Chapter 122: Sitting and discussing, chess pieces and chess players!
The rain in the rainy season always comes suddenly.
Before Cheng Ye reached the end of the doorway, cold raindrops began to fall behind him. At first, they were just a few scattered drops, but in the blink of an eye, they became continuous lines.
The scavengers waiting to go out all shrank their necks, but no one moved.
Everyone looked at the foggy wilderness outside the checkpoint, with an almost paranoid expectation in their eyes, as if something that could save their lives was hidden outside.
"Even though the walker has left, the impact is still ongoing and seems to be getting worse."
Cheng Ye stopped and observed, frowning slightly.
Compared to yesterday, these people's behavior today is even more abnormal, and there seems to be a fire burning in everyone's eyes.
The flames are burning, a desire for change.
After being amplified by the walker's abilities, it grew wildly like weeds and was gradually getting out of control.
Fortunately, the number of people did not increase significantly compared to yesterday, which made people feel a little relieved.
After observing for a while, Cheng Ye took out his badge and was about to swipe open the isolation door, but the door slid open from the inside first.
Unexpectedly, the person who came out was Lei Hu, surrounded by more than ten guards.
"Good morning, Prosecutor Cheng."
Lei Hu seemed to be in a very good mood. The moment he saw him, he smiled and was very friendly.
"Stationmaster Lei, good morning!"
"I'm not late today, haha."
Lei Hu laughed loudly. "Just kidding. Stationmaster Ding is waiting for you in my office. I originally told the guard to wait for you at the door and then take you upstairs. Now it's perfect. You can just go straight over."
"yes."
Cheng Ye stepped aside to clear the way, his eyes scanning the increasingly heavy rain outside. "Stationmaster Lei, there are quite a few scavengers outside. Walker... well, you'd better be careful and don't get affected."
"rest assured!"
Lei Hu laughed even more heartily, patting the pistol on his waist. "After all, I've been an old prosecutor for more than ten years. I still have some composure, so I won't fall so easily."
He paused, his eyes darkening as he pursed his lips. "It's certainly had an impact, but it's not out of control yet. The situation outside is complicated, and these scavengers are old residents of Happiness City after all. Any help is appreciated, at least to increase their chances of survival."
"Master Lei, you've worked hard."
Cheng Ye nodded and said nothing more.
But his heart moved slightly, and his eyes swept over the long line of scavengers.
Thunder Tiger cares about scavengers?
Under normal circumstances, it might be possible, but in this situation, unless...
From beginning to end, his eyes suddenly fixed on a short and fat figure who had just walked through the rain and was breathing heavily.
As expected, it came!
Cheng Ye's pupils shrank imperceptibly for a moment, then he withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened, and hurried through the isolation door without glancing over there again from beginning to end.
The extraordinary creatures in this world are too strange. Whether they are the mother source or the wish-keeping extraordinary beings, their abilities are far beyond imagination.
Who knows if those extraordinary people who enter the shared ecosystem will have even more abnormal perception?
Buzz.
The isolation door slowly closed behind him, isolating the rain and the crowd outside.
Right at this moment.
Liu Kun, who was standing in the crowd with his head down, frowned slightly, then looked up thoughtfully and glanced towards the isolation gate.
At an angle invisible to everyone, a creature resembling an eagle stood quietly on his shoulder.
Its fiery red feathers look like a burning flame. It clearly exists in another dimension and cannot be observed with the naked eye, but it exudes a sense of mimicry that can affect reality.
And at the moment when Cheng Ye cast that glance, Flame Eagle suddenly turned its head and stared at him with the same sharp gaze.
If Cheng Ye's gaze lingered even for a moment longer, the sights of the man and the eagle would have collided.
but.
Cheng Ye was too cautious after all. He just glanced at her and immediately looked away without pausing at all.
The Flame Eagle stared for a moment, but failed to catch any subsequent abnormalities. Its fiery red feathers were slightly restless, and it seemed a little impatient, and was about to flap its wings and fly.
However, at this moment, a loud shout came from the front of the team:
"Attention everyone! Line up!"
