Chapter 193: Chapter 193

A mere three hundred people, placed before a formation of twenty thousand gathered people, would normally be nothing worth mentioning.

But these three hundred wore black shirts, walked in unified steps, and bore murderous auras on their faces, making them particularly conspicuous.

Like a drop of ink suddenly dripping into a basin of clear water, no one could ignore its existence.

The closer they got, the greater the sensation they caused.

Almost the entire formation, all the inspectors' gazes were drawn over.

"This day has finally come!"

A surging feeling rose up. Cheng Ye clenched his fists, forcefully suppressing the unusual excitement throughout his body.

Although he hadn't turned around, he knew that at this moment everyone's gazes were not only falling on the convoy and black-shirted militiamen, but would soon all focus on him, this trainee inspector.

Although the second batch inspector contracting assessment was strictly confidential and not a reality show for people to watch, it wouldn't let department ministers or unrelated people come to spectate. Legion patrol vehicles were strictly controlling the surrounding area, and even staff from other departments weren't allowed to approach and disturb.

From today on, "trainee inspector" would no longer be his most prominent title.

The two characters "Cheng Ye" would truly step onto the stage, entering the view of Happiness City's big shots, and would also spread to places outside Happiness City.

Perhaps he would appear in the intelligence departments of those super sanctuary cities, becoming a target worthy of special attention.

Or perhaps he would appear on the lists of certain assassin organizations or mercenary organizations, attracting more executors to move at the news.

But this was precisely the necessary path for every big shot's rise, the beginning of every legend.

His starting point as an inspector was far higher than Cheng Long's back in the day. He didn't need to leave his homeland and join the Pioneer Corps seeking a way out.

His rise was also destined to attract more attention than Cheng Long's did back then. From the moment of his appearance, he would become the focus of the entire venue.

Cheng Ye asked himself in his heart. What responded to him was a series of powerful heartbeats and passion rising from deep within.

Combat power at the Embryonic Realm gave him hard capabilities sufficient to contend with third term inspectors.

Transcendent abilities at his side, whether Fire Sprout or the Tears of the Horned Starfish, both could let him turn the tables in desperate situations.

Plus that Collector which required massive resources and needed him to travel the wasteland gathering information.

And the most important identity as an inspector.

From the moment he entered the inspection station, his life was destined to either die in mediocrity or become legendary in a spectacular rise.

Since that was the case, what was there to worry about?

The tall tree catches the wind.

But that also depended on whether this gun was an ordinary guard's pistol or a large-caliber sniper rifle.

Whether this tall tree was a harmless mutant sparrow or a transcendent Flame Eagle capable of soaring through the skies!

The convoy continued to approach. The Legion guards maintaining order immediately went up to meet them. After a brief exchange, they allowed passage.

"I'm not violating the rules, am I?" Cheng Ye turned his head to ask.

Link quickly shook his head with a smile, "The station chief already instructed that as long as inspectors don't directly enter the refugee formation to communicate, using any method to attract refugees to come forward for consultation doesn't count as a violation."

Cheng Ye nodded slightly. With this rule in place, it saved him from having to call Ding Yishan to explain.

The core of this assessment was demonstrating the philosophy for building satellite cities. People like Zhao Jia only focused on the word "assessment" but forgot the key point of "demonstrating philosophy." Now naturally they'd become "fat pigs" stuck in a dilemma, only able to be manipulated by the refugee formation.

Those high-term inspectors were much smarter. Although they were also communicating with intermediaries, they focused on the refugees' profiles, indirectly inquiring about their preferences, such as what kind of philosophy they favored and whether they resisted heavy labor.

Only after thoroughly understanding these details would they stand up to proclaim refined and optimized philosophies and formally begin recruitment.

In an ideal state, Big Dragon should have brought people in only after the fourth and third term inspectors had recruited almost everyone and competition wasn't so fierce.

But then again, refugees weren't data-driven products, but living, breathing people with their own thoughts.

To compete, one had to go all out from the very beginning.

The convoy stopped fifty meters behind Cheng Ye. The three hundred militiamen quickly changed formation with astonishing uniformity, dividing into three columns:

One column, led by Big Dragon, jogged forward to take over maintaining order from the guards.

One column, led by Second Dragon, stood at attention on the open ground to the right of the awning.

The last column remained in place, standing by the vehicles.

Throughout the entire process, no one spoke, nor were any commands issued.

