Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 816

Chapter 816: Chapter 268: Reforming the Checkpoint, the All-Round King! (Part 4)

Harlem also snapped out of his earlier daze, nodding slowly in thought, a grave expression tinged with serious reflection.

But Cheng Ye had no mind to pay attention to the two men’s reactions, and continued to lay out the core idea he had just conceived:

“The so-called All-Purpose Inspector has to be good at garrison duty inside the walls, be able to handle external trade missions, and also be responsible for containment and research. But a person’s time and energy are fixed; even if they worked 24 hours a day without rest, it would be absolutely impossible to advance equally on all four fronts. They would inevitably have to make trade-offs. So ‘all-purpose’ is, at its root, a false proposition, something that fundamentally cannot be truly realized.”

“And our current problem is precisely that we haven’t given Inspectors any clear categorization, which has led to different types of Inspectors holding powers that don’t belong to their own duties. For example, Inspectors on garrison duty have no need to participate in the external trade segment at all, yet they hold the authority to freely ship supplies out to the outside world. Or take the external trade Inspectors: they should be focused on external affairs, yet they hold the power to audit internal personnel and formulate rules, and can even overstep into garrison duty, exercising management responsibilities that do not belong to them.”

“As for the management staff, their power is even more terrifyingly vast; they can stick their hands into every aspect. But do they really have the capability to do everything well? I’m afraid not necessarily.”

At this point, Cheng Ye gently shook his head.

This Fifth-stage Inspector Zhou Changhai might be good at external missions, might be well-versed in garrison duty; it wouldn’t be surprising even if he shifted into management and was skilled at rallying people. But no matter what, he has nothing to do with containment research and has no qualification whatsoever to step into that field.

Yet in reality, by relying on his Fifth-Phase rank, he can freely enter and exit the research institute and casually inquire about core information. This is exactly the loophole created by blurred power boundaries.

If we want to solve the problem at its root, rather than carving up power and handing it out to outsiders for supervision, it’s better to first clarify the internal power structure of the checkpoints.

Let Inspectors in each direction have clearly defined domains of responsibility, and have them not overstep into one another’s territory; that way, they can instead form a system of mutual internal oversight.

Moreover, once powers are clearly defined, there will no longer be the situation where the higher the rank, the harder it is to supervise.

Even a High-level Inspector can only exercise power within the scope of their own duties; once they go beyond those boundaries, they will be constrained by the other directions.

Of course, for High-level Inspectors, this is indeed a kind of reduction in power, but what is cut away are the redundant powers outside their duties, not their essential core authority.

As long as the logic is clearly explained, and we can start trial implementation from Yue Ye, the difficulty of promotion will not be too high.

“Dividing into four directions…”

Ding Yishan finally picked up the thread of conversation. “Then, Inspector Cheng, which direction do you think you’re good at?”

“Me?” Cheng Ye paused for a moment, the corner of his mouth curving into an inexplicable smile. “I’m afraid I’m good at all four.”

A glint of interest flashed in Ding Yishan’s eyes; he raised his eyebrows. “Oh? But you just said ‘all-purpose’ was a false proposition, didn’t you?”

“That’s why we need to set up a special position, separate from these four Inspector directions.”

Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone calm yet carrying a note of certainty. “This position can wield enormous power, hold all kinds of authorities, even far more than what exists now. But the premise is that the person must be worthy of that qualification. He has to earn broad recognition from the checkpoint’s garrison personnel, produce sufficiently outstanding results in external trade missions, gain direct permission from the research institute and be free to enter and exit scientific facilities, and, on top of that, be able to coordinate the overall management of the checkpoint to ensure that all affairs advance in an orderly manner.”

“Within the Shelter City, he can ensure that no infection source whatsoever can infiltrate into the urban area.”

“Out in the Wilderness, he can strike deals with any Shelter City and bring back massive amounts of supplies.”

“In the research institute, his research can help the Shelter City upgrade its technology, and bring a qualitative change to the lives of all residents.”

“And within the checkpoint, he would be the supreme existence, standing above all Station Chiefs. Without having to go through any circuitous departmental procedures, he could directly enter Happiness City’s upper echelons to attend any meeting and possess absolute discourse power.”

The promotion ceiling in the checkpoints was all too obvious.

One Chief Station Chief, one Deputy Station Chief, plus two Garrison Station Chiefs—there were only a handful of slots.

With so little room for development, it was no wonder Lei Hu and Towns wanted to run off and ride out the storm when chaos hit, and no wonder the Fourth-stage Inspectors turned their gaze to propping up external settlements, looking for another way out.

And now, what he wanted to put forward was an entirely new target, a position that would break the existing ceiling.

This position could wield power that reaches the heavens, even surpassing that of the Station Chiefs.

Without any detours, by relying on this position and its concrete track record, one could directly possess sufficient discourse power in Happiness City.

“It does sound somewhat interesting, but no one has ever dared to bring such a goal up with me before.”

Ding Yishan’s interest was fully piqued now; anticipation and surprise flickered in his eyes. “So, you want to be this All-Purpose Inspector?”

“No. The name ‘all-purpose’ is too grating. Unless one day there truly is solid strength, enough to become the undisputed top among all Inspectors on the entire Wasteland and win the unanimous recognition of Inspectors from every Shelter City, only then would one be worthy of the words ‘all-purpose’. Otherwise, if that title reaches the ears of outsiders, it will sound more like backhanded praise, and will make Inspectors from other Shelter Cities instinctively feel unconvinced, needlessly creating enemies.”

Cheng Ye shook his head, his gaze brightening as he smiled and gave his final answer:

“I call it… Border Inspector!”

…