Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 478 Entering the City
The train clanked slowly into the central station. With a sharp squeaking of brakes, Dave and his fellow villager who was holding his sister's hand stumbled out of the train amidst the crowded crowd.

woo-

The huge metal train behind them blew its whistle, as if to extend a warm welcome to these newly arrived outsiders.

"This... is this Spark City?"

Looking at the crowded and busy scene in front of them, everyone who had just gotten off the bus was stunned. None of them were country bumpkins living in remote areas. After all, they were people from the vicinity of the old royal capital. Before actually arriving in Xinghuo City, most of their guesses were based on the prosperity of Jinhui City.

But they still underestimated this rumored wasteland city - the "Central Station" where the trains stopped in front of them alone covered a very large area, and the number of people coming and going was even greater than that of the busiest dock in the old royal capital.

In addition to the train they were riding, there were two other tracks extending from other directions, indicating that the train's route was not just between Grizzlie Castle and Spark City.

The spacious platform is clearly divided on both sides. One side is the area where passengers get on and off the train, while the other side is crowded with carts for loading and unloading goods, as well as many strangely shaped metal devices - some look similar to camels and draft horses, and some have several extra mechanical legs.

"Look, those robots can move on their own! They... they can even help people carry goods!"

"Oh my god, is this a living thing? It looks like it's made of iron!"

Dave stood on tiptoe, trying to raise his body above the crowd to get a better look at what those moving metal monsters were, but he heard the loud shouts of the leading municipal official.

"All new immigrants to the Old Capital, come to me! I'll be leading you through identity verification and registration. Do not leave the group without permission. Without identification, if you step outside Central Station, you'll be arrested by patrol officers within half an hour!"

Patrolmen? They'll arrest undocumented refugees in the city... They should be similar to the city defense patrols in the royal capital. I don't dare to offend these guys, so I have to be careful to avoid them in the future.

Dave thought secretly in his heart, but his feet involuntarily followed the large group into the station hall. After entering, he found that there were dozens of small cabin-like rooms on one side of the hall. A group of city hall officials in dark blue uniforms came over and asked them to line up and enter the small rooms one by one to complete identity verification and registration procedures.

Dave looked at the team that continued to extend behind him. At a glance, there were more than a thousand people. They could accommodate such a large number of refugees at one time. Even the porridge relief ceremony held in the Cathedral of Glory during the winter famine around the royal capital would pale in comparison.

The fellow villager held his sister's hand tightly and whispered nervously, "Dave, what are these small rooms and checkpoints for? Are they used to collect city entry taxes?"

This was overheard by a passing uniformed official, who quickly and enthusiastically explained, "There's no such thing as an entrance tax in Spark City, and there's no head tax... In fact, there's no overt taxation. Only once you find a job will the City Hall deduct a tiny amount from your salary as tax."

Wasn't this the usual extortion tactics used by the city guards against outsiders? This was a genuine identity verification and registration!

Dave quickly winked at his fellow villager, and the other party put the purse he had been holding tightly in his hand back into his arms with a sense of relief.

A middle-aged official, clearly of higher rank, approached and chuckled, saying, "Don't worry, everyone. What follows are all normal registration procedures for entering the city. As long as you abide by the laws of the North, no one will dare extort a single cent from you."

The facts were indeed as he said. When it was Dave's turn in line, the official in charge of identity verification in the small room looked extremely tired, but his attitude was relatively gentle. After briefly asking about his hometown, surname, and past experiences, he stamped a blank card half the size of his palm, and then asked him to prick his finger and smear the blood on the surface of the card without any explanation.

"This is your temporary ID card. Keep it with you and don't lose it. If you lose it... you must go to the Identity Registration Office at City Hall and get a replacement that same day. Otherwise, if a patrol officer makes a surprise inspection, you'll likely be taken to the police station and detained for several days in vain."

Another patrolman… Dave's heart tightened, and he quickly clutched the card tightly in his palm, intending to put it in his closest inner pocket. When he emerged from the cubicle, many people, like him, who had already obtained temporary ID cards, were slowly gathering at the other end of the hall. On a makeshift platform, a blue-clad official was shouting something at the top of his lungs with a megaphone.

"With your temporary ID card, you can come with me to the temporary shelter apartment outside the east gate. Someone will be responsible for arranging temporary accommodation for you."

Many people stared with wide eyes, surprised and disbelieving, "Arrange accommodation... yes, a house for free?"

"Yes, everything we promised you when we recruited you stands! Free housing will be provided until you've officially started working for a month. Likewise... free food will be provided until you receive your first paycheck."

The job recruitment notice issued by the Jinhui City Hall was not a crude trick to trick them into coming to the northern border...it was all true!

Dave was delighted and gathered with his fellow villagers to discuss, "Great! I was thinking we'd just find a place to stay under a bridge or street for the night and then look for a job tomorrow!"

"So... there really is a job waiting for us? I heard the salary is pretty good, too!"

The people from outside the southern border who gathered together immediately swept away the fatigue and confusion brought by the hardships of the journey, and excitedly surrounded the municipal officials, and began to ask about the future arrangements.

……

After a group of migrant workers from the capital had completed their identity registration, they formed a long, sparse queue and slowly walked towards the outside of the central station, led by more than ten blue-clad officials. The temporary shelter, like the central station, was built outside the east gate of Xinghuo City and, strictly speaking, was not considered part of the city.

But after arriving at the temporary shelter, Dave and the others were once again speechless at the sight before them...

It was not the simple and dilapidated shelter shacks as expected, but a long row of two-story gray buildings, densely built close to the city wall. There were even regular drainage ditches dug in front of the houses, and even the crisscrossing roads were paved with compacted cobblestones.

This is no different from the houses where the wealthy families in the inner city of the royal capital live. The only thing that can be criticized is... probably that the color is too simple and the shape is not complex enough.

"Brother Dave, can we really live in a house like this?" The younger sister of the fellow villager timidly pulled the corner of Dave's clothes and asked cautiously.

Before Dave could answer, a loud voice came from the loudspeaker next to him.

"The corresponding house number is marked on the back of your temporary ID. If you can't read... you can find any city hall official to ask for help. I'll come back tomorrow morning to inform everyone to go to the city to sign the employment contract!"

The scene was bustling with activity, and almost everyone could faintly smell the aroma of food... At the intersection of the streets not far away, there was a semi-open shop with a huge wooden sign hanging on the top.

Some outsiders who could barely read squinted their eyes and muttered unconsciously.

"Temporary... shelter... relief... canteen..."

(End of this chapter)