When Duncan and Alice went to the cemetery together, Maurice and Vanna were not idle either. They came to the "Citizen Help Center" located in the southern part of the uptown area early in the morning to complete one of the things Duncan told them - —Seeking a stable and legal place to stay in the Frost City-State. If possible, it would be best to have one or two identities that can be seen in public.
After all, they may be active in this city-state for a long time, and they cannot live in hiding like those cultists.
Considering that the informants Tirian had left in the city were no longer reliable, Maurice decided to find a solution on his own.
Hanshuang's Citizen Help Center is a large domed building with two long extending side buildings around the main body. It is said to be the Citizen Help Center. In fact, this building is also used to receive visitors entering the city-state. As well as undertaking a large number of third-party intermediary work, from house rental and sale registration, to issuance of temporary passes, to the employment of short-time maids, gardeners, and laundry workers, almost everything can be completed here - its long wing is packed inside. It is full of various registration windows and offices, and the huge domed building is a hall that is always noisy and crowded with people. This is very different from Plande.
As soon as you walked into the huge dome building, heat hit your face. Frost's unique high-pressure heating device dissipated the winter cold, and bright electric lights were hung high on the dome, making the entire building brightly lit.
This place has just been opened not long ago, but already many people are pouring in. Citizens seeking short-term jobs or registering for rent and sale of houses are walking through countless windows and counters, and there are airflow ducts in the middle of the bustling crowd. There were "clicking" and "hissing" sounds from the constant startup, and Duncan was obviously a little uncomfortable with the environment here. While carefully avoiding the flow of people around him, he whispered to Alice: "In Pland. , the human resources and housing leasing and sales counters will not be placed in the same building."
"You have to consider the cost of heating a large building and the time it takes to retrofit a cold pump exchange station." Alice shook her head. "Most of the city's infrastructure is left over from the Frost Queen's time. , but this glorious era has passed. After the Great Rebellion, the Frost City State has barely recovered 40% of its original strength by relying on the boiling gold industry. However, it is not a simple matter to renovate the underground pipeline system and steam power network left by the Queen from scratch. "
"Then we just keep using it like this?" Duncan's eyes suddenly widened, "This is an antique from half a century ago!"
"Otherwise?" Morris sighed. "On the one hand, it is the decline of the city. On the other hand, it is the pressure of population. There is also the reduction of habitable area caused by the collapse of the sea cliff... The facilities of half a century ago It may be a bit cramped after using it now, but it is barely enough. Since it is enough, let’s continue to use it...
In fact, this is not only a problem of frost, but also a problem of many old industrial city-states. Vibrant cities like Puland are only a few. "
The long wooden counter is placed against the wall, and is divided into several grids with iron bars in the middle. Behind each grid is a clerk wearing a gray-blue uniform - the expressions on their faces are just like the iron bars beside them. The fence was equally rigid, and it was evident that it was intended to maintain that look until the work was done.
"We arrived on a ghost ship that is not allowed to exist in the world. You know, normal procedures will never solve this problem," Duncan also whispered, with a smile in his tone, "Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. "
"...How likely is it that Mr. Duncan will get a legal ship registration certificate for the Lost Home?"
Morris' expression remained normal, and he opened his hands calmly: "It's lost. It may have been lost when leaving the dock. The ship also left."
Duncan frowned and looked up at Morris.
Morris' expression looked a little embarrassed when he just relaxed, while Duncan on the side touched the tip of his nose and turned his head calmly.
Duncan looked at the sighing Morris with a half-smile. It was the first time since he was a child that he saw such a worried expression on the face of this old scholar who occasionally "study rigorously and abide by the rules". It seemed... ···It’s quite interesting.
"But I have something else," Mo
As Reese spoke, he dug into his arms and took out a folded document and a small book with a dark red cover and handed them over, "It should be able to serve as legal identification."
"...Okay," Morris sighed, looking at the certification documents in his hand, "Shirley, don't know about this - next time I encounter this situation, I would rather create a real ticket first. "
While he was talking, Morris found the direction of the migrant registration counter on the dazzling line guide map above the hall. He and the tall Duncan walked through the crowd,
Finally, we came to a quieter counter.
