Quarantine Zone A, An Unexpected Big Surprise

The checkpoint was divided into six sectors in total: Zones A, B, C, D, E, and F. Zones E and F were both twice the size of the other four zones. This layout dictated the checkpoint's internal configuration: Zones A, B, C, and D were lined up in the front row, with Zone E situated behind A and B, and Zone F behind C and D, forming a "four in front, two in back" structure. The station master's office was located on the sixth floor of the administration building in Zone E. As the highest vantage point of the entire checkpoint, its floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the entire jurisdiction. Heading down the stairs and passing through three sets of retractable isolation gates led directly into the checkpoint's core area. The isolation and inspection sector. The four front zones were strictly demarcated from one another by wire mesh, ensuring independent inspections while facilitating isolation and control during emergencies. Behind these four zones ran a secondary isolation corridor roughly twenty meters wide, spanning from east to west. This corridor served a dual function: under normal conditions, it was used for the decontamination and disinfection of personnel and supplies that had passed inspection; if an infected entity broke out of control in any sector, it could instantly transform into a heavy-fire interdiction zone, establishing the first line of defense for the entire station. To Cheng Ye's surprise, each isolation zone was further subdivided inside. The front half served as the quarantine area, used for preliminary screening of incoming personnel. The back half was the observation area, designated for in-depth testing and short-term isolation of suspected infected individuals. Through the wire mesh, Cheng Ye could see that although the observation area was open-air, it was fitted with four massive warehouses alongside several basic shelter structures. "Zone A mainly handles vehicle convoys. Just step through this door, and you're in." Leading Cheng Ye to the heavy isolation gate leading into Zone A, Raul pressed the intercom button beside the entrance and spoke a few words. Within half a minute, two staff members jogged over from inside. "This is Inspector Cheng Ye, on duty for Zone A's quarantine today. Familiarize him with the layout." "Uh, this..." Seeing Cheng Ye's Eastern features, both workers visibly froze. Only after confirming repeatedly that Cheng Ye was of purely Eastern descent, without mixed heritage, did the two exchange glances. The same suspicion was clear in their eyes: *Could Raul be speaking in reverse, hinting that we should make things difficult for this Eastern inspector?* Yet they were merely observers—errand boys and general helpers. Where would they get the nerve to cross a duty inspector? "Fools. Since when was it your place to meddle in factional struggles?" Raul massaged his temples in frustration, his tone irritated. Ever since the balance between the Eastern and Western factions had been shattered a few months ago, the fallout had gradually affected everyone across the station. Now even observers were daydreaming about joining in? Were they looking to die? "Easterner or Westerner, as long as someone is an inspector, taking your lives requires nothing more than a single word." "Understood?" "Ah, yes, absolutely understood!" The two nodded profusely. Though thoroughly dressed down by Raul, they felt an immense weight lift from their chests. After all, compared to offending an inspector and losing their livelihoods, enduring a reprimand wasn't worth fretting over. At the same time, they harbored quiet doubts. Raul was the son of the Deputy Station Master, notoriously arrogant and haughty. Just what was this Easterner's background to make Raul personally escort him to his post, even going out of his way to tell them to cooperate? "Inspector Cheng, I won't disturb you any further." "Much appreciated." Cheng Ye nodded, turning sideways as he slipped through the open isolation gate. As the metal door slid shut behind him, the isolation purifier mounted overhead kicked on with a rush of air, lightly stirring the golden bangs across Raul's forehead. Watching the retreating figure vanish from sight, a flicker of confusion rose in Raul's eyes, only to be gradually replaced by a deeper, inscrutable look. ... "Inspector Cheng, in the fast checkpoint, only inspectors rotate shifts daily. Barring fatalities or unforeseen incidents, standard staff members operate on three-month shifts." "Our current shift still has two months remaining. During duty hours, we will serve as your assistant observers during inspections." "Observers have no names; you only need to call us by our codenames." "I am Raven. I handle routine chores for you—fetching supplies, analyzing wounds, tracing origins, compiling documents, and calling in the cleanup crew. Please feel free to order me as needed." "He is Owl. He handles sentry duties and serves as your combat deputy. If you sense risk while inspecting an infected entity, just send him in." "Even if we fall in the line of duty, you don't need to worry. Fresh replacements will inherit our codenames and continue serving as your deputies." Raven and Owl walked ahead, explaining with grave expressions. The organizational hierarchy of the fast checkpoint was exceedingly simple. The duty inspector ranked highest, followed by the two observers beneath him, and below them were general staff and security guards. Cheng Ye nodded from time to time, musing that having Raul escort him here had indeed been a brilliant move. It spared him the headache of fumbling blindly through his first day at the fast checkpoint. Amidst