Chapter 121: Immigration

Chapter 121: Expulsion

On this day, the entire Jing City Base, including its affiliated bases, was in turmoil. Law enforcement officers in matching blue uniforms, armed with weapons, patrolled the streets and alleys, sowing fear among the residents.

Suddenly, a man in the crowd shouted loudly, "What’s the charge? I haven’t done anything! I haven’t violated any of the base’s rules—this is an unlawful arrest!"

"Everyone, come and see! The law enforcement team is arresting people for no reason!" Another man, his hands pinned behind his back by the officers, yelled, "Please help me! If they can arrest us without cause today, they’ll arrest you tomorrow!"

"In these dark times, if we ordinary people don’t unite, we’ll eventually become slaves to these high-level superpowered individuals, stripped of our humanity, left to rot under their boots!"

Their words were incendiary, quickly drawing a crowd.

The law enforcement team neither forcibly dispersed the onlookers nor silenced the detainees.

From the crowd, a hulking man stepped forward and addressed the officers, "Is there a mistake here? Maybe you could release them first, and we can talk things out openly."

Encouraged by the support, the detainees shouted even louder, "Misunderstanding? These elite superpowered people are just bullying us! They flaunt their status, acting like they own the place, trying to grind us low-tier superpowered into the dirt!"

The detainees pivoted the argument, attempting to incite conflict between high-level and low-level superpowered individuals.

Not everyone in the crowd was rational—many blindly followed the outcry, while others, envious of high-level superpowered individuals, seized the chance to stir trouble. Within moments, the crowd erupted into near-bedlam.

The detainees smirked, their schemes seemingly successful.

But before their grins could fully form, their faces contorted in agony.

"Ahhh!!!" A man’s scream pierced the air, startling the timid onlookers into retreat.

The man who had spoken up earlier now wore a grim expression. The law enforcement squad leader leisurely lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and blew smoke into the man’s face.

"You’re clueless, yet you’ve got the balls to vouch for them?" The squad leader pointed the burning cigarette at the restrained men. "These are accomplices of Guang Jia and Hao Rui from the Happiness and Harmony Bases. They’ve been peddling our secrets to those rats for days."

The mediator’s face went white. Everyone knew Commander-in-Chief Gu Jinsheng of Jing City Base was unyielding and strict—mercy was an option for most crimes, but betrayal was unforgivable.

Recently, videos of small rebel alliances pressuring Jing City Base had spread widely online, sparking outrage. The base had even deployed mechas to wipe out an entire small base.

Who’d be stupid enough to stick their neck out now?

Sensing the intercessor’s hesitation, the detainees hastily defended themselves, "We never sold out the base! This is a frame job!"

"Never?" The squad leader held up a confiscated phone, displaying recovered messages. "Then who used your phone to chat with Guang Jia? A ghost?"

One detainee stubbornly insisted, "I just know Guang Jia—we chatted casually, nothing about base secrets!"

Another added, "Does knowing a criminal make me a traitor? If exchanging a few words with a criminal makes me guilty, then half the people here are criminals too!"

"You’re good at twisting words," the squad leader sneered. A lightning-wielder, he fried the guy, sending him convulsing to the ground.

He paid no mind to the fearful stares around him.

The squad leader coldly said, "I don’t care if you know criminals or even call them ‘daddy’ in your messages. But sending them base intel? That’s treason."

A law enforcement officer added angrily, "Even before the apocalypse, snapping pics near border zones and sending them to foreigners counted as leaking state secrets!"

The squad leader tossed his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it underfoot. "Take them away—exiled for life! Anyone who interferes shares their fate."

With that, the officers escorted the detainees away. Not a soul moved to stop them, not even the initial intercessor.

The crowd waited until the enforcers were gone before muttering among themselves. "That punishment was too harsh! They were just shooting the shit with an acquaintance. What if we accidentally say something confidential to a friend? Will we be next?"

"I agree it’s excessive. Those people didn't reveal any secrets that could affect the outcome of the war. Besides, the base is so powerful, with all its mech technology—why crack down so hard on regular people like us? It's not like anything serious happened."

Someone with sense scoffed, "Once the damage is done, it’s over. Do you really think you'd still be standing here safely, sympathizing with those traitors?"

"If you have so many complaints about the base, why didn’t you speak up to the enforcement team earlier? You should’ve joined those traitors and gone to a base you like."

Those who defended the traitors stammered, "We’re only trying to help the base."

"Yeah, right—without you self-righteous 'for the good of the base' types, I believe the Jing City Base would develop even better." With that, the person turned and left.

The enforcement captain marched the offenders a hundred kilometers outside the base.

The rebels, now expelled, looked at each other, lost.

