The night was dark, gradually enveloping the wasteland.
Cheng Ye returned to the staff residential area, went up to the fifth floor of the tube building along the stairs, and unlocked the security door at the end of the corridor with a key.
A single room of more than ten square meters, with only a small bed of about one and a half meters and a small desk inside.
All the useless clutter was cleared out in one go to the recycling station after he crossed over and understood the situation, including the love token and half a box of love letters from his predecessor with a certain woman in the Inner City.
There is no place for romantic entanglements on the wasteland, especially when even survival is a problem; clearly, no other thoughts should exist.
Embedding the pendant into the socket to start charging, Cheng Ye headed to the public restroom on the fifth floor and used his card to get water.
The young man in the mirror had a thin build and a somewhat pale complexion, although with distinct features that could be considered somewhat handsome by modern standards.
However, in the wasteland, a physique and rugged appearance like Liu Bi's was the real answer.
Freshwater gushed out of the pipe, slightly yellow in color due to the upstream mountain floods.
However, with free electricity, limited water supply, and work that could fill the belly.
The broadcast from Happiness City wasn't lying; it was indeed happier here than many Shelter Cities.
Of course, that was on the condition that there wouldn't be massive infection waves.
The thirty-meter giant wall could block all the attacks outside, protecting the core residents of Happiness City, but ordinary residents living in the Buffer Zone would suffer.
These days, it takes 1000 Contribution Points to enter the Inner City, and as an Inspector, Cheng Ye had worked for two months and only accumulated 19 points.
Ordinary people could hardly accumulate that many points unless they hit a big jackpot or found some rare resource. Otherwise, no matter how hard they worked their entire lives, there would still be a huge gap.
Moreover, even as an Inspector, accumulating enough Contribution Points wouldn't allow entry into the Inner City, which gave Cheng Ye a constant sense of crisis.
If an infection wave strikes, the Buffer Zone can't hold it back.
Where would he escape to, and how could he escape?
Some senior Prosecutors might have secret refuges outside the quarantine area, but as a newcomer without resources or abilities, where could he find a place to build a refuge?
Brother B might have a refuge, but at that time, he would be taking his family to escape. Would he continue to take Cheng Ye with him?
After washing, Cheng Ye returned to his room, his mind in turmoil, unable to sleep.
It was not until the sky began to lighten, the curtains glowing with white, that he suddenly sprang into action, rushing to the power strip.
Touching the pendant, a panel appeared.
[Current activation progress: 99.8%]
Only the last 0.2% remained. Cheng Ye simply sat on the ground, occasionally checking the pendant to see if there was any change in progress.
The earlier progress had taken two full months to accumulate, which didn't feel long, yet at this moment, he was a bit anxious.
Fortunately, 0.2% was just 4 kilowatt-hours, and before the sky brightened fully, charging was complete.
"Finally enough!"
When this thought emerged, Cheng Ye's eyes suddenly widened, an expression as if seeing a ghost on his face.
The pendant had disappeared?
The moment the charging ended, the pendant in the power strip seemed to be invisible, instantly vanishing from view.
But then, before Cheng Ye could think further, a blinding blue light flashed before his eyes.
The panel he'd seen countless times finally changed, showing lines of textual information.
[Civilization Collector charged, automatically activated and bound]
[Welcome, Civilization Collector: Cheng Ye, you are currently at Intern Level 1]
[Civilization Collector has entered sensing mode. Collectors can open or close the panel by silently chanting for the Collector]
[The Civilization Collector has opened functions corresponding to your level. Please review them on the panel using your mind]
[We wish you a pleasant experience!]
"I'm an Intern Inspector, and the Civilization Collector is also an Intern..."
"It means the Civilization Collector has upgrade levels and potential for more functions."
Glancing over the text, Cheng Ye, having mentally prepared for over two months, wasn't surprised.
Including using thought to control the panel, summoning and dismissing it repeatedly, he quickly became familiar with it.
"Currently, the Level 1 Collector has only one function, which actually aligns well with my main job?"
Cheng Ye glanced over the single function on the panel.
[Search (lv.1)]
[Current charging value: 2/2 (use depletes energy, replenishes on recovery)]
[Searchable targets: Biological entities]
[Search conditions: Requires biological consent, range depends on cooperation level]
[Currently searchable range: Intelligence (10% cooperation, lv.1), Items (30% cooperation, lv.1), Skills (50% cooperation, lv.1), Skills (100% cooperation, lv.2)]
[Search success rate: 50% success rate for same-level searches, halved with each level increase; failure returns Action Points]
[Note: This search is a peer-to-peer copy; success or failure does not affect the searched subject.]
