CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 220 PASSING THE INSPECTION

Chen Xin slowly stopped the car in front of the roadblock, watching a few heavily dressed people come out of a checkpoint by the roadside. One of them walked to the car window, which was lowered only then, and asked, "Driver, do you need anything?"

"Routine inspection. Where are you coming from? This car is quite something!" The person who approached Chen Xin’s window looked over the car without any particular seriousness and explained, "Now, all vehicles going from Xianning City to the three towns must be checked. The controls are even stricter over there; if you’re heading to the three towns, there are several more checks ahead!"

Upon hearing this, before Chen Xin could say anything, Zhang Chengguang beside him asked, "Sir, why are the checks in the three towns so strict? Has something happened?"

"You guys are from out of town, right? Nothing’s happened in the three towns; it’s just that they have stricter controls there. After all, the distribution and regulation of supplies for the entire central region of Flame Country are managed from the three towns, so the management of incoming and outgoing vehicles and personnel is quite strict." The inspector didn’t find Zhang Chengguang’s question unusual.

Although nowadays, transportation between regions is mostly reliant on railways, with road transport nearly cutoff, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any vehicles running at all.

At least since this checkpoint was established, a vehicle can be seen every two or three days. Most are coming from the three towns, but some are indeed heading towards it, so this checkpoint isn’t entirely just for show.

"What are you carrying in your car? We need to inspect it, and also, show me your travel permit. You need a permit to enter or exit the three towns." The inspector wasn’t unfriendly or exploiting Chen Xin; he was simply following the inspection procedure normally.

Seeing this, Chen Xin didn’t resist and just said, "One moment," then closed the car window, intending to open the car door.

Before opening the door, he gave Zhang Chengguang and the other two astronauts a look, indicating for Zhang Chengguang to put away the gun and for the other two astronauts to stay alert.

Chen Xin opened the car door. Although there were several inspectors outside, only two boarded the vehicle, and they didn’t conduct a detailed search. They just walked around briefly to complete the inspection.

However, when they saw the green vegetables just sprouting in Chen Xin’s planting box, a look of longing was visible on their faces.

Chen Xin could tell that they probably hadn’t eaten fresh vegetables for a long time.

But the inspector just swallowed and skipped over Chen Xin’s planting box without making any demands, which surprised Chen Xin a bit. He had thought these inspectors might want some under-the-table perks.

"You three look familiar. Does that say ’Flame Country Aerospace’ on your clothes?" The inspector turned his gaze to the three astronauts.

Since they were still wearing their astronaut uniforms and hadn’t changed, they did stand out a bit.

As for their space suits which they’d taken off, they had long been stowed in the cabinet by Chen Xin and not left outside, so the inspector didn’t immediately associate them with being astronauts.

"They’re from the Aerospace Bureau; that shouldn’t be an issue, right?" Chen Xin stood in front of the inspector and asked, also blocking his view.

For the three astronauts, this was not the time to reveal their identities.

"Oh, it’s nothing. So, you’re heading to the three towns for aerospace matters?" The inspector didn’t ask in detail. After a simple query, he didn’t wait for Chen Xin’s answer and said, "Do you have a travel permit? You need one to go to the three towns now."

"Travel permit?" Of course, Chen Xin didn’t have it, and after exchanging glances with the three astronauts, they evidently didn’t know about it either, so Chen Xin straightforwardly said, "We came from Xiang Province and aren’t familiar with the regulations here in E Province. What kind of travel permit do we need? If we don’t have one, where do we get it?"

Hearing Chen Xin mention they had no travel permit, the inspector wasn’t surprised. Although you couldn’t proceed without a travel permit, since Chen Xin and his party weren’t trying to force their way through, he didn’t particularly mind; he simply explained, "The travel permit is issued by the provincial government of E Province. You need it to enter the three towns or travel within E Province. If you came from Xiang Province, you must have traveled through Chibi, right? No one stopped you there?"

Chen Xin was a bit surprised that the management here in E Province was different, but he still explained, "I came through Chibi and didn’t encounter any checkpoints. Where would I go to get this travel permit? Can vehicles from other provinces get one?"

"Oh, it’s simple, just go to the city government to apply. They have a specific department for this, and vehicles from other provinces can register too." The inspector explained the process of getting a travel permit to Chen Xin and then told him, "If you’re going to head to the three towns, you must get a travel permit from the city government. Otherwise, even if you pass here, they’ll check again in the three towns, and there are several other checkpoints along the way!"

