So the reason my predecessor could grow up in the Inner City was because of this?
Cheng Ye suddenly realized.
He had thought Cheng Long had found a way to send his predecessor into the Inner City, never considering that Cheng Long had entered the Inner City to start a family.
"I donât know about these things, no one ever told me."
Cheng Ye shook his head.
His predecessorâs mother died in childbirth, leaving behind only a few blurry photos in his memory, along with Cheng Long abandoning his only son in the Inner City without any care.
This led to the shocking experience on the first day out of the Inner City, scared to death by the ârealâ world outside.
"Oh..." Matthew Lee slapped his forehead, made a gesture of slapping his mouth in apology, "Sorry, I misspoke."
"What privileges do the Fourth-stage have?"
"Fourth-stage..." Matthew Lee hesitated, finally squeezing out four words from between his teeth, seemingly full of resentment.
"Extraordinary Opportunity!"
...
Dong.
Dong!
The sudden ring of a classroom bell in the meeting hall immediately silenced the clamor.
It wasnât just the inspectors on break who came to attend the study session; dozens of observers with blue armbands and some staff from important positions sat in the back row.
The projectorâs stand dragged an ear-piercing noise across the concrete floor.
But Cheng Ye didnât hear it, still immersed in the explosive news from Matthew Lee.
Compared to the Extraordinary Opportunity and the objectives of inspector fieldwork, getting into the Inner City at the Third-phase was indeed nothing.
"Happiness City actually raises special infected hosts?"
Cheng Ye was shocked.
According to Matthew Lee, itâs not about letting humans get infected with the S-series virus to guide the birth of the extraordinary through viral abilities, but Happiness City secretly cultivating and raising special infected hosts.
The extraordinary plants parasitic on the special infected hosts grow extremely slowly, taking 5-8 years to harvest once.
After harvesting, allocation is based on yield.
For the Fourth-stage inspectors last round, each was allocated nearly 5g.
Though this dosage sounds very small, it still has the probability to activate the dormant extraordinary gene in humans.
And everyoneâs activated extraordinary gene seems to be different.
The last successful activation of extraordinary ability at the checkpoint dates back to 11 years ago, when the then station chief Liu Kun awakened his abilities and directly entered the Inner Cityâs âCity Defense Bureauâ as director.
His rise to the high ranks of Happiness City greatly elevated the checkpointâs status.
The Public Security Bureau, which originally had the power to check and balance the checkpoint, was repeatedly stripped of power, finally announcing its dissolution 8 years ago, leaving the checkpoint unrivaled since!
Before that, there was 13 years ago before Ding Yishanâs tenure, when the last station chief sacrifice happened.
Reagan Karl!
No one knows how he activated his extraordinary ability.
But since then, he resigned as station chief at lightning speed and transferred to the position of executive in the Industrial Zone.
Now, with overwhelming power, he is already a core representative of the Inner Cityâs Technology Faction.
Their effortless rise to power, holding extraordinary power while occupying high-power positions, inevitably fuels the inspectorsâ urge to climb up.
"So what the Eastern and Western factions are competing for is actually... the extraordinary and the power that follows?"
With enough information, Cheng Ye suddenly understood the root cause of the East-West struggle.
Fourth-stage, Fifth-stage, station chief, deputy chief, chief.
With each level climbed, thereâs no qualitative change in power, but one can acquire more extraordinary plants to activate extraordinary abilities.
The last extraordinary opportunity was 5 years ago, and Ding Yishan has been in office for nearly 10 years.
Logically, he should have obtained one extraordinary opportunity but failed to seize it.
Now, with the Eastern people weak, Harlem certainly wonât miss this chance to climb up.
"Also, the extraordinary was actually right beside me all along?"
Realizing that as long as one seriously advances through the ranks, one will eventually get it.
Cheng Ye was excited at heart, but he wasnât thinking about following the regular path to the chief position and waiting for the Inner City to grant it.
