Chapter 84: Post-disaster conference, the will of the elders!
A high wall, like an insurmountable chasm, completely isolates the desolation and desolation of the wasteland world.
The inner city inside the wall and the buffer zone outside the wall seem to be divided into two completely different time and space.
On the wide two-way carriageway, various vehicles shuttle back and forth, the number of which is dozens of times more than that in the buffer zone. Important intersections are even equipped with automatic sensing traffic lights, ensuring orderly traffic.
The black pickup truck was driving smoothly on the mirror-like street. Ding Yishan and Liu Kun were chatting casually, but Achuan was staring out the window, looking dazed and confused.
The buffer zone had just experienced a catastrophe in which tens of thousands of people died. More than a dozen areas were wiped out by the source of infection. A large number of residents chose to migrate with their simple luggage, and the whole place was in mourning.
But the inner city was not affected at all. It was still a scene of prosperity and joy. Even the air was filled with a sense of leisure that had nothing to do with suffering.
The buildings on the roadside are lined up in different styles.
The neon lights in the billiard room were still dazzlingly bright even in the daytime. The huge poster outside the audio-visual room was playing an image on a loop. A man in a yellow jumpsuit was agile, sometimes punching like the wind, sometimes kicking fiercely. The three bold words "Bruce Lee" below were particularly eye-catching in the dynamic light and shadow, attracting several young people passing by to stop and point.
The pickup truck left the main road and drove into a literary street.
The blinds of the piano room were slanted open, and a few wisps of piano sound slipped out through the gaps. It was a light melody that made people feel happy as soon as they heard it.
Achuan's eyes fell on the flower shop on the corner. There were red, yellow, purple, and half-human-high bouquets of various kinds. A few wisps of fragrance drifted in through the gaps in the car window, and the whole world seemed to come alive.
These buildings, which only exist in the old magazines collected by residents of the buffer zone and whose names are rarely heard of, are so real here that they are within reach and so dense that it makes people feel trance-like.
The pedestrians on the roadside were wearing neatly ironed clothes, the colors were bright but not tacky, they were walking in twos and threes, with peaceful smiles on their faces, their conversations were relaxed and pleasant.
There was no source of infection or migration in the topic, only not-so-busy work and daily life.
"Achuan."
Ding Yishan called out twice before Achuan suddenly came to his senses and turned around hurriedly.
"grown ups!"
"Are you stunned?" Ding Yishan chuckled and instructed calmly, "Go buy me some dried meat, bread, and some fresh fruit later. I'm going to visit the soldiers injured in this wave of infection after I get out. It's not easy to enter the inner city. I haven't used up my credit from the past few months, so this is a good time to use it."
"Yeah, okay."
Soon, a black pickup truck stopped in front of a square four-story building.
The car door opened and three people got out one after another.
Liu Kun walked in front, Ding Yishan lagged behind by half a step, and Achuan consciously stayed three steps behind the two of them, maintaining just the right distance.
"We'll have a meeting later. They can talk as they please, and we'll just let it go in one ear and out the other."
Liu Kun twitched his lips, his tone a bit nonchalant, yet revealing an unquestionable confidence. "As long as I'm here, these people will just clamor for reinstating the Buffer Zone Police Department and some sort of power split. But when it comes to actually implementing it, the decision-making power is still in our hands."
"I understand." Ding Yishan looked relaxed, his tone expression expressionless. "This isn't the first time I've been scolded and pointed at in these years. I'm used to it."
The two walked into the building side by side, and the guard at the door just gave them a symbolic glance before letting them in.
As for Achuan, he shrugged his shoulders, turned around and left to buy supplies under the murderous eyes of the guards.
This is a meeting among the upper echelons of Happiness City, and not everyone can enter.
Those who can step into this building are either powerful people with extraordinary powers or core spokespersons of various factions.
Even a webmaster like Ding Yishan has to depend on others for his freedom of speech in such occasions, let alone a follower like him.
Enter the venue.
The interior decoration is not as luxurious as imagined.
The simple mahogany table was arranged into a rectangle, and Liu Kun and the other sat down in the middle.