A guard pushed through the crowd, loudspeaker in hand. "Stationmaster Lei understands everyone's hard work and the dangers of going out, so he's specially requested a batch of travel subsidies. Everyone here will get a share!"
"Those who want to get it, line up! No cutting in line, no noise!"
"Otherwise get out!"
The guard's words were not polite at all, but the crowd immediately burst into cheers.
The oppressive atmosphere caused by the rain and waiting was dispelled by ecstasy. Everyone's face was flushed with excitement. Many people even stood on tiptoe to look forward, and made vague sounds of gratitude in their throats.
Influenced by this voice, the thought in Liu Kun's eyes instantly faded away.
The next second, he immediately put on a smile that was no different from the other scavengers around him. He even waved his arms harder than others, cheering along with the crowd, and perfectly blending into the frenzied mood.
Seeing this, the Flame Eagle's restless feathers had to gradually calm down, and it buried its head back into its wings.
"Hey, brother, the wound on your arm seemed to be glowing just now?"
As Liu Kun was waving and cheering with the crowd, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him.
The middle-aged man standing behind him stretched his neck with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. When Liu Kun raised his arm and his sleeve slipped down, he vaguely caught a glimpse of an unhealed wound on the back of the other's arm.
It's not strange to have a wound, but the strange thing is the edge of the wound.
It seemed to be emitting a strange dark green color, and it was flickering as if it had life.
"Um?"
Liu Kun paused, pretending to be confused and pulling up his sleeve to expose his entire arm. "Are there any wounds?"
"Did I see it wrong?"
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then moved closer to take a closer look. The rough skin was covered with old scars, but there were indeed no wounds.
Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, he quickly put on an apologetic smile: "Sorry, brother, it might be because of the heavy rain that I was blinded. I'm really sorry."
"It's okay, we're all family, I understand you need to be careful."
Liu Kun smiled, his tone showing no sign of abnormality. He turned around and continued to look ahead, as if the previous incident had never happened.
But from an angle invisible to ordinary people, the flaming eagle on his shoulder had changed its appearance.
The originally burning red feathers had faded into a strange dark green color at some point, like a ghostly fire soaked in venom, exuding a chilling chill.
As Liu Kun lowered his arm, the dark green color flowed along the feathers again, like a snake coming to life, quietly crawling back to the back of his arm.
In an instant, the Flame Eagle's feathers rekindled red flames, and the jumping flames completely covered the dark green from before.
But if you look closely, you can always find a lingering darkness in the depths of the fire.
It was like ink dripping into a flame. It should have been burned, but it stubbornly stayed there, swaying gently with the flames, exuding an indescribable weirdness.
Entered the checkpoint.
Cheng Ye punched in as usual and planned to borrow an umbrella from the duty room.
It wasn't raining when I went out this morning. I was in such a hurry that I completely forgot to bring a raincoat.
However, there were only spare raincoats of ill-fitting sizes in the duty room, and there were no umbrellas as he had imagined.
Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment before he realized that in such a big Happy City, it seemed that only the residents in the inner city were worthy of using umbrellas and did not need to rush around the city in raincoats.
And after he came to the outer city, he indeed never saw anyone holding an umbrella.
"Okay."
Cheng Ye nodded, not knowing what to say. He simply pulled his collar and trotted towards the station building in the rain.
The cold raindrops hit my face, mixed with the damp and cold air and penetrated into the bones, like countless fine needles pricking me.
I estimate that the temperature feels close to below zero right now.
If the next migrants arrive and the weather is still like this, I'm afraid they will cause a lot of trouble just from the cold.
"Inspector Cheng, the chief station chief is waiting for you in his office on the fifth floor."
The guard at the door of the station building saw him running in the rain and hurried to meet him.
The name of the checkpoint is very particular. For example, if it is Lei Hu, the guard will add a surname and call him Stationmaster Lei.
When you arrive in Harlem, you won’t call him deputy stationmaster, but stationmaster directly.
Only for Ding Yishan, everyone would spontaneously use the three words "General Manager" to show his status.
"Please help me find a raincoat. I forgot to bring it today."
