Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 496
Chapter 496: Chapter 180: Intense Assessment, Movements from All Sides!
“Just finished reading it.” Cheng Ye’s tone was calm.
“What a coincidence, huh, we actually picked the same place. Fate!” Yang Xingwen chuckled twice, then changed the topic. “So, have you picked a partner yet?”
“Planning to team up with Wang Kang, why?” Cheng Ye didn’t beat around the bush and said it straight.
To his surprise, Yang Xingwen sounded like he’d expected that and spoke frankly: “I know you and Inspector Wang get along well, picking him makes sense. But then again, an external contracted assessment isn’t a joke, you’ll be facing some real deadly danger out there. Inspector Wang’s only been on duty for a week, I’m afraid his experience is…”
He paused, lowered his stance: “Inspector Cheng, give me a chance, yeah? You team up with me, you point and I’ll hit, I’m just a grunt under your command. However you want me to work, I’ll work. How about it?”
Oh?
A First-stage Inspector, saying to an Intern Inspector that he’s just a grunt under the latter’s hand.
That’s giving face to the extreme, full of sincerity.
But Cheng Ye only shook his head slightly and decided to make it clear: “No, Inspector Yang. I already agreed with Wang Kang. And… it’s possible we won’t even get through the assessment and get eliminated straight away, you know?”
“Heh, Inspector Cheng, now you’re joking.” There was an undefinable tone in Yang Xingwen’s laughter. “Alright then, I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Mm, okay.”
The call ended cleanly, without any extra entanglement.
Cheng Ye stared at the dark screen of the Defense Communication for two seconds. He didn’t know Yang Xingwen at all.
He’d never thought about having any close contact with this kind of person either, or rather, with this batch of Academy Faction who were madly picking sides among the Eastern People for the moment, he wasn’t planning to get too close to them yet.
And it might well be that Yang Xingwen was just casting a wide net for a partner; not worth taking to heart.
However, before Cheng Ye could clip the Defense Communication back to his waist, another unfamiliar number popped up.
He answered, and a slightly sharp male high voice came through the receiver:
“Hello, Inspector Cheng Ye, I’m Zhao Jia, don’t know if you still remember me?”
“Inspector Zhao, how could I forget?” Cheng Ye chuckled. “You and I are six years apart, but we studied at the same school.”
He repeated what he’d said in the hospital before.
Zhao Jia was amused. “Yeah, so I saw that both our names are on the list. Want to team up?”
“Team up? Didn’t you sign up for East Ridge Town?”
“It’s fine, that doesn’t matter. There’s no restriction on Inspectors from different Satellite Cities forming a team.”
Zhao Jia explained, “I just checked with the station. After Inspectors on the list form a team, they can pick either one of their two assigned locations. For example, if you want to come to East Ridge Town to compete, that works. Or I can go to Dapo Town.”
“So that’s how it is…” Cheng Ye frowned slightly. With this rule change, the original pattern would probably be completely scrambled.
Take West Slope Town: originally there were six people competing. If no one forms an internal duo and everyone picks outsiders, in the end you’d have twelve people in a melee, with ten eliminated. That’s basically a slaughterhouse.
But if someone thinks they have no chance, they can absolutely team up with Inspectors from back-row towns and bail.
Every person who leaves reduces West Slope Town’s competition by two.
At that rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if the back-row towns end up more sought-after than the front.
“Sorry, I already have a partner.” Cheng Ye was blunt.
“Inspector Wang Kang?”
“Yeah, we agreed long ago. Sorry.”
“No worries, no worries.” Zhao Jia was quite easygoing. “Inspector Cheng, just picking up my call already gives me enough face. Wish you a smooth assessment!”
Over at East Ridge Town, someone had already roped in a Fourth-stage Inspector as their assessment teammate.
For guys like them, First-stage Inspectors, that was basically a Dimensional Strike.
No choice but to look to Inspectors from other towns to team up with and escape the competition over at East Ridge.
