Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 894

Chapter 894: Chapter 289: New Reforms, Breaking Heavy Ordnance!

The phone call ended.

Matthew Lee’s expression was quite subtle, squinting his eyes, with a mix of bewilderment and a hint of wariness in his gaze.

Cheng Ye put the Defense Communication back at his waist, raised an eyebrow and with a half-smile said, “Now that you’ve listened, you should give some opinion.”

“No, no, no, you Inspection Station and the Security and Integrity Bureau are fighting, please don’t drag me into it.”

Matthew Lee quickly waved his hand, speaking reluctantly, “I’m just a small Third-stage Inspector, no family power backing me, no notable hard achievements, and definitely not like Liu Bi who can knock the director into the emergency room with martial power. If I get involved, the Integrity Bureau might just find an excuse to detain me, and I’d be peeled alive even if I survive.”

“That’s all?”

Cheng Ye remained unmoved, “You’re not coming with me back to the Buffer Zone?”

“Do you really want me dead?” Matthew Lee instinctively retorted, then rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, “I knew no good would come from your visit to Dongping Town today. I should have stopped you from entering in the first place.”

Seeing Cheng Ye remain silent, still looking at him with that half-smiling expression, Matthew Lee sighed helplessly and gestured, “Come inside, let’s not stand here as targets.”

With that, the two walked back into the inspection hut set up at the town entrance.

After half a month passed, Dongping Town, having changed its development direction, underwent tremendous changes.

Matthew Lee was never good at industrial production, clueless about machine tools and assembly lines, barely managing for a few days almost leading to his downfall.

However, pioneering cultivation and planning agricultural zones were his forte, skills he hadn’t neglected over the years.

Now, Dongping Town had shed its hastily constructed industrial prototype, rapidly developing toward becoming an agricultural Satellite City.

Back then, the boundless Wilderness, waist-high wild grass, jagged rocks, and the winds swirling up dust, even the Thorn Bird wouldn’t linger long.

But now, standing at the town entrance, looking out for kilometers, the Wilderness had been meticulously arranged, with gray-brown ridges spread like ribbons, extending along the terrain, neatly pleasing to the eye.

The wild grass that was cleared, on Cheng Ye’s suggestion, was not wasted, all spread out, dried, and compressed into block-shaped haystacks. Although lacking nutrients to be made into fertilizer due to the early effects of the Petrification Curse, they became the most practical insulation material for winter, perfectly compensating for the poor sealing of the prefabricated houses.

In addition, the industrial area was secretly producing fertilizer, though not officially announced, any Inspector who inquired would receive a portion of the allocation.

This artificial fertilizer, combined with the natural “fertilizer” accumulated by the residents, was applied to the fields, and it was expected that by the coming spring, Dongping Town’s soil fertility would surpass other Satellite Cities.

This was the core plan Cheng Ye initially laid out for Matthew Lee.

Only by giving Dongping Town an irreplaceable advantage in agriculture would the Happiness City’s upper management consider allocating resources.

In the Wasteland, a Satellite City capable of stable grain production is always valued more than a small town with just industrial frameworks but lacking food, which is the foundation for Dongping Town’s sustainable development.

Inside the hut, Matthew Lee picked up the kettle to pour some water.

After Cheng Ye took a sip, he sighed and said slowly, “Previously, the two factions were fighting for the Buffer Zone’s control. Now, the Security and Integrity Bureau is vying for control over all Satellite Cities. They want to set up branch offices in each Satellite City to accommodate retired legion personnel. If this power is handed over to them, what voice do we, the inspectors in charge of the Satellite Cities, have left?”

“Do you think this is why Station Chief Ding made his move?” Cheng Ye mused, fingers rubbing the rim of the cup thoughtfully.

“It’s highly likely,” Matthew Lee pondered, “This conflict needs to be resolved this winter, because after winter begins, all the High-level Inspectors who are currently out will return, strengthening the station’s capacity. If it drags into spring next year, and everyone goes out again, the stalemate will just persist.”

“So Station Chief Ding intends to use force to pressure the Security and Integrity Bureau to submit?”

“Of course not, it’s not that simple,” Matthew Lee chuckled and shook his head, “Station Chief Ding just wants to use Liu Bi’s punch to break the deadlock. Inspector Liu’s action is just the trigger. Conveniently, since you’re heading out on assignment next, take him with you to prevent him from being hounded by the Integrity Bureau in the city.”

He paused and continued analyzing, “As for how the struggle unfolds next, it’s still the usual, finding flaws in each other’s work, exposing dirt on key figures, and if it gets worse, delineating rules for fair competition over resources. As long as Happiness City’s senior management doesn’t intervene, all conflicts will remain within controllable limits, merely a reshuffling of power.”

“But if the senior management steps in, for instance, if an Elder from the Extraordinary Faction speaks up, the nature changes. Then it’s no longer just a struggle, but it enters a stage of slicing up interests, with people like us just scraping for leftovers.”

As an old Inspector who witnessed the rise and fall of the grand expansion era, Matthew Lee clearly understood the twists and turns involved.

As long as the Extraordinary Faction Elders remain, as long as Happiness City remains under top-level control, the Security and Integrity Bureau and the Inspection Station are only ever fighting over power that was previously disregarded or newly emerged as times progressed.

For instance, the additional managerial rights after the Buffer Zone was upgraded, or the newly added supporting rights for Satellite Cities.