'Hunter, one point every three days.'
Su Mu lay on a pile of straw, the air thick with the stench of sweat and stinky feet, punctuated by the sounds of grinding teeth and snoring.
Over a dozen people were crammed into a dilapidated ancestral hall. The person nearest to him was barely a step away; the conditions were deplorable, to say the least.
But with hope in his heart, Su Mu found it bearable.
Three days had now passed since he sold the wild rabbit, and the Identity Points on his panel had finally jumped from 11 to 12!
'I'm still a vagrant, but a Hunter has a slightly higher status than a Woodcutter. That's why it now only takes three days to gain one point, instead of five.'
Su Mu was very satisfied with this change. 'Identity seems to be divided into two parts. One is status in the conventional sense—vagrant, commoner, official—and the other is what you might call a profession. Even among vagrants, the Hunter profession is better than being a Woodcutter.'
'It makes sense. Even in my past life, a director in a powerful department wasn't on the same level as a director in a minor one, even if they had the same rank.'
'Hunting requires more skill than chopping wood. Maybe that's why the Hunter profession gives more Identity Points than a Woodcutter does.'
'I have 12 Points now. I still need 88 more to reach 100. At one Point every three days, that'll take two hundred and sixty-four days.'
Su Mu's brow furrowed slightly as he did the math in his head.
It was much shorter than the original five hundred days, but over two hundred days—nearly a year—was still hard to swallow.
'Are there any professions available to a vagrant that are better than being a Hunter?'
The career options for a vagrant were extremely limited. Without official residency, many professions were closed to him.
Among those limited options, being a Hunter was already one of the best.
Hunting was skilled work that paid well and provided meat. For an ordinary person, that was an excellent lot. The only comparable trade was probably being a butcher.
However, you couldn't be a butcher without official residency.
'I wonder if joining a gang would be better than hunting.'
The thought crossed Su Mu's mind.
He immediately shook his head.
He had no desire to be like Zhang Chong and his ilk, lording it over the common folk at the bottom of society.
Su Mu considered himself a man of some principles. If he left such a stain on his record, it would be difficult to clean it up later.
Besides, he truly looked down on these gangs.
'If you're so tough, go rob the rich and give to the poor. What's so impressive about bullying Hunters and Woodcutters?'
'Rob the rich and give to the poor?'
An idea sparked in Su Mu's mind.
'Would a lone wolf bandit be a better profession than a Hunter?'
'Better not. With my entry-level blade skills, trying to be a lone wolf bandit? I'd probably get myself killed before I even got started.'
Su Mu entertained the thought for a moment before dismissing it. He couldn't overestimate his own abilities.
'Enough time has passed. No one should be paying attention to the deaths of Feng Debao and his two men anymore.'
Su Mu thought to himself, 'If I can change my status from vagrant to commoner, and combine that with the Hunter profession, the rate I gain Points should increase significantly.'
After mulling it over for a while, he made up his mind. Drowsiness soon washed over him, and he quickly fell asleep.
...
Early the next morning, Su Mu climbed out of bed, gave his face a quick wash, and headed for the South City Government Office.
Wuling City was vast. Beyond the Inner City lay four Outer Cities—East, West, South, and North—and each Outer City was divided into numerous squares.
The South City, where Su Mu now lived, contained a total of six squares and was the most chaotic of Wuling City's four Outer Cities.
The City Lord's Government Office was, of course, in the Inner City, but for administrative convenience, each of the four Outer Cities also had its own Government Office.
All affairs in the South City were handled by the South City Government Office.
Registering vagrants, investigating crimes, and apprehending thieves—if it happened in the South City, the South City Bureau was in charge.
In Su Mu's understanding, Wuling City was like a major city, the Government Office in the Inner City was the municipal government, and the South City Bureau was a district government.
Of course, the two worlds were completely different, so it wasn't a perfect one-to-one comparison.
But to Su Mu, the exact governmental structure of this world didn't matter. All he needed to know was where to get his residency registered.
"To register a vagrant's residency, 700 cents."
Inside the South City Bureau, Su Mu found the clerk who handled residency registration.