Cheng Ye nodded and gave instructions casually as he climbed the stairs.
"Okay, I'll bring it to you right away," the guard replied.
When he reached the corner between the fourth and fifth floors, Cheng Ye subconsciously stopped.
He took a few deep breaths of the damp, cold air until his body was completely relaxed and his mood was calm, then he walked up with steady steps.
If it were more than half a month ago, when Liu Bi had just left, he would inevitably feel uneasy.
But now it’s different. The growth of his strength has quietly changed his mentality.
Everything happened so naturally, without any trepidation about rashly stepping into the vortex of power at the checkpoint.
After all, he wanted to get more from the webmaster than Ding Yishan wanted to get from him.
Bang.
As soon as Cheng Ye's hand rested on the door panel, the door was opened from the inside.
He subconsciously thought it was Jiang Chuan, but he didn't expect that it was Ding Yishan who opened the door himself, revealing a familiar and warm smile.
That expression was almost exactly the same as the one in my memory when my predecessor just left the inner city and was holding my hand and asking about my well-being.
"Come in quickly. It's raining so hard outside, and you don't even have a raincoat. If you get sick, there's no time for you to rest."
Looking at the water droplets hanging on Cheng Ye's hair, Ding Yishan hurriedly ordered, "Achuan, quickly bring out a clean towel."
Jiang Chuan, who was standing in the inner room, came out with a clean white towel in his hand.
What surprised Cheng Ye was that Ding Yishan did not let Jiang Chuan hand him the towel. Instead, he treated himself as an elder and took it and wiped it on his head.
Um?
Like Cao Cao, you're meeting Xu You barefoot, right?
Cheng Ye felt a little strange in his heart, but a look of flattery and emotion appeared on his face.
After Ding Yishan wiped it twice, he quickly took the towel and said politely, "Stationmaster Ding, I'll do it myself. I dare not trouble you."
"You kid, why are you being so polite to me?"
Ding Yishan smiled and did not insist. He took his hand back and turned to walk towards the reception area where he and Lei Hu had talked before. "Sit down. I asked you to come here because I wanted to talk to you about the plans that Jiang Chuan handed me last night. Well, they are very good. Even I, the webmaster, felt some emotions after reading them."
Unexpectedly straightforward.
Cheng Ye paused, hung the towel on the cabinet at the entrance, and sat down on the single sofa opposite Ding Yishan.
It was the same seat as last time, but the people talking had changed and the atmosphere was completely different.
Jiang Chuan was like a door god, guarding the door of the outer hall, four or five meters away.
Cheng Ye subconsciously opened the panel and glanced at the degree of coordination between the two.
Jiang Chuan's score was still 55%, just like Miao Yang. After getting familiar with the situation, he kept it around this range.
Dante used the mountain, as expected, with a cooperation rate of 0%.
After Chu Xuan and Harlin, this was the third person he had seen whose cooperation level was completely zero.
"Is it pure distrust, or do you have no intention of exchanging any substantive information with me?"
Cheng Ye seemed to be lost in thought.
Just from the degree of coordination, we can actually interpret a lot of things.
For example, the current 0% is almost equivalent to saying explicitly that in the following conversation, as long as he takes the initiative to ask questions, Ding Yishan will most likely not answer any of them.
It also means that this conversation is currently one-way, and only he has the right to answer. Ding Yishan should have come with a lot of questions.
"Cheng Ye," Ding Yishan picked up the kettle, poured out a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of him, his tone casual as if chatting with a family, "How long have you been in the checkpoint?"
"It's been more than three months."
"More than three months." Ding Yishan nodded and put down the teapot. "Not long, but your ability is not weak. I looked at your previous information in the inner city, and it didn't say that you knew these things."
"The information doesn't mention that I have the ability to kill a high-level fusion."
Cheng Ye smiled slightly. Since he couldn't explain it, he would answer with something even more bizarre. "Since you've entered the checkpoint, you should have the ability to learn on your own. You should take the initiative to learn what you need to know."
"Well said, the ability to learn on your own is very important!"
