Although no one really knew anyone else's identity, anyone who could afford to live in a tenement building in the Buffer Zone was either wealthy or well-connected.
Seeing Cheng Ye return with so many materials, other residents on the fifth floor poked their heads out, panicked by the sight.
"Young man, where did you buy all that?"
Someone came over to ask. Cheng Ye pointed out the window toward the pedestrian street. "The flea market. Hurry and grab what you can—get there too late, and there won't even be a scrap left."
"Grab?"
"What else? Infected entities have slipped in. You think this sheet-metal door is going to stop them?"
Cheng Ye kicked the cracked hinges on the floor. The older woman who had asked turned pale in an instant, and several middle-aged folks gathered around were frightened half to death.
In less than five minutes, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway.
People from household after household rushed out with bags to scramble for goods, and before long, footsteps resounded downstairs as well.
Cheng Ye leaned out to look. Good grief—the entire electronic factory residential compound had been thrown into an uproar.
Even though many had already reinforced their doors and windows beforehand, faced with this commotion, how could anyone resist joining the scramble?
*In a sense, could Stationmaster He Fei be credited with stimulating the economy?*
What a morbid joke.
Cheng Ye shook his head in slight bemusement, but soon understood the reason.
From what he had learned that morning, while inspectors could filter out ninety-nine percent of the threat from infected entities, slipped-through threats always existed in the Buffer Zone.
It was rarely a person who got infected; rather, an infection source would be smuggled inside and trigger an internal outbreak.
This happened especially frequently during spring and winter, with an outbreak roughly every week or two.
Summer and autumn were more hit-or-miss—sometimes occurring several times a year, sometimes remaining peaceful for an entire year.
The reason this incident caused such massive panic and a universal buying frenzy, however, lay in the stationmaster's death.
The last time an on-duty stationmaster had fallen in the line of duty was thirteen years ago.
At that time, infected entities sneaking in continuously had caused a riot that lasted over three months, with casualties surpassing ten thousand.
Counting those who fled amidst the chaos, the Buffer Zone's population plummeted by nearly forty percent, devastating its vitality.
Now that He Fei had died, people naturally dredged up the past and drew parallels between the two events.
What was more, bizarre movements among infected entities had been frequent since the start of the year, natural disasters struck regularly, and all these omens intertwined to leave everyone gripped by dread.
Once the crowds were gone, Cheng Ye patrolled the hallway, then returned to his doorway and murmured silently,
"Reinforce door, reinforce door, reinforce..."
As before, he let the Collector extrapolate freely, scanning the materials on the ground to propose courses of action.
A blue scanning light swept across.
A panel popped up automatically, displaying welcome text:
[Dilapidated Dwelling (Lv. 0)]
[Description]: A dilapidated dwelling providing only basic shelter, with a defensive coefficient of zero.
[Courses of Action]:
1. Basic Reinforcement (Reinforce door and window frames, fill wall cracks, and endow the dwelling with basic defense)
Estimated Action Points: 1 (Sufficient materials and tools acquired; point cost reduced)
2. Advanced Reinforcement (Make optimal use of all materials, rebuild the door frame with an alloy support structure, and install cross-meshed grilles on the windows to substantially boost defense, enabling it to withstand attacks from ordinary infected entities)
Estimated Action Points: 2 (Sufficient materials and tools acquired; skill check passed; point cost reduced)
3. Perfect Reinforcement (Reconstruct the structure, embed an Isolation Alloy frame, and install a pressure-sensitive hermetic hatch door to give it basic shelter attributes, capable of withstanding attacks from common infected entities)
Estimated Action Points: Locked (Prerequisites: Materials; Construction Machinery)
[Collector, please select a course of action!]
...
"Skill check passed... which means my civil engineering knowledge is sufficient."
Cheng Ye was pleasantly surprised.
Though civil engineering and construction had fallen to bottom-tier status in modern times, their utility in the wasteland was glaringly obvious.
Just like now: even the highest-difficulty Perfect Reinforcement satisfied the technical requirements—it simply lacked the requisite materials and construction machinery.
*Still, rebuilding the entire framework is absurd. A tenement's foundation is what it is. With that capability, I could practically build one from scratch out there, not to mention it would probably cost a massive number of action points.*
With virtually no hesitation, Cheng Ye chose Course of Action 2.
It cost only one more action point, yet made optimal use of the materials and explicitly stated it could withstand attacks from ordinary infected entities.
Worth every point!
With a shift of thought, the wondrous time-stop space manifested once more. The instant control of his body slipped away, Cheng Ye's perspective shot upward.
