Above The Sky
Chapter 500 - 500 469 Temporary Residence Permit and Guard Squad 33

500: Chapter 469 Temporary Residence Permit and Guard Squad (3/3) 500: Chapter 469 Temporary Residence Permit and Guard Squad (3/3) “Mayor, they’re here!”

After opening the door, there stood only a young man in a guard squad uniform, his expression panicked.

Having blurted out these words, he immediately left, evidently not wanting to expose himself for having informed the town ahead of time.

It was the time for scrutiny, which was why the townspeople were so sensitive to Ian’s arrival.

The Mayor was momentarily taken aback, but then quickly composed himself and hurried upstairs to his home.

Not long after, an abrupt toll of the bell rang from above the Mayor’s house, echoing throughout the entire town.

Ian also furrowed his brow, rising to his feet.

“What’s going on, Aunt Julia?”

He turned his head to look at the portly aunt, who was also a bit panicked, but then recovered her composure, her face bearing a look of worry, “Is it the guard squad coming to check the temporary residence permits?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

The Crimson People aunt with her head of orange-red hair sadly lowered her head, her hand holding the tray drooping down, “Our family is alright, the master also took us to get our temporary residence permits, but there are many in the town who don’t have that money…”

“Issuing a temporary residence permit takes more than ten days, with frequent political screenings needed; ordinary families can’t possibly do this half-yearly…

To be honest, if the master hadn’t given us jobs in town, the majority of people wouldn’t even qualify for a temporary residence permit!”

“I don’t know which families will be taken away this time…”

Ian asked a few more questions, and after receiving Aunt Julia’s somewhat hesitant replies, he began to understand the situation.

It transpired that Gar Town, mainly supported by agricultural trade, did not require so many townspeople for production and living.

As Ian had surmised, with nearly Armor Suit-sized Alchemy Machinery tending the farms, a mere four or five hundred people were needed to complete all the work within the village.

This was within a normal range, the number of townspeople allowed to hold “Permanent Residence Certificates.”

The excess population was all on temporary permits, and furthermore, without a job, they would not qualify to apply for a residence permit.

Such was the fate of the ‘liberated population’ after agriculture had greatly developed—if there were factories or other job opportunities to absorb them, well and good; but if not…

the rapid improvement of productivity and technology simply turned them into ‘unnecessary people’ for a while.

As it appeared, the Sertar Empire had not made any serious plans for these people…

or rather, they made plans, but implemented them poorly.

Yale Merle Gar, the founder and mayor of this town, really couldn’t bear to watch the village he built with his own hands be torn apart by a system like the temporary residence permit, his old comrades becoming homeless, until only four or five hundred lucky ones remained…

So he forcibly expanded numerous job positions, such as “Rice-Picker,” “Wheat Sorter,” “Windmill Supervisor,” and others.

It sounded absurd, but at least everyone had work.

There were quite a few towns that adopted similar methods, and the Imperial Capital Guard Corps, responsible for this kind of inspection, generally turned a blind eye, as there was nothing to gain from checking these jobs; it could even be said that the more people left behind, the better, because there would be more who needed to pay for the relevant certificates.

Of course, the twice-yearly inspections still had to be carried out, otherwise, people wouldn’t feel the urgency and motivation to update their certifications.

“Please forgive us, Knight Sir, we might not be able to continue hosting you.”

Thump, thump, thump—the old Mayor descended the staircase, his complexion also looking very terrible, his expression one of resentment tinged with complicity as he looked at Ian.

To him, the Knights of the Empire were all tarred with the same brush.

However, the young man didn’t take it to heart and stood up, ready to go out and assess the situation.

But just before stepping out, there came another urgent knocking at the door.

Aunt Julia’s body shivered, but remembering she had a temporary residence permit, she mustered the courage to open the door.

The visitors were several families.

Ian glanced over and noticed one family with children, the very ones who had been playing near the town earlier, who had seen him and immediately warned the villagers.

Their representative, a dark-skinned farmer, entered the house and pleaded with the mayor in a tone of utter despair.

At first, the mayor’s face was ashen, but being someone who was outwardly stubborn yet inwardly soft-hearted, he sighed deeply and eventually opened the door to let the people in to hide from the Guard Squad.

“Julia, take them to the basement, hide behind the haystacks… Sigh, that’s the only place to hide them for now.”

He called to the cook, “Also, get that lazybones Norn and that brat El back here, we’ll need to disguise a bit… Huh, Knight Sir, you?”

As the mayor was giving orders, Ian, whom he thought had already left, had arrived at the entrance of the mayor’s residence.

Ian saw a twenty-five-man team piloting Armor Suits slowly approaching the village.

The Imperial Capital Guard Corps, officially named the ‘Imperial Capital Border Defense Guard Corps’, was established during the Fiery Flame Land war era.

Their primary duty was to prevent ‘unsafe elements’ from the borders between the Imperial Capital and other regions from entering.

Gradually, their duties shifted towards internal security, but overall, their main functions did not deviate from their name.

The gear of the guard team was not equipped with heavy weapons or cannons, only equipped with ordinary restraint net launchers and devices similar to tasers.

Upon entering the town, they began searching house by house, checking for temporary residence permits.

About half of the people in Gar Town had temporary permits, and around five hundred had Permanent Residence Certificates; the others either hadn’t applied or their permits had expired.

Usually, every household would have one member who managed to get one, and they would then come out to deal with the situation—The Guard Squad also knew that pushing people too hard would only lead to less profit for them, so they weren’t very strict.

The team conducted their searches swiftly, and standing at the entrance of the mayor’s house, Ian, who was not wearing a helmet, was particularly conspicuous, attracting attention.

Yet the Guard Squad members conducting the inspections, silently by mutual agreement, bypassed him—and bypassed an entire block of houses.

They might not have known who Ian was or what his capabilities were, but anyone who could wear such Armor Suits and be so young, especially a Sublimator, was definitely not someone they could afford to provoke.

Especially around the Imperial Capital, it was best to exercise extreme caution unless they were absolutely certain that the individual was an ordinary person.

The villagers hid, but inevitably, some were found whose families had no temporary permits; one by one, people were dragged crying from their homes by members of the Guard Squad in uniform Armor Suits, gathered behind the Armor Suits, their hands bound.

Soon after, they would be sent to the deportation area to be removed from the vicinity of the Imperial Capital.

“Captain, I saw a group of people entering that old man’s house…”

In the Guard Squad, a member squinted his eyes towards the mayor standing behind Ian at the door and said softly, “Clearly, they are the ones without temporary permits…”

“Shut up, fool, you think I can’t see?”

The leading Captain, however, raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop the inspections.

He looked closely at Ian’s features, Armor Suit, and the discreet Sun’s Eye badge on his Armor Suit, then matched it with the message he had received from his superiors, and his heart tightened.

“Stop thinking about earning such petty cash, where’s your ambition?” After reprimanding his subordinate, he approached Ian alone.

The Captain stood in front of Ian, seriously performing a military salute of a subordinate to a superior, “Reporting, sir!

I am Captain Fasha Kains, of the 21st Search Squad of the Imperial Capital Guard Corps!”

“For the next actions, I await your orders!”