Chapter 513: Chapter 186: The Beginning of a Legend, a Change in Belief!

In a competitive setting, everyone relies on their own methods.

Once it was confirmed that Cheng Ye’s approach was not against the rules, no one argued or made a fuss; instead, their minds became active with ideas.

If this wasn’t considered a violation, then could they also emulate it?

Unfortunately, as soon as the idea came up, a glance at the time revealed there were only three and a half hours left, hardly enough to organize such a well-coordinated team.

If the effect wasn’t as good as Cheng Ye’s, it would not only be a waste of effort but also make them a supporting clown that highlights his performance.

Moreover, the effectiveness of this kind of tactic is best the first time it’s used; using it again later would greatly diminish its impact.

Without understanding Cheng Ye’s purpose for gathering so many people, blindly imitating him would only be a futile attempt.

The personnel stood still.

Long jogged from the end of the line to stand in front of Cheng Ye and, with a simple movement of his arm, performed a salute from the Pioneer Corps that hadn’t been used for years.

It was a somewhat altered military salute, with the right hand clenched in a fist, the arm at a right angle resting against the chest, as if braving wind and snow.

"Militia Commander of Dapo Town, Ping Dalong, reporting to Inspector Cheng Ye!"

As soon as the words fell, the three rows of militiamen seemed to receive a signal and shouted in unison, "Militia unit of Dapo Town, reporting to Inspector Cheng Ye!"

Hiss.

In that moment, not only Cheng Ye felt a slight shiver, but Wang Kang, the surrounding inspectors, guards, and clerks all got goosebumps.

Everyone knew this was a performance for the refugee phalanx, aware it was an awkward show.

Yet witnessing this scene and hearing the unified shout made them feel peculiarly stirred inside.

Upon further thought, wasn’t it considered posturing when they stood up to promote some grand and empty ideals?

Upon further thought, could they rally such a team to stand here and perform?

The answer is... no.

Since they can’t, what right do they have to critique someone else’s performance when they can’t even pull it off themselves?

Under everyone’s gaze, Cheng Ye first gave a slight nod to Long and returned the Pioneer Corps salute in kind.

Then he turned and looked at Er Long, who stood to the right of the sunshade.

"Captain Ping Erlong."

"Er Long here!"

"Begin constructing the poster cabins."

"Er Long understands!"

Er Long immediately nodded in response and took out the Defense Communication device from his waist, dialing a number.

As all the refugees watched curiously, four more medium-sized trucks drove in from a distance.

The trucks drove steadily to the back of the formation. After a skillful U-turn, a hundred militiamen standing by the vehicles immediately moved forward, opened the rear doors, and began relaying parts of varying lengths from inside.

"Aren’t those the standard living units?"

The two Western Second-phase Inspectors in Tent 31 were taken aback.

The standard living units looked simple, but weren’t cheap, and none of the 12 Satellite City inspectors chose to use them.

Even the residential units forcibly allocated from the industrial district were returned with excuses.

The reason was simple: the construction funds for Satellite Cities were limited. Enduring a bit now meant no worries about reinforcement and insulation in winter, and long-term use without maintenance issues later.

But if the living units were chosen, they would face the troubles of winter and increasing hazards in the future.

If something unexpected happened in the meantime, issues would pile up without a mature solution in hand.

Does this Inspector Cheng intend to use standard living units to attract refugees to join?

A crowd of spectators grew even more curious, seemingly forgetting the ongoing assessment, as if they were attending a learning session.

Not only did the refugees watch quietly, but all the inspectors, guards, and clerks were also entranced, with familiar inspectors even picking up their Defense Communication devices, dialing the checkpoint’s public number to start a group call, and discussing the scene. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"See, this is the unique quality of Inspector Cheng, which I was the first to notice," Jiang Chuan boasted proudly to Mu Shuang beside him while watching through binoculars from the roof of a pickup on the periphery.

"Today’s inspectors are quite different from before. Inspectors used to live and eat with the residents; not just going to the grassroots level, but even lived in shanty towns or civilian districts with them. No inspector would deliberately cut off communication with residents and place themselves on a pedestal."

"But today is different. Not just the First-phase and Second-phase inspectors, but even the previous High-level Inspectors rarely interact with residents. To muster a team like Inspector Cheng, I doubt even the Fourth-phase Inspectors can do it."

He spoke with an undeniable tone of admiration and reflection.

Mu Shuang was silent for a moment before she suddenly spoke, "There’s a cost to contact. Previously, there weren’t as many infection sources, thus inspectors dared to interact with the grassroots. Now that inexplicable sources of infection are increasing and their latent patterns are more bizarre, the more interaction with people below, the higher the risk of infection."

"Yes, you’re right," Jiang Chuan said with some lament. "Even the station chiefs rarely interact with residents now. Station Chief He Yun, who was an old inspector of many years, was fatally attacked by a maternal source just by investigating an isolation zone. How can we then expect the inspectors below to ignore such colossal risks?"

With those words, both fell silent.

Mu Shuang pondered for a minute or two, then shook her head and said, "He’s different from Ding Xiao. Ding Xiao saved you back then because he saw your martial arts talent and superpower potential and thus saved you from the refugee camp, fostering you to grow up."

"One should judge a person by their actions, not their mind. Regardless of what Ding Xiao Inspector’s motives were back then, he saved my life, and the lives of many children. That’s indisputable. I will repay this life to the station chief on behalf of those children."