Conveyor Belt No. 7.
The Western Faction Prosecutor Garcia roared furiously, the table clattering loudly.
"A family of poor ghosts, nothing here, nothing there, Happiness City isn't a place for beggars. You welfare-seeking parasites, damn bastards, should just go to hell sooner!"
The man standing inside the isolation cage had a fleeting look of embarrassment and anger on his face.
The woman behind him pulled the child, who looked about five or six years old, closer into her arms.
From what they heard on the radio, Happiness City did not require any "city entry fee."
But now, Garcia had blatantly reminded them repeatedly that the family of three needed to present something of value to enter, or else they would be kicked out and never allowed to enter the checkpoint again.
"Sir, please give me some time..."
After a few seconds of silence, the man licked the blood stains on his chapped lips, "We won't be parasites. I have strength, I can move bricks, I can unload goods. City entry fee... once I earn money, we will pay immediately."
"Immediately, it's always immediately. How many times do you think I hear these two words a day?"
Garcia sneered, "Do you think I'm easy to fool? Either hand it over now, something valuable from each person, or take your 'immediate' and go feed the Infected Bodies in the ruins."
Is the face of the Western Faction this disgusting?
Happiness City is flourishing now, how did it suddenly evolve into a late dynasty version requiring a prosecutor to collect head money at the gate?
Cheng Ye, listening intently, was startled, concluding that his unseen father, Cheng Long, was definitely a core figure in the Eastern Faction.
Otherwise, his death wouldn't have broken the balance between the Eastern and Western factions like this.
"Do I take a gamble?"
Cheng Ye squinted his eyes, his gaze wandering back and forth over the family in the iron cage, secretly observing them.
Hmm, it feels... no wonder Garcia is adamant.
The man is tall, at least over 185, with biceps bulging like rocks under his torn coarse cloth shirt, blue veins on his forearm standing out in gnarled lines, and calluses on his knuckles, proving he's no ordinary refugee fleeing by luck but has considerable combat prowess.
The woman's figure is somewhat slender, but her eyes are astonishingly bright, like flickering flames. Her tight grip around the child showed no unnecessary tremors, proving her strong mental fortitude despite a presumably turbulent mind.
As for the child... the dusty face is not exactly healthy, but surviving on the Wasteland at such a young age is no small feat.
Gamble it is!
"You two go out and wait at the main entrance. I need to resolve some conflict, don't worry."
Cheng Ye stood up, first arranging for the man and woman who had just been transported in to return to the main gate to wait.
Then he took three long strides to reach Conveyor Belt No. 7.
"Garcia, 3 Contribution Points, I want this family."
"You want them?"
When Cheng Ye arranged for people to leave, Garcia had already taken notice.
Now hearing him say this, the narrow eyes exposed by his mask flickered with an enigmatic glint.
"Sounds like... you can squeeze more than 3 Contribution Points worth of wealth from these poor ghosts?"
Oh, still hoping to raise the price?
Cheng Ye let out a cold laugh, knocking on the table with his hand,
"Listen, don't play this game with me. Like making things difficult for Eastern people? I'll find Brother B to keep you company after work."
"Using Brother B to scare me?"
Garcia snorted, extending his right hand, "5 Contribution Points, and they're yours."
"Deal!"
Cheng Ye was not interested in negotiating further here.
If he had Liu Bi's strength, he would definitely hunt down the jerk after work for a good beating to vent his anger, but using someone else's power to act strong, it's best to stop while ahead.
Besides, with an outdoor assignment coming up, he didn't have many places to spend money apart from necessary gear purchase.
After the Death Language Tentacles verification period yesterday, he should receive around 20 points, spending 5 is totally acceptable.
"Alright, I've retracted. Let them go with you."
With unexpected income, Garcia's attitude improved significantly. He no longer cared about how much Cheng Ye could squeeze from this family.
Collecting an entry fee isn't exactly a good reputation, and Cheng Ye mistakenly assumed he was making things difficult for Eastern people, which gave him a stepping stone; otherwise, if this incident reached the ears of Hope City's upper echelon, someone would inevitably have to face the consequences.
"After you go out, head to Conveyor Belt No. 8 of mine. I'll verify your identities."
Cheng Ye gave instructions and returned to his own inspection desk to wait.
The old conveyor belt emitted a harsh screech, its tracks moving slowly, transporting the family over in less than a minute.
Maybe the nameless anger in his heart hadn't extinguished yet, or perhaps he'd waited too long to become stronger.
Cheng Ye felt a bit parched, unexpectedly growing nervous out of nowhere.
"Listen up, in this world, anyone doing anything has a purpose. I'm not saving you out of great compassion, I have my purposes too."
"No city entry fee is needed, all you need to do is cooperate with me honestly and answer questions, understand?"
Cheng Ye first spoke, seizing the initiative.
The man nodded heavily, his mood complicated, his gaze flickering when looking at Cheng Ye.
Being completely new here, he somehow felt like he was being swept into a vortex, but there was no choice. To survive, entering Happiness City was a must.
"Names! Think about it! I need to hear your real names!"
"Chu Yunfeng, Yu Qinghui."
"And the child?"
"Chu Xuan."
They live up to being his chosen ones. Cheng Ye glanced down at the panel, and after answering their names, Chu Yunfeng's cooperation status only showed a mere 9%, the other two even lower, one 5%, and one 0%.
Who knows what this child was taught that he didn't intend to cooperate with this inspector at all.
Luckily, his target is only Chu Yunfeng. It doesn't matter how much the other two cooperate.
"Gender?"
"Hmm?"
Chu Yunfeng was taken aback, "Does Happiness City have any other genders?"
