Chapter 504: Chapter 183: Roused Spirits, Practical Assessment Begins!

Gu Xinjing stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face. "Chief Cheng, the assessment is about to begin. Don’t delay the proper business."

"In other words, let’s go." Cheng Ye nodded and was the first to walk toward the station office building.

Keeping a low profile was a strategy they used when dealing with the vagrants outside and with other bureau staff, all so they could complete their objectives more smoothly.

But facing a group of "colleagues" from the inspection station, keeping a low profile was meaningless.

If you want to carry the banner for the younger generation of Eastern People but can’t even hold your own in a setting like this, what right do you have to talk about power?

They watched the four of them each give the statue at the entrance a pat, while Wang Kang curiously gave it a couple of kicks.

Behind them, Luokuke watched with a face so dark it looked like it could drip water. He suddenly swung his hand and led his own people inside as well.

Garcia couldn’t help quickening his pace. He spoke in a low voice, "His strength has skyrocketed. Looks like all of Cheng Long’s talent for martial arts went straight to him. This is on me—I didn’t probe carefully enough before."

"It’s fine. No matter how strong he is, it’s just brute force."

Luokuke’s face stayed gloomy, yet he didn’t blame Garcia at all for sloppy reconnaissance. "In a bit, Wang Kang is yours. I’ll handle him. No problem, right?"

"No problem!" Garcia agreed at once, then grew anxious again. "The Station Chief is clearly grooming him for promotion. If we lose, we’ll be locked in as his stepping stones..."

"Hm? We’ve come this far and you still think you’re not a stepping stone?"

Luokuke let out a cold snort, suddenly stopping in his tracks to look at the startled Garcia. "Don’t tell me you really think Station Chief Harlem picked you as my partner just so we could beat Cheng Ye?"

"Huh?" Garcia froze for a moment, and his face instantly turned ugly.

"Ordinary people can afford to be a bit muddle-headed. But if an Inspector is still this muddle-headed, you’re not far from death."

Luokuke signaled with his eyes for the other two in their little circle to go on ahead, then said to Garcia, "Whatever grudge you had with him before, you’d better keep a clear head in this assessment. This is not the place for you to settle personal scores. The entire upper echelon will be watching how you perform, and all records will be sent to the Inner City for the Deputy City Lord and the various bureau ministers to review. Think carefully about the consequences."

"As long as you perform well and prove your value, all those little tricks you pulled before will naturally be written off, and the Station Chief won’t shortchange us on compensation. But if you chicken out... there won’t be a place for you at this inspection station."

"I..."

Garcia stood where he was, his expression shifting between dark and light. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath. "What if we win?"

"Now that’s more like it. You need that kind of drive." Luokuke reached out and patted his shoulder. "If we win, I guarantee your name will be on the Third-Phase Inspector promotion list at the end of the year."

As his words fell.

The dejection on Garcia’s face instantly vanished, replaced in his eyes by a spark of excitement.

The two of them stopped talking. As they walked up the stairs, a trace of venom flashed once again in Garcia’s eyes.

Only this time, the target of his venom was no longer Cheng Ye, but the back of Luokuke walking in front of him.

Like a poisonous snake, waiting to bite.

...

They entered the venue.

This time, Cheng Ye didn’t sit in the same row as Matthew Lee. Instead, he brought Wang Kang into the area where the Eastern People were gathered.

The seating in the venue was arranged by rank: Fourth-Phase Inspectors sat in the first row, Third-Phase in the second and third rows, and behind them were seats for First and Second-Phase.

With the First and Second-Phase Inspectors all yielding the spot, Cheng Ye took the central seat in the fourth row without hesitation, and Wang Kang benefited by sitting beside him, his face a mix of curiosity and unease.

Ding Yishan was still wearing that same pair of reading glasses, sitting in the center of the hall and flipping through documents.

A batch of 12 Satellite Cities had consumed 25 Inspectors. Apart from Wenlu County, which used a three-person setup, the other 11 locations all operated with two-person teams.

But when Cheng Ye counted the number of people present, there were actually 64. It seemed that in addition to those who had taken part in the original assessment and the intern Wang Kang, there were also Inspectors who had rushed back over the past few days, as well as those who hadn’t gotten a spot the first time.

Now things were really going to be lively—a sixty-plus person free-for-all, forming 32 teams.