And he’d come to Cheng Ye because he felt Cheng wouldn’t reject him outright just because he was a First-stage Inspector.
Now that Cheng Ye was teaming with Wang Kang, he had nothing to say.
After hanging up, Cheng Ye thought for a bit and simply switched on fieldwork mode.
He didn’t need to guess to know there’d definitely be more people coming to him.
What could he do? He was an Intern Inspector, and on top of that carried the Cheng Family background.
Plus he’d been performing extremely well all along. In terms of ability he was already not at all weaker than a normal First- or Second-stage Inspector.
The Third-Phase folks—First-stage Inspectors had no standing to ask them to form a team. But as for him, an Intern Inspector with no right to refuse, everyone wanted to come ask, just to put the question out there.
Rather than dealing with them one by one and turning them down, he might as well have some peace and quiet.
After washing up and returning to the room, Wang Kang was still carefully mopping the floor, like he’d completely forgotten about the external contracted assessment.
This behavior made Cheng Ye nod inwardly.
He did want to give Wang Kang a hand, that was true, but he’d never done brainless hand-holding. Instead, he’d tried his best to help Wang Kang grow quickly and create a more suitable environment for his development.
If Wang Kang himself didn’t want to move up or refused to improve, there was nothing he could do.
As it was now, it was perfect—a two-way effort.
If Wang Kang was willing to put in the work, then whatever the outcome, he’d deserve this opportunity.
Only when Wang Kang finished mopping, rinsed the mop clean, did Cheng Ye point at his shoes.
Wang Kang’s face flushed at once. He hurried back up to the fourth floor to change shoes, and came back in a clean set of clothes.
“Do you know why I had you sweep and mop?”
“I do.” Wang Kang nodded immediately. “I was too impatient. Brother Cheng, I really didn’t expect the inspection station to let me take the assessment. I haven’t even been to the initial assessment…”
“Don’t worry, I fought for this with Station Chief Ding.”
Cheng Ye didn’t hide it and briefly laid out the plan he’d reported to Ding Yishan.
“I want to take over the management authority of Dapo Town entirely. I can’t work well with the others, so I came to you.”
“Heh, that’s perfect, that was exactly what I was worried about just now!”
Wang Kang instantly got excited. “I… I don’t know anything. How am I supposed to manage that many people out there? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing the whole Inspector system?”
“Then what if I have you oversee the people under you doing construction work?”
“Then no problem. I can’t promise anything else, but I’m confident about construction!”
Wang Kang grinned with a bit of pride. “I’ve been watching and learning these last few days. Brother Cheng, relax. I might not be able to help with other stuff, but getting regular folks to do construction, leave that to me!”
“Knowing where your strengths are—that’s very good already.”
Cheng Ye nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll have the community people assist you. Don’t worry, everything has a first time. Those First-stage Inspectors aren’t necessarily better than you.”
After a simple bit of reassurance, Cheng Ye didn’t treat Wang Kang like a child and went straight into task assignment.
His requirements for Wang Kang were simple on the surface, but also not simple.
First, he had to be able to hold the fort for him at Dabo Inspection Station and ensure basic safety in Dapo Town.
Second, once Cheng handed down the construction plan, he had to be able to supervise the masses under him to see it through.
Third, he had to promptly report any details or oversights that Cheng Ye might miss.
These three points meant that in Dapo Town, Wang Kang’s authority would be second only to his, while the amount of work on his shoulders would be less than one-fifth.
But even that one-fifth, to do it well, was no simple matter.
Just holding the line at the inspection station alone—Dapo Town might not be any less dangerous than the North-South Express Station. He’d have to be even more meticulous and handle emergencies properly.
“Brother Cheng, don’t worry!” Wang Kang clenched his fists, eyes shining. “As long as you trust me, I will never let you down!”
“Of course I trust you. Otherwise I wouldn’t have picked you as my partner, would I?”
Cheng Ye smiled, glanced at the time. “Let’s go. Before the assessment, it’s about time I let you know what I’ve been busy with lately.”
…