"I’ll head out first."
Cheng Ye picked up his backpack, declining Master Zhang and the others’ offer to drive him to the South Inspection Station.
Firstly, having salted fish tied to the car roof would be far too conspicuous in broad daylight.
Secondly, it was more important to quickly move this pile of supplies to a safe place. The Public Works Bureau’s parking lot was full of people and prying eyes, and if good-for-nothings started gossiping, it could beco a headache.
Moreover, the Public Works Bureau was right next to the direction of the South Station, and a left turn out the door would bring him to the bus stop in just a few steps.
He had not been waiting at the bus stop for long when a filthy bus ca wobbling over.
The bus door creaked open, and Cheng Ye stepped up, pulling out his Defense Communication device for a look.
7:15.
Rushing over at this ti, he was bound to be late.
According to the station’s rules, being late ant a deduction in pay, and without having received the evaluation forms, he might beco a topic of discussion because of it.
But now it’s different. Having all nine evaluation forms in hand, minor tardiness hardly mattered, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous.
Besides, after ssing around at Firewood all night, there was a legitimate reason; he thought Lei Hu would understand even if he knew.
By the ti the bus wobbled to the South Inspection Station, it was already 7:40, leaving only twenty minutes until gate opening.
Due to the presence of Void Mist, the number of people leaving the city today was noticeably less than yesterday, yet a long queue still gathered at the station entrance.
Moreover, there was a noticeable change: almost all the scavengers prepared to leave the city were carrying military backpacks, with many having over ten bags of Nutrient Paste hanging on the outside, clearly planning for a long journey.
"Are they planning to go find Fog Caves and try their luck?"
Cheng Ye was aware.
Within the unknown brought by the Void Mist, so always saw the hidden opportunities, yet their speed surpassed his expectations.
He thought scavengers would take at least three to five days, preparing ntally before daring to step out of Shelter City.
But these people had made the decision in just one night, with a much bolder spirit than he imagined.
"Hopefully, nothing unusual will crawl out of the Fog Caves."
Cheng Ye murmured to himself, ready to swipe his Defense Communication device to open the security gate when he turned his head and his gaze unexpectedly fixed on a scavenger in the line.
Was it a hallucination?
He frowned, quietly putting down his backpack, his right hand settling on the Wild Bull Fighting Handgun at his waist.
The guards at the entrance noticed his alert stance, and two officers quickly approached.
"Inspector Cheng?"
"Go stop that person and make him turn to face ."
Cheng Ye raised his hand, pointing to a scavenger in the crowd with a dark gray patched backpack, a serious expression on his face.
He hadn’t seen the person’s face, but the backpack gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.
And his mory was exceptionally good, allowing him to imdiately recall the source of that backpack.
Last night.
Firewood.
The man at the station entrance who showed him a greedy expression was carrying that style of backpack, with even the worn patch location on the side seemingly identical.
"Is it?" The guard didn’t dare downplay the situation, his face instantly turning serious.
"I don’t know, call for backup."
Cheng Ye lightly shook his head, but with this matter, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
The guards imdiately understood, with one turning to run for reinforcents.
Monts later, four guards rushed over, and four more in the distant sentry post raised their guns, the dark barrels pointed at the line, causing the atmosphere to instantly beco tense.
"You, stop! Yes, I’m talking to you, still moving forward!"
A guard shouted sternly. The scavengers in line were so startled they scrambled to the sides, leaving the pointed-out man standing stunned, like under an Immobilization Spell.
"Turn around! Were you trying to sneak past using soone else’s identity?"
The guard intentionally fabricated an excuse, sternly forcing the man to turn to face them.
Cheng Ye’s hand gripped the gun handle, ready to fire if it was confird to be the man from last night.
But, it wasn’t!
Turning around was a dark-skinned middle-aged man, his eyes filled with confusion, lacking any hint of greed or malice, only bewildernt from being suddenly singled out.
"S-sir..."
The man’s voice trembled, his palms sweaty as he subconsciously wiped them on his pant leg, the backpack strap sliding off his shoulder slightly.
The guard kept a stern face, not imdiately asking Cheng Ye if he’d mistaken the man, instead first escorting the man from the line.
Once they had him isolated, one guard quickly returned to Cheng Ye’s side: "Inspector Cheng, do you need us to assist you further?"
"Uh..."
Cheng Ye pondered for a mont, "Bring his backpack to ; let’s see what’s inside."
"Yes!"
It might not have been the sa person, but Cheng Ye chose to trust his gut and mory.
The guard quickly opened the backpack, spilling its contents onto the tal table in the isolation area: over ten bags of Nutrient Paste, four bottles of water, a coil of wire, two boxes of bullets, a folding entrenching tool... It was all standard scavenger equipnt, nothing unusual.
Could it be... the world does have such coincidences?
"Go ask him where this backpack ca from and get specifics that can be verified."
"Yes."
Such identity verification matters naturally didn’t need the Inspector to handle personally.
Soon, the squad leader ca out to report: "Inspector Cheng, he says he bought this backpack eight months ago at a second-hand stall in the West Market. The stall owner is Old Hu, who still has a stall there."
"An old item from half a year ago?"
Cheng Ye fell into thought, subconsciously opening his personal panel for a glance.
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