Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Different Districts, Patchwork of the World—1
Translator: 549690339
The North City District is an upscale residential area.
There are no high-rise apartments, only stands of detached villas.
Even the entertainment venues are located in villas with various extravagant decoration styles.
Those owning property in the North City District are mostly Official Wizards of second grade or above, and wizard apprentices hailing from influential families.
Those lacking in family influence must think twice.
After all, without a strong background or sufficient power to dissent, they are essentially defenseless.
Doing so could even be courting disaster for their families.
Only those with absolute need risk forcing their way into this glamorized circle of life.
Of the few permanent staff members of various administrative bodies in Ravensmouth City, if they didn’t build their own residences in the surrounding area, they would normally stay in the North City District.
Link rushed through the North City District on the rail transit train and did not descend to stay there.
There is a clear hierarchy in every aspect of life.
Money is one side of the coin, power is another, and strength is the most important one.
Without money, power, or strength, you can only glance but not dare to enter.
Link disembarked the rail transit train when he entered the East District.
This is the most bustling area of Ravensmouth City, complete with residences and a business district.
There are large shopping malls, independent stores, small shops, and everything in between.
Food, drinks, entertainment, and fun – they have it all.
Instead of wandering through the residential areas of the East District, Link spent quite a while in the commercial entertainment sector.
However, even the smallest food and beverage shops start their pricing from half of a standard first-level magic stone.
This must be where the “middle class” of Ravensmouth City predominantly resides.
The ones living here are mostly official wizards studying in senior colleges or wizard apprentices born into medium and small families. There are also merchants from other regions conducting their business.
Life here is comfortable, and consumption is not low. Though it cannot match the North City District, it is far beyond the financial reach of ordinary people like Link.
Link, unable to afford the prices, can only browse around.
After all, he was also here for a field survey, to familiarize himself with the topography and cross-reference his mental map of Ravensmouth City. It wasn’t because of poverty that he refrained from entering the shops, right?
As the sun reached high noon, Link entered the South City District.
Compared to the East District, whether looking at the quality of building constructions, consumption levels, or entertainment venues, the South City has fallen by more than an entire grade.
All the factories, workshops, and studios of Ravensmouth City are concentrated here.
Those bottom-rung wizard apprentices (mostly Storm Sea New Bloods) who are exploited while at the factories, workshops, and studios trying to scrape by for survival, reside in these pigeonhole apartments.
Their workload is heavy, wages meager, and leisure time scarce. Their lives lack any semblance of comfort.
Therefore, the most common shops in the South City District are restaurants, followed by grocery stores that sell reasonably priced goods. The least common are bookstores, laboratories, and other places related to knowledge, culture, and witchcraft.
The mobility of the population here is very low, or more precisely, the outflow of people is very low.
Every year, there are a group of Storm Sea New Blood who did not advance to official wizards within four years, and a very small portion of local wizard apprentices who, for various reasons, are sent to various factories, workshops, and studios in the South City District.
For the remainder of their lives, only a handful of fortunate ones are able to live and walk out of the South City District, having become official wizards within ten years after leaving the academy.
Even then, they remain at the bottom of society. Still, it’s better than living in the South City District without any hope.
In the South City District, everything, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation, is based on being cheap or even dirt cheap.
Standard first-level magic stones are the main currency, but gold and silver coins can be used in many places.
Link was a bit tired and hungry from wandering around, so he picked a small restaurant that seemed clean and went in.
Through the intelligent system installed on every dining table, Link ordered a steak set meal, costing him 30 silver coins!
Link did bring some gold and silver coins with him when he left his house.
They were gifts from Jasmine.
This steak set meal cannot be said to be tasteless, but it was indeed quite awful. The quality of the ingredients was too poor, not even comparable to the synthetic food from the intelligent kitchen in the academy cafeteria. Sticking to the principle of not wasting food, Link forced the meal down to curb his hunger.
From this small meal, Link gleaned a lot of information.
There isn’t much worth pointing out specifically, except one thing that must be emphasized.
That is, the bottom-rung wizard apprentices are being completely exploited in every way, as long as they can survive.
There is absolutely no regard for their quality of life.
The South City District is adjacent to the East District and faces the North City District across the small Central City District, yet they exist in separate worlds.
If the North City District is compared to heaven and the East District to the world of the living, then the South City District is deep in hell.
Link left the South City District with a somewhat heavy heart and moved towards the West District.
This time, he did not take the rail transit train, but walked instead.
The West District is special.
As humble as the South City District, its buildings, streets, and various public facilities meet city planning standards, straight and orderly.
The West District, however, is shiny on the outside, but inside it’s mixed into a haphazard mess.
Near the North City District, there is a “flying device” airport, a “rail transit” station, and a “passenger vehicle” station.
These divide the West District from the North City District.
Adjacent to the academy, there is another “flying device” airport, a “rail transitstation, and a “passenger vehicle” station, obstructing the view from the academy.
The western face houses six “freight vehicle” stations and a “passenger vehicle” station, lined up neatly.
These three sections form a “U” shape, encircling the West District.
Inside the West District, public facilities are in a state of semi-abandonment, while buildings and streets, like the people living and frequenting the districts, grow savagely without any order.
If there needs to be a metaphor, the West District serves the role of a trash can or drain in relation to Ravensmouth City.
Link leisurely walked into the West District.
With a tranquil demeanor and steady pace, he didn’t appear at all like a newcomer to the West District.
Facing the mostly hostile gazes encountered along the way, Link didn’t have any stressed reactions.
He just maintained his vigilance while walking steadily.
Several genuine street thugs took notice of Link’s rune objects and even two magic tools. They were somewhat eager to make a move, but quite hesitant. Those who lack apt judgment don’t last long in the West District.
The thugs wrestled with the decision of whether Link was a fat lamb or a man-eating wolf.
They didn’t want to end up on the chopping block themselves if they tried to seize him without being sure.
That said, these angler types are fucking annoying! They’ve made pickpocketing virtually impossible for the thugs!
After following for several streets and determining Link’s destination, the thugs finally gave up.
He was going to the Black Market. They couldn’t act recklessly. Eight or nine out of ten chances, he might be a ruthless angler!