Chapter 26: Non-Registered Citizens

Early the next morning, Leon opened his eyes. He exhaled a long breath as he gazed at the experience bar in front of him, which had jumped significantly.

"Once 'Qi Manipulation' reaches the Proficient level, the experience gained from each session of Qi circulation increases."

This was something Leon had discovered last night. Thanks to his persistent efforts, his 'Qi Manipulation' experience had reached (Proficient 11/200). The most obvious change was that the professional experience he gained per session had increased from +3 to +4. Furthermore, he found his control over energy to be much more refined, which meant a slight reduction in the cost of using his other skills. While the reduction was minimal, it was a pleasant surprise. However, just like when he was at the Novice level, he still could not use this skill for combat.

"Is the experience required for 'Qi Manipulation' to reach the Expert level really only 200?"

200 was not a large amount. Leon felt he could grind 'Qi Manipulation' to the Expert level before long, and without much extra effort, as he was gaining skill experience while simultaneously leveling up his profession.

After standing up and stretching his stiff body, Leon heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, Danika was leaning lazily against the corridor railing, looking drowsy. She tossed a canned drink to Leon and opened her own.

*Crack.*

Danika took a long sip and said, "Good morning. Looks like you rested well."

Thanks to the 'Slow Recovery' and 'Calm Mind' traits, Leon had only needed eight hours of sleep to recover most of his stamina. Danika, however, was unaware of this. Looking at the tall woman, whose dark circles were slightly faded but still very prominent, Leon opened the drink labeled 'Energy Drink' and took a sip.

"Not bad."

Hmm... the taste was quite similar to the pink Monster energy drink his sister used to love before he transmigrated.

Danika yawned, straightened up, and began walking downstairs. "Let’s go. Today I’ll take you to get your Outlander citizen status sorted out."

"So soon?" Leon asked in surprise, quickly following her.

He had been a prisoner just three days ago; he hadn't expected to become an Outlander citizen so quickly. He had previously assumed it was just empty talk.

Danika glanced at Leon walking beside her. "I believe you now—you really must be from some godforsaken backwater place. Don't put too much value on the Outlander status. In the Federation, it's just a nicer way of saying 'lower-class citizen.'"

However, despite her words, a large part of why Danika was willing to help Leon shed his prisoner status so quickly was the strength he had displayed earlier. A smaller part, naturally, was that the Security Bureau was currently short-handed.

Leon wasn't discouraged by her words; an Outlander citizen was still better than a prisoner, after all. Seeing his optimism, the tall woman couldn't help but smile. "You certainly have a good attitude."

"Life is already hard enough as it is," Leon replied with a shrug, unbothered. He then asked, "What does it take to get formal citizen status?"

Danika didn't hold back. "There are two paths: either work on a frontier colony planet for ten years, or become a Tier 2 professional."

For Leon, only the second path was viable; he couldn't waste ten years of his life in a place like this. With the help of his professional panel, he felt that becoming a Tier 2 professional wouldn't be too difficult.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. "Wait, Captain, does that mean you're an Outlander citizen too?"

"Congratulations, you guessed it," Danika replied, loosening the tie she had tightened that morning.

She had chosen the first path. After all, without being able to see the specific requirements for class advancement, nobody knew if their profession could even be advanced. In Danika's eyes, Leon, who had arrived as a stowaway, was the same as her; to become a formal citizