Wasteland Border Inspector

Chapter 12: Work-for-Relief Programs and the Threat of Natural Disasters!
Since he had already been assigned to the North-South Expressway post to "die," Cheng Ye simply skipped work and didn't even bother to call in sick from the checkpoint.

The North and South stations were managed by the East and West factions, respectively.

The central checkpoint is managed by two factions on a rotating basis, and today it is the duty station chief of the eastern faction, He Fei.

"Station Chief He, I've suddenly run into some issues and might not be able to report to the checkpoint for the time being." Before Cheng Ye could finish speaking, He Fei's hearty laughter came through the receiver, mixed with the constant beeping of communicators in the office.

"Cheng Ye, Station Chief Ding just mentioned your situation to me. Don't worry, the rapid response team has a heavy responsibility, and it's not easy for a newcomer to shoulder this responsibility. Here's what I'll do: I'll approve your leave until the day after tomorrow. Prepare well and don't let Station Chief Ding and everyone else down!"

He Fei emphasized the word "expectations".

The implication is clear: it's fine to prepare for leave, but don't try to use leave as a cover to avoid going to the fast track.

"Okay, thank you for your understanding, Station Chief He. I will be on time."

After exchanging a few pleasantries and hanging up the phone, Cheng Ye was surprised to find himself with an extra day off, which suddenly made his previously tight preparation time much more relaxed.

I fetched water, washed my face, and the cool water splashed on my face, washing away the fatigue of a sleepless night.

After staring at himself in the mirror for a long time, Cheng Ye suddenly managed a smile.

Suddenly arriving in this unfamiliar wasteland, everything familiar around him vanished instantly—friends, family, social relationships, and especially the changes in his appearance—caused him a profound sense of emptiness and unreality, as if he were detached from the world.

A voice inside me kept shouting: What's the point of struggling? Give up. Giving up might allow me to return to familiar Earth immediately, instead of being trapped in this man-eating wasteland, struggling in vain while suffocating.

This idea continued to develop over time.

For the past two months, Cheng Ye has frequently woken up from nightmares, standing by the window or going to the rooftop, wanting to "restart" more than once.

But now, he suddenly realized that all those thoughts in his mind had disappeared.

It seems like just last night, and it seems like with the increase in strength, it disappeared completely.

Even more bizarrely, as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror, countless new thoughts flooded his mind:
He suddenly realized, suddenly discovered, that he seemed to be...
Suddenly I'm starting to like this world?

Are you a little reluctant to leave?
Not only because the wasteland is like Earth, but also because there are people here who genuinely care about him and are good to him.

More importantly, it's because of this world fraught with danger and turbulent undercurrents.

That was absolutely fucking thrilling!
The game between people, the struggle between two factions, and the scheming that often involves life and death.

Compared to the repetitive daily life on Earth, a life where you can see the end from the beginning once you get a stable job.

This is just too awesome!

"Damn it, am I a masochist?"

A love of excitement and aversion to repetition are likely two completely different personality traits.

Cheng Ye thought about it and felt that he should lean more towards the latter, but the social environment suppressed that part of his personality and made it difficult for him to express it.

For example, give him another chance to choose between two worlds.

Cheng Ye had no guarantee that he would make the firm choice to return to Earth and live a life like an NPC.

"Given my status, I absolutely cannot integrate into the Western faction."

It's not just because of his Eastern appearance, but also because of Cheng Long's influence and Liu Bi's identity. As long as Cheng Ye can't completely sever ties with these factors, the Western faction will absolutely not allow him to join.

"So if you want to survive, there's really only one clumsy way: go back to the poker table and try to show your value."

For Cheng Ye, this was actually not difficult.

Because his current strength has undergone earth-shattering changes, it is vastly different from Ding Yishan's impression of him.

"I got through the initial period of getting the job done at the rapid epidemic checkpoint without any help from anyone."

"I'll find a suitable opportunity to showcase my fighting prowess and overall qualities. I refuse to believe that Ding Yishan will be willing to overdraw his cards against Garcia when my score is higher!"

After wiping the water droplets from his face, Cheng Ye returned to the house and packed the remaining seven bags of nutrient solution into his backpack.

In order to quickly get started with the work of an inspector, he focused his energy on familiarizing himself with the inspection process, and completed all the theoretical knowledge tests by rote memorization. He even broke a small record at the checkpoint.

However, this allocation of time also resulted in his insufficient understanding of the infected and the entire wasteland world, or rather, in order to survive, he had no intention of learning about these things.

Now that I've been rotated to the rapid epidemic inspection post, these are things I need to learn as soon as possible.

"Two days should be enough time for me to familiarize myself with how to deal with common infected organisms."

