Luo Xiaoxue gently shook her head, "And now, the Stand-In Starfish incident must have someone to take the blame, and barring any surprises, it will fall on the inspection station. You should rest and recover, just in time to avoid this vortex. Wait until everything has completely settled down!"

...

Beep, beep beep.

A pickup truck with the inspection station's logo steadily stopped in front of the Gate of Happiness.

Several guards exchanged glances and quickly stepped forward.

"It's a special period, please get out of the vehicle for inspection and walk through the isolation and disinfection workstation."

"Are you blind? Can't you see the inspection station logo?"

The passenger window of the pickup rolled down, revealing a young face, whose palm heavily slapped the badge on the car door.

However, the guards exchanged a look and didn't budge. The leading guard straightened his back:

"Sorry, Captain Chu issued a strict order. Anyone entering the Inner City from the Buffer Zone, even if Director Liu comes in person, has to walk through the isolation and disinfection workstation."

"Hmm?"

The young man raised an eyebrow, hearing the underlying meaning in the guard's words, and was about to get out of the car when a hand from the backseat pressed his shoulder.

"Chuan, get out of the car." The person in the backseat spoke, voice calm, "We're not some privileged class, we still have to follow the rules."

"Station Chief..."

Chuan looked back and finally suppressed his emotions.

The car door opened, and Ding Yishan was the first to get out, with a friendly smile on his face, looking at the guards: "You're all doing your duty. It's us causing you trouble."

Although his smile was gentle, it inexplicably sent shivers down the guards' spines.

Especially the leading guard captain, who gulped and could only muster the courage to say: "As long as Station Chief Ding understands."

"I understand, of course I understand."

Ding Yishan waved his hand, indicating for the pickup to return the way it came, then led Chuan towards the side gate of the main gate, "Let's go."

"Sir." After a few steps, Chuan couldn't help but lowly whisper with gritted teeth, "This Starfish incident isn't our fault. With the bizarre nature of the mother source, how could our inspection station anticipate and screen for it? And now we're being blamed, this is..."

"It's normal. With such a big mess, others definitely won't take the fall. We are the weakest, after all."

Chuan was stumped, eventually swallowing back his remaining words, though his expression remained unpleasant.

The two of them walked one after the other through the isolation and disinfection workstation.

Two leaves fell, printing the names 'Ding Yishan' and 'Jiang Chuan' respectively.

However, Jiang Chuan's leaf also had a number, marking '1'.

This indicated he only had one more opportunity to enter the Inner City for the rest of the year. For any new opportunities, he'd have to wait until they reset next year.

"Sir, the growth trend of the Red Tiger over the past two years is getting stronger, yet the Inner City is reducing everyone's entry and exit quotas. It seems they're really planning a complete isolation between inside and outside."

"Who knows? It's beyond our control."

Ding Yishan shook his head, tossed the leaf into the collection tube, and stepped out of the isolation station.

Whoosh.

An indescribable fresh air immediately enveloped them, as gentle as walking into the morning mist of early spring.

The metallic ground underfoot carried a slight chill, dissipating much of the summer heat, as if stepping from one world into another entirely different realm.

Yet before the two of them even found their footing, a black pickup suddenly came to a silent stop in front of them.

The driver's window slowly rolled down, revealing a rugged face covered in a full beard, "Get in, being the station chief, surely you're not planning to walk in like an ordinary person?"

"Well, a sinner should look the part, shouldn't they?"

Ding Yishan smiled, nodding slightly, "Director Liu, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you again this time."

...

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