Chapter 8 His First Property Was Actually in a Different World
The roads leading into the city center were full of cars and vehicles.
Many city residents decided to relocate and stay near the city center, far from the red zone area, the battle's flashpoint.
In the opposite direction, military trucks and vehicles were seen going up and down another road.
Trucks full of supplies and ammunition from the logistics department.
Trucks packed with soldiers and warriors.
Reinforcements from various guilds and mercenaries groups.
Experts from the engineering brigade.
Doctors, physicians, and healers from various hospitals and health centers.
In short, people from various parties were mobilized to prepare for the beast tide battle.
They had prepared themselves for battle, wherever and whenever it might take place.
In sharp contrast to the army in battle formation, ready for war, the ordinary people in the city lived calmly and orderly.
They have put all their confidence in the city's defense to fend off the beast tide.
Plus, it was only a Yellow-Level warning.
Except for the people who were busy relocating, everyone went about their lives per usual.
They were so accustomed to beast tide threats that they were no longer flurried and chaotic like the initial years of Aura Qi's recovery.
They even jokingly named this era the Dungeon and Dragons era, where humanity had the chance to soar like dragons. Some even called it the New Order era or Dragons era.
Of course, these were just buzz names given by the ordinary people.
The official commonly referred to the start of dungeons and beast tides appearances as the new Awakening Era or AE.
Over the years, many new 'common knowledge' have been integrated into society.
Jobs such as hunting, dissecting, refining, breeding, mining, and other related jobs associated with dungeons and beasts had integrated into the society.
Artifacts excavation and trade had become a luxury, similar to how gold, diamonds, and jade were valuable back on Earth.
Technologies found in the dungeons we brought back, analyzed, and researched, producing a new understanding of science and the world. Products and technology were derived from the discovery.
It is now year 11AE, the eleventh year into the new era.
And today, it is the 14th day of the third month in 11AE.
(For convenience and to avoid confusion, the author would refrain from creating new names for the months in Mezan or Ancient Blanc Language. Thus, we will stick to the Gregorian calendar's naming system from here on.)
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Amongst the long line of military and combat vehicles, one inconspicuous blue minivan mixed in the crowd.
It stood out like a crane because it was the only civilian car amidst the military convoy. People on both sides of the road were confused and puzzled, wondering why this vehicle was mixed into this battle formation.
Is there a low-key big guy on his way to the frontline?
Onboard the minivan, Ceid was oblivious to these questioning looks. Even if he knew about it, he would only ignore them.
Instead, he was occupied with playing with the new smartphone he bought.
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Earlier, when he was planning to visit the black market, it occurred to him the inconvenience of not having proper ID, bank card, money, and smartphone.
After he had some money from selling common medicinal plants, typically found in the mountains here, he was ready to go to his destination.
Only to find that he could not even take a taxi to drive him to the location!
Most taxis nowadays only accept cashless payments.
Almost every business premise and government agency has employed cashless payment in their transactions.
Thus, for the sake of all parties concerned, he decided that he would need to settle several things first.
First, obtain valid ID documentation.
As it concerns issuing identification documents, the online process typically takes several days to review and evaluate. It would have been faster if he had gone to the National Public Security Department and handled the application directly.
By seeing the officer directly face-to-face, the verification process will be smoother.
Thus, he walked for almost an hour before reaching the nearest NPSD branch, thanks to Wyd's guide.
There, under the watchful eye of Officer Elias Flummer, Ceid underwent a scrutinizing process to determine the authenticity of his claim.
Again, thanks to the flawless background story prepared by Wyd, he smoothly adopted the verification process.
He strictly provided 'accurate basic info' to the officer in charge. While clarifying several essential points, he exposed a bit of a 'flaw' in the story to increase the confidence level in his claim.
As they say, too perfect to be true itself is suspicious.
He needs to give the impression of mixing the truth with some lie. After all, every information he provided itself was fake.
