
Cheng Ye quickly collected his thoughts and started working in an efficient mode!
At the same time, he gradually discovered that Quarantine Area A was the safest and most profitable area among the four inspection areas.
Because most people who can obtain a car rental permit have certain abilities, the infection rate is not high.
Moreover, these people cooperated highly with the inspection and showed almost no resistance, so the process went very smoothly.
Unlike Area C next to Li Matthew, which is responsible for checking people coming from other sanctuary cities and gathering places, it seems to be idle, but it is actually quite troublesome.
Every time people come, they bring a large amount of goods. They are not allowed to seek personal gain from them, and they have to check each item carefully to prevent contamination by sources of infection.
At the same time, it is also the place where conflicts are most likely to break out, except for Area B.
This is because there are always many "geniuses" from surrounding settlements who want to join Happy City, but are unwilling to go through the central checkpoints to undergo formal inspections and quarantine, and try to find loopholes to get through.
Moreover, the probability of infection for these geniuses with unique thinking patterns is often astonishingly high. Basically, six out of ten people are infected.
Most of the prosecutors' income comes from these geniuses.
As for Area D, it is responsible for inspecting special personnel, such as sentries on patrol, inspectors on field duty, guards in the inner city, etc.
It is indeed safe, but you basically can't expect any extra income. At the same time, the inspection procedures are the most cumbersome of the four districts. After all, you can't lock your own people in an isolation area for ten days or half a month. It doesn't make sense or justify it.
After such a comparison, Cheng Ye suddenly realized that it was not bad for him to be assigned to area A for duty.
Although the probability of encountering a ferocious infected body is the highest here,
Pulling out the PL-1 hidden under the table, Cheng Ye pulled the trigger without hesitation.
boom.
boom.
The continuous loud noises made the air tremble. The three infected bodies that rushed out from the big golden cup that had just stopped had half of their bodies shattered by shotgun shells in an instant, and the dark green and smelly juice splashed all over the isolation net.
Not only was Li Matthew next door startled, but even the people queuing outside the checkpoint were frightened and subconsciously shrank back, and a burst of screams was heard.
"Is there anyone who would rush in without even saying anything?"
Cheng Ye walked closer with the Thunderbolt 1 in hand, pointed the gun steadily at the heads of the three infected bodies, and pulled the trigger again.
The shotgun shells roared and tore through the air until the three bodies were smashed to pieces and completely stopped moving. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, turn around and go back to the table and press the communicator to report.
"Codename: Hulk, infection progress: Phase 2, has been inspected and killed by trainee inspector Cheng Ye!"
A response quickly came from the communicator, "Roger that! The cleanup team is arriving immediately. Inspector Cheng, please continue to maintain stability at the scene!"
Not all infections are latent and require isolation and observation to be discovered.
Many infected bodies have clear triggering conditions, just like the "Hulks" in front of us whose skin has completely turned green and swollen.
The source of infection is a special caterpillar. Once the host is parasitized and encounters a fatal threat, the second stage of outbreak will be immediately triggered.
The three people just now subconsciously believed that he, the inspector, was a threat, which directly triggered the outbreak of infection.
Unfortunately, the person I met was not the one who had just been on duty.
Wallace quickly arrived with his men, and when he saw the mess in the inspection area, his face turned bitter.
But that was the cleaning team's responsibility. Under Cheng Ye's murderous gaze, the cleaning team stepped forward and quickly hooked out three caterpillars the size of fists from the minced meat.
Two of them had been killed by shotgun shells, and only one was still wriggling.
"Prosecutor Cheng, the living one is worth 10 points, but the dead one is only worth 2 points."
"It's okay, just take it away!"
Cheng Ye waved his hand proudly. Now he is no longer the poor guy he was before and needs to tighten his belt to make a living.
Under normal circumstances, he might have practiced with the whirlwind thorn, but now he was being stared at by thousands of eyes. He didn't want to fight with the infected in the inspection area just for a few contribution points. It was too embarrassing!
Wallace nodded and took his men to take the Hulk away.
Afterwards, the staff came in pushing a high-pressure water gun, and the water column washed across the ground. The blood and debris were instantly washed away, leaving only a faint smell of blood in the air.
It was obvious that the people waiting in line for inspection had some anxiety on their faces.