Before long, more and more people came in and took their seats.
Seating has its own rules.
For example, the three people from the technology faction walked straight to the upper left seat as soon as they entered the door. They were all young men who were just over 30 years old, wearing the same silver-gray uniform with gear badges on their cuffs.
The three people from the Extraordinary Faction walked to the upper right side. They were all of burly build. The leader was a bald Westerner. The chair creaked slightly when he sat down. He glanced at the whole audience, especially stayed on Ding Yishan for a few seconds. His eyes were as sharp as a knife, with an oppressive feeling that was intimidating without anger.
After a while, three idealists also walked in.
Dressed in plain cotton clothes, he was out of tune with the surrounding atmosphere. He neither joined the fun of the technology group nor approached the extraordinary group. Instead, he sat at the end of the rectangular table in a unique way. There was no conversation between them, but they just sat quietly, like outsiders.
In addition to the three major factions supported by the elders, there are also various departments in the inner city and industrial areas.
About thirty people from the Medical Department, Public Works Department, Production Department, Defense Department, and Materials Department sat down in turn, filling the edges of the rectangular table.
The hour hand hanging on the wall trembled slightly until it pointed to the number '10'.
The heavy wooden door of the conference hall was pushed open again, and a middle-aged man walked in.
He had an ordinary appearance and wore a washed-out gown with the cuffs neatly rolled up to his forearms. He did not look like a man in power, but rather like an ordinary teacher.
But the moment he stepped into the venue, everyone in the audience stood up almost at the same time, their eyes all fell on him, and even their breathing seemed to slow down for a beat.
"Okay, everyone, sit down."
The middle-aged man's voice was not loud, but it had an invisible penetrating power.
He walked straight to the top of the mahogany table, sat down behind the nameplate engraved with "Yuan Gang", and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.
"The infection wave has just passed, so I won't waste any more time on idle talk."
He raised his eyes to the upper left and said, "Hou Rui, report the data."
"Yes, Deputy City Lord."
Hou Rui, the spokesperson for the technology group, immediately responded, pushed up his glasses, and began to calmly list the data.
Although everyone present had already guessed the casualties, when they heard the death toll of 160,000, there was still a suppressed gasp, and many people looked slightly stunned.
"Of these, 147,000 people live in the buffer zone, 14,000 in the industrial zone, and 129 in the inner city."
Hou Rui's voice was calm, as if he was reciting a string of cold numbers. "Currently, the buffer zone has only 370,000 people left. Affected by the wave of infections, 130,000 are expected to move out, bringing the population down to 240,000, a decrease of about 280,000 from before."
hiss.
There was another sound of people sucking in their breath.
A wave of infection almost wiped out all the wealth that had been accumulated over the years from the shadow of nightmare flukes.
"According to data verification, there were 52 inspectors on duty at the checkpoints between June 6 and July 6, excluding duplicates. Among them, there were three inspectors of the fourth term, seven inspectors of the third term, 22 inspectors of the second term, 19 inspectors of the first term, and one trainee inspector."
The words fell.
Everyone in the venue subconsciously looked at Ding Yishan.
The latter had a solemn expression, seemingly unaware of the gazes cast at him, and continued to stare at Hou Rui.
"In accordance with the internal regulations of the checkpoint, the personnel arrangements were appropriate and there were no abnormalities."
"Retrieving the entry records of the substitute starfish mother infected body, confirming that the person who released it is: Garcia."
"Further investigation of Prosecutor Garcia's records revealed that he clashed with Prosecutor Liu Bi at 6:41 PM on July 2nd and was assaulted and taken to a medical clinic, where he remains receiving treatment."
"According to the records of Inspector Liu Bi, at 6:45 a.m. on July 3rd, I was assigned by Station Chief Ding Yishan to carry out an off-site mission to escort supplies to the hydropower station. I am currently still inside the station and have not returned."
"Regarding the cause of the conflict between Liu Bi and Garcia, it was characterized as a verbal altercation. Tracing the cause revealed that when Inspector Cheng Ye was negotiating with Garcia to exchange inspectors, Cheng Ye threatened Liu Bi and made demands, sparking resentment in Garcia, who subsequently engaged in a direct confrontation with Liu Bi."