"The search can yield...information, items, skills?"
Cheng Ye's thoughts became instantly active as he suppressed his inner excitement.
Getting the biological consent isn't difficult; survivors who are willing to walk into the isolation cage show a certain degree of cooperation.
With proper guidance, reaching 100% might be tough, but Cheng Ye is quite confident about achieving even 50%.
Intelligence and items are easy to understand, but what kind of ability would be called a skill?
Does Brother B's shooting skill count as a skill?
What about those rumored superhumans who accidentally mastered superpowers without being eroded by infection sources, do their abilities count as skills?
Cheng Ye couldn't help but fantasize.
If such abilities could be searched for, his survival rate in upcoming field missions would certainly increase significantly.
"Unfortunately, the success rate of searches is not high; even at the same level, it's only fifty percent."
"And at my current level, one charge only allows two search opportunities, so I must choose my search targets wisely."
"As for what the action points provided by a failed search do, I still don't know their purpose..."
"And the charging value, how do I restore this?"
Countless questions flooded in, Cheng Ye's eyes brightened slightly as he decided not to ponder too deeply about the meanings of these terms right now. Whether successful or not, several rounds of searching ought to clarify what they represent.
Additionally.
"Must not rush; the more urgent the situation, the more cautious one must be."
"Brother B has already helped me take a leave; if I rush off to work now, others will surely find it strange. If I use the collector and expose any more oddities, the chance of being watched would be much higher."
Cheng Ye repeatedly reminded himself, suppressing the impulse back into his heart, continuing to study the Civilization Collector.
This research led him to discover another function hidden behind the search.
Well, not really a function.
[Collector: Cheng Ye]
[Current Rank: Level 1 Intern (Collect more information on current civilization to advance)]
[Life Level: 0 (has not reached the minimum standard)]
[Skills: Empty, Empty, Empty (maximum of three skills can be equipped at the current life level)]
[Not yet unlocked...]
[Evaluation: Fragile Intern Collector, what you should focus on right now is not collecting civilization information, but rather avoiding being hunted by the civilization's natives as much as possible!]
A life level not meeting the minimum standard, an empty skill bar, and an evaluation of being hunted by natives.
The panel is very simple, but it accurately reflects Cheng Ye's current situation.
"With my current ability, encountering an infected body in close combat would indeed be a disaster."
Confirming no other functions were available.
Cheng Ye closed the collector and began to carefully think about his next developmental directions.
Happiness City is a standard industrial Shelter City, exporting firearms and ammunition thousands of kilometers away in exchange for countless precious food, technology data, and more.
Living in this city, buying a handy gun isn't difficult for someone like Cheng Ye, who is an Inspector.
For example, a 9mm Bison combat pistol as used by Liu Bi can be bought for just 20 Contribution Points, making it a great value purchase.
However, while firearms are powerful, their usage scenarios are quite fixed, only maximizing their effectiveness in clearing infected waves, large-scale team battles, city defending, sentry guarding, or human engagements.
Field assignments at the checkpoint primarily consist of deliveries, reconnaissance, and information gathering, handled in teams of two to four, rarely involving direct combat missions.
If you ever shoot within the city, infected bodies hiding in the ruins would swarm in like sharks smelling blood.
Getting surrounded means a failed mission at best, losing your life at worst.
"If I'm lucky and assigned a delivery task, I might not encounter any infected bodies at all."
"For other reconnaissance missions, the best choice would be to use cold weapons to deal with any road-blocking infected bodies, entering quietly and exiting quietly."
"Therefore... for the upcoming search for skills, priority should be given to those enhancing my close combat abilities."
With an average score of seven rings at a 25-meter shooting range, it barely meets the minimum standard for fieldwork.
However, he is still lacking in close combat, not just in skills, but also in courage, experience, and adaptability.
If he could find a skill to make up for this deficiency, his survival rate would surely increase significantly.
Cheng Ye made up his mind and turned his head to look outside the window.
The rain curtain, accompanied by lead-colored clouds, was slowly rolling in from the horizon. As the rain line continued moving southward, Happiness City had already begun to feel its impact.
Customarily, before the onset of a major downpour, any surviving travelers would quicken their pace.
This would also logically lead to a surge in people at the checkpoint!
...
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