Although in Cheng Ye's view, the uniformity was far from the spirited momentum of modern military parades, in the eyes of these unsophisticated refugees, it was already enough to be called shocking.

What were they doing?

The originally calm fourth term inspectors also stood up one after another, looking toward the awning in the corner.

First, second, and even some third term inspectors couldn't hold back even more, curiously discussing among themselves.

"This doesn't violate the rules?" Garcia turned his head to ask a clerk.

After receiving a positive answer, a trace of complexity and shock flashed in his eyes. Looking carefully, there was even some bewilderment.

Rocook had a face full of curiosity and amazement. His earlier emotions were completely swept away, instead revealing some understanding, as if he grasped why Ding Yishan would cultivate this trainee inspector.

As for the other Eastern inspectors, some even wanted to stand up and go investigate. After being stopped by clerks, they could only shake their heads with regret.

In a competitive setting, each person relied on their own methods.

After confirming that Cheng Ye's actions didn't violate the rules, no one made unreasonable trouble. Instead, everyone's minds became active.

If this section didn't count as a violation, couldn't they also imitate it?

Unfortunately, as soon as this thought emerged and they looked at the time, only three and a half hours remained. They might not be able to organize such a uniform team.

If the effect wasn't as good as Cheng Ye's side, not only would they waste effort, but they'd instead become clowns highlighting him.

Furthermore, this type of method worked best when used first. Using it afterward would only greatly diminish its effect.

Without understanding Cheng Ye's purpose for bringing so many people, blindly imitating would only be like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi's frown.

The personnel were in position.

Big Dragon jogged forward from the back of the line, standing before Cheng Ye. His arm moved, performing a Pioneer Corps salute he hadn't used in years.

It was a somewhat modified military salute, right hand clenched in a fist, arm at ninety degrees pressed against his chest, as if trudging through wind and snow.

"Dapo Town Militia Chief Commander, Ping Dalong, reporting to Inspector Cheng Ye!"

As soon as the words fell, the three columns of militiamen, as if receiving a signal, shouted in unison, "Dapo Town militia forces, reporting to Inspector Cheng Ye!"

In just an instant, not only did Cheng Ye's entire body slightly tremble, but Wang Kang, the surrounding inspectors, guards, and clerks also all got goosebumps.

Clearly everyone knew this was being done for the refugee formation to see, all understood this was slightly awkward showmanship.

Yet witnessing this scene with their own eyes, hearing the uniform shouting, the feeling in their hearts was particularly subtle.

Thinking more carefully, when they stood up proclaiming those empty and lofty philosophies, wasn't that also showmanship?

Thinking more carefully, did they have the ability to summon such a team to stand here and put on a show?

The answer was... no.

Since they couldn't, what qualification did they have to criticize others' showmanship when they couldn't even do it themselves?

Under everyone's gaze, Cheng Ye first nodded slightly to Big Dragon, likewise returning the Pioneer Corps military salute.

Then he turned around, looking toward Second Dragon standing to the right of the awning.

"Captain Ping Erlong."

"Begin erecting the poster panel housing."

"Erlong understands!"

Second Dragon immediately nodded in acknowledgment, picking up the defense communicator at his waist to make a call.

Under the curious gaze of all the refugees, four more medium-sized cargo trucks drove over from the distance.

The trucks steadily drove to the rear of the formation. After a skillful U-turn, the hundred militiamen guarding by the vehicles immediately stepped forward, opened the rear compartment doors, and began relay-carrying components of varying lengths from inside.

"Isn't that a standard residential unit?"

The two Western second term inspectors at tent number 31 were stunned.

Standard residential units looked simple, but their cost wasn't low. Among the inspectors of the first batch of 12 satellite cities, not a single person had chosen to use them.

Even some residential units forcibly allocated by the industrial district had been returned by them with excuses.

The reason was simple. The construction budget for satellite cities was fixed. Suffering a bit more now meant not having to worry about reinforcing for warmth in winter, and they could be used long-term afterward without worrying about subsequent maintenance issues.

But if they chose residential units, they'd have to face winter troubles and increasingly numerous hidden problems in the future.

If any unexpected situations occurred in between, problems would pile up one after another without even a mature solution to be found.

Could this Inspector Cheng be trying to use standard residential units to attract refugees to join?

The group of inspectors watching the excitement became even more curious. They seemed to have forgotten this assessment was still ongoing, instead acting like they were attending a study session.