This trick successfully avoided suspicion, allowing him to obtain his ID and credentials.
He was registered as a collector and engaged in the magic equipment business.
Second, he needed to open a bank account and opt to sign up for its online banking next.
He first purchased a smartphone with an attractive mobile plan subscription.
With a valid ID, he smoothly opened a bank account here without a problem. He immediately signed up for the online banking services and created a separate business account.
This way, he can now shop and spend with ease.
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Back to Ceid inside the minivan.
He was surfing the net in concentration. Unlike the previous world, he felt nostalgic to see a similar kind of device in this world.
Understandably, it does not have the typical search engine website, like the Bai** and Goo**. Nor does it have social apps like Wech**, Whats**, Wei**, Face**, etc.
But it does have a social media service under the unified government's supervision, the Globe.
From the trivia he heard from Wyd, initially, when the internet age was flourishing, there were various apps and services from the private sector. But it all changed eleven years ago.
When the beast tide erupted suddenly, many cities fell without a proper fight. The situation was chaotic and dire.
Many communication lines were broken. Communication towers had fallen. Power stations were destroyed.
While many problems were solved over time, the cost of maintaining communication lines had multiplied.
The government and the army had to take over the construction and establishment of the communication tower. They also needed to ensure the communication lines had uninterrupted connections.
Only large conglomerates that owned satellite networks could continue to operate independently.
Nonetheless, the cost of maintaining the internet was high. Traditional business models were no longer viable.
Thus, many internet and social media companies were merged one after another.
The Globe was the product of global governments' desire to give citizens access to real-time tracking of beast movements.
Through the collaboration of several IT companies, a social media platform was created to disseminate news on beast tides and other disasters. It monitors several critical dungeons using satellites.
It also proactively pushed periodic notifications to the users about new dungeons found all around the world.
Because of this, The Globe gained popularity among the people.
As more people began using it, the Globe had grown to become the sole king among the platforms.
Contrary to Ceid's assumption, the Globe retained its freedom of speech despite being under government supervision.
At the moment, he was reading various scandalous news with relish.
In any world, these celebrities never had it easy, as Ceid sighed with emotions.
Look at those great mountains. It looked plenty natural to me. Why were they accusing her?
Ah, poor this cat mother. Her neighbor accused her of adultery.
I never expected the dragon girl to sing so well. I give her a five-star review.
<...>
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The building Ceid was interested in was not far from the city wall.
Separated by several streets, one could already reach the city wall area.
Thus, from such a near distance, the high walls could be seen overlooking the city. If one raises their head, they can see various weapons and mechanisms deployed along the walls.
If one pricked their ears carefully, they could hear shouts and roars from the beasts in the wilderness.
"Sir, we are now nearing the location."
The words from Luxell interrupted Ceid from his pleasure.
"As you can see, the building is quite close to the city wall."
"Though the risk of the wall being breached was minuscule, it was never zero."
"So many people around had begun to move away from the wall since the warning was issued."
Luxell was explaining as he drove into the residential building.
Although this area was in the suburbs and the buildings were a little run-down, it was not a slump.
Instead, the neighborhood was neat, tidy, and clean, a proper image of a modest community.
As Luxell had said, this area was desolate due to its residents temporarily taking shelter near the city center.
As the minivan went through the streets, Ceid was observing with interest. If everything goes as planned, this area will be his home.
Soon, the minivan reached a twin building near the center of the neighborhood.
Why call it a twin building?
Because there were two identical buildings here, one had a lavender-colored finish, while the other was azure-colored.
From the information Ceid obtained in the hologram, the same developer had constructed the two buildings as a business hub for the neighborhood.
But soon disaster struck, and city walls were built.
Many business owners relocated to other areas near the city center with better security and assurance.
As he went down the minivan, Ceid looked towards the two buildings with a smile.
The one he was aiming for was the azure-colored building.
This building will become the first-ever property he bought in several worlds.
He can finally have his own home and stop being a vagrant!