Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 811

Chapter 811: Chapter 267: Fifth Batch Defection, The Beginning of the Storm! (Part 3)

Cheng Ye quickened his pace slightly, brushing aside the cluttered thoughts in his mind, and stepped into the work area through the side door.

In fact, this was his first time going to the headquarters building to report.

The quaint little building looked very charming, and Cheng Ye couldn’t help but imagine what kind of headquarters building he would have when he took office at Yue Ye in the future.

However, as he reached the entrance, two teams of security guards emerged from the shadows.

The lead security captain stepped forward respectfully and said, “Inspector Cheng, the stationmaster has gone to the Inner City for a meeting. Please wait on the first floor.”

“No problem.” Cheng Ye waved his hand and walked into the headquarters building.

The first floor had been transformed into a work area, about four hundred square meters, looking very much like a large printing shop.

Behind each divider sat people, hurriedly compiling materials and outputting them.

They were either tallying data from various sources or organizing them into records.

Cheng Ye curiously took a walk around, but to his disappointment, the computers here all operated on a command-line system, which made him dizzy.

Seeing his curiosity, an attendant specially brought over a textbook issued by Firewood.

Cheng Ye sat in the waiting area, quietly flipping through it.

The text in the textbook was clear and straightforward, starting by highlighting the core advantages of the command-line system.

Without the redundancy of a graphical interface, it ran at speeds far surpassing visual systems, vastly improving efficiency in handling large data compilations and batch material generation.

Most importantly, its precision, as each line of command directly interfaces with core programs, almost eliminates graphical system compatibility issues or lag faults, making it particularly suitable for handling confidential materials and critical data.

It also offers strong customization, allowing users to write dedicated scripts for different tasks, efficiently completing repetitive work like format uniformity and data classification, saving a lot of manual operation.

“Hmm… I didn’t expect this to be such an advantage!”

The more Cheng Ye read, the more engrossed he became, realizing the benefits he hadn’t considered due to preconceived notions about graphical interfaces.

But the drawbacks were also evident, as the entry threshold was very high; there were no visual icons as guidance, and all operations relied on precise command codes.

Also, the operation process was too monotonous, with the dense strings of text lacking intuitive feedback, causing fatigue after staring at the screen for long periods.

Considering he couldn’t avoid researching this area in the future, Cheng Ye patiently perused the materials at hand.

However, from three in the afternoon until evening, as the sunlight gradually turned into a gray twilight and the building outlines outside the checkpoint became blurry, Ding Yishan had still not returned.

The lights on the office floor were fully lit, with bright white light dispelling the interior gloom but unable to penetrate the growing darkness outside.

Cheng Ye closed the textbook, glanced at Defense Communication, and saw it was already 6:40 in the evening.

He hesitated whether to pack up and return to recharge, study the characteristics he gathered from Yu Yong, and complete the tasks at the research institute, planning to report again tomorrow.

Just then, he finally heard the “clack-clack” sound of tires rolling from a distance, accompanied by the distinctive low hum of an electric motor, getting closer.

Two military green pickups with checkpoint logos steadily parked in front of the little headquarters building.

In the first car, Jiang Chuan pushed open the door and jumped out, his movements still crisp and neat. But when the co-driver’s door opened, Ding Yishan bent over and came out, his figure slightly more hunched than usual, his face full of undisguised weariness and suffering.

A month of no contact, how did Old Ding become so exhausted?

Cheng Ye was startled, but when his eyes swept over to the second car, he was even more surprised.

The car doors opened successively, with Harlem stepping out from the co-driver’s seat. But the two rear doors opened to reveal Lei Hu and Towns, the duty stationmasters of North-South Station!

Something didn’t add up; earlier in the morning, Lei Hu was still in the industrial area coordinating equipment transportation. Why did he suddenly come back to the Buffer Zone for a meeting now?

Cheng Ye’s heart was filled with surprise as Ding Yishan already took the lead and stepped into the first floor, his leather shoes making a light sound across the threshold.

Harlem, Lei Hu, and Towns followed closely behind, all with their heads lowered and brows tightly knit, clearly contemplating something.

Even when they saw Cheng Ye standing at the door, the tense expressions on the four men’s faces did not relax in the slightest.

Ding Yishan’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, his voice low and solemn: “Cheng Ye, you come too.”

“Hmm?” Cheng Ye was taken aback, sensing something significant was happening, but he couldn’t ask much and could only follow behind the four men.

On the second-floor conference room, Lei Hu and Towns directly sat on the couches on either side of the meeting area, while Harlem pulled up the room’s only chair, sitting on the left side of the desk.

As Cheng Ye looked around, Jiang Chuan entered, carrying a folding chair in hand.

He nodded with a smile, took the chair, and sat near the door on the right side of the desk.

The chief and deputy stationmasters, along with the two duty stationmasters, almost constituted the upper echelons of power in the Buffer Zone.

Although having interacted with Lin Hu and Davidson made the Fifth-stage Inspectors seem less mysterious, being in the same room with these four still made Cheng Ye somewhat nervous.

“I thought I’d only experience this day when I took office at Yue Ye, but it’s happening much earlier…”

With these thoughts, Cheng Ye discreetly observed the expressions on their faces.

It was evident that it wasn’t good news; even Towns had his brows furrowed, fingers flying across Defense Communication, seemingly sending messages to external contacts.

Lei Hu was also holding his Defense Communication, occasionally glancing at it as if waiting for some news.