Ning Busan spent two days in the prison before he was released.
A man wearing a bird-beak mask said, “My name is Charles, the captain of the guard. You can just call me Charles.”
“For the next period of time, I will be your overseer until you become a qualified citizen.”
Ning Busan raised an eyebrow slightly. “Meaning, I'm under your charge now?”
Charles nodded solemnly. “Correct.”
Just then, they happened to pass by the cell where Michael was being held.
Charles pointed at Michael and warned, “See those two bloody holes on that angel? You'd better not try anything funny, or that will be your fate.”
Ning Busan asked curiously, “What on earth did he do?”
Charles's voice was filled with anger. “He sneaked into the temple, trying to steal the holy relic left behind by God.”
Michael half-closed his eyes and sneered.
Ning Busan's eyes flickered slightly.
It seemed the Crown of the Divine King was indeed inside the temple.
Although Ning Busan was also after the Crown of the Divine King, he needed to gain Charles's trust first.
Ning Busan said with righteous indignation, “You kindly took him in, and yet he actually wanted to steal from you! That is simply too much!”
“Charles, rest assured, I would never do such a thing. I am a kind, good person!”
Seeing his good attitude, unlike that stubborn and arrogant angel, Charles's tone softened slightly:
“Once you enter the City of Steam, you can never leave. Adapting to life here as early as possible will only benefit you.”
Ning Busan asked, “Never leave?”
Charles said, “After creating the world, the Silver-Crowned God chose a barren desert as His resting place and built this City of Steam with His own hands.”
“This city holds extraordinary significance for God. He didn't want the outside world to disturb our peaceful life, so He placed a restriction that allows entry but no exit.”
Ning Busan asked, “Aren't you all even a little curious about what the outside world looks like?”
“The outside world?” Charles shook his head. “The City of Steam is a self-sufficient place. We live very happily here, so why should we be curious about the outside world?”
Ning Busan couldn't understand.
Even if they couldn't leave this isolated place, wouldn't the normal reaction to a sudden outsider be to ask about the state of the outside world?
Not long after leaving the temple, Ning Busan began to cough violently.
The air quality here was truly abysmal!
Charles handed Ning Busan a metal mask. “Put this on.”
This kind of metal mask had a filtration system located at the chin, consisting of a circular canister that could purify the air.
Once Ning Busan put on the mask, he instantly felt that breathing was much easier. He asked, “Do you have to wear masks every day?”
Charles said, “The steam engines emit a massive amount of coal smoke and exhaust, making the air pollution too severe. If we don't wear masks, we would quickly die from lung diseases.”
Ning Busan let out a chuckle. “You can't possibly wear masks while sleeping too, right?”
Charles explained, “We have specialized steam engines inside our rooms to purify the air, so we don't need to wear masks at home.”
Gazing at the towering chimneys and dense factories around them, Ning Busan couldn't help but say, “As long as you keep using steam engines, things will only get worse. Have you never thought about changing this way of life?”
“We can't change it,” Charles sighed. “Steam engines are the core power of the entire city, and moreover, the source of our survival. We simply cannot live without them.”
Up to this point, Ning Busan felt a rather large sense of disappointment.
The technology here was too backward, completely dependent on steam engines. By comparison, the living conditions were actually worse than those of the Dawn Empire.
Charles brought Ning Busan back to his home. “I am your overseer, so you can temporarily stay at my place. However, you will need to pay rent.”
Ning Busan touched his spatial ring.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't open at all.
Charles said, “Every citizen of the City of Steam needs to work. Only through work can you earn contribution points. What skills do you have?”
Ning Busan's expression turned odd. “You're going to find me a job?”
“Ensuring that every citizen participates in labor is the duty of the guard,” Charles said. “What did you do before?”
“I...” Ning Busan hesitated.
This question was indeed quite difficult to answer.
He had been the Commander of the empire, the King of the elves, and also concurrently held the position of the Sea God.
Yet, none of that was of any use here.
Ning Busan said, “I can learn on the job.”
After a moment of thought, Charles said, “I'll take you to Christine. The work at her place is relatively light.”
It was a clinic, its interior filled with the smell of herbs and disinfectant. The walls were covered with copper pipes, steam gushing out from the gaps and condensing into water droplets on the ceiling.
Just as Ning Busan entered, he saw a stretcher being carried out.
The stretcher was covered with a white sheet, revealing a pale arm that looked like a child's.
Ning Busan asked Charles in a low voice, “Why is there a dead person?”
“Isn't this kind of thing very common in the City of Steam?” The speaker was a middle-aged woman wearing a dark gray canvas dress with her long hair pinned up, looking capable and elegant.
“The masks can only filter out impurities in the air; they cannot filter out microscopic pollutants. A child's immune system is not yet fully developed, so their lungs are easily infected.”
Ning Busan looked around, his brow furrowing slightly.
Most of the patients in the clinic were young children. The hospital beds were arranged neatly, with a steam engine placed beside each one. These steam engines were connected to the breathing apparatus on the beds via pipes, providing oxygen to the patients.
Charles said, “Christine, didn't you say earlier that you needed an assistant?”
Christine looked at Ning Busan and raised an eyebrow. “This greenhorn?”
Clearly, she was not satisfied with Ning Busan.
Charles pulled her aside and whispered something to her, finally convincing her.
Christine cleared her throat. “Since you are not an official citizen yet, I can only give you 10 contribution points a day. Is that fine?”
Ning Busan asked with an odd expression, “What if I were an official citizen?”
Christine replied, “100 contribution points.”
Ning Busan turned his head to look at Charles. “When can I become an official citizen?”
He refused to be cheap labor!
Charles said, “Only after you pass my evaluation can you become an official citizen.”
Ning Busan could only bite the bullet and accept it.
Talk about cheap!
However, his job was very easy—it was just taking care of the children in the clinic and preparing the herbs and steam equipment for them.
Ning Busan had to put the herbs into the herb slot of the steam engine and adjust the steam pressure through a valve to ensure that the steam's temperature and humidity were suitable for treatment.
Then, he would fit the breathing apparatus on the children, letting them inhale the air containing herbal steam to relieve their lung infections.
Rate on N.U.