Not only were the refugees quietly observing, but all the inspectors, guards, and clerks were also dumbfounded. Even inspectors who were familiar with each other took out their defense communicators, dialed the inspection station's public number to activate group calls, and chatted and discussed inside.

"See that? This is what makes Inspector Cheng unique. I was the first to discover it."

On the roof of a pickup truck at the perimeter, Jiang Chuan held binoculars and watched for a while, then proudly showed off to Mu Shuang beside him.

"Today's inspectors are very different from before. In the past, inspectors ate and lived together with residents. Forget about going to the grassroots, even the places they lived were in shantytowns and civilian districts. Not a single inspector would deliberately isolate themselves from communication with residents, placing themselves high above.

"But now it's different. Forget about the first and second term inspectors below, even the former high-term inspectors rarely have contact with residents. To pull together a team like Inspector Cheng's, I think even fourth term inspectors might not have this ability."

As he spoke, his tone was full of admiration and emotion he couldn't hide.

Mu Shuang beside him was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "Contact has a price. In the past there weren't so many infection sources, so inspectors dared to have contact with lower-level residents. Now more and more inexplicable infection sources are appearing, and infiltration methods are more sinister. The more contact with people below, the higher the risk of infection."

Jiang Chuan said somewhat wistfully, "Even station chiefs rarely have contact with residents below now. Station Chief He Fei was an inspector for so many years, yet just from exploring the quarantine zone once, he was invaded by a mother source and died. How can we expect inspectors below to ignore these huge risks?"

As these words fell, both fell silent simultaneously.

Mu Shuang deliberated for a full minute or two before shaking her head, "He's different from Ding Xiao. Back when Ding Xiao saved you, it was because he valued your martial arts talent, valued your ability potential, so he rescued you from the refugee camp and supported you as you grew up."

"A gentleman judges deeds, not hearts. Regardless of what purpose Inspector Ding Xiao had back then, he saved my life and also saved the lives of many children. That's never wrong. I will, on behalf of those children, give this life back to the station chief."

Jiang Chuan grinned. The sincerity in his smile left Mu Shuang completely stunned.

The two had discussed this topic before, but every time Ding Xiao was mentioned, Jiang Chuan would fall silent and avoid it, unwilling to talk much about the other party's thoughts back then.

And this point had always left his guardian belief missing the most important piece.

That piece was called "the original intention of guardianship."

He clearly knew Ding Xiao saved the children from the refugee camp with a clear purpose, wanting to cultivate enforcers, yet he was unwilling to admit it and unwilling to let "guardianship" carry utilitarian overtones.

This meant he could only barely survive, maintaining the power of a half-step transcendent. This update ıs available on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩

"Yes, I've already felt my belief changing, it's..."

Jiang Chuan picked up the binoculars again to look into the distance, "After coming into contact with Inspector Cheng, he suddenly made me understand many things."

"Guardianship with 'clear purpose' doesn't need to be ashamed to admit. Many times speaking it out openly and generously is better. The people being guarded actually feel more at ease."

Mu Shuang pursed her lips, "I thought you'd comprehended some great belief that would let you immediately become transcendent!"

"Of course there's more. Actually..."

Jiang Chuan smiled and extended his right hand. A faint blue glow flashed in his palm.

Compared to when the two had met a few days ago, the intensity of the blue light had obviously weakened, but it was more condensed.

Mu Shuang looked once and was suddenly stunned, "Your belief is dissipating?"

"No, the belief is changing. There won't be a Jiang Chuan trapped by 'guardianship' anymore. There will only be a Jiang Chuan who understands what he fights for."

He said with a smile. The blue light in his palm soon dissipated.

"Is it the Walker?" Mu Shuang said thoughtfully.

"That's part of the reason, but the Walker's power is only an aid, letting you no longer fear change."

Jiang Chuan nodded seriously, then couldn't help but ask at the end, "After wandering outside for so many years, what about yours?"

"Same as always. I never had much belief to begin with and don't want to become transcendent. I was just eroded by that damned infection source and had no choice but to do it to survive."

Mu Shuang shook her head, speaking with apparent indifference, but her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the distant awning number 32.

In just over ten minutes.

Piles of materials unloaded from the cargo trucks had already been assembled in the hands of hundreds of militiamen into an elongated residential unit about thirty square meters in size.

Behind the main unit, new residential units were being assembled.

But the style had changed, from elongated to square. The small ones were about eight square meters, the large ones around fifteen square meters.