Fortunately, Cheng Ye was not as furious as they had imagined, and he still conducted the inspection according to the procedures in a businesslike manner.
If the indicators are qualified and the whereabouts are completely confirmed, they will be allowed to leave directly.
Those who meet the indicators but whose whereabouts cannot be determined or even conflict with each other must be placed in an isolation warehouse during special periods.
As for those who fail to meet the indicators, there is no room for negotiation. They will all be treated as latently infected people and isolated in batches.
Time quickly came to four o'clock in the afternoon. As the shift was about to end, Cheng Ye called Raven, who was responsible for recording, to count the data.
“How many people have passed through in total, and how many have been quarantined?”
"377 people passed through and 121 were quarantined."
"Well, that means the quarantine rate is close to 25%?"
Cheng Ye nodded slightly.
Although we cannot copy the past to find the right solution, the data from the nightmare fluke incident 13 years ago is still of reference value.
On the first day, the isolation rate in quarantine area A reached 56%. Now it is only half of that time, which is a good result.
Of course, the situation in quarantine area B next door is very different.
The crowd that had been queuing outside had long since dispersed, leaving only a few hundred people still waiting at the entrance, watching what was happening inside, hoping for a chance of improvement.
Throughout the entire day, the number of people who actually entered Area B for inspection was probably less than a hundred.
Moreover, with Li Matthew's "methods", basically everyone was sent to quarantine without saying a word, and few people could pass through smoothly.
"You're really free."
Cheng Ye leaned on the railing at the junction of the two areas and raised his chin.
"Of course not." Li Matai sat on a chair with his legs crossed. "Even if some residents wanted to return to Xingfu City, they wouldn't choose a day like today when the checkpoints have just opened. Even a fool knows that the probability of infected people appearing today is the highest, and the inspection standards are the strictest. Who would rush into this situation?"
"Believe it or not? At least half of the people I sent in today are infected, but the outbreak hasn't happened yet."
"letter."
Cheng Ye smiled, took out a packet of nutrient solution from his pocket, tore open the package and took a sip, "Old Li, I won't be here next week, and I probably won't be on duty at the North Station in the future."
"Huh?"
Li Matai was like a cat whose tail was stepped on. He jumped up from his chair with a "whoosh" and forced a cheesy smile from his face that had been stern all day.
"What did you just call me?"
"Old Li." Cheng Ye was amused by this reaction and repeated it again.
"Hey, I like it! Call me that from now on!"
Li Matai smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, and waved his hand. "If you don't want to come, then don't come. What's the point of staying in this shabby place? You're a brave boy, you're capable of great things. Let me tell you, from the time I became an inspector until today, more than ten years, I haven't dared to set foot in the South Inspection Station!"
The words fell.
Cheng Ye couldn't help but feel a little warm in his heart.
Apart from Liu Bi, Li Matthew was the only prosecutor who cared about him.
It's not just because they have the same ideas, but also because their personalities are very compatible.
"The checkpoint buried your talent."
"Then quickly seize power and dig me out again. By the way, don't listen to what I said the other day about how our prosecutors were so powerful when they went out. Actually, I only went out a few times when I was young. Back then, the Pioneer Corps was building everywhere, and Happiness City's influence was expanding rapidly. Our prosecutors' power was probably due to the Corps' influence."
"But with the disbanding of the Legion over the years, and the rise of surrounding settlements and sanctuary cities, Happiness City's situation isn't as good as it used to be. You might even be harassed by inspectors from other sanctuary cities when you go out on field missions. It's even more likely that some might even look down on Happiness City."
Li Matthew grinned, his tone was a bit joking, but there was no emotion in his eyes, as if he had long been accustomed to this marginalized state.
But to his surprise, Cheng Ye actually nodded solemnly, as if he really intended to rediscover him one day.
"Um?"
Li Matthew was stunned for a moment, and a hint of surprise flashed in his turbid eyes.
"Live well, that day will come. I feel like what you just said is like you are telling me what to do after your death."
"Get lost! Hand over your shift now! Stop cursing at me!"
Li Matai cursed with a smile, raised his hand and slapped the railing. It looked like if it weren't for the isolation net between the two areas, he would probably rush over and chase and beat them up.
But as Cheng Ye finished absorbing the nutrient solution and turned around, a trace of barely perceptible regret flashed in his eyes.