"What do we do now?" one of them asked.

"Hell if I know," another growled. "We just chatted casually with Guang Jia, and they kicked us out. Talk about overkill."

"Throwing us out like this is no different from sentencing us to death. Right now, the only safe place on Earth is the Jing City Base."

They were eaten alive by regret. Their original plan had been simple—slip Guang Jia and his group some information. If Guang Jia succeeded, they’d get a cut of the spoils.

Even if he failed, they thought, it wouldn’t matter much—after all, they’d only shared a few minor intel.

They never expected the Jing City Base to be so ruthless, exiling them on the spot.

Had they known the consequences, they wouldn’t have leaked even a single word to Guang Jia.

Similar traitors existed in other bases, and they too were being rooted out and expelled; their pleas fell on deaf ears.

---

At the Jing City Base marriage registration office, a staff member eyed the blue-eyed, blond-haired man of obvious Western descent. "Miss, is this the man you wish to register for marriage with?"

"Yes," the girl replied nervously but tried to remain composed.

The staff turned to the foreign man. "Please present your ID chip or identification."

The man handed over a work permit—a temporary residence document, not an official Jing City Base ID.

But that wasn’t the staff’s concern. Who someone married or which base they chose to live in was a personal decision.

The staff processed their marriage certificates. The foreign man's hands shook as he took it, babbling in English to the woman, who replied in kind.

The woman then turned back. "Please help my husband apply for a Jing City Base ID."

The staff hesitated. "He’s not a resident here, is he? His ID shows he’s from M Country."

The woman immediately retorted, "But he’s married to me now—he’s my husband, so he’s a resident of Jing City Base. If you don’t issue him an ID, he won’t be able to stay here long-term. Then what’s my move? Make us live apart right after tying the knot?"

The staff replied helplessly, "I can’t just hand out Jing City Base IDs at will. What if he’s a spy?"

She exploded. "How dare you! Spy? You got proof? You’d better explain yourself right now—bring your boss out—now!"

The supervisor arrived to mediate, but the woman insisted on an apology and demanded that the foreign man be given a Jing City Base ID before she would let the matter drop.

But they truly had no authority to issue Jing City Base IDs arbitrarily.

At a loss, they called the nearby enforcement team for help. As it happened, Gu Jinsheng and Ji An were in the area on business and took charge personally, showing up fast to handle it.

Gu Jinsheng and Ji An frequently appeared on major video platforms, and there wasn’t a single resident in the Jing City Base who didn’t recognize them.

The woman’s arrogance instantly deflated when she saw the two of them.

Ji An looked at the woman and said, "Even before the apocalypse, many rules had changed. Even then, our country, Xia, would never grant a foreigner nationality simply because of a marriage certificate."

The woman lowered her head, not daring to meet Ji An’s gaze, her legs shaking uncontrollably with nervousness.

The foreign man, however, remained relatively composed. He argued, "Even before the apocalypse, I admired and loved Xia’s culture and had long wanted to obtain Xia citizenship, but various reasons delayed it. Now, I’ve fallen in love with a beautiful Xia woman and had the honor of marrying her. I truly want Xia citizenship."

Ji An nodded. "First, regardless of anything, I thank you for your love of Xia and its culture. Second, I must inform you that immigration has its specific policies. Check them—if you qualify, we welcome you with open arms."

The foreign man protested, "Your immigration conditions are too strict! There’s even a wealth requirement—only the wealthy could meet that resource requirement."

Ji An replied calmly, "Those are the rules. No matter how much you love my country and culture, the truth is, you’re desperate to immigrate because our nation is strong and the protection it offers. So, if our base provides you shelter, what can you contribute in return? Those resources are your contribution to the base."

The foreign man opened his mouth but found no rebuttal. Finally, he said, "But I’ve already married this beautiful lady. If we’re forced to live apart due to different nationalities, you must understand that separating spouses is immoral."

Ji An smiled. "No issue there. This lady can move to your country and base with you. While our conditions for joining our base are strict, leaving is easy—just personal consent is enough."

The woman immediately objected, "I’d rather die than leave!"

Ji An shrugged. "Then that’s your choice."

By then, someone had already handed their records to Gu Jinsheng, who skimmed them before passing them to Ji An.

After a quick glance, Ji An understood the situation.

The man and woman were not a real couple. The foreign man had offered the woman a large sum of resources online in exchange for a fake marriage—his goal was to use the marriage to obtain Xia citizenship and become a legal resident of the Jing City Base.

Gu Jinsheng asked the woman coldly, "What exactly is your relationship?"

Terrified, the woman’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees, confessing everything without holding back.

In the end, the woman was fined a hefty sum of resources, and the foreign man was expelled from the base.