The clerk in the grid immediately stopped what he was doing, raised his head, and said with a hint of unhappiness on his poker face: "That won't work. You must have proof of documents. Let's go back to the dock to get it replaced."
"Which pier?" The middle-aged clerk with a sallow face raised his eyelids and glanced at the old man opposite. When he noticed that there was a 1.8-meter man standing behind the old man, he was obviously startled for a moment, but he recovered in the next second. He said in a businesslike tone, "Show me your dock certification documents and boat ticket."
The clerk waved his hands subconsciously: "It won't work without the dock certification document, and other things..."
He saw the mark on the small notebook and stopped talking. Then he reached out and opened the folded document and glanced over it.
Morris sighed and looked at the middle-aged clerk in front of him who was obviously a little nervous but still looked directly at him.
"The academic permit issued by the Academy of Truth and the Infinite Sea Navigation Council allows the holder to stay and visit in all city-states protected by the Righteous God. During the stay, the local city-state universities affiliated to the Academy of Truth will automatically
As a guarantor," Morris said, pointing to the small red book, "this is my ID, a degree and a theology dual certificate from the Institute of Truth, with the rank of professor."
The poker-like expression changed instantly.
Morris had a relaxed expression on his face.
The middle-aged clerk with a sallow face was stunned for a while, and finally raised his head slowly, looking a little at a loss: "Um... Good morning, Professor Morris... I'm glad to see you. Your identity is of course legal. of.
But the clerk paused immediately, as if he was very troubled, and said firmly: "But... I at least need to know which ship you are on. This is... a rule."
"You need to know which ship I'm on," he sighed, with a gleam in his eyes, "Let's prove it."
The clerk was startled for a moment, and there seemed to be a trance flashing through his eyes. Then he lowered his head, started to operate the clicking punching machine, and put the punching card into the pressure pipe container next to the counter.
"We need a residence permit, and we also need to find a short-term rental house." Morris came to one of the grids, sat down on a creaking iron chair, and spoke to the sallow-faced middle-aged man inside. Said, "We just landed today."
A moment later, with hisses and clicks in the pipes, the card from an approval office deep in the building was returned to the counter.
The clerk inserted the punched card into the small machine for reading, confirmed the receipt number and anti-counterfeiting password, and then began to write the required content for the certification document. At the same time, without raising his head, he said: "I can only open it here." Supporting documents - You need to bring the supporting documents to the west wing and look for window A-12, where there should be short-term rental housing that meets your requirements."
"Thank you," Morris took the opened document, paused and muttered softly, "Sorry."
After saying that, he and Duncan quickly left the counter and walked towards the next window.
"This is the first time I have done something like this," the old man couldn't help but lower his voice not long after he walked away, "I originally planned to rely on the normal document process to get this done..."
"what do you think?"
Duncan stopped talking.
At the same time, Agatha, who had just started on-site investigation and had not had time to return to the cathedral, received urgent information from her subordinates from Cemetery No. 3 on the way.
A letter of report - from the nameless visitor.
As soon as I walked away, the letter was delivered to the cemetery.
Should we lament this unexpected mistake, or should we lament the strange behavior of the "visitor"?
Sitting in the steam car, Agatha looked at the letter that had just been delivered to her, her eyes gradually becoming dull.
Uneasiness spread in my heart, and one thing suddenly seemed urgent.
He put away the letter, calculating rapidly in his mind.
"Turn around and go to Donggang."
The subordinate driving in front was a little surprised: "Don't we go to the cathedral first?"
"Change of plan, let's go to Donggang first," Agatha said decisively, "I have a good feeling... something might want to take advantage of the opportunity to land."
The subordinate who was driving was confused, but his instinct to obey orders allowed him to quickly suppress his doubts.
The dark steam car accelerated at the next intersection, turned, and then sped towards the port area in the eastern part of the city-state.