Will there be such a day?
But, can I still wait?
Watching Cheng Ye leave the inspection area, Li Matthew shook his head gently, and the regret in his eyes gradually faded away without a trace.
Like the water surface wrinkled by the wind, it shook slightly and then returned to calm again.
Boom.
"Come in."
Stationmaster Tang Si's voice came from inside the door, with a hint of subtle fatigue.
Cheng Ye took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Behind the dark walnut desk, the old man was still sitting in the leather swivel chair, holding a pen in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes fixed on the spread-out documents, as if he was pondering some thorny problem.
After Cheng Ye entered, he closed the door gently, stood in the same position as last time, with his hands hanging down, waiting quietly.
Of course, don't forget to open the panel and take a look.
Surprisingly, Towns' cooperation rate is 27%, much higher than Harlem.
You know, Ding Yishan is now pushing him to the top.
As a Western duty station chief, he should show some attitude no matter what, but the fact that Towns has this value already represents something.
After more than ten seconds, without even looking up, Tangs suddenly spoke, his tone as if he was talking to himself:
"Cheng Ye, I'm facing a problem right now. I want to talk to someone and get their advice."
"Listen, if you want to answer, then speak up. If you don't want to answer, that's fine too. I won't force you."
As soon as the voice fell, Tang Si was about to speak in detail, but unexpectedly Cheng Ye suddenly interrupted:
"Is there any benefit?"
"benefit?"
Tangs finally looked up, a hint of surprise crossing his face, but he quickly forced a smile. "I have two more evaluation forms. If you want one, it depends on your performance. I can also send you a message that you're looking for."
"good!"
Cheng Ye nodded decisively.
Since Towns has spoken, no matter whether he responds or not, as long as he follows the opponent's rhythm, he will inevitably fall into a passive position.
It would be better to say it directly, turn the tables, and take the initiative into your own hands first.
Furthermore, the current situation is not what it was like half a month ago when we needed to hide our strength. Now that we are on the stage, we have to show our abilities when the time comes.
Especially between Harlem and Towns, they are not united, and there are no outsiders present at the moment.
"The Shuangyue Lake settlement is 620 kilometers away from us. It's one of the few places in Shi Province where crops can be grown. It's also a source of nutrient paste raw materials for our Happiness City. But now they're suddenly terminating the partnership. According to recovered intelligence, Dazhang Sanctuary City offered a higher price and also provided them with a number of important industrial facilities."
Tang Si put down his pen, tapped the table with his fingertips, and said in a deep voice, "Now, what do you think we should do to preserve this raw material production area?"
Dazhang Sanctuary City?
Cheng Ye quickly searched his memory. This was a small sanctuary city with a population of only about 40,000 to 50,000 people.
Located in the southwest of Xingfu City, the straight-line distance is about one thousand kilometers.
As for the Shuangyue Lake gathering place, he had never heard of it.
"How far is Dazhang from Shuangyue Lake?"
“It used to be 570 kilometers, but now they’ve built a bridge and it only takes 450 kilometers.”
450 vs. 620, slightly better distance.
There are also higher prices and a number of important industrial facilities.
No matter how you look at it, Dazhang Sanctuary City has an absolute advantage, and Happiness City has no competitiveness at all.
"How does Dazhang compare to our industrial level?"
"It's about the level we were at fifteen years ago, and we can only produce a few gadgets."
After Tang Si answered, there was suddenly a hint of hope on his face.
This was the difficult problem Harlin gave him today. He called six second-term inspectors over in the middle of the process, but everyone shook their heads when they heard it, and even gave hasty suggestions without asking about the specific situation.
Either they use the threat of force to force the Dazhang Sanctuary City to voluntarily give up Shuangyue Lake, or they make the Shuangyue Lake gathering place afraid to cooperate with Dazhang.
Or they would raise the price in a bidding, thinking that Dazhang's industrial strength is not as good as Xingfu City's. What the other party can give, Xingfu City can naturally give as well. It's a competition of financial strength.
It's very simple and crude. Xingfu City has always done this in the past, relying on its advantages to crush the opponent. But if it is so easy to solve now, Harlin would not deliberately throw this difficult problem to him.
In fact, the number of raw material points where Xingfu City purchases nutrient paste has been losing more and more in recent years.
