The ashes drifted away with the wind, and Cheng Ye watched them, standing in a daze for a long while before coming to his senses.

The more sources of infection he came into contact with, the more he realized that many things silently deviated from the dry descriptions in the Inspector's Handbook, shattering the stereotypes constructed by words.

Such as the Fusion Body, and Wish Grass.

It's hard to describe the feeling, but Cheng Ye felt a heaviness in his heart.

He truly couldn't imagine how long that short man must have prepared himself psychologically to dare personally steep the Wish Grass in hot water, willingly embracing the parasitic death that awaited.

All just to bring back the Extraordinary Ore and the Big Golden Cup, fulfilling the wishes of everyone in the squad.

Perhaps, he could have made it back.

But he didn't gamble on it; instead, he chose the safest and least error-prone way.

Just, it's a bit of a pity.

It wasn't until the man turned to ashes and dissipated that Cheng Ye suddenly remembered he had forgotten to ask his name.

"Merry Boots Squad..."

He silently repeated the name a few times in his heart, memorizing it.

At the same time, he resolved that in future duties, he should bring a notebook and record every Infected Body he encounters.

Although such moments that touch the soul cannot be described in words, they will allow him to flip back years later and suddenly remember there was a day, when a short man used his hunched body to hold up a piece of the sky.

Pressing the button on the table, the staff called by the Raven filed in.

The man was gone, but the Big Golden Cup and the Extraordinary Ore left behind needed to be dealt with.

Especially the Extraordinary Ore, which is a pollution source left by Extraordinary Creatures; humans making rash contact is likely to cause infection.

Plus, given its high value, the containment team at the checkpoint can't handle it, so Qin Feng must step in.

"Inspector Cheng, you're really lucky to come across Extraordinary Ore!"

Qin Feng quickly arrived with three team members, immediately spotting the Extraordinary Ore on the ground.

Not seeing anyone else in the inspection area, he paused and immediately understood what had happened.

"Ease your mind, when you've been on duty for a while, you might encounter any situation."

"Is this common?"

"It didn't used to be common, but ever since the Buffer Zone reform, it's become more frequent."

"Reform?"

Qin Feng paused, explaining, "It's about tightening the constraints on vehicle usage. When your grandfather was around, residents living in the Buffer Zone for over three years could apply to borrow vehicles for outings into the Wilderness. During that time, Happiness City was developing at its fastest, with large quantities of resources brought back daily."

"But after your grandfather left, and a new person took over at the checkpoint with sweeping changes, um..."

Here, Qin Feng hesitated.

"I know, once the Idealist Faction took over, many of the older residents in the Buffer Zone disappeared."

"You know?"

Qin Feng was taken aback. He only reported here this morning and wasn't aware of what happened during the checkpoint's week-long closure, as it was an internal matter not known to the public.

"After the older residents were gone, the vehicle usage system changed?"

"Yes."

Qin Feng nodded, "Initially, the usage restriction was directly loosened to be available to everyone. Application to borrow once a month for leaving the city was possible. But you can guess, new residents who borrowed the vehicles had little loyalty to Happiness City; many simply drove away and never returned."

"With no recourse, the upper management increased the restriction to six months, hoping for improvement. But guess what? The situation worsened, with some realizing if they didn't leave with vehicles now, it would be harder to rent them later as restrictions tightened."

"Wave after wave, in less than three months, more than half of the vehicles they had manufactured were gone. Some were driven out and sold directly to nearby Shelter Cities or Settlements, with claims of encountering dangers and losing them. Others simply took the vehicles to join other Shelter Cities, using them as a bargaining chip for a better position."

"With no choice, the restrictions continued to tighten, from six months to a year, then to three years..."

Qin Feng sighed, "Now, ordinary people have completely lost their eligibility to use them; only those with certification can rent vehicles."

Indeed.

Qin Feng's words confirmed Cheng Ye's suspicions.

Given that the Idealist Faction manages the Buffer Zone, logically they shouldn't impose such thresholds on livelihoods.

And indeed, the Idealist Faction relaxed the restrictions left by Cheng Wu.

But as more and more people with ulterior motives took vehicles out to resell or never returned, the resources painstakingly mined by Happiness City, the technology researched, and the manufactured products instead became wedding gowns for others.

No one adhered to the rules, all thinking of ways to profit opportunistically.

The path for those who came later was gradually blocked by those before them.

Until today, only a small group of recognized individuals could still gain access as before.

Yet, if even those people start to disregard the rules, the standard for "recognition" will only become harsher, eventually closing this door completely.

No wonder when the man died earlier, those lined up behind all got off the car to salute.

In a way, the man used his life to hold the line on this "recognition."

"Is certification difficult?"

"That, I'm not too sure about; you'd have to ask the Public Works Bureau."

Qin Feng shook his head, "But honestly, it's a trust issue at its core, and it's quite manageable. Either set an experience requirement, or establish assessment criteria, and issue corresponding certification to those who qualify. Doesn't your checkpoint also operate under this type of system?"

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