"Retrieving records of Inspector Cheng Ye: He is a trainee and has been studying at the checkpoint since April 27th, inheriting his father Cheng Long's position. He completed all assessments on June 13th, and his results ranked second in the checkpoint, only behind Deputy Station Chief Ha Lin. His first duty station was the Central Checkpoint, and he is currently on duty at the North Express Checkpoint."
"Duty record is as follows: No abnormalities."
"Comprehensive investigation shows that Trainee Inspector Cheng Ye, Second-Term Inspector Garcia, and Fourth-Term Inspector Liu Bi have no direct connection to the invasion of the Stand Starfish Infected Body. Final determination: Accident."
After the words fell, the meeting room fell silent for a few seconds. Ding Yishan's fingers under the table loosened slightly.
The four words "accident" temporarily loosened the checkpoint's constraints.
But he knew that this was just the beginning.
As expected, just as Hou Rui finished speaking, the bald man from the Extraordinary faction interjected with doubt, "Stationmaster Ding, what's the point of your inspection station? The internal inspectors fight among themselves every day and even send people to the medical clinic. How can you do your job well?"
"This is my fault, a negligence in my work, and I reflect deeply on it."
Ding Yishan stood up and bowed. "Director Carlo Dickinson, thank you for your criticism. From now on, I will focus on the spiritual civilization education in the station and strictly prevent such incidents from happening again."
"snort."
The latter snorted coldly, but was confused by Ding Yishan's attitude and didn't know how to continue.
After Ding Yishan sat down, Hou Rui continued to report the data.
Compared with the casualties in the buffer zone, the industrial zone was better, but it also lost a large number of experienced and skilled workers.
"It is estimated that by the end of summer production tasks, the loss of personnel in the industrial zone will reach 37,000 people."
"It's very serious." Yuan Gang suddenly spoke, his tone calm but with unquestionable firmness, "We must keep these people!"
He looked around the room, his face expressionless. "It doesn't matter if everyone in the buffer zone leaves. Some are new recruits. But we've trained these workers in the industrial zone for so many years. Not a single one can leave."
The words fell.
There was a brief silence at first, and then there were responses one after another, and people kept standing up and proposing:
"Deputy City Lord, I propose that emergency funding be allocated to the buffer zone to immediately begin the massive reconstruction of Area A. New housing should be allocated for the workers, and heating pipes should be laid in advance to cope with the winter temperature drop."
"Deputy City Lord, I suggest that we establish large-scale medical institutions in the workers' settlements to comprehensively improve the medical rescue mechanism and fundamentally eliminate their worries."
"Deputy City Lord, I propose a substantial increase in workers' wages, while simultaneously reducing the inspectors' salaries as a warning. This will both demonstrate Happiness City's determination to reward meritorious service and punish wrongdoing, and it will also appease the workers!"
"Deputy City Lord, I propose..."
Various plans have been put forward one after another, most of which revolve around how to stabilize the workers in the industrial zone, and there are also implicit proposals for checkpoints.
When it was Ding Yishan's turn, he stood up calmly and spoke clearly, "Deputy City Lord, I propose allocating funds to the checkpoints, prioritizing the renovation of the central checkpoint. We will establish more comprehensive isolation chambers and epidemic prevention systems, and prevent similar infections from happening again."
As soon as he finished speaking, several eyes in the conference hall swept over with a bit of scrutiny, but no one immediately refuted him.
As expected, Carlo Dickinson's turn came, and he launched into action. "Deputy City Lord, I suggest that the Buffer Zone Police Department be reinstated immediately, the existing responsibilities of the checkpoints divided, and a dual-checkpoint + police department model be established."
He paused, his eyes sweeping in Ding Yishan's direction, and continued, "Also, it's suggested that it be clearly stipulated that all on-duty inspectors must be at least third-term inspectors. If inspectors below the third term are on duty, they must be accompanied and supervised by inspectors above the third term. This will help avoid oversights caused by insufficient personnel and prevent incidents like the stand-in starfish from happening again."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference hall suddenly became tense.
