421: Chapter 401: First Encounter at the State House 421: Chapter 401: First Encounter at the State House Spacious streets, not-so-tall buildings, and hurried passersby.
Except for the residents here wearing more colorful clothes, more letters on their T-shirts, and the unique vibrancy of this era, it doesn’t seem much different from the ancient city.
“…Our ancient city isn’t that bad either.
At its peak, the population exceeded two million.
Originally, when the state reforms took place, the ancient city was the priority for the state government.
It’s just that our base industries were a little weak, and the old industrial district was on the verge of bankruptcy, so Changping took over in the end…”
Xia Qin casually said a few words, seemingly unimpressed with the state government.
This was the small pride of the ancient city residents.
As inhabitants of an old city with a glorious past, they don’t care much about the capital of a state.
The group arrived by bus, departing at midnight, and it wasn’t until morning after a long and bumpy ride that they arrived…
At this point, Lu Ping’an longed for the high-speed trains he wasn’t sure existed in this world.
I thought having few tall buildings was unique to the ancient city, but it’s the same here…”
In contrast to memories of countless high-rises of ten or more stories, looking down the busiest streets here, there were often only four or five stories.
And regular residential buildings were mainly three or four stories high.
Although each floor was noticeably taller than usual, the result was that there were hardly any tall buildings in sight.
It would be quite troublesome if something were to happen.
It would be extremely difficult to evacuate, too.
Do you remember the lava maze in the mall?
Imagine if that was in a ten-story building…”
Fighting their way through three or four floors was already tough back then.
If there were ten or dozens of floors, they might as well just demolish the building.
In areas with frequent disasters, high-rise buildings naturally have an upper limit.
A 30- or 40-story building with a pollution incident could drag hundreds of people straight to hell.
Just because of this reason, there may never be outrageous landmark buildings in this world.
That giant monster building in front…”
Lu Ping’an pointed to a real skyscraper that was over fifty stories high.
It was a tower that had a circular shape, with the lower floors wider and gradually narrowing towards the top like a Tower of Babel.
It stood out, especially when it was surrounded by three- or four-story “little mushrooms.”
If the address is correct, this is the Changping State Bureau of Anomaly Management headquarters, our destination.”
“Captain Xia, have you been here before?
“I came once two years ago, and it was just an ordinary building…
Maybe it’s newly built.”
Upon entering, they realized that it was indeed new…
The walls still smelled of paint, and there were construction teams working on the side.
After inquiring at the reception desk, they found out that construction had started two months ago and was completed half a month ago…
This construction speed was clearly not achieved through normal means.
Inside the first floor lobby, Lu Ping’an saw several foreign area residents, many of whom were lining up to get numbers.
As a special service team, they took the express lane but still spent more than an hour processing paperwork for everyone.
Once they finished the paperwork, they sat together in the lobby to chat before dispersing…
There was no need for a group to take the exam.
This time, not only did Lu Ping’an and a few core members of his club come, but also half of the special service team…
Who wouldn’t want a shot at success?
Even if that “license” might never be used in their lifetime, trying never hurts.
If it wasn’t for the special circumstances and the current stability in the ancient city, such a large-scale leave wouldn’t have been granted…
However, the upper management of the Bureau of Anomaly Management encouraged young captains like Xia Qin, hoping that they would pass the exam.
After wandering around for a bit, buying some daily necessities, and deliberately wasting some more time, Lu Ping’an, Xia Qin, and Meow regrouped and went to the agreed-upon hotel.
They chose not to stay with the other team members so they could easily access the courtyard for final practice and preparation.
It’s really exaggerated.
Most of our team members are young, and about 70% or 80% of them are here.
Many of them don’t even have the Secret Keeper qualification and plan to take both exams.”
As soon as he walked in, Lu Ping’an heard Guan Xinxian’s voice.
He was chatting with two female students…
Miss Lululu was tinkering with her potions, and Hua senior sister was eagerly asking her senior brother about the exam.
They were also here to take the exam, aiming for the Secret Keeper qualification.
All of their efforts were now devoted to finding jobs while their small private companies needed the qualification.
The two were also employees of a “subcontracted security company” under the Trading Land.
However, the company was not officially listed yet and focused on internal operations, training, and recruitment.
“Where are your people?”
“At Jiuan Hotel, not far away, just a few streets down.
We’re going there after saying hello to you.
Would you like to have dinner together tonight and let them meet their future big boss?”
Miss Lo’s words were partly joking, but also quite serious.
In a way, Lu Ping’an was indeed going to be their future employer…
but only in the future because the security company had not yet been officially established.
They had already signed a cooperation agreement with the Trading Land and became the long-term employed security force.
Miss Lo and her group were not alone; several other senior and junior members from their society also came along, some for getting certifications, others for sightseeing and experiencing the event.
Lu Ping’an was quite literally their big boss, except the company hadn’t been established yet, so there was no need for payment.
For now, he was only providing resources for cultivation…
Hua senior sister and Baman Zhen also got the rights to use the stadium, but they used it less frequently.
It wasn’t that Hua senior sister didn’t want to improve herself, or that the cultivation efficiency here wasn’t good, but rather she was too busy trying to recruit new members for her society.