Ding Yishan nodded heavily, not dwelling on the "information" as expected. "Many veteran inspectors at our checkpoint just don't understand this principle. They always try to get by by forming factions and taking sides. If everyone had your awareness, it would be much easier for me, the station chief!"
Forming cliques, is that something you can just say so easily?
Cheng Ye remained calm, glanced at the still 0% cooperation rate, pondered for a moment, and did not respond.
Ding Yishan didn't seem to expect him to respond, and changed the subject: "Regarding the ideas you proposed, I asked Ah Chuan to reorganize them. Would you like to see the results?"
"Okay." Cheng Ye took a sip from his teacup and said modestly, "What I said last night was disorganized, and I don't know if there will be any omissions when I sort it out."
Ding Yishan smiled approvingly and took out a stack of bound papers from the drawer under the coffee table.
Obviously, it was prepared in advance.
"Several Opinions on the Inspectorate's Contract for the Construction of the Outer City?"
Cheng Ye's eyes fell on the cover.
He raised his eyebrows slightly and repeated the title, a puzzled look on his face. "Stationmaster Ding, didn't I tell you last night that our inspector was going to go out and do the whole thing?"
"Oh, this one."
Ding Yishan picked up his teacup and spoke calmly, as if he was discussing a trivial matter. "Maybe Ah Chuan misheard and added it himself. Don't pay attention to the title, just read the content. It's likely that a lot of it was expanded upon from your ideas last night."
Expand?
Cheng Ye looked towards the outer hall. Jiang Chuan gave an awkward but polite smile and said, "Prosecutor Cheng, you spoke too quickly last night. I couldn't keep up, so I added some of my own thoughts after thinking about it. There may be mistakes or omissions, and there may be some unreasonable places. If you have any questions, just tell me directly."
Jiang Chuan spoke the second half of the sentence a little haltingly.
Cheng Ye secretly laughed in his heart, knowing that this must be Ding Yishan’s own "masterpiece".
But since I don't want to point it out.
So does he want to hear some simple words of approval, or does he really want to hear some constructive opinions?
Picking up the plan, Cheng Ye concentrated and read it line by line.
This plan is about 60% to 70% similar to the framework he casually mentioned last night, except that some drastic changes have been made in the specific implementation.
For example, he changed his proposal to distribute team resource packages into resource coupons that require contributions to redeem.
For example, his idea of focusing on construction in different regions, which is the Xinhuo approach, where each region specializes in one direction and several regions are combined for production, was changed to a system where each region has all the necessary facilities.
Of course, the key point is that the inspector is responsible for this matter.
Cheng Ye did not mention the implementation method of the lump-sum contract at all last night, but the plan already had complete lump-sum details.
From page seven to page thirteen, six full pages are filled with detailed rules, from district divisions to scope of authority and responsibilities, and even how to coordinate with other agency units are clearly written.
"Stationmaster Ding, I'm afraid this won't work." Cheng Ye pretended to frown and think, but his eyes were actually fixed on the panel.
Assuming there was no change in the degree of cooperation, he would casually mention a small problem to get around it.
If there are changes.
"Oh?" Ding Yishan paused, holding the teacup. "What's wrong? Tell me, I'm listening."
The words fell.
What surprised Cheng Ye was that the coordination degree on the panel actually moved!
It jumped slightly from 0% to 5%, and then fell back to 2% in the blink of an eye.
Wow, you really came here to listen to my "criticism"?
Cheng Ye was a little stunned, but immediately suppressed his thoughts and said calmly, "If we, the inspectors, were to take on the responsibility of contracting, it would become a contract responsibility system, and the core of the system would be completely changed."
"Contract responsibility?" Ding Yishan frowned and repeated the word thoughtfully.
"My understanding of 'contract responsibility' is that residents should be the main body."
Cheng Ye leaned forward slightly, his tone filled with conviction, "Let them choose a place to settle down and build it as their new home. Throughout the entire process, Xingfu City will only provide the necessary materials and establish a strict reward and punishment system and assign responsibilities to individuals to ensure the orderly progress of construction. This way, residents will have a sense of belonging and be motivated to work."
