He walked to the security office by the wall, took out his Defense Communication device, and dialed Sang Hezheng's phone number.

The ringtone rang only once before it was picked up.

"Inspector Cheng?" A rough yet enthusiastic male voice came from the other end of the line, accompanied by faint machinery noises in the background.

Cheng Ye spoke politely, "It's me, Master Sang. I've arrived at the entrance of the Mechanical Bureau; could I trouble you to make a trip?"

"Don't say that!" Sang Hezheng's laughter came through the phone, sounding particularly hearty, "Inspector Cheng visiting our Mechanical Bureau is an honor for me! I'll come out of the workshop to greet you right away. Please wait at the entrance for two minutes, I'll be there soon!"

"Alright, I'll wait for you at the security office here."

Cheng Ye hung up the phone and leaned against the wall, his gaze falling into the courtyard through the open gate.

Each factory building seemed like an independent work team.

Hundreds of workers dressed in blue overalls were bustling around; some push carts filled with parts hurried past, while others carried long steel pipes into the factory. Everyone moved quickly, sweat beading on their foreheads, yet no one stopped their work.

Near the gate, there were two bright yellow excavators parked in the warehouse.

There seemed to be some internal issues; the vehicle bodies were completely dismantled, and the buckets were lying on the ground undergoing maintenance.

In less than two minutes, a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with graying hair trotted out of the courtyard, seeming to have changed clothes in a hurry—wearing neat blue overalls and sporting a bright smile, "Inspector Cheng! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Master Sang, don't mention it."

Cheng Ye quickly stepped forward, showing no air of an inspector.

He naturally handed over the bag he was carrying and explained with a smile, "Just a little something, dried fish from Sea Province and a few cans produced in Firewood Shelter City, not worth much money, but give your family a taste."

Though he called them little things, Cheng Ye clearly indicated their origins.

Sang Hezheng paused in his steps, his smile growing brighter, and without much hesitation, he accepted the bag with a smile.

"Then I won't be courteous! Let's go inside and talk!"

Gifts make conversations effective, Cheng Ye glanced at the panel, and Sang Hezheng's cooperation level already reached 31%.

He didn't need to say much more; just a little more was needed to unlock the Level 2 Skill.

Inside the Mechanical Bureau, the air was filled with a mix of oil, rust, and welding smoke, as Cheng Ye glanced over the factory buildings.

Some of the factory doors were open, inside workers were seen lying on huge equipment, dismantling parts.

In some buildings, blinding welding lights shone, and sparks splattered out from the entrance.

"The Mechanical Bureau wasn't always this busy; it was almost disbanded and broken up."

While walking, Sang Hezheng introduced, with a touch of emotion in his voice, "Later, the maintenance department from the Public Works Bureau was incorporated, barely holding the situation together. Now it mainly handles ordinary mechanical equipment maintenance for Happiness City, like routine maintenance of public vehicles, which is our job. But for high-end equipment, like production machine tools in the Industrial Zone, when problems arise, it's the research institute's people that repair them; we don't have the skill or the authority."

He paused and pointed to the group of factory buildings in front, "These eighteen factories, internally we call them the 'Eighteen Arhats,' each has a specific task. The 12th building I'm responsible for mainly refurbishes dismantled parts, where old parts from scrapped vehicles are removed, inspected, repaired, and then put back into use. I heard from Inspector Li, you want to go to the checkpoint's old vehicle yard to dismantle some usable parts?"

"Yes, I can't afford new cars, so I can only piece together from old car parts, it saves quite a bit of budget."

Cheng Ye didn't disguise his intentions for coming.

"I also want to learn some mechanical repair skills while I'm here; I'm quite interested in this field. In the future, vehicle maintenance might be something I can do myself."

"Oh?" Sang Hezheng raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a bit of surprise, "Our Mechanical Bureau recruits new apprentices every year, at least eight hundred if not a thousand are recruited, but at least seventy to eighty percent don't even last a week before leaving. I didn't expect Inspector Cheng to come voluntarily to learn this."

Cheng Ye was taken aback, puzzled: "Isn't the Mechanical Bureau's work pretty decent? It's stable, and you can learn a craft, why wouldn't anyone want to come?"

"Stable it is, but it's hard." Sang Hezheng sighed, slowed his pace, and began to explain to Cheng Ye, "First, we often have to go into the Wilderness to perform tasks, encountering mutant creatures or infection sources, the risk factor isn't small. Second, there's no fixed salary; it's all piece-rate work, dismantling and repairing a part earns a bit of money, if you're slow, it's hard to even ensure basic sustenance; third..."

He suddenly stopped and pointed to a warehouse not far away.

A few young adults, looking in their early twenties, stood inside, following behind a master, holding notebooks, yet looking around aimlessly, appearing obviously confused and with a sense of futility in their superficial effort.

"Learning this craft relies entirely on personal self-discipline." Sang Hezheng couldn't help but shake his head, "The masters are busy every day with their feet barely touching the ground; there's no time for one-on-one teaching. Apprentices can only stand by and watch, jot down notes, and ponder slowly."

"But many don't even understand basic circuit knowledge, so they can't comprehend even by looking. Even if some learn a bit of the skin and surface, they're unwilling to stay here and be exploited, as the wages offered by outside caravans and the Industrial Zone are much higher, tempting them away."

Understood!

It's a talent supply base, isn't it?

It's not lacking in people willing to learn a craft here, yet unable to retain those who master it.