Chapter 69: Third-Class Citizens

“Time’s up. Congratulations to the empowered individuals standing atop the tower—you have earned the right to become citizens of the Holy City. You may now descend the tower and find the relevant staff to process your citizenship certificate.”

As soon as Shen Xin heard this, he immediately teleported down, found the officer, and handled the paperwork for his citizenship certificate.

The process was swift; the officer also handed him a small booklet titled “Holy City Guide.” It was quite thin, barely more than ten pages.

Just as Shen Xin was about to leave, a young man dressed in a flamboyant short-sleeved shirt, beach shorts, and oversized sunglasses stopped him. With a smile, he asked, “Friend, would you like to join our Heavenly Origin Sect?”

“Heavenly Origin Sect?” Shen Xin was a little surprised. He recalled Sister Dan mentioning this before—it seemed Heavenly Origin Sect was the largest sect in the Holy City.

But he had no intention of joining any organization at the moment, so he politely declined, “Sorry, I know nothing about the Holy City yet. Perhaps I’ll consider it after I learn more.”

The man in sunglasses wasn’t offended. He pulled out a business card and smiled, “Here’s my card. If you’re ever interested, you can contact me anytime.”

“Alright!” Shen Xin accepted the card, and soon returned to Qianlong Villa. After entering his room, he called Sister Dan to share the good news.

Laughter rang out on the other end of the line. “Congratulations, Shen Xin! I knew you’d be fine. I won’t be back in Bull City for a few days—why don’t you stay at my place for a while?”

“No need, I’ll just explore the Holy City on my own,” Shen Xin replied after some thought.

Sister Dan didn’t mind. She continued, “You should have received the Holy City Guide, right? Just follow what it says and you’ll be fine. Also, keep a low profile and don’t cause any trouble—there are quite a few big shots in the city.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

After hanging up, Shen Xin began packing his things. He couldn’t stay at Qianlong Villa forever and wanted to find another hotel.

But first, he took some time to read through the Holy City Guide.

It didn’t take long. After finishing, he let out a deep sigh.

So, he was just a third-class citizen.

The rights of third-class citizens were few; he didn’t even qualify to purchase property. All he had was the freedom to enter the city and spend money there.

However, there were ways to upgrade. As long as he accrued enough contribution points, he could be promoted to a second-class citizen. The fastest way to earn contribution points was by completing bounty tasks issued by the Holy City.

Shen Xin scanned the QR code in the Holy City Guide and downloaded an app called “Holy City All-Knowing.” This app listed all the bounty tasks, available to all citizens.

The bounties varied in difficulty, and so did the contribution points.

The smaller ones were worth a hundred points each.

Accumulate three thousand points, and you could become a second-class citizen.

“Three thousand points—that’s not much.”

However, Shen Xin didn’t plan to stay in the Holy City long-term, so he had no intention of taking on the bounties.

After checking out of his hotel, he hailed a taxi and got off at a commercial street. He intended to buy some supplies, like Vitality Pills, which he could resell for a good profit back home.

He soon found an alchemy shop and strode in. The place was laid out much like a traditional herbalist’s, with a quaint hall and a counter facing the door. Behind the counter, the wall was lined with drawers, each bearing a red label with the name of a pill.

Shen Xin felt a bit lost—he’d only ever seen Vitality Pills and Beast Nourishing Pills before.

Yet the cabinets held at least a hundred different types.

A shop attendant noticed Shen Xin hesitating in front of the counter and asked, “Young man, what kind of pills are you looking for?”

“Uh, I’ll take a hundred Vitality Pills and a hundred bottles of Beast Nourishing Pills to start.”

The attendant was momentarily stunned, then smiled. “May I see your citizen certificate first?”

“No problem.” Shen Xin handed over his certificate. The attendant glanced at it, and the smile vanished from his face. He said coldly, “Third-class citizens can only spend up to ten million a day.”

Shen Xin almost cursed, but held back and asked, “How much for a Vitality Pill? And the Beast Nourishing Pills?”

“A million for each Vitality Pill, five thousand per bottle for the Beast Nourishing Pills.”

“Then I’ll take five Vitality Pills and ten bottles of Beast Nourishing Pills.”

It couldn’t be helped; he would have to buy less for now and come back another time if he got the chance.

After leaving the alchemy shop, he continued wandering the commercial street.

In a weapons shop, he spent a million on a dagger, planning to gift it to Tang Ziran. At the armor shop, he bought an inner vest for Yu Yanan. In the magical artifacts shop, he purchased a calming charm, perfect for Shen Lan. He also bought gifts for Old Mo and Chen Jiawang.

After spending nearly his entire ten million limit, he kept a few hundred thousand for hotel stays and meals.

For the past few days, he’d been relying on his own supplies and hadn’t had a decent hot meal. Spotting a reputable hotel, he checked in and treated himself to a hearty meal. Later, he stepped out and found a bookstore, where he bought several books about the Holy City.

Back at the hotel, he read through them slowly. Information about the Holy City couldn’t be found online, so books were his only option.

He read for most of the day, and finally had a basic understanding of the city.

The Holy City was surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of desert; the nearest province was Tiangang, more than three thousand kilometers from Bull City.

The population just exceeded a hundred thousand, with a city area comparable to Bull City. It was highly organized, divided into residential, agricultural, industrial, academic, administrative, and commercial zones.

The administrative district, at the very center, was the smallest; around it were the residential, industrial, and agricultural zones.

What surprised Shen Xin was the city’s abundant resources—the agricultural zone grew wheat, watermelons, Hami melons, grapes, fragrant pears, and many vegetables.

In the livestock zone, cattle and sheep roamed in herds.

The lake outside the city teemed with fish—hundreds of species, with fishermen easily hauling in forty or fifty kilos in a single net.

Thus, the Holy City was essentially self-sufficient.

Even energy wasn’t a concern; solar power plants dotted the desert outside, generating enough electricity for the entire city.

Shen Xin spent the night at the hotel. The next day, he planned to return to the commercial district for more shopping, but with a daily limit of just ten million, it seemed hopeless. Second-class citizens had a daily limit over a hundred million. He wondered if he should try a bounty task after all, since Sister Dan wasn’t planning to return anytime soon and he now knew how to get back.

He decided to act.

Opening the Holy City All-Knowing app, he found a digging mission on the bounty page: searching for Xuanling tree roots in the desert. A live root would earn a thousand contribution points, a dead one a hundred, and the approximate area was marked.

For most people, finding such roots in the endless desert would be nearly impossible, but Shen Xin knew the Earth Burrowing Technique.

“The advantage is mine! Let’s go!”

He first took a car out of the city, then crossed the lake by boat. The lakeshore was dotted with settlements like small towns, where people made a living by providing transportation, food, lodging, and more.

After all, once you left the city by boat, you couldn’t walk across the desert on foot—it stretched for hundreds of kilometers.

Shen Xin rented an off-road vehicle and headed for the area where Xuanling roots could be found.