"But if we switch to a contract responsibility system, it would mean we, the inspectors, are hiring these residents to help expand the outer city. One is doing your own work, while the other is being paid to do it for others. The motivation and sense of responsibility are completely different. They are two completely different things."
Cheng Ye cleared his throat and pointed to one of the details. "Look here. The inspectors submit requests for supplies, and Xingfu City matches them. If there are no restrictions, it's inevitable that some people will over-report and over-receive to meet the deadline. But if there are too many restrictions, it will be too restrictive. In the event of an emergency, it will be difficult to mobilize supplies, which will only delay things."
"And this: requiring inspectors to randomly select contracted areas for their work may seem fair, but it's actually unreasonable. Not all our inspectors are the same. If someone is skilled in construction planning, they should be assigned a safe position, rather than randomly assigning them to outlying areas and taking risks, which would slow down construction progress."
"Or maybe everyone has a different understanding of a region. What might be a bad area in the eyes of others might suit his vision and he knows how to develop it."
"There's also a problem with using the speed of construction as the core assessment indicator. Newcomers lack a sense of security and basic safety nets. If we keep pushing for expansion, how can inspectors guarantee these people will comply?"
There is no perfect plan in the world.
No matter how detailed or reasonable it is, if you want to find fault, you will always find omissions.
After Cheng Ye pointed out several obvious problems in one breath, he stopped, picked up the teacup and took a sip of water.
The corner of his eye swept across the panel in the upper right corner, and the cooperation level had quietly climbed to 12%, just crossing the threshold for searching intelligence.
Ding Yishan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "From what you're saying, you're not against the inspector's contracting, but the current contracting system?"
"Stationmaster Ding, why do you think these two methods can't be used in parallel?"
Cheng Ye put down the teacup, his tone calm as if he was discussing an ordinary matter.
"parallel?"
Ding Yishan's eyebrows twitched noticeably, and his expression changed slightly.
Although he quickly concealed it, Cheng Ye still caught the fleeting look of astonishment.
As reflected on the panel, the degree of coordination almost instantly skyrocketed, reaching 27%.
Good job.
Did this touch Ding Yishan's heart?
"You mean, lump-sum contracting and subcontracting can be carried out at the same time?"
"Yes, the contracting system does make sense. The two systems don't actually conflict." Cheng Ye nodded gently, slowly unpacking some of his thoughts from last night. "According to this plan, the safe zone can only accommodate about 200,000 people at most. The remaining peripheral areas also pose considerable risks."
"In the safe core areas, the implementation of the resident contract system should not face much resistance. Everyone feels a sense of belonging and is naturally willing to contribute. However, in the dangerous areas outside, no one will be willing to go there on their own initiative."
"At a time like this, our inspectors are willing to take the initiative and lead their teams to contract these dangerous areas. This is a manifestation of responsibility. It is to minimize the losses of Xingfu City and to help Xingfu City develop with their own actions. It is an act of self-sacrifice and dedication to rally the people's hearts!"
Cheng Ye raised his voice slightly, revealing a look of confusion at the right moment.
"This kind of behavior clearly deserves a massive support system, coupled with unlimited incentives. Inspectors should be made to feel that voluntarily going to dangerous places is worthwhile, visible, and rewarded! Only then will people be willing to step forward and become a high wall in front of the residents, contributing to the future of Happy City!"
He paused, picked up the plan and flipped through two pages, becoming increasingly puzzled:
"But the plan Jiang Chuan wrote always seems to be full of rumors. It's like our inspectors are rushing out to get construction contracts, afraid they won't get them. It's strange. Inspectors are clearly making a personal contribution, yet they're still bound by a bunch of rules and regulations, and even punished if they don't do their job well. Isn't this just a thankless job?"
hiss.
Cheng Ye considered for a long time before saying the last sentence.
As expected, there was no emotion on Ding Yishan's face. He even nodded slightly, as if to say, "You're right."
But the coordination degree on the panel cannot be faked at all, it suddenly soared by an exaggerated 21%, almost breaking through the 50 mark!
"That's interesting."