Even more surprisingly, iron frames and pipes were also unloaded from the fourth cargo truck and being carried into several residential units, seemingly to assemble bunk beds inside.

Some finished wooden furniture was moved into the square units behind and placed in corners.

"What are they doing?"

Mu Shuang couldn't help but ask curiously.

But what she didn't know was that at this moment, in the formation of twenty thousand people, everyone was just as full of curiosity as her.

This was truly unconventional.

Even knowing it might just be a gimmick performance, people couldn't help but want to figure out what this Inspector Cheng wanted to do, what he wanted to show the refugees.

Did he want to show off that he had a team of enforcers under him?

Or did he want to demonstrate that he would build residential units in Dapo Town?

Unable to guess Cheng Ye's thoughts, everyone could only quietly watch as residential units were gradually completed, with four cargo trucks departing one after another.

"Thank you for your hard work."

The two hundred militiamen responsible for construction were drenched in sweat, but fortunately their daily training hadn't been in vain.

Using only 27 minutes, a large dormitory, three family rooms, and two single rooms, a total of six model homes rose from the ground, occupying quite a large area.

Of course, limited by not treating the foundation, and with some key screws and fixing devices not installed, these model homes were actually just for show. A storm could blow them down.

But for showing refugees right now, it was completely sufficient!

The six vehicles parked behind the awning started up again, slowly driving to the front of the model homes.

They turned around and opened their trunk compartments.

Pre-folded wooden boards and frames were extracted from inside, quickly unfolding along the edges of the trunk compartments.

The wooden boards unfolded from the two pickups were the largest, a full four meters long and three meters wide, covered with colorful posters.

The three transport vehicles' were slightly smaller, but still three meters long and two meters wide.

As for the off-road vehicle, although the panel was only half the size of the transport vehicles', it only had one eye-catching poster attached.

Below was an overhead engineering view of Dapo Town after completion, looking like a modern small town, making people feel at first glance that life held promise.

Above was a line of large characters:

[Illustrated Guide to Understanding—Dapo Town Resident Settlement Policy]

The edge of the refugee formation was already nearly a hundred meters from the awning, let alone the position to the right of the awning.

The previously orderly formation immediately erupted in clamor as the posters unfolded.

Some people in the back even unconsciously pushed forward, wanting to see clearly what was written and printed on those papers.

In the pushing and shoving, the scene gradually became chaotic.

It wasn't until the guard team saw the situation about to spiral out of control and quickly had more than a dozen armed pickups drive to the edge of the formation for patrol control, plus loudspeakers constantly persuading, that order was barely stabilized.

But imperceptibly, the formation that had originally favored awning number 1 had undergone obvious changes.

The whole had shifted about thirty-some meters, almost entirely leaning toward awning number 32.

At a glance, the front-to-back order of the awnings had really reversed just as Cheng Ye said.

"Brother Cheng... did you arrange all this?"

Wang Kang was somewhat dazed.

He'd seen the posters, he'd seen the vehicles. He'd thought this was all the methods Cheng Ye had prepared, but what was with these six residential units suddenly erected?

And this placement, promotional methods, and the degree of uniformity in personnel assembly...

He completely couldn't understand, or rather his brain had completely crashed. He didn't know where to start pondering.

"Otherwise, would I conjure them down from the sky for you?"

Cheng Ye quickly stepped forward, smoothing the raised corners of several posters, extremely satisfied inwardly.

"What I showed you were the most core things, because your mind could quickly imagine what the residential units looked like and could also sketch what Dapo Town would look like after completion."

He paused, then changed the subject, "But they're different. The refugees come from every corner of Shi Province. Some come from closed small settlements, some are old residents of other sanctuary cities. Their cognitive levels aren't on the same standard.

"To make this group truly understand, we must design according to the most basic cognition, abandoning those deeper underlying theories. We must let all of them be able to understand. Only then can the plan be pushed through. Otherwise it's just empty talk and self-entertainment."

Cheng Ye turned his head.

In front of the militia team led by Big Dragon, over a hundred people were already lining up as required, wanting to come over for consultation.

Among them were able-bodied young adults who hadn't been selected, couples gathered together, and even some of those families with children who'd been unmoved had come over.

Except for families with children and elderly who were still observing, everyone else's faces were full of curiosity and urgency. Where was the earlier waiting for the right price?

As expected, when faced with truly good things, everyone knew that running fast was the only way to grab them.

"Come on, it's time to test the results!"