The man spoke without even looking up. "As long as you're not a fugitive wanted by the Government Office, you can register by paying the fee. Just a heads-up, this price is for those whose original residency can be verified. If it can't, we can still process it, but it'll cost you more."
Vagrants were people who had fled disaster in their hometowns and been forced into exile. Just because they lacked residency in Wuling City didn't mean they didn't have it elsewhere.
Wuling City accepted refugees, not people with no official records whatsoever.
This requirement was perfectly normal.
Su Mu had the memories of the body's original owner and knew his background was clean. Still, he wasn't sure if Wuling City could actually find his original records.
"Name? Place of origin?" the clerk asked.
"Su Mu. Originally from Pingyang County in Hedong Commandery."
Su Mu replied, drawing from the body's original owner's memories.
The clerk turned and walked into a back room. Through the open door, Su Mu could faintly make out rows and rows of bookshelves.
As Su Mu waited anxiously, the clerk ambled back and sat down at his desk again.
"Found it. Pay the fee."
the clerk said, repeating, "For a vagrant to register, 700 cents."
"Wasn't it 500 cents?"
Su Mu asked timidly.
The clerk raised his head and just stared at him, saying nothing.
Su Mu resignedly counted out seven hundred three-zhu coins and handed them over.
His earnings from months of chopping wood, combined with what he'd taken from Feng Debao's trio and the money from his recent hunting, now amounted to only seven hundred and twelve cents.
The main reason was that he had been splurging on food lately; otherwise, he'd have had a few dozen more cents.
He never would have imagined that the fee for residency could be arbitrarily inflated.
The original 500-cent fee had suddenly become 700 cents. If it had been any higher, he wouldn't have had enough money.
"Su Mu, native of Pingyang County, Hedong Commandery, age sixteen. Residency granted in Guangfu Square, South City, Wuling."
Though the clerk had been ruthless with his fee, he was efficient. He quickly completed the registration and gave Su Mu a certificate of residency.
With this "ID card" in hand, Su Mu was now a resident of Wuling City, no longer a statusless vagrant.
"As per regulations, every vagrant who registers for residency is allotted one mu of uncultivated land."
Just as Su Mu was about to leave with his residency certificate, the clerk suddenly called him back.
"You are required to cultivate it and pay taxes on time."
Su Mu was taken aback. 'There's a catch?'
"Sir, is it possible to refuse the land? Or perhaps I can pay the taxes with silver coins instead?"
Su Mu asked quickly.
'Becoming a farmer doesn't fit into my plans, and I don't even know the first thing about farming.'
"Taking the land is mandatory, and it must be cultivated. Since you have money, you can hire someone to do it for you.
As for the taxes, both grain and silver coins are acceptable."
Having taken his money, the clerk explained patiently.
Even a city as large as Wuling couldn't afford to support freeloaders; resources were tight for everyone.
Once registered, vagrants were required to help Wuling City by cultivating land, growing grain, and paying taxes.
Otherwise, what reason would Wuling City have to accept them?
"Now, this uncultivated land... some plots are close to the city, others are far. Some are easy to cultivate, others are difficult. Some have fertile soil, and some are barren."
the clerk said nonchalantly.
Su Mu got the hint. A mu of uncultivated land was a mu of uncultivated land, but its location made all the difference. The clerk's meaning was crystal clear: if he wanted a good plot—
It would cost extra!
Feeling his nearly empty pockets, Su Mu politely declined the clerk's "kind" offer.
"Suit yourself. Out the door and to the right to collect your deed."
The clerk didn't mind. He had already pocketed an extra two hundred cents, after all.
...
「Wuling City, Guangfu Square.」
An underling leaned in and whispered something in Zhang Chong's ear.
Zhang Chong's expression visibly darkened.
"Hmph. He has the gall to spend my money to get himself registered."
Zhang Chong said coldly, "Where's the brat now?"
"He left the city. Probably went to check on the uncultivated land he was assigned. I asked around... his plot is located at..."
the underling said.
"Well done!"
Zhang Chong ordered, "You two, with me. We're going to get my money back!"