Wasteland Border Inspector-Chapter 304 - 130: Extraordinary Talent, Terrifying Panel!_4
"Niu Dacai," the burly man replied in a deep voice, showing no sign of fear.
The scavenger’s voice trembled, and he lowered his head even more, "Wang... Wang Sheng."
"The two of you, step out and stand to my left, facing everyone."
Cheng Ye’s voice was not loud, but it carried undeniable authority.
Once the two moved into place, he pointed to the second burly man and Liu Kun, who was among the scavengers.
"Niu Xiaocai." Seemingly Niu Dacai’s younger brother, he looked respectful but with rebellious eyes.
"Liu Shen." Liu Kun omitted half of his surname.
At Cheng Ye’s direction, the two stood on the right side.
The rest were also grouped in pairs by Cheng Ye, alternating between burly men and scavengers.
There were two more burly men, so they formed the last group.
Fourteen people stood in seven groups under the awning, facing each other, and the wet, cold air suddenly became charged with tension.
"The reason for having you stand like this is obvious,"
Cheng Ye’s gaze swept across the scene, "When the nutrient paste was distributed earlier, some took more than they should, while others got none of the warm stuff. You all know this, right?"
As soon as he finished, the burly men visibly tensed, a flicker of panic flashed in their eyes.
The wronged scavengers, however, straightened their hunched shoulders a bit, a hint of excitement in their eyes.
Was Inspector Cheng going to stand up for them?
"Don’t think about denying it," Cheng Ye nodded towards Military Saber, "Show them the photos."
Military Saber immediately circled around with printed screenshots from the surveillance, the red-ringed images of snatched paste bags glaringly clear. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
The burly men’s faces turned ashen, while the scavengers’ breaths became slightly more rapid.
Yet soon enough, everyone calmed down. Was it really worth making such a fuss over two bags of nutrient paste?
Cheng Ye’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the panel in the upper right corner; the compliance rate unexpectedly dropped by 3%.
Clearly, Liu Kun was somewhat dissatisfied with this "soft" approach of his.
"Don’t be nervous, I don’t want to punish anyone, nor do I need to use authority to oppress. What I want is fairness."
"Some drank more, some drank less. This imbalance needs to be rectified."
"These are the rules set by me as the Inspector, and they should be the rules of the inspection station. But how to rectify and compensate specifically, you need to decide yourselves."
"Got it?"
Cheng Ye’s voice suddenly rose a notch, "For each group, I’ll give you a minute to discuss. Once you’ve decided, raise your hand and write down your conclusion on a piece of paper."
What play is this?
Liu Kun’s brow furrowed ever so slightly, and the compliance rate dipped below the 80% threshold, plummeting to 75%.
But before he could think further, Niu Xiaocai turned to him with a faintly fierce look on his face, "Brother, you wouldn’t seriously want me to compensate you for drinking two bags of nutrient paste, would you? How about this: I’ll give you two Happiness Coins, and we’ll call it even, deal?"
"O-okay..."
Liu Kun was somewhat speechless, but he still pretended to hesitate for a moment, acting timid and afraid to agree.
Yet, the moment he accepted, he silently clenched his fist, a flare of unexplainable anger rising inside him.
This scene was all too familiar to him.
Those with powerful fists can indeed trample on rules at will, without truly having to abide by them.
While the weak are forced to accept, obediently fulfilling this unfair oppression.
Smack.
The compliance rate plummeted again, crashing below 50% and straight towards 30%.
Cheng Ye’s expression remained calm, but a trace of satisfaction quietly surfaced in his heart.
The dramatic shift in compliance was a clear sign that he was on the right track.
Although the numbers were dropping, as long as he could precisely trigger Liu Kun’s emotions, the goal was within reach.
"Finished writing?"
Cheng Ye turned his head. Military Saber immediately stepped forward to gather the papers with the group’s decisions.
After taking a quick glance, the results were as expected.
All were compensating with Happiness Coins, with the most offering ten coins, and the least only two.
However, the last pair of burly men, to avoid trouble, offered the most generous terms: ten Happiness Coins plus two bags of nutrient paste.
"Anyone want to see what was submitted?"
Cheng Ye asked loudly, but the scene was dead silent. The scavengers’ eyes were gloomy, clearly not holding any hope.
What good would come from looking? Could they really demand more?
Even if the others agreed, entering the Buffer Zone later would still cause a lot of trouble.
"No one wants to look, good."
Cheng Ye pulled a meaningful smile, "Military Saber, take these slips over there and let the scavengers in line come up to vote on them."
He paused and added, "There should be over a hundred people in line now. If any result receives 10 votes, it will be accepted, and I won’t pursue the matter further."
"Yes!"
With the word spoken.
Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically, including Liu Kun, who had been observing coldly. The continually declining compliance rate halted abruptly, settling at 36% and unmoving.
Military Saber took the papers beyond the barrier and briefly explained the compensation terms of each group to the scavengers in line.
At first, the crowd was slightly surprised, then it erupted into a low chatter.
No one wanted to miss out on such a spectacle.
Just a glance, and many directly marked an × on the slips, while some, eager for chaos even if the compensation seemed reasonable, also unhesitatingly marked an ×.
When the seven voting results were collected, Cheng Ye unfolded them to find not a single √ mark on any of the papers.