Even if each team only picked 100 people, that was still a mobilization of more than 3,000. The scene was bound to be impressive.

It was just that this second batch of 12 Satellite Cities needed, at most, 24 people. Less than half of them would end up with full-contract qualifications; the rest were just there to run alongside.

One o’clock in the afternoon.

When the bell finished ringing, Ding Yishan gave a slight nod. Harlem immediately stood up and picked up the microphone:

"The Happiness City Inspection Station New Era Year 35, 7th Full Inspector Meeting is now in session!"

"This meeting is for the second batch of Satellite City construction live-combat assessments, aimed at selecting Inspectors with capability, responsibility, and construction capacity."

"First, we will announce the list of Inspectors who have obtained live-combat qualifications!"

"West Slope Town: ..."

"Wali Town: ..."

What he read was the original list that had been announced earlier; there was no mention of personnel swaps.

"For the 12 Satellite City locations, a total of 53 Inspectors have obtained direct assessment qualifications. Another 13 are on the backup list."

Harlem raised his eyes and swept them across the hall. "Now, please choose your partners and write the names on the paper. Hand them in to the staff for tallying."

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff began distributing the forms.

Because most people had already discussed this beforehand, the preferred partners were mostly seated together, so filling them out wasn’t difficult.

The form came in duplicate and required basic information.

Cheng Ye quickly filled out his own section, then took Wang Kang’s form, completed the information, and handed them in together.

The tallying took only a few minutes before Harlem spoke again, announcing the final competition roster for each Satellite City.

The previously popular West Slope Town and Tantou Town suddenly cooled down.

Locations that had originally been six teams and twelve people fighting for a slot were now two teams and four people in a showdown, and all of them were extravagant combinations of a Fourth-Phase plus a Third-Phase Inspector.

Meanwhile, for the West River Town chosen by Yang Ming and Wanzi Town chosen by Yang Xingwen, competition became fierce, turning into eight-person brawls—true killing fields.

Among the other towns, apart from Dapo Town, three locations had two teams and four people competing, and the rest all had six people vying for a slot.

Not more, not less, making exactly 32 teams and 64 people.

"Luokuke, Garcia..."

Cheng Ye pondered silently.

There was no need to say much about Garcia—this sick dog would definitely chase him and bite down hard. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

But what about Luokuke?

The two had never had any dealings before. Cheng Ye would never believe he was stepping in for Garcia out of loyalty.

Then what was it for?

To make him lower his guard so they could play some "first suppress then elevate" trick on him during the assessment?

Or was it a deliberate show of humility up front so that, win or lose, they could keep some room to maneuver?

With Matthew Lee as a precedent, Cheng Ye didn’t dare look down on any of the Third-Phase Inspectors at the station.

Even if their raw strength was a bit inferior, they had over a decade of experience roaming the Wilderness. Their professional knowledge might not match his, but when it came to the twists and turns of human relationships, there was no way their minds ran straight.

"Brother Cheng?" Wang Kang’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

Cheng Ye came to himself and saw that a staff member had already placed a dossier in front of him.

On the cover, a line of bold characters was printed:

"Detailed Standards for the Second Batch Satellite City Live-Combat Assessment"

"Here we go!"

The assessment standards he’d been longing for were finally in his hands. Cheng Ye immediately pulled back all his scattered thoughts and flipped open the document.

But as soon as his eyes fell on the first page, he couldn’t help raising his eyebrows.

[Each assessment group may recruit vagrants: 500 persons]

[This assessment will be conducted on-site and in live-combat mode, at the corresponding full-contract locations]

[Assessment period: three days (72 hours)]

[Core assessment indicators: complete the basic camp setup within 72 hours, which must include the following elements

1. Temporary shelters (ensure 500 people can keep out rain and cold)

2. Security perimeter (establish at least three posts and patrol routes)

3. Basic supplies (set up water points and food distribution areas)

4. Personnel registration (complete information entry and grouping for all vagrants)]

[Scoring criteria: practicality (30%), efficiency (30%), cohesion (20%), innovation (20%)]

[This assessment will be monitored via covert channels throughout. Do not attempt to cheat in any way]

[Special note: initial points will be provided for this assessment. Initial points may be exchanged for personnel, supplies, etc.]

[Special note: all conflicts within the area are to be handled by the assessment groups themselves. The inspection station will not intervene. If large-scale casualties occur, it will be deemed an assessment failure]

...