Cheng Ye's heart was burning with excitement, as he had finally found another way to improve cooperation.
Besides coercion and interrogation, making the other party feel a sense of identity and accept one's point of view can actually be considered cooperation?!
After a moment's hesitation, Ding Yishan suddenly turned his head to look towards the outer hall and said loudly, "Jiang Chuan, come over here and tell me what you think."
"Uh..." Jiang Chuan, who was standing at the door, obviously didn't expect to be called out. He suddenly shuddered and walked over and stammered, "Stationmaster, I... I was thinking, thinking..."
I thought for a long time but couldn't utter a word.
Seeing that Jiang Chuan was about to enter a state of panic, Ding Yishan raised his hand and shouted, "Alright, did you hear what Prosecutor Cheng just said?"
"Listen, I heard it!"
"What do you think we should do?"
"I?"
Jiang Chuan was stunned again, but this time he did not answer. Instead, he immediately turned to look at Cheng Ye, his eyes full of help.
Um?
Does Ding Yishan not want to expose the tacit understanding between the two?
Cheng Ye raised his eyebrows, and ideas flashed in his mind like sparks.
If Ding Yishan asked him directly, it would be tacitly acknowledged that he would participate in the power distribution and become a pawn, no longer confined to the status of trainee prosecutor.
But now he has to ask him through Jiang Chuan, which means that what he has proposed is not strong enough, or...
Wait, could it be that Ding Yishan had no intention of carrying out this plan, but was it a bold test of him?
No way.
The plan is so detailed that it even explains how power will be distributed.
Dozens of trucks also drove over, and tons of supplies began to be deployed, with an appearance of desperation and determination to win.
You can't possibly have taken off my pants and you're telling me I'm actually going to feint?
Cheng Ye was suddenly dumbfounded. If he were to test it, he would have revealed too much.
That ambition is almost overflowing!
But then, an even stranger idea popped into Cheng Ye's mind, forcing him to call out the panel and simply click on it to check the information on the Hongshan Caravan and think about it.
Entering the intelligence space, the flow of time suddenly slowed down, giving us enough time to think.
From the conversation between the two to the present step by step, a bold idea suddenly flashed through Cheng Ye's mind.
Could it be that Ding Yishan didn't realize the drawbacks of the inspector's voluntary responsibility in this plan?
After he brought it up, you suddenly lost your confidence?
When this thought just came up, even Cheng Ye himself felt it was absurd, but when he thought about the skyrocketing cooperation and Jiang Chuan's eyes that didn't seem fake, he started to think about it.
Cheng Ye's eyelids twitched and his heart pounded.
Boy, if that’s what he guessed, it would be so funny.
Ding Yishan's attitude was obvious when he used Jiang Chuan to ask for details but did not point out the tacit understanding between the two of them.
It is obvious that their positioning of him has changed and they no longer treat him as a chess piece.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with asking for a solution. After all, whether it was the plan submitted yesterday or the speech just now, they both more or less demonstrated some ability to solve this problem.
But the problem is, if he puts forward a specific feasible operational plan, or even reveals the details of the power distribution, wouldn't it be...
In an instant, thoughts raced through Cheng Ye's mind.
If Ding Yishan is willing to adopt it, he will directly become the person who sets the rules of this game.
Not to mention anything else, the power in his hands alone will be as great as that of a duty station chief.
The only trouble is that if this matter gets to know about it, his situation will become extremely difficult.
It may even lead to more direct fatal disaster due to exposing one's ambitions and abilities in advance.
There is a way to retreat. You can just pretend to be stupid and get away with it.
But it has come to this point. If we retreat any further, Ding Yishan will decide to get to the bottom of it and even throw away the tacit understanding between them.
Then the benefits and risks are totally disproportionate, which is really not worth it!
"If you know my abilities and want to kill me, then you must be my enemy. I will have to deal with you sooner or later."
"Even in the worst-case scenario, with the Horned Starfish here, anyone who dares to show their head will be killed instantly!"
Once he made up his mind, Cheng Ye let out a long sigh.
The intelligence space was shattered.
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