Chapter 46 - 41: Extraordinary Baptism, Visitors on a Rainy Night!

"Hmm... Arrange for someone to make contact with him, see if we can bring him over to our side."

Compared to Ding Yishan’s hesitation, Harlem’s response was shockingly decisive.

"But... he’s one of the Eastern People?"

"What’s wrong with being Eastern? Isn’t Lei Hu also Eastern?"

Harlem showed a look of surprise, assessing Dario up and down.

"Haven’t I told you before? In faction struggles, what’s most important is to understand the other’s background."

"Cheng Long is Cheng Long, and he is he.

This kid has lived in the Inner City all his life, has never been involved in the station’s messy affairs, and has no sense of belonging to the Eastern Faction.

The only trouble is Liu Bi, and yet that fool Ding Yishan sent Liu Bi to the hydroelectric station. If we don’t bring him over now, are we going to wait until he’s established a foothold?"

"Do you think this kid is stupid? I guess he knows Ding Yishan transferred him to the rapid station for a different scheme, so he deliberately chose our North Station as an entry point, but it also gives us an opportunity."

"What about Garcia?"

Dario’s emotions fluctuated, thinking to himself that Harlem was really going all out in this struggle for station chief.

"He’s just barely out of the rescue phase and still lying in the medical facility. We go to win over Cheng Ye..."

"We’ll talk when he has the ability to stand in front of me and protest."

Harlem waved his hand, "Do as I say, it won’t take long. As long as the Eastern Faction is in turmoil, I’ll naturally have a way to secure your position as the station chief."

"Yes, Chief!"

Upon hearing that he could become the station chief, Dario’s eyes instantly lit up with excitement, and he didn’t bother to question anymore.

An ordinary inspector struggles all their life, never knowing when they might fall at the hands of an infected body.

But once you become the station chief, you rise above the lower levels and have the capital to climb upward.

Why was Harlem contending so fiercely with Ding Yishan?

In fact, everyone understands, that Happiness City’s six-year "Extraordinary Baptism" is now in its fifth year, and if he doesn’t fight, he’ll have to wait another six years!

In the previous round, Ding Yishan was strong, and Harlem chose to avoid the confrontation, voluntarily giving up the Extraordinary Baptism.

Who could have predicted that Ding Yishan would disappoint, first missing the awakening opportunity, then making a series of foolish mistakes, trying to curry favor with the upper echelons of Happiness City, not only losing Cheng Long, a key figure, but also losing several essential inspectors.

Therefore, in this round, Harlem will not sit and wait.

The seemingly intense faction struggle now is just the prelude.

The real storm will come when winter arrives, or even next spring, when it will completely sweep in.

By then, every inspector, regardless of being Fifth-Phase, Fourth-Phase, First-Phase, or even an intern, will not escape the storm’s impact!

...

Nightfall came, and the streetlights lit up.

The warm yellow halo permeated the quarantine area, dispersing the ink-black darkness spreading from the Wilderness.

A light drizzle began to fall again.

Occasionally, a bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, illuminating the distant city ruins’ silhouette, sparking howls from the mutant beasts.

"This damn weather..."

Matthew Lee saw off the last group of lined-up individuals, watching as everyone was escorted into the quarantine area by the guards, then straightened his back and rubbed his aching shoulder.

How many people were sent into the quarantine area today?

Eh, seems I’ve forgotten to count.

At least a good two hundred people, right? Each of these guys is quite suspicious!

"Seven minutes till the end of shift."

Taking out the Defense Communication to look at the time, Matthew Lee got up, leisurely heading towards the isolation net between Zone A and Zone B, planning to chat with Cheng Ye to pass the last bit of time.

"Inspector Cheng, it’s really quiet over here with you!" Matthew Lee complained, leaning on the mesh fence, "I’ve been run off my feet all day in Zone B, while you in Zone A only had one vehicle pass all day."

"Really?"

Cheng Ye was doing push-ups on the ground, replying without lifting his head.

"I see you don’t ask questions when you meet people, just send them straight into the quarantine zone, aren’t you busy?"

"Huh?"

Realizing the implication in Cheng Ye’s words, Matthew Lee paused, then laughed nonchalantly, "This you wouldn’t understand, I’ve been at the inspection station for more than twenty years, have seen quarantine cabin riots, withstood infected surges, the faction struggles large and small have never stopped, but to this day I can still stand here and chat with you, and what do I rely on?"

"Isn’t it because I’m cautious enough, and careful enough!"

"Is that so?"

Cheng Ye stood up, unable to resist giving a thumbs up.

The two had exchanged several times today during their busy schedules, now fairly familiar with each other. At least apart from Liu Bi, this old inspector was the first "friend" he made at the station.

Compared to the reckless Liu Bi, Matthew Lee’s caution was ingrained.

He’d been conservative in the morning with a four-in-one-out, but when the inspection level increased in the afternoon, it turned into a two-in-one-out.

In his view, it seemed entirely like randomly picking "lucky ones" to send into the quarantine cabin.

"I know you want to ask why I’m so afraid of death yet come to the rapid inspection station, right?"

Matthew Lee enjoyed Cheng Ye’s thumbs up, grinning shamelessly, "It’s actually quite simple; don’t underestimate that inspector badge in your hand, just focus on upgrading its level, reach a certain point, and as long as you don’t deliberately seek death, it’s really hard to die."

Finally finding a topic to converse with Cheng Ye, Matthew Lee showed some superiority of one with more experience.

"Back in the day when your father was still around, he looked down on people like me; every meeting he’d condescendingly look at me, never bothering to lift an eyelid, who’d have thought his son would end up praising me?"

"Uh..."

Cheng Ye couldn’t help but feel tired of retorting.

This guy’s skin was definitely the thickest he’d ever seen, tougher than the quarantine zone’s wire mesh.

Just as he was about to inquire about the inspector badge level.

Thud.

A crisp bell sound echoed from within the inspection station, looking up at the watchtower, the Yellow Flag that hung all day had finally been retracted.

"Finally, it’s over."

Matthew Lee rubbed his arm, yawning, "Twelve hours of nonstop work, the station should award us a model worker medal to hang around our necks."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly glanced into the distance, then quickly urged:

"What are you standing around for after work? Really want to be a model worker and get a medal?

"Hurry up, let’s get out of here!"

"Get out?"

Cheng Ye followed his gaze, seeing a beam of light cutting through the darkness in the rain.

The light shifting closer, from its speed and brightness, it was clearly not a Big Golden Cup, but a vehicle capable of high-speed travel.

Strange.

Unexpectedly, someone was caught at the end of the shift, and coincidentally, it happened when the clock was striking.

"Go go go."

If it were 7:59, Cheng Ye would naturally wait, but after 8 o’clock, he wasn’t foolish.

After all, the probability of infected bodies roaming at night is more than ten times higher than during the day.

Yet just as he opened the gate and was about to leave, Raven hurried up to him.

"What’s up?"

"Sir, the incoming vehicle has already sent a signal to the station; it’s... the Cross Legion’s sir."

"What, the Cross Legion?"

...