Instead, he planned to use his search ability to directly seize a fully formed extraordinary ability!
Previously, he didnât know who had extraordinary abilities, but now, thanks to Matthew Lee, he knew of two important targets.
"Liu Kun!"
"Reagan Karl!"
"One East, one West, youâd better not run into this inspector one day."
Repeating these two names, Cheng Ye firmly memorized them, then forcibly gathered all stray thoughts, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
No matter how weak the extraordinary ability, itâs still much better than the Iron Body genetic talent, at least level LV3 or LV4 or above, which the current collector canât search for.
The urgent task remains to focus on advancing ranks and break through the intern period as fast as possible.
"Cheng Ye, Cheng Ye!"
Seeing Cheng Ye still deep in thought, Matthew Lee lowered his voice, lightly nudging him twice under the table with his knee.
"The overseer is here, donât slack off, or if youâre used as an example, youâll be in trouble."
"Overseer?"
Cheng Ye raised his head, looking in the direction Matthew Lee indicated, he saw two people entering at the hallâs exit.
On the left was Qiao Yuan, the Eastern peopleâs Fifth-stage Inspector, and on the right was Dario Havin, the Western peopleâs Fifth-stage Inspector.
Noticing Cheng Yeâs gaze, Qiao Yuan nodded slightly, responding with a subtly friendly glance, but his face still wore the usual âaloofâ expression of leaders, sweeping across the hall.
But Dario Havinâs response left Cheng Ye a bit stunned, noticing his gaze, this Western Fifth-stage Inspector unexpectedly gave him a slight smile, with a kindly look as if recognizing a talented junior in the family.
Huh?
Am I seeing things?
Cheng Ye quickly retracted his gaze, suddenly feeling that if he continued looking, this guy would surely come over and talk to him.
"Donât look around, listen carefully, even if itâs boring, pretend to be attentive."
Matthew Leeâs âmixing studiesâ had reached the pinnacle, his lips didnât seem to move, yet a clear voice came out.
"Yesterday, I heard someone was caught sleeping and used as an example, dragged on stage to answer questions publicly. Itâs one thing if itâs just us, but with so many observers and staff watching, itâs really humiliating."
Just as he spoke, applause suddenly erupted from the area where the Eastern faction inspectors gathered in the front row.
Cheng Yeâs gaze sharpened, quickly joining in the clapping.
Unexpectedly, the first speaker today was Luo Xiaoxue.
Though Liu Bi was an exceptional brawny figure in the Eastern Faction, the importance of their campâs reputation meant the Eastern faction gave their respect, along with the Eastern factionâs observers and staff, who also joined in clapping.
In contrast, the response from the Western faction to Luo Xiaoxueâs appearance was indifferent.
Some even smirked, seemingly disdainful.
"Donât be surprised, this is just the beginning. Thereâs still more than a year until the next extraordinary opportunity. After winter and when spring comes next year, thatâs when the real conflicts will intensify."
Matthew Lee, who never involved himself in the faction disputes, now clapped along with Cheng Ye, earning angry glares from many in the Western faction.
Yet he seemed to enjoy it, as if he had found a sense of existence.
Each speaker only had five minutes; Luo Xiaoxue chose to succinctly explain how to handle a water-affinity infected host she had confronted before.
As Luo Xiaoxue stepped down, the curtain at the back entrance lifted, and the next speaker came up.
From his appearance, he seemed to be a veteran, but both the Eastern and Western factions showed cold indifference towards him.
No one applauded in welcome, and even after he finished, no one gave any feedback.
Despite the fact, from Cheng Yeâs perspective, the veteranâs account of countermeasures wasnât without merit.
"What a pragmatic hierarchy..."
Cheng Ye sighed inwardly, his gaze suddenly focusing on the curtain entrance, where he saw a group of speakers preparing to take the stage.
Eh, am I seeing this right, didnât Uncle Dong say he wanted to fulfill his wish last night?
Why was he also... invited here?
...