Restoring the police station and dividing powers are clearly intended to weaken the power of checkpoints.
The grade restrictions on on-duty inspectors are directly aimed at the current personnel structure of the checkpoints.
Inspectors above the third term are already scarce, as they are all out on field duty.
Once these people are recalled, the checkpoint will be inflicting a blow to itself and losing its greatest power.
Yuan Gang remained unmoved and said with a normal expression.
"Conventional, vote."
From the very beginning, everyone present had a vote.
If more than half of the votes agree, it is considered passed; if less than half of the votes agree, it is not passed.
The proposal to allocate funds to rebuild the buffer zone was basically passed unanimously, but when it came to the proposal regarding checkpoints, everyone was a little hesitant.
If the extraordinary faction and the technological faction agree, then they will immediately follow suit and vote in favor.
If there are only extraordinary people, just pretend nothing happened.
"Vote to cut prosecutors' salaries by 50% for one year."
After Hou Rui finished reading, he raised his vote of approval first, and Carol Dickinson quickly followed suit.
In just a second or two, except for the idealists who were indifferent, even Ding Yishan himself voted in favor.
"Vote, allocate funds for checkpoints, and repair facilities."
Nothing happened, only Ding Yishan voted awkwardly by himself, and Liu Kun didn't even raise his eyelids.
"Vote to restore the police station and establish a dual inspection model of checkpoints + police stations."
Carlo Dickinson immediately raised her hand and scanned the room with a hawk-like gaze.
Following his action, one-third of the people raised their hands one after another, including representatives from several departments in the buffer zone.
Liu Kun sat in his original position, his eyes gradually getting colder as he glanced at those who raised their hands.
But what surprised him greatly was that the three people from the technology faction actually hesitated for a moment and then raised their votes in favor one after another. It was clear that they had already had a tacit understanding.
"I disagree!" Liu Kun stood up abruptly, suppressing his anger and growling. "The Police Department was abolished because of its inefficiency and confusion over responsibilities. How can we bring back the same failed old system and repeat the same mistakes? Who will be held accountable?"
However, before he could finish his words, an invisible force suddenly struck him.
No one even realized what was happening, and they saw Liu Kun being hit by a high-speed train and flying backwards like a meteor.
With a loud bang, it smashed through the wall at the back of the venue, leaving a clear human-shaped groove in the brick and stone debris.
"Anyone who shouts and screams again will suffer the same fate."
Yuan Gang put down the hand that he had waved seemingly casually, his tone as flat as if he was talking about the weather, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
The whole place was dead silent, even the sound of breathing seemed to be strangled.
Four or five seconds later, the damaged wall suddenly burst into flames. In the firelight, Liu Kun rushed back with smoke all over his body.
His hair was disheveled, blood was hanging from the corners of his mouth, and his clothes on his chest were burnt, but his eyes, which were burning with flames, eventually died down little by little when he met Yuan Gang's indifferent gaze.
He could only snort heavily, sitting back in his seat with anger, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
When Ding Yishan noticed that Liu Kun was avoiding his gaze, he was stunned and his heart sank to the bottom.
“Keep voting.”
Yuan Gang's eyes swept across the entire audience, as if the conflict just now had never happened.
More people raised their hands hesitantly, but at this moment, the representative of the idealists, who had been silent like an outsider behind the table, suddenly stretched out his finger and lightly tapped the table.
There was no sound, but it was like an invisible command.
In an instant, many raised hands fell down in unison, as neatly as if they had been trained.
Um?
Liu Kun was stunned, Ding Yishan was stunned, and even Hou Rui and Carol Dickinson were all stunned.
Such a dead idealist actually has the time to express his opinions proactively?
Did these guys suddenly remember that they were once part of the checkpoint?
Hou Rui's expression changed. After a two-second pause, he announced in a deep voice, "The proposal to restore the Police Department has not received more than half the votes, so it will not pass."
Then he deliberately quickened his speech, as if wanting to turn the page as quickly as possible, and continued, "Next item, vote on the third phase of the inspector accompaniment system."
