"But over the years, with the military disbandment, surrounding gathering spots and shelter cities have successively risen, and Happiness City's situation isn't all that glorious. When you go out on field missions, you might get troubled by inspectors from other shelter cities, and it's not impossible that some people simply don't think much of our Happiness City."

Matthew Lee grinned, his tone carrying a hint of jest, yet his gaze was calm, as if long accustomed to this marginalized status.

What surprised him was that Cheng Ye nodded solemnly, seemingly intending to rediscover him one day.

"Hmm?"

Matthew Lee was momentarily taken aback, a flash of surprise in his murky eyes.

"Live well, that day will come. It felt like you were saying your last words to me just now."

"Get outta here, hurry up and take over the shift, don't curse me here!"

Matthew Lee laughed and cursed, raising his hand to tap on the railing. Judging by his stance, if it weren't for the fence separating the two districts, he might have chased Cheng Ye down for a beating.

But as Cheng Ye turned away after finishing his nutrient paste, an imperceptible hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

Will that day come?

But, can I still wait till then?

Watching Cheng Ye leave the inspection zone, Matthew Lee gently shook his head. The regret in his eyes gradually faded away, disappearing without a trace.

Like the water's surface wrinkled by the wind, it trembled slightly, then restored its calm again.

...

Knock.

"Come in."

Station Chief Towns' voice came from inside the door, carrying a hint of fatigue that was hard to detect.

Cheng Ye took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Behind the large walnut desk, the old man still sat on that leather swivel chair, holding a pen in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed, his gaze falling on the spread-out documents, as if pondering over some thorny issue.

After entering the room, Cheng Ye gently closed the door, stood at the old spot from before, his hands at his sides, quietly waiting.

Of course, he didn't forget to glance at the panel.

Unexpectedly, Towns' cooperation level was as high as 27%, far surpassing Harlem's.

You have to know, Ding Yishan is now pushing him upwards.

As the Westerners' duty station chief, he should at least show some attitude, but Towns having such a number already represents something significant.

After more than ten seconds, Towns suddenly spoke, without raising his head, as if talking to himself:

"Cheng Ye, I'm facing a difficult problem right now, want to talk it over with someone, hear some opinions."

"Listen, if you want to answer, then speak, if not, that's fine too, I won't force you."

Just as he finished speaking and was about to elaborate, Cheng Ye suddenly interrupted:

"Is there any benefit?"

"Benefit?"

Towns finally raised his head, a trace of surprise flitting across his face, but he soon squeezed out a smile, "I have two evaluation forms here. If you want them, it depends on your performance. Additionally... I also have some news you might want to know."

"Great!"

Cheng Ye nodded decisively.

Since Towns opened his mouth, whether he responded or not, as long as he followed the other's rhythm, he would inevitably fall into a passive situation.

It's better to lay things out straight, seize the initiative first.

Moreover, the current situation isn't like half a month ago when you needed to keep a low profile; now that things are on the table, you have to show yourself when necessary.

Especially considering Harlem and Towns aren't on the same page, and there are no outsiders present now.

"The Double Moon Lake gathering spot is 620 kilometers from us. It's one of the rare places in Stone Province where crops can be grown and a source for our Happiness City's nutrient paste supplies. But now they suddenly want to terminate cooperation. According to the gathered intelligence, Dazhang Shelter City offered a higher price and also provided them with a batch of important industrial facilities."

Towns put down the pen, lightly tapping his fingertips on the desk, and said in a deep voice, "Now, how do you think we should handle this to retain this raw material site?"

Dazhang Shelter City?

Cheng Ye quickly searched his memory; it's a small shelter city, only with a population of forty to fifty thousand.

Located southwest of Happiness City, roughly a thousand kilometers away in a straight line.

As for the Double Moon Lake gathering spot, he hadn't heard of it.

"How far is Dazhang from Double Moon Lake?"

"Previously, it was 570 kilometers, but now they've repaired a large bridge, so it's only 450 kilometers now."

450 against 620, a slight advantage in distance.

Plus, the higher price and a batch of important industrial facilities.

In any way, it seems that Dazhang Shelter City holds an absolute advantage, and Happiness City has no competitiveness.

"How does Dazhang's industrial level compare to ours?"

"About the level we had fifteen years ago, just capable of producing some small gadgets."

After Towns finished answering, there was suddenly a bit more hope in his expression.

This was Harlem's tough problem thrown at him today. He called six second-phase inspectors over midway, but everyone just shook their heads as soon as they heard it, and even without asking for details, they hastily gave suggestions.

Either use martial power to threaten, forcing Dazhang Shelter City to voluntarily give up Double Moon Lake, or make Double Moon Lake gathering spot afraid to cooperate with Dazhang.

Or raise the price to bid, thinking Dazhang's industrial strength is inferior to Happiness City's. What they can provide, Happiness City naturally can too, a matter of financial strength.

Very simple and crude; Happiness City has always operated this way, directly crushing with their advantages, but if it were that easy to solve now, Harlem wouldn't have specially tossed this thorny issue to him.

In fact, the raw material sourcing points for Happiness City's nutrient paste have been decreasing more and more seriously over the past few years.

Though it's far from reaching a warning line, the declining trend keeps growing, and there's been no upward return for quite some time.

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