Game: Civilization Paradise

However, Long Ming wasn’t blinded by the potential profits. ’Doing this kind of thing occasionally is fine, but doing it too often would definitely attract a crackdown. I could easily end up crashing and burning.’

He stood up, stretched, then walked back to his bed to lie down and rest.

...

「The next morning.」

Long Ming walked down the stairs, yawning.

"Long Ming, good morning!"

Seeing Long Ming come down, Xiaoqi greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning."

Long Ming nodded.

Xiaoqi called out to Long Ming enthusiastically.

"Come have some breakfast with us!"

"Sure!"

Long Ming didn’t stand on ceremony and walked right over to the counter.

He picked up a steamed bun and asked Xiaoqi while eating.

"How’s business at the Star Wish Cafe been recently?"

"Not so great. We’ve only been about half full."

"Hm, have you been able to contact Luoxue?"

"No, I even made a special trip to the Military Department yesterday, but I still couldn’t reach her. Luoxue might have left on a ship for a mission."

Xiaoqi replied, shaking her head.

"I see. We’ll just have to contact her when she gets back, then."

"Okay."

"By the way, how do I get a Star Alliance ID card?"

Long Ming asked Xiaoqi.

"That’s easy. Since we only just joined the Star Alliance, some residents haven’t replaced their ID cards yet. You can just take your Mountain City Mountain ID card to the administration office on the next street and exchange it at a self-service kiosk."

Xiaoqi gave Long Ming a simple explanation.

"Okay, I need to go out for a bit later."

"Where are you going? Do you want me to drive you?"

"No thanks, I’m just going to walk around a bit."

Long Ming said to Xiaoqi with a smile.

"Well, be careful then. Whatever you do, don’t go to the City of Stars."

Xiaoqi advised Long Ming.

"Why?"

Long Ming asked, a little curious.

"It’s super expensive in the City of Stars. Everything is priced in Star Coins. You could go bankrupt if you’re not careful."

As Xiaoqi spoke, her expression became a bit awkward.

Just then, Cloud Fish, who was standing nearby, explained to Long Ming with a laugh.

"We went to the City of Stars with Sister Luoxue once. We just bought a few bottles of water without looking at the price and almost went bankrupt!"

"I get it."

Hearing this, Long Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

...

「A moment later.」

Long Ming walked out of the Star Wish Cafe and headed for the administration office on the next street.

He soon arrived at the administration office.

The administration office was quite large, occupying its own separate building.

Long Ming walked into the lobby and saw many residents lined up to handle their business.

Then he saw several self-service machines in a corner of the lobby.

The machine’s screen displayed information about self-service ID card replacement.

Long Ming took his Mountain City Mountain ID card, inserted it, and followed the on-screen prompts.

Before long, a brand-new ID card popped out.

Long Ming took the new ID card and left the administration office.

He stood by the side of the street, raised his wristband, and logged into the Civilization Forum to search for where he could get a third-generation Gale repaired.

He quickly found a recent guide post.

The post listed seven publicly available repair shops, but all seven were in the City of Stars. The original poster most highly recommended a club called "Extraordinary Modifications."

According to the poster, this place had the best technicians. Although the price was a bit steep, its reputation was excellent.

Seeing this, Long Ming applied to the Star Alliance for entry into the City of Stars.

A message quickly popped up.

"Dear Mr. Long Ming, the Star Alliance Administration Office has received your application. You may now supplement your information in one of two ways. First: State your reason for entering the City of Stars and your intended length of stay. We will provide a response within 72 hours! Second: Pay a security deposit to obtain entry clearance. The larger the deposit, the longer you may stay. Friendly reminder: The security deposit is refundable; however, a portion will be deducted for any violations committed within the City of Stars."

Long Ming’s mouth twitched as he read the message. ’This Star Alliance really charges for everything. Even the Mountain City Mountain Upper City District wasn’t this bad.’

Nevertheless, he followed the prompt and paid a deposit of 100,000.

"Congratulations, you have obtained long-term access. You must reapply every 3 months."

After reading the notification, Long Ming opened his map, took a look, and headed towards the nearby star-rail station.

Although Star Island was said to orbit the City of Stars, the distance between them was vast, requiring a trip on a star-rail train. Of course, if you were powerful enough, you could also take a private ship.

However, piloting Mechanical Gods was strictly forbidden. All airspace in Star Alliance territory was restricted. Only those with specific military ranks and clearance were permitted to use Mechanical Gods.

「Half an hour later.」

Long Ming arrived at the entrance of the star-rail station and saw soldiers in second-generation exoskeletal armor standing guard, holding weapons.

People were lined up in an orderly fashion, going through a security check.

Long Ming went to the back of the line and waited.

He quickly passed through the security check and entered the star-rail station.

"Dear passengers, the star-rail station is a controlled area. Please maintain order and board and alight the train in an orderly manner to prevent accidents."

...

Long Ming walked over to a nearby self-service ticket machine, bought a ticket for the next departing train, and headed toward the corresponding gate.

「A few minutes later.」

Long Ming arrived at the platform.

Many passengers were standing around, chatting.

"Sigh, making a living is a real bitch these days, isn’t it?"

"Aren’t the family you work for pretty generous?"

"They’re generous, sure, but yesterday the old master of the house cornered me in the bathroom while his wife was out."

"No way. Doesn’t that mean you’ll have to find another job?"

"Nah, I don’t need to."

"What the hell? You can put up with that?"

"I don’t have a choice. Where else am I going to find a private chef job that pays this well?"

...

Long Ming was left speechless when he heard this.

Just then, a star-rail train with a bullet-shaped nose and a body covered in brilliant light strips sped in and stopped in front of the crowd.

BEEP BEEP!

Accompanied by the alert sound, the train doors opened.

Long Ming got on and found a window seat.

CLICK!

As the doors closed, the star-rail train sped off.

When the star-rail train left Star Island, the bottomless depths of space immediately filled his vision.

For a moment, Long Ming was completely captivated. It was his first time truly admiring the starry sky.

Half an hour later, the incomparably magnificent City of Stars slowly came into view.

Towering, futuristic skyscrapers stood across the City of Stars, star-rails snaked and coiled through the sky, and countless flying vehicles zipped at high speeds between the buildings.

But what was most stunning was the space below, where layer upon layer of enormous platforms floated, each one densely covered with all sorts of incredibly luxurious buildings.

’So this is the City of Stars?’

Long Ming gazed quietly at the approaching City of Stars, completely awestruck.