Cheng Ye changed into his raincoat, picked up his backpack, and went out. Several phone calls delayed him, and it was already past eight o'clock; the main urban area was bustling again.

As we walked along, we saw that several low-lying areas were indeed flooded, and the residents living there could only scoop water out with buckets, looking quite disheveled.

Perhaps due to the influx of new residents, relief tents have been set up at the entrances of several large shopping malls.

New residents of Happiness City can receive free nutritional syrup here by presenting their resident ID card. Each person receives three bags per day for three consecutive days.

In addition, the Public Works Department set up several recruitment booths for "work-for-relief" programs.

Cheng Ye squeezed into the crowd, his eyes scanning the hastily written words on the poster, noting that they were mainly concentrated in three directions:
1. Repair old underground drainage facilities and various pipes.

Work is calculated per person, and each person can earn 16 coins per day, which is equivalent to 8 bags of nutrient syrup. Compared to the drainage work on the ground, this is definitely a lucrative job.

However, it is also very difficult, because the underground environment is very complex, dirty and filthy, and the probability of injury is not small.

2. Cooperate with the official team to continue expanding the horizontal area of ​​the buffer zone.

The current buffer zone was expanded from the old industrial area of ​​Chuan City, and the surrounding area is mostly open wilderness and abandoned factories.

Creating more living space will naturally accommodate more refugees and guarantee their personal living space.

Work is calculated per person, and each person can earn 12 coins per day.

3. Leave the buffer zone and return to the city ruins to scavenge, or go to the designated location to obtain resources.

As is customary in previous years, after the summer rainstorms, a period of cool, rainless and windless autumn days will follow.

Simple canvas tents cannot withstand the cold winter, so building materials must be prepared in advance before winter.

Starting construction in the autumn allows for the expansion of more houses to provide shelter from the wind and rain before the cold winter arrives.

Due to the extremely high risk, the reward for this task is uncertain, and the final reward depends on the type and weight of the materials recovered.

"winter."

The first two tasks represent the current development direction of the buffer zone, which mainly focuses on the restoration of the old city area and horizontal expansion.

This is not surprising, because most of the high-rise buildings left over from the old era have become dangerous buildings after being exposed to the elements, and the difficulty of repairing them is far greater than demolishing and rebuilding them.

Add to that the elusive mutated beasts and the extremely threatening infected, and urban ruins have always been forbidden zones for life, with only a portion of scavengers daring to venture into them.

However, the latter task reflects the current hidden dangers in the buffer zone.

The influx of refugees had already overwhelmed the buffer zone, reaching its maximum capacity.

"When winter comes, the land will be frozen solid, the dam will be short of power, and it will be difficult to supply even the inner city. The buffer zone will definitely experience a major power outage, and forget about heating. If we don't take advantage of the upcoming autumn to expand the project like crazy, everyone living in tents will turn into an ice pop."

Squeezing out of the crowd, Cheng Ye wiped the water droplets from his face, secretly on guard.

Given the thickness of the walls in the tenement building, if the outside temperature drops below minus 20 degrees Celsius, the inside will definitely be similar to an ice cellar, and you'll get sick from the cold in just a few days.

However, now is not the time for him to worry about how to get through the winter. He needs to find a way to survive the rapid epidemic before he can talk about dealing with subsequent natural disasters.

Once on the bus, the mud-covered wheels rolled over puddles, causing the bus to shake violently on the muddy road.

Cheng Ye gripped the handrail, his gaze sweeping across the dilapidated buildings rushing past in the blurry rain outside the window.

He usually travels from the main urban area to the south training ground, but this is his first time traveling north.

Unlike the south side, which is full of open spaces and factories, the north side is a former industrial and residential area, with houses crammed together along the roadside, their walls covered with moss and cracks.

Some windows were missing panes of glass, held together haphazardly with broken planks, while others were simply left open, revealing pairs of lifeless eyes.

As the train continued forward, when the announcement system hoarsely called out "Library Station," Cheng Ye stepped out of the train alone, amidst the collective stares of the passengers inside.

A humid, hot wind carrying raindrops rushed towards me, splashing water onto my rain boots.

Looking up into the distance, a three-story building that used to be a community service center has been transformed into a so-called library, with warm yellow light pouring out through the glass windows.

On this overcast and rainy day, the whole world was enveloped in a gray and cold hue.

The orange glow in the rain brought a rare sense of familiar "happiness" to Cheng Ye's heart.

P.S.: Everyone, please give me some energy!!! I'm begging for monthly votes, favorites, and to keep reading! My new book's stats are absolutely terrible, easily crushed by established authors. I'm not having it!!! Please lend me a hand!!!
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(End of this chapter)