"I ask, you answer. You need to comply, don't try to question me, understand?"
Cheng Ye repeated the last three words, his tone heavier.
"Male, female, male."
"Very well, ages?"
"34, 33, 6."
"Where are you from?"
"Red Grass City."
"Where?"
Cheng Ye pulled out the map, searching for a while before he found it, "Don't play games with me. Red Grass City is nearly 20,000 kilometers from Happiness City. Are you playing maritime Monopoly on the wasteland?"
"Sir, this matter is indeed a long story..."
Chu Yunfeng's face turned bitter, as if he had anticipated the Inspector would ask this question, and answered honestly.
"My wife and I are sailors of the Red Grass City ocean fleet. We originally planned to head to Hope City for trade. But while at sea, we encountered a special infected body we had never seen before, causing severe casualties among the crew, and in the chaos, the fleet lost its direction, drifting at sea for almost a year..."
Mentioning that dark time, Chu Yunfeng's brows furrowed into a river shape.
"It wasn't until last month that we landed on the coast near Sheep City and heard that Happiness City accepts refugees, so we struggled all the way to get here."
Well now, are you trying to trick a ghost?
Cheng Ye shook his head secretly. Modern ocean vessels are well-equipped with resources, and it's unlikely anyone could maintain a physique like Chu Yunfeng's on a long voyage.
Such an explanation could only fool those less experienced inspectors from small places.
However, seeing that the cooperation level on the panel was still rising and had already reached 31%.
Cheng Ye thought, these are all small matters.
As long as one is willing to cooperate with this Inspector, what's a little white lie?
"Alright, stop your story. Now pick up the measuring device on the table and report the number to me. You should know how to use these things, right?"
"Yes!"
Chu Yunfeng nodded decisively, instantly realizing that Cheng Ye wasn't concerned with what he had just said.
This added a new layer of unease to his already questioning mind.
Measurement, report the number.
Cheng Ye pretended to record, but was actually fixated on the changes in the panel's numbers.
It wasn't until Chu Yunfeng's cooperation finally reached 50.1% that he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, with the mask of an Inspector, facing an outsider survivor, reaching 50% wasn't difficult.
"Sir?"
"Wait in the cage for a moment. I need to carefully think about your story just now."
Cheng Ye replied while mentally pressing the 'search' button for the first time in his life.
[Searcher: Chu Yunfeng]
[Current Cooperation: 51.8%]
[Current Searchable Range: Information, Items, Skills]
[Confirmed Search Target: Skills (Level 1)]
[Searching....]
Lines of text flashed before his eyes.
After about five seconds, a luxurious panel popped up, making Cheng Ye's eyes widen involuntarily.
[Chu Yunfeng]
[Level 1 Skills]: Proficient in Water, Beast Intuition, Night Vision, Beginner Mechanical Repair, Quick Draw, Basic Power, Basic Perception, Simple Medical, Basic Trap Making, Iron Footboard, Basic Wilderness Survival, Basic Carpentry, Basic Disguise
[Level 2 Skills]: Locked
[Level 3 Skills]: Locked
[Level 4 Skills]: Locked
"How, how so few?"
Cheng Ye almost thought he saw wrong, until he counted again and dared to confirm that Chu Yunfeng actually had thirteen level one skills.
Moreover, what was even more exaggerated was that this guy also had level 2, level 3, and even level 4 skills that could not be searched for now.
Just based on what's displayed, it's practically ten times more amazing than the seemingly invincible Old Man Joel from the Last Survivor.
No way, dude, are you here to be the protagonist of Happiness City?
With a stroke of golden luck, Cheng Ye felt a little troubled, his mouth involuntarily curling up.
Thirteen skills, truly a delightful dilemma, what to choose?
Water, Night Vision, Mechanical Repair, Medical, Trap, Iron Footboard, Wilderness Survival, Carpentry, Disguise, these clearly non-combat oriented ones were first ruled out. They wouldn't bring much short-term benefit or help with fieldwork.
Left with Beast Intuition, Basic Power, Basic Perception, Quick Draw, Cheng Ye hesitated for a moment, then decisively controlled his thoughts and pressed down.
The panel flickered, followed by the exciting success prompt.
[Search Successful]
[Civilization Collector Successfully Recorded: Basic Power (Level 1)]
"Got it!"
A 50% success rate hit on the first try, filling Cheng Ye with uncontainable excitement.
Immediately, another chance. He controlled his thoughts to press again.
The panel flickered.
Failed?
No!
[Search Successful]
[Civilization Collector Successfully Recorded: Beast Intuition (Level 1)]
"Hit twice in a row, today definitely wasn't in vain, a stroke of great luck!"
These two new skills, both of which are useful, what changes will they bring?
Cheng Ye's heartbeat accelerated suddenly, taking a few deep breaths to suppress the impulse to immediately equip the skills.
Calm, I must stay calm, it's not the time to stand out yet!
"Alright, you can go to the back to process your residence permits now."
He pressed the button to open the isolation cage, and the door creaked open from inside out.
"Huh?"
Chu Yunfeng was startled, not expecting to pass through so easily.
But he quickly reacted, realizing Cheng Ye wasn't joking, he immediately nodded, thanked him, and led his wife and child out.
"Hey, we'll surely have more opportunities to meet again in the future."
Watching Chu Yunfeng's figure disappear from view, Cheng Ye turned around, his smile growing more intense.
Those 5 points were truly worth it.
With the current search level, there's nothing he can do about Chu Yunfeng.
But one day, he'll be able to search all the skills, then equip three level 4 skills, won't he be able to hang Garcia up and beat hard?
...