From this miraculous third-person perspective, moving as if on hundred-fold fast-forward, the dilapidated door frame was quickly cleared away, and the cracks and hollow voids in the wall were filled with a specialized bonding adhesive.
Next, expansion bolts were embedded into the brick wall at measured intervals to serve as anchor points for alloy pipes.
Four high-strength alloy pipes were installed along the top, bottom, left, and right of the doorway opening, with specialized adhesive injected into every joint.
Ignited with a lighter, a puff of smoke rose as angle brackets bonded with the alloy pipes, fusing them into a seamless door frame.
The once-shaky, rusted frame was revitalized through reconstruction, and the heavy security door—which would have taken two men to lift—was hung in place before Cheng Ye could even blink.
Having finished the entryway, his body moved swiftly to the windows. Steel bars of varying lengths interlocked at forty-five-degree angles, weaving into a diamond mesh resembling a modern security grille.
The ends of each bar were embedded into the walls and anchored to the building structure with expansion bolts.
[Action Complete!]
...
The profound, mystical sensation faded.
Cheng Ye's vision blurred for a split second. The materials on the floor had completely vanished; standing solidly in their place before him was a heavy security door.
"Incredible!"
Fumbling the accompanying keys from his pocket, Cheng Ye found his hands trembling slightly for no clear reason.
Only when he inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it gently, hearing the crisp clack of mechanical gears engaging, did he dare believe this was real!
That flimsy sheet-metal door truly belonged to the past. What greeted him now was a security door that radiated reassurance!
Pushing it open slowly, the sheer heft of the door panel brought an inexplicable sense of peace.
Shutting it, an unprecedented feeling of safety enveloped him, and his tightly wound nerves finally unwound.
"Now *this*... this is fucking living!"
Overcome with excitement, Cheng Ye couldn't help swearing to vent his elation.
However terrified he had been last night, he was just as exhilarated now.
The deadbolt knob clicked firmly into place.
A specialized small hatch on the security door was sized just right for a gun barrel, allowing him to fire outside without opening the door.
Cheng Ye stared at the little window, already scheming. Once the rewards from the Rotting Vine mission came through, he had to get his hands on a shotgun.
When that time came, if anyone dared scratch at his door, he wouldn't say a word—he'd blast them straight to God with a shotgun shell.
As for whether he might shoot the wrong person? Sorry, go tell it to the inspection station.
"I can finally get a good night's sleep."
Cheng Ye sat down on the bed and exhaled a long breath of stale air, as if releasing all the anxiety accumulated over the past days in that single sigh.
...
"You're in luck. That person you saved last night really wasn't an infected entity."
Inside the venue converted from a cinema, Cheng Ye had barely sat down when Matthew Lee squeezed in beside him with a wink and dropped onto the adjacent seat.
*This old slacker. Why does he act like we're lifelong buddies?*
Cheng Ye glanced around. Sure enough, many inspectors were casting peculiar looks their way.
An Easterner and a Westerner—in the current climate, they seemed like the last two people who would sit together.
"Ignore them," Matthew Lee scoffed, glaring back at the onlookers before turning toward Cheng Ye with a grin. "Those folks spend all day plotting how to pick sides and climb the ranks instead of putting their heads down and earning honest contribution points.
"You and I are cut from the same cloth: diligent, dutiful, the true pillars of the inspection station!"
Cheng Ye paused, amused by Matthew Lee's shamelessness. "So... my fellow pillar, do you know what happened last night?"
"Mm, heard there was a hiccup disposing of Stationmaster He Fei's body. They didn't understand the capabilities of that unknown infection source, so part of it leaked out. Shouldn't be too big a deal though—an Extraordinary stepped in..."
"An Extraordinary."
Cheng Ye turned the word over in his mind, a blazing hunger flashing in the depths of his eyes.
It was no longer the bare survival instinct of filling his belly, but a wild craving for higher planes of power, welling up from his very bones.
A mere genetic atavism talent had already turned his strength completely upside down.
What about an Extraordinary? What kind of world did they inhabit?
"Looks like you're also someone who relentlessly pursues individual strength..."
Noticing Cheng Ye's yearning, Matthew Lee shook his head with a smile. "With your background, ability, and methods, barring accidents, the station will definitely gain another Rank 5 inspector down the road. If luck's on your side, before I kick the bucket, I might even see Stationmaster Cheng take charge and unite East and West."
"Flattering me in advance?"
"Hardly. The inspection station's contribution system ensures that someone like you holds the greatest advantage."
Matthew Lee paused, his gaze fixing on Cheng Ye. "I know you grew up in the Inner City, where ID verification wasn't an issue. But after two months out here, you should realize the weight of this badge, right?"