Carlo Dickinson raised his hand again, but this time, no one looked at him. Everyone's attention was focused on the idealist representative, and even Yuan Gang's gaze lingered for a moment.
However, the few idealists still looked at their noses and their mouths with their eyes, and retreated into their shells of outsiders, as if their previous actions were just an illusion.
The meeting room was quiet for a few seconds, and some people began to raise their hands tentatively. As the number of votes in favor gradually increased, the idealist spokesperson seemed to be suddenly awakened and tapped the table lightly again.
The exact same scene as before was repeated: all the raised hands fell down in an instant, and only Carlo Dickinson was left raising her hand in the entire venue, which seemed particularly absurd.
"Yu Hong, is this your idea or the elders'?"
Yuan Gang frowned directly, his tone carrying a hint of impatience, "If the elder has anything to say to us, just say it directly."
"good."
Yu Hong stood up and said, "The buffer zone experiment has yielded good results, and everything is progressing as expected. Unless necessary, do not push forward any reforms that will affect these results."
The words fell.
He sat back in his seat without saying another word, as if he was just a mouthpiece.
The venue was completely silent.
Even the impatience on Yuan Gang's face disappeared. His fingertips paused on the table for a moment, and finally he nodded lightly.
There was no rebuttal, no follow-up questions, and not even any unnecessary expressions.
But everyone understood that the vote on the checkpoint had been completely decided by these few short sentences.
After all, in Xingfu City, the will of the elders has always been lower than that of the city lord An Xingfu!
Since Deputy City Lord Yuan Gang agreed, there was no need for any further discussion.
After a while.
After the meeting, Yuan Gang left, and the rest of the people also left one after another.
Only the three idealists, as well as Liu Kun and Ding Yishan, seemed to have a tacit understanding and continued to sit behind the long table without moving.
Only after the last footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor did Yu Hong slowly stand up and walk over.
"Director Liu, Stationmaster Ding."
"Um."
In terms of relationship, although the Idealists were nominally a branch of the Checkpoint, they had long ago drawn a clear line with the Checkpoint because they voluntarily withdrew. Both sides were very restrained and occasionally interacted but did not interfere with each other.
In terms of status, the Idealists' apparent voice in Happiness City is actually lower than that of the checkpoints. Their only subordinate unit is the Public Works Bureau, which is responsible for infrastructure construction and is in charge of the most trivial matters such as road construction, house building, and land reclamation. They are a real marginal faction within the power system.
But their real confidence lies not in these obvious powers and resources, but in the three city-building veterans who support them behind the scenes.
Today, there are only ten veterans left in Happiness City, five of whom are from the technology faction, three from the idealist faction, and two from the extraordinary faction.
As the founder who built the Happy City from the ruins, he has reached the top level in terms of qualifications and combat power to survive to this day. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the mainstay of this sheltered city.
As long as these elders are still here, no matter how factions fight, the foundation of this city will not be shaken.
"After what happened back then, the elders said they wouldn't interfere with the checkpoint operations. That still stands. Your autonomy is still in your own hands."
Yu Hong's eyes passed over Liu Kun and fell directly on Ding Yishan's face. "But if you continue to fight among yourselves, turning the buffer zone into a mess of free play and destroying the experimental results, the elders will no longer care after the beginning of next spring!"
After he finished speaking, Liu Kun frowned slightly.
Ding Yishan immediately stood up and bowed slightly. "Director Yu, thank you for me, Elder. Do you have any other instructions?"
"Other instructions, um."
Yu Hong hesitated for a moment and laughed, "Since the elders haven't given any instructions, I personally would like to give Director Ding a piece of advice."
"Please go ahead!"
“The person who tied the bell must untie it. Only by keeping your original aspiration can you have a place in the city of happiness.”
This time, he looked directly at Liu Kun. "But if you continue to use the checkpoint as a springboard to transcendence, as a ladder to the upper echelons of power, as a bargaining chip, and as a tool to realize your personal ambitions, then the checkpoint will be just like us back then. There's no need for it to continue existing!"
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