the pungent reek of chemical disinfectants, the three passed through an isolation and decontamination corridor over ten meters long, finally stepping into the rear isolation section of Quarantine Zone A. His initial impression was that it resembled the interior of an open stadium. The isolation zone spanned roughly two hundred meters in length and one hundred meters in width. The ground was not coated with the epoxy flooring found in Zone E, but paved with alloy plates usually exclusive to the Inner City. Crisscrossing drainage trenches were embedded within the surface, through which rainwater cascading from the sky currently gurgled away. Further out in the open space stood the four massive warehouses he had previously glimpsed through the wire mesh. Drawing closer, Cheng Ye realized the four warehouses differed in size and construction materials, situated roughly twenty meters apart from one another. The materials used for the first two warehouses were familiar to Cheng Ye: modular metal sandwich panels commonly seen throughout the Buffer Zone, their silver-gray surfaces coated with anti-corrosion sealant. The panel joints fit together seamlessly, boasting an effective service life of up to fifty years. Yet the rear two warehouses looked somewhat unusual... Sensing Cheng Ye's curiosity, Raven immediately offered an explanation. "Because Quarantine Zone A handles vehicle inspections, its layout differs slightly from the other three zones. The most significant difference is that we have a dedicated warehouse for vehicle storage—namely, the structure right in front of you, Vehicle Warehouse No. 4." "Aside from this one, the remaining three warehouses are: "Warehouse No. 1, the Isolation Ward, used to isolate personnel whose quarantine results are questionable. The duration of isolation is determined by the duty inspector, with a mandatory minimum of seventy-two hours to ensure they are free of any parasitic infection before release. "Warehouse No. 2, the Living Quarters, which houses our staff and guards. Since we cannot leave when a shift ends like you do, we must remain garrisoned here throughout our entire three-month rotation. "Warehouse No. 3, the Supply Depository, which stores living provisions, pandemic-prevention supplies, and certain contraband seized from travelers... Ahem, if any particular item catches your eye, you may take it directly. The checkpoint conducts a cleanup cycle every seven days to haul away the remaining stock." As expected of the fast checkpoint, the very face of Happiness City—every sector was equipped to such an exhaustive degree. Quarantine Zone A had even lavishly constructed an entire vehicle garage... Cheng Ye halted his footsteps and cast a curious glance toward the nearest warehouse, No. 4. Because the isolation ward took up a vast portion of the observation grounds, the garage had been squeezed into a corner, making its footprint relatively modest. Space inside was tight. Six Jinbei vans were parked bumper-to-bumper, nearly packing the entire interior to capacity. *Wait!* Cheng Ye's scanning gaze suddenly locked in place. His pupils contracted sharply as he stared in utter disbelief at the wall of the garage. Could that old saying really be true—after a great battle, supplies were guaranteed to follow?! Mounted on the wall were six brand-new EV charging stations, arrayed neatly in two groups of three on the left and right! The three silver-gray charging stations on the left had slender cables barely two fingers thick. Judging by experience, they were likely slow chargers rated around 7 kW. However, the three slate-blue chargers on the right featured charging cables as thick as a man's forearm; their power output had to be at least 60 kW at baseline. *60 kW?!* Cheng Ye felt his thoughts detonate with a resounding bang, briefly depriving him of the capacity to think. It truly was searching high and low only to stumble upon it without lifting a finger! What did this signify? Charging at home for an entire night, even assuming an unbroken maximum draw of 2.5 kW, yielded at most around 20 kWh of electricity. Yet if he could hook into one of these fast chargers, that meant 60 kWh in a single hour. An eight-hour shift every day, if charged continuously, wouldn't that amount to... 480 kWh?! What kind of concept was that? It meant his frequency for initiating system searches would skyrocket from once every three days to four times a day! "S-Sir?" The two assistants were still walking ahead, intending to guide Cheng Ye through the inspection protocol first. Turning around, they were startled to find Cheng Ye standing frozen before the garage, a burning intensity blazing in his eyes. How could one even describe it? It was as if he were gazing upon the goddess of his dreams, standing inside the garage and beckoning him over. "Start by introducing the observation area to me." Cheng Ye took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions and striving to look as composed as possible. Small wonder he was so electrified. Even though his skill bar could only accommodate three active skills simultaneously, surplus search yields could be converted into the Information Points required to advance his Collector rank. With four searches a day, even if only one succeeded, his accumulation of Information Points would accelerate drastically. And if he could break out of Apprentice Lv. 1 and advance to Lv. 2 within a short span, he would unlock the search privileges for higher-tier Lv. 3 skills. What kind of transformation would equipping a Lv. 3 skill bring? Cheng Ye could not yet fathom it, but he knew with absolute certainty that this was the ultimate shortcut to establishing his roots in this wasteland!