"Got it, thank you so much!" Chen Xin thanked the inspector and also took out two energy bars and handed them over: "Thank you for your hard work."

The inspector wanted to decline the energy bars Chen Xin handed over, but Chen Xin had already placed them in his hand.

Holding the energy bars, the inspector hesitated a bit but ended up giving one to the other inspector who had come aboard with him, and put the remaining one in his own pocket.

The two inspectors understood each other without saying a word, and after putting the items in their pockets, they didn’t say anything more. But they still wouldn’t let Chen Xin’s vehicle pass, indicating he needed to get a travel permit. However, they did tell him whom to contact to expedite the process.

After thanking the two inspectors and seeing them off the vehicle, Chen Xin turned the car around and left the checkpoint. However, he didn’t go far and stopped at the roadside nearby.

"So, are we discussing whether to get a travel permit?" Zhao Wu, seeing Chen Xin had gathered them, the three astronauts together, was the first to ask.

However, Zhang Chengguang shook his head, glanced at Chen Xin, and said, "We definitely need to get the travel permit. What you’re concerned about, Chen Xin, is whether we should reveal our identities, right?"

Chen Xin nodded; that was exactly his concern.

He hadn’t anticipated E Province’s strict management, but considering the importance of the three towns, where even many essential supplies from Xiang Province were dispatched, the strict management in E Province was understandable.

However, under such circumstances, whether to reveal the identities of the three astronauts remained a concern for Chen Xin.

Revealing their identities and obtaining assistance from the local government in E Province, operating under strict management, could facilitate their journey to the three towns, which was certainly an advantage.

Yet, previously, when Chen Xin and Zhang Chengguang discussed, they had hoped for fewer complications, as they were unaware of what troubles revealing their identities might bring.

The data they carried was extremely crucial, and none of the astronauts wished for any mishap. Although the data was of no use to anyone but scientists, their identities as astronauts, especially those involved in a rescue mission, were too sensitive.

No one could guarantee that someone wouldn’t blame them for not completing the mission and hold them accountable for the asteroid impact event.

Even the three astronauts felt the incident was their responsibility for not completing the mission, and they couldn’t say others wouldn’t feel the same.

After considering for a moment, Chen Xin suggested to the three astronauts, "I suggest you don’t reveal your identities for now. Someone lend me your clothes, and we’ll say it’s an aerospace bureau mission. Once we get the travel permit, we’ll head straight for the three towns to avoid further complications."

Regarding Chen Xin’s decision, after a brief thought, Zhang Chengguang agreed. Although impersonating an Aerospace Bureau member wasn’t quite appropriate, it was an understandable move given the situation’s urgency.

As for their astronaut uniforms being obviously distinct, it wasn’t easy for the average person to tell whether these were official uniforms or not.

Having agreed on the plan, Zhang Yao, whose build was similar to Chen Xin’s, proactively removed his astronaut uniform and handed it to Chen Xin to wear over his own clothes. Following the directions given by the checkpoint personnel, Chen Xin then drove towards the shelter where Xianning City’s government was located.

The Xianning City government seemed unfazed by outsiders coming to apply for travel permits, and since Chen Xin claimed to be from the Aerospace Bureau, they did not dare delay the process. After registering the necessary information, they quickly issued Chen Xin a travel permit.

With the travel permit in hand, the road to the three towns was naturally open to Chen Xin and his team.

Upon returning to the checkpoint, after verifying Chen Xin’s freshly issued travel permit, the inspectors cheerfully allowed them to proceed.

As they continued forward, Zhao Wu, somewhat perplexed, asked, "Can such inspections really find anything? And there’s no real necessity to pass through this checkpoint, right? It wouldn’t be hard to bypass from another route, would it?"

"Bypassing isn’t hard, which is why they’re not especially stringent here. If you’re willing to pass through here, it generally means you’ve got nothing to hide. They mainly check for a travel permit, and that’s enough," Chen Xin explained, finding nothing strange about it. "Moreover, as they’ve mentioned, there are several more checkpoints ahead—those are the places where inspections are stricter since this is just the exit from Xianning City, whereas farther ahead is the actual entry point to the three towns."