Chapter 673: The Golden Age Ends (Part 1)

Dusk falls earlier at Hangu Pass than on Earth.

Lin Yichuan slung the bronze sword over his shoulder and twisted his stiff neck.

I stood on the city wall for an entire day shift, looking down from the crenellations countless times. Apart from the occasional transport team passing by, there was nothing unusual in the open fields to the north.

He tightened his shoulder armor and followed his comrades on their last patrol.

"Today's completion rate is 90%, and I've earned 2 merit points."

The sergeant walking in front twirled the iron medallion between his fingers and grinned, "Just three more points and I'll be able to pay off that bottle of wine I bought on credit last time."

"Sergeant, didn't you just do a leveling operation last month?"

"Last month is last month, this month is this month. Men always have to have some new debts."

The short garrison soldier next to him leaned over and said, "Squad leader, your drinking debt is almost as high as my total merit points. I've been in the Night Whisper Legion for almost a year and I've only accumulated less than three hundred points."

"That's because you're not good enough." The sergeant patted him on the shoulder. "Look at Yichuan, he joined a month later than you, and I heard he's already close to 400 points."

The shorter man retorted, "That's because he has no family to support; he only has himself to eat. I'm different; I have elderly parents and young children to care for."

Lin Yichuan smiled but didn't reply.

After descending the city wall and handing over their duties at the barracks gate, the squad leader waved his hand and said, "Come on, want to grab a couple of drinks at our usual spot? Zhang's wonton stall is brewing some new rice wine today. I heard it's mixed with spirit fruits brought from Fenghuo City. One sip and you'll feel warm all over."

"The sergeant is treating?"

"You wish! Each of you pays your own way."

"You were speaking so boldly just now."

"Being bold is one thing, paying money is another; they are two separate things."

The group walked out of the barracks amidst laughter and banter. Lin Yichuan stopped and cupped his hands in greeting to the sergeant: "Sergeant, I have something to do today, so I won't be going."

The sergeant glanced at him, but didn't ask any further questions. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, go ahead and do your work. Remember not to be late tomorrow. I heard that another batch of patrol duties has been assigned. If you're late, you won't get any."

"knew."

Lin Yichuan bid farewell to his companions and walked alone towards the warehouse area.

Evening at Hangu Pass is more lively than daytime. People come and go on the main street, and lanterns in front of shops light up one after another, illuminating the whole street in a warm glow.

As he walked through a small alley, he heard two vendors haggling over prices.

"How much are your spirit fruits?"

"Three Fire Coins per piece, no bargaining."

"Sanfeng Huobi? Are you robbing me? You only gave me 2.5 yuan yesterday!"

“Yesterday is yesterday, today is today. Didn’t you see the news? There will be several million more Qingyang warriors in the territory. White quality food will become more and more valuable in the future, so my fruit will naturally go up in price.”

"But you can't raise it by 50 cents a day."

"Buy it or not, there are other people waiting in line."

The customer gritted his teeth and finally paid.

As he left, he muttered, "I couldn't afford to eat here before because I didn't have money, and I still can't afford it now that I have money. This world is just a different guise for ripping people off."

Lin Yichuan continued walking forward. When he passed a grain store, there was a long queue at the door. The clerk was shouting at the top of his lungs, "Flour has arrived today. Payment will be made in Beacon Coins. No crystals accepted!"

An elderly indigenous man carrying half a bag of flour squeezed out of the crowd, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile: "These beacon coins are really useful; a few sheets of paper are all it takes."

The companion next to him chimed in, "Absolutely! Before, if you couldn't find the change for a crystal when buying vegetables, you'd have to cut it open. Now it's much more convenient."

Another tall, thin young man muttered, "It's convenient, but I heard that we can't use crystals anymore and have to replace them all with paper. What if the paper becomes worthless someday?"

The old man glared at him: "What do you know? It was issued by the lord, how could it not be valuable? Those few pieces of paper in your hand are much more useful than crystals now."

The young man fell silent.

Lin Yichuan listened without stopping.

After walking for about half an hour, he arrived at the exchange counter in the warehouse area.

It was a row of stone bungalows with a sign that read "Meritorious Service Exchange" hanging at the entrance.

A long queue had already formed at the entrance, with at least thirty or forty people at a glance.

The group included Blue Star Awakeners, soldiers dressed as Qingyang Guards, and several natives dressed as ordinary civilians.

He stood at the end of the line, took out the iron medallion from his pocket, and examined it over and over in his palm. His name and the legion he belonged to were engraved on the iron plate.

At the front of the line, an awakened individual dressed in a civil official's robe sat behind a table, holding a booklet in his hands, checking each entry one by one.

Next to him stood a huge exchange panel with a wooden frame. The panel was densely covered with various exchange options, each marked with the required merit points.

Lin Yichuan's gaze passed over the heads of the people in front of him and landed on the panel.

The second line reads "Second-stage job transfer qualification".

He still remembers that two months ago, this number was only three thousand merit points. At that time, everyone in his team was desperately saving up, thinking that they could reach the threshold in a few more years.

As a result, the person above not only doubled the merit points, but also added a hard requirement of needing four "level three merit points".

He only had one Level 3 Merit Token. Last time, during the attack on the Crimson Blood Plane, the whole team fought desperately, and in the end, each person only received one.

At this rate, it would take forever to collect four coins.

The people in line ahead of them were also discussing it.

"Six thousand points, plus four level three merits, the threshold is getting higher and higher."

"That's right. I saved up 800 last month. I was thinking that if I worked hard for a few more years, I would have 3,000. But when I woke up, it had become 6,000."

"So, are you still going to change it?"

"Change what? I've never even seen what a Level 3 Merit Token looks like."

A tall, thin man chimed in, "I heard from our centurion that even the lord is helpless; there isn't enough green-quality food in the territory to feed so many second-tier soldiers."

"But you can't shut down the upward mobility channels, can you? That would be a monopoly."

"Shh... Keep your voice down. As for monopolies, the lord has his own plans."

"Think about it, what kind of life were we in when we arrived? Being able to sleep peacefully at Hangu Pass, have a hot meal, and accumulate merit points to exchange for items—this is a life we ​​never dared to dream of before."

"That's true, but it's true that the golden age is over."

"If you ask me, the problem isn't with the lords, it's with those insects. I've heard that some high-ranking members are reselling territory equipment, which is why they've raised the exchange threshold."

"Really?"

"I've only heard about it, but look, there are more and more Fire Coins on the market now, and Merit Points are becoming less and less valuable. Someone must be up to something."

"Alright, alright, that's enough. It's your turn."

As the people in front of me finished their business, the line moved forward little by little.

Lin Yichuan listened to these discussions, but his expression didn't change, because he didn't think so.