"Mm..." Cheng Ye considered it for a moment without answering.
So far, he really hadn't encountered a single situation where his inspector badge failed to open doors. Even when having weapons forged at the metamaterials shop, the moment they heard "inspector," they willingly knocked off fifty contribution points.
Noticing his hesitation, Matthew Lee looked surprised. "Wait, this rank system isn't off-limits to trainees. Didn't Liu Bi tell you?"
"No." Cheng Ye shook his head gently. It wasn't that Liu Bi deliberately kept secrets; rather, with the capabilities Cheng Ye had shown previously, he hadn't even been sure he could survive his first field mission. Knowing all this would have only added useless worry.
To his surprise, Matthew Lee was unusually eager to share today. Before Cheng Ye could even ask, he launched into a stream of explanations:
"Trainee, Rank 1, Rank 2... all the way to Rank 5!
"With every promotion in rank, your badge level changes too. And it's not just a title change—the privileges you enjoy shift along with it.
"A Rank 1 inspector can freely enter and exit any facility under Happiness City's jurisdiction. Take the Cross Legion you ran into last night—the factories they guard, you can stroll right in whenever you please, and no one will stop you. That includes hydroelectric and power stations as well.
"As a Rank 2 inspector, carry your badge to the surrounding shelter cities and settlements, and as long as they trade with Happiness City, any request you make must be met unconditionally. Of course, don't go making absurd demands—use some common sense. You don't have to worry about paying for anything; the station covers it all as public expenses.
"Rank 3 inspectors, now that's where things get incredible..." Matthew Lee lowered his voice. "Rank 3 is the real qualitative leap. Infection tides hit once or twice every winter without fail, but as long as you hold a Rank 3 badge, you can go straight into the Inner City instead of staying in the Buffer Zone to suffer!"
"What?" Cheng Ye snapped his head up. Hadn't they said becoming an inspector meant cutting all ties with the Inner City forever?
"Don't look so shocked, as if we've committed a crime.
"Publicly claiming inspectors can't enter the Inner City is just propaganda to appease the masses. You have to make ordinary folks believe we're in the same trenches, weathering the infection tides side by side. It eases the pressure on our job."
Matthew Lee offered a knowing smile. "Don't think this mechanism is crude, and don't assume ducking into the Inner City is easy. Anyone who claws their way to Rank 3 either has ruthless methods or sharp brains. Wherever they go in the wasteland, they'd thrive just fine.
"Our station has fewer than forty Rank 3 inspectors in total. If we lost a batch every winter, how would this whole operation survive? Rely on fresh recruits every year to guard the front gates?
"This is the most critical place in the Buffer Zone. If it were rookies year in and year out, how could higher-ups ensure their loyalty? How could they ensure inspectors would lay down their lives to keep the infected entities at bay?"
The logic was sound. It took Cheng Ye a long moment to absorb it, and several paradoxes that had puzzled him for so long finally resolved themselves. Yet simultaneously, a new question surfaced.
"If it's for safety, why do the higher-ups require inspectors to go on dangerous field missions?"
"Cheng Ye, allow me to correct you. Going on field missions is by no means an order from the higher-ups."
Matthew Lee tapped on the table. "This was a right that our first and second generations of inspectors fought tooth and nail to wrest from Happiness City's upper echelon.
"It's solely because of this right that we inspectors can raise Happiness City's banner, carry our authority beyond this palm-sized Buffer Zone, and project power into the outside world.
"You think heading out there is just danger?
"Wrong!
"Once you step outside the Buffer Zone into the wider world, you'll understand.
"Whether it's gang members entrenched in the ruins or lethal scavengers hunting living people as prey, they all have to dance to our tune. A single word from you or me can choke off their supply lines. Without ammunition, tools, and energy, their survival is merely a matter of time.
"When you reach those settlements big and small, you'll see the lords there treating you like a god from the moment you arrive, practically groveling to lick your boots. Why? Because they need you to place a green checkmark on the inspection form to include their settlement in trade.
"Even in minor shelter cities, the castellan must carve out time to host you, bending over backward to satisfy you just to secure a larger trade quota."
He paused, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery:
"And if we stayed holed up in this Buffer Zone forever? Call us Happiness City inspectors if you want to be flattering, but put bluntly, we'd be nothing more than gatekeeping security guards. If the higher-ups so much as knit their brows, we'd have to run ourselves ragged just to appease them.
"Only by stepping out of here are you, I—all of us—true wasteland border inspectors, worthy of deciding where the frontier of human civilization is drawn!"
...
Chapter 46