Such incidents occurred daily in the Jing City Base and its affiliated bases. Hordes of foreigners tried to join, but the entry conditions were extremely strict, demanding huge resource payments.

As a result, these foreigners began scrambling for loopholes to gain entry.

Marriage quickly became the easiest shortcut. Every day, numerous foreigners—men and women alike—married residents of the Jing City Base.

Gu Jinsheng and Ji An didn’t let the matter rest. They put it on the table for discussion in a meeting.

Zhou Qin said, "Before the apocalypse, people could obtain M-country citizenship through marriage. But now, we’re enemies with M-country. If we allow this, our base could be infiltrated by spies."

Ji An agreed, "That’s a real concern. But we can’t block immigration entirely for ordinary people either."

"Why not?" Kong Zhongcheng interjected. "This is our territory."

Zhou Qin explained, "Our base is developing rapidly and is secure. The situation abroad is worsening. If we don’t allow immigration, those foreigners, backed into a corner, might side with Charles against us, thinking, 'If we’re going to die anyway, we might as well take someone with us.' If they unite, they could become a significant threat."

"Exactly," Ji An added. "Conversely, if we can unite this group and have them genuinely join us, they could become a valuable asset."

Kong Zhongcheng asked skeptically, "Is that possible? Weren’t foreigners always looking down on us?"

Ji An scoffed. "Before the apocalypse, how many of our own people begged to join M-country? Now, who still wants M-country citizenship? The world’s flipped. China is the strong one now. The tables have turned—now they’re the ones begging on their knees to get in."

"So, you want to accept them?" Gu Jinsheng looked at Ji An.

"I always have this feeling that humanity might achieve global unity after this disaster," Ji An said.

Gu Jinsheng glanced at Ji An and said quietly, "China."

None of the people present continued the conversation, yet they all silently understood each other's meaning.

Gu Jinsheng ordered, "Marriage cannot serve as a condition for immigration. Those who wish to immigrate must comply with the immigration rules of the Capital Base."

Soon, the Capital Base issued the relevant immigration regulations, instantly causing an uproar online.

The speed of China's rise was evident to all—spatial storage devices, nutrition packs, med-pods, mech suits—yet it was clear this was not the end for China, but only the beginning. In the future, there would undoubtedly be even more technologies far surpassing the current world's level.

Shrewd observers were everywhere, so many foreigners had long desired to immigrate but found no way in. Now, with the global immigration conditions announced, it was like setting off a firestorm online.

"Oh my god, why are the Capital Base's immigration conditions so strict!"

"Both pre- and post-apocalypse, a clean criminal record is required. Is this a joke? The M Base's government was gone long before the apocalypse—where am I supposed to get a no-criminal-record certificate?"

"Post-apocalypse, who hasn’t killed someone? If that counts as a crime, who could possibly meet the Capital Base’s conditions?"

"Probably only those useless people who haven’t awakened any abilities could meet these conditions. If this keeps up, the Capital Base will just become a dumping ground for the powerless."

"Immigration also requires paying exorbitant fees. Even if you substitute with Zombie Cores, it’s still an enormous amount."

Of course, the actual immigration regulations couldn’t possibly be just these few items—they spanned dozens of pages. However, these were mainly for superpowered individuals. Truly exceptional talents always receive special treatment wherever they go. The Capital Base was developing rapidly, and talent was clearly in short supply, so the demand for skilled individuals had reached its peak.

The immigration conditions in this regard were quite lenient. As long as someone had groundbreaking research achievements in a certain field, and as long as they had no criminal record in the Capital Base, the base would unconditionally accept them, including all their immediate family members with clean records (Note: Special talents have three referral spots).

Foreign netizens reacted swiftly. While some were still complaining about the harsh conditions, many had already started forming groups online.

"Anyone else wanting to immigrate to the Capital Base, meeting all other conditions but lacking enough resources? If so, message me privately. We’ll verify each other’s credentials, team up to hunt zombies, and discuss Zombie Core distribution in detail."

Similar recruitment posts were everywhere online. Some netizens questioned, "Are these people insane? Teaming up with strangers to kill zombies—aren’t they afraid of betrayal?"

"Hey, you’re the dumb one. Who aiming for the Capital Base would betray their teammates? Nowadays, the base’s smart-bands aren’t universal, but anyone with connections can get one. Those smart-bands are hyper-intelligent, recording everything about the user. If the user’s vital signs disappear, it automatically uploads the last month’s recordings online. Do you think the Capital Base would still accept a betrayer after that?"

"Everyone knows the Capital Base is the new world's beacon. No one would be foolish enough to sacrifice a chance of a lifetime to join it for a one-time payoff."