Although it is still far from reaching the warning line, the downward trend is constantly expanding and there has been no recovery momentum for a long time.
Many of the gathering places that were originally scrambling to supply goods have now taken the initiative to terminate cooperation, just like Shuangyue Lake.
On the surface, it seems that the surrounding Sanctuary Cities are rising and poaching the raw materials of Happiness City.
But the deeper reason is that the industrial progress of Happy City is slowing down, and it has gradually been overtaken by the surrounding Sanctuary Cities.
There may still be a huge gap in heavy industry, but in light industry that is related to people's livelihood, the gap between them is no longer that big.
It is already difficult for Xingfu City to radiate the entire Shi Province as it did in the past, let alone harvest resources from surrounding provinces.
Once the bidding is opened, there will be a second Shuangyue Lake after the first one.
The price of nutrient slurry will skyrocket, either borne by residents or squeezing city budgets.
But if there was no bidding, no use of force, and he hadn't been on field duty for many years, Downs couldn't think of how to properly resolve this kind of thing.
“Are there any other gathering places around Shuangyue Lake?”
"have."
After hearing this, Tang Si's anticipation suddenly diminished a lot. He could already guess what Cheng Ye was going to say.
"If you only give me a piece of paper for evaluation, then my answer can only be to support this gathering place and let them eliminate Shuangyue Lake and replace it."
"Um?"
Tang Si raised an eyebrow. He had guessed the answer correctly, but the straightforward bargaining was beyond his expectations.
No, is this kid taking revenge on me for the rating I gave him last time?
He wanted to hold back his question, but finally followed the topic and asked, "What if I give you two evaluation papers?"
"Two. Then tell Shuangyue Lake that Xingfu City can also provide the industrial facilities they traded from Dazhang, but they need to exchange them with more sincerity."
"Heh." Tang Si couldn't help but snort, then laughed silently. "They're not stupid. They can easily get it from Da Zhang, so why would they bother to exchange it with us?"
"Because they are not fools and want to develop, they abandoned the huge Happy City and turned to a small Sanctuary City with only tens of thousands of people."
Cheng Ye chuckled. The real situation was far from being that simple. It required more intelligence and information support, but wasn't it just talk now?
"So we just need to tell them that Xingfucheng is not competing with Dazhang in the short term. We only support the development of a place in the long term. We can provide what Dazhang can provide, and we can also provide what Dazhang cannot provide. But we need to see sincerity, more sincerity."
“Sincerity.”
Tang Si frowned. "You mean, paint them a rosy picture?"
"This is not just empty talk, but our sincerity, which is the confidence that Dazhang can't even match."
Cheng Ye shook his head. "Competition can be about who can give more, but it can also be about who can give more irreplaceable things. We should use our strengths to attack the other side's weaknesses. Is a small Shuangyue Lake worth competing with Dazhang for resources?"
"We just need to show our advantages. Intelligent people will naturally know what to choose. If they only care about the industrial facilities in Dazhang, no matter how much we talk, it will be useless. But if they care about these things, we can immediately take back the initiative."
Tang Si was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "What if I add another piece of news?"
Cheng Ye barely hesitated. "Don't worry about Shuangyue Lake. Go directly to Dazhang for cooperation. Ask them to help procure the surrounding raw materials. Then, pass the news of the cooperation to Shuangyue Lake. At the same time, spread the word that we want to support the gathering places around Shuangyue Lake."
“Contact with Da Zhang…”
Tang Si was stunned for a moment and thought to himself.
This was an angle he had never considered after taking on the problem, because he subconsciously regarded Da Zhang as an enemy and thought about competing with him, and never thought that the two parties could contact and cooperate.
Following this angle, Tang Si was naturally not stupid. He suddenly thought of the key point and said, "Keep talking!"
"For Da Zhang, as long as there is no past animosity, there is nothing wrong with contacting and cooperating with us."
"But for Shuangyue Lake, the cost of confrontation far outweighs the benefits of cooperation, which they cannot afford."
Cheng Ye said calmly, "Since Xingfu City doesn't want to resort to violence or spend money, the only advantage it can use is its massive size."
"Our size means we can make any choice to bypass him, crush him, or replace him."
"As for Shuangyue Lake, there are many things to consider."
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