Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 500: The Mark of the Slave

Snapped!
The young city hall official held the seal in his hand and stamped a crimson mark on the card that was half the size of his palm.

"Alright, keep this temporary ID card safe. Don't lose it. If you can't find it, report it to the City Hall immediately and get a replacement. Otherwise, the patrol officers will mistake you for an unidentified outsider and arrest you, detain you, or even deport you back to the southern border!"

The young official chattered nonstop, thrusting the card into the dazed Hick's hands. Turning to look at his colleague near the window, he said with a wry smile, "You have no idea how many times I've repeated this sentence today. My wife says I've been muttering it in my dreams these past few days."

The colleague angrily shook his aching arm and grumbled quietly, "There's nothing we can do! This problem could have been solved by hanging a sign, but these new immigrants are all illiterate..."

When Xike heard these words, his face immediately turned slightly red. He subconsciously pulled up the linen scarf around his neck, covering most of his face.

A municipal official, also in his early twenties, happened to be passing by with documents under his arm. He glanced over, frowned, and warned, "Sir, it's best not to cover your face while in the city. The patrol officers from the police department might mistake you for someone suspicious, causing unnecessary trouble."

He spoke loudly, attracting the attention of many people around him. The official at the registration office saw him and immediately greeted him with a smile, "Ah! Director Dave, are you here at the city registration office today?"

"Deputy Supervisor, I'm the Deputy Supervisor, and I'm on my day off today, just passing through..." Dave blushed and quickly corrected the other person's address. "What's going on with these new immigrants? Why are they all half-masked, either with scarves or hoods?"

The subordinate official looked embarrassed and quickly explained in a low voice: "They are slaves sent from the Principality of Barclay..."

Before he could finish his words, Shike had already raised his hand and gently pulled off the veil, revealing a large burn mark on the lower side of his cheek - a slave mark indicating that they were the private property of Duke Carlo.

The others present immediately began to whisper, looking at Hick and the others with surprise and sympathy. Most people in the Principality of Saint Valen had never actually seen a slave, especially a group of people who had their faces branded for life.

Dave opened his mouth slightly, watching as this group of people followed his advice one by one, taking off their scarves with bitter expressions. Even the children who were only six or seven years old had ugly marks on their dirty and skinny faces.

"I'm so hateful!" Dave couldn't help but secretly curse himself in his heart. No wonder his boss always taught him not to be too "official" and "formalistic". The looks these children gave him were like whipping and torture.

The condemnation of his conscience made him hesitate for a moment before he spoke dryly, "No... don't worry. Even if you reveal... reveal your scars, you will never be discriminated against or treated unfairly in Spark City. I can... I can guarantee this."

However, Xike and the others did not show any expression of relief... They followed the returning army for thousands of miles north, passing through Silver Pine City, Golden Glory City, Fengyuan City and Grizzly Castle along the way, and finally boarded the miraculous mountain train to arrive here. Although they were not driven away by the people of various cities along the way because of the protection of the army, the naked and undisguised rejection and contempt they felt were real.

He didn't think that coming to Spark City would bring any changes. Although the city was rich and prosperous everywhere, and all kinds of magical creations made the city look like a paradise on earth...but their dual identities as slaves and foreigners were still enough to make their status as lowly as dirt.

Seeing this, Dave quickly scrambled over to his colleague at the registry office and whispered, "What plans are being made for these slaves... these foreign immigrants? Are they also being temporarily placed in the internment area outside the city? What about their future jobs?" "To avoid conflict, they're temporarily separated from the domestic immigrants and placed in the newly built South Gate Internment Area," the subordinate answered honestly. "They're illiterate and have no other skills, so for now they can only be assigned to the mining area and forestry farm. However, the Dongtuo Base will be holding a new round of recruitment in a few days. Perhaps these people will have a good future there."

Dave nodded, thinking this arrangement was reasonable, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed the thin, shabby clothes these people were wearing - almost no one was carrying any luggage, and many children and teenagers were even barefoot. In two months, winter would arrive, and he was afraid that their toes would be frozen off.

"The military officials responsible for transporting these immigrants were so careless. Why didn't they even provide them with the most basic relief supplies?"

The subordinate quickly reached out to cover his mouth, "Keep your voice down! Don't offend those military guys. They don't understand compassion or care. Their mission is to transport immigrants, and that's all they do... They won't do anything else."

The population management department responsible for receiving this group of slaves has arranged relief supplies, but this is a special period when a large number of refugees from all over the country are pouring into the city. The entire city hall is completely overloaded and everyone is busy as hell. The procedures for applying for supplies have to go through layers of approval, which has led to delays in distribution.

Dave sighed, feeling a bit guilty. "Never mind. I won't take a day off today. I'll go back later and personally take the relief application documents to each relevant department for stamps and approval... I'll be able to get them warm clothes and shoes by tomorrow at the earliest."

Hick quickly stepped forward, bowed, and sincerely thanked him, "Sir, thank you for your kindness and goodwill..."

He paused, then stammered, "Rather than rewards of food and clothing, we...we'd rather see where we'll be staying. Along the way, I heard from the soldiers that what they gave us...were sturdy houses built of stone."

A child with a twisted and raised scar on his face asked timidly, "Respected Master, are we also being detained here? I don't want to be separated from my parents..."

Dave's heart tightened, and he quickly explained in a gentle voice, "First of all, I'm not a master. I'm just an ordinary person like you. I'm just the deputy director of the Archives Department. Secondly, we won't detain you. The place we'll take you to later... should be called a temporary new home!"

"A temporary new home?"

"Yes, after you've settled into the city for a month, and if you haven't committed any crimes, you can exchange your temporary ID cards for resident ID cards and become official residents under the protection of the city lord!"

He then pointed at the ugly mark on the child's face and suggested uncertainly, "I heard that the spellcasters at the medical center have such incredible skills that they can even reattach broken limbs. Once you're settled in, I'll go ask around for you... to see if they have any way to remove these artificial scars."

Xike's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said in a trembling voice, "Really...really?"

(End of this chapter)