High Above

"Mayor, here we come!"

After opening the door, there was only a young man wearing a guard uniform. He looked flustered and left immediately after saying these words. Apparently he did not want to expose that he had notified the town in advance.

It's review time recently, which is why the townspeople are so sensitive to Ian's arrival.

The mayor was surprised for a moment, then immediately calmed down and ran quickly upstairs to his house.

Soon after, the bell rang somewhat unexpectedly from above the mayor's house and spread throughout the town.

Ian also frowned and stood up.

"What's going on, Aunt Julia?"

He looked sideways and looked a little flustered, but finally regained his composure. The fat lady, who looked worried, said in a solemn tone, "Is the guard checking the temporary residence permit here?"

"Oh, yes..."

The aunt Chi Zhimin with orange hair lowered her head sadly, and the hand holding the plate drooped: "Our family is okay, the master also took us to apply for a temporary residence permit, but there are many people in the town. I don’t even have that kind of money…”

"It takes more than ten days to apply for a temporary residence permit, and you have to go to the political review from time to time. Most people can't do this once every six months... To be honest, if the master hadn't given us jobs in the town, most of us wouldn't even be qualified for the temporary residence permit. nothing!"

"I don't know which families will be arrested this time..."

Ian asked a few more questions, and after getting some hesitant answers from his aunt, he finally understood.

It turns out that Gard Town, whose mainstay of economy is agriculture and trade, does not need so many townspeople for production and life.

As Ian speculated, when there are large-scale alchemy machines that are almost armored for farming, only four to five hundred people at most are needed to complete all the work in the village.

This is also the number of town residents allowed to hold ‘permanent residence permits’ within the normal range.

All the extra ones are temporary residence permits, and if you don’t have a job, you won’t be eligible to apply for a temporary residence permit.

This is the fate of the 'liberated population' after the great development of agriculture - it would be fine if there were factories or other jobs that could absorb them, but if there is not... a sudden increase in productivity and technology, they will just be left Over a period of time, he became an 'unwanted person'.

At present, the Setal Empire has not made any serious plans for this kind of people...or in other words, it has planned, but it has not been implemented well.

Yemer Gal, the founder and mayor of this town, really couldn't bear to see the village and town he built with his own hands being ruined by the temporary residence permit system. The old people were displaced, and in the end only four or five people were left. One hundred lucky ones...

So he forcibly expanded many jobs, such as 'rice picker', 'wheat sorter', 'windmill supervisor' and so on.

Although it sounds outrageous, at least everyone has a job.

There are many towns that adopt similar methods. In this regard, the Imperial City Guard, who is responsible for reviewing this aspect, has always ignored it. After all, there is no profit in investigating this. It is better to say that the more people who stay, the better. At that time, relevant certificates will need to be spent. There are more people with money.

Of course, reviews twice a year must be done, otherwise, these people will not have the sense of urgency and motivation to update the certificate.

"Forgive me, Sir Knight, we may not be able to entertain you any longer."

Thumb thump thump, the old mayor walked down the stairs. His face was also very ugly, and the expression he looked at Ian also had a trace of implicated resentment.

In his eyes, the knights of the empire were of the same rank.

The young man didn't take it seriously, but stood up and prepared to go out to see the situation.

But before going out, there was another rapid knock on the door.

Aunt Julia trembled for a moment, but remembering that she had a temporary residence permit, she mustered up the courage to open the door.

The people who came were several families. Ian glanced around and found a family with children, the same children who were playing next to the town at the beginning. They saw him and immediately went to warn the townspeople.

The representative of this group, a dark-skinned farmer, entered the door and pleaded with the mayor with a look of despair.

At first, the mayor's face was livid, but after all, he was a tough-talking person on the surface, but he was actually very soft-hearted. Therefore, after sighing, he opened the door and let the group of people in to avoid the guards.

"Julia, take them to the basement and hide behind the haystacks...Oh, that's the only place they can hide."

He called to the cook: "Also, let's get that lazy guy Norn and that brat Al back, and let's disguise ourselves... Hey, Sir Knight, you?"

While the mayor was directing, Ian, who he thought had left just now, came to the door of the mayor's mansion.

Ian saw a team of twenty-five people driving armored vehicles slowly approaching the village.

The Imperial City Guard, the full name of the Imperial Capital Border Defense Guard, is a department created during the Yufeiyan Land War. Its main responsibility is to prevent the entry of "unsafe elements" in the border areas of the Imperial Capital Circle and other areas.

Later, the responsibilities were gradually transferred to internal security preparations, but in general, the main functions did not deviate from their names.

The armor of the police force was not equipped with heavy weapons or machine guns, but was only equipped with ordinary restraint net launchers and equipment similar to stun devices. After they entered the town, they began to send people to search and inspect every house. Temporary residence permit.

Less than one-half of the people in Gard Town have temporary residence permits, and about 500 people have permanent residence permits. The others either have not applied for them, or they have expired.

Generally speaking, one person from each family will handle it, and they can come out to deal with it at this time - the guard also knows that there is no profit in forcing people to rush, so the requirements are not strict.

The team checked one by one, and the speed was very fast. Standing at the door of the mayor's house, Ian, who was not wearing a helmet, was particularly conspicuous and attracted attention.

However, the guard members responsible for the inspection silently and tacitly avoided him - bypassing the entire housing area.

Although they don't know who Ian is and what his strength is, they are definitely not someone they can mess with who is able to wear this kind of armor and is such a young sublimated person.

Especially since this is around the imperial capital, unless you are absolutely certain that the other party is an ordinary person, it is best to be cautious.

The townspeople hid, but they were always found. No one at home had a temporary residence permit. The crying figures were driven out of their homes by members of the security team wearing uniforms and armors. They gathered behind the armors and had their hands locked. .

Later, they will be sent to the deportation area and sent away from the surrounding area of ​​the imperial capital.

"Captain, I saw a group of people entering the old man's house..."

A member of the guard squinted his eyes and looked at the mayor standing behind Ian, who was standing behind the door. He whispered: "That one obviously doesn't have a temporary residence permit..."

"Shut up, idiot, do you think I can't see it?"

The captain raised his hand and signaled everyone to stop checking.

He raised his brows and carefully observed Ian's appearance, armor, and the inconspicuous Eye of the Sun badge on the armor. Then, in response to the news he received from his superiors, his heart suddenly tightened.

"Don't always think about whether there is a future for making such a small amount of money." After scolding the team members, he stepped forward alone.

The captain stood in front of Ian and seriously performed a military salute from a subordinate to a superior: "Sir, I am reporting to Fasha Cairns, the captain of the 21st Team of the Imperial Guard Search Brigade!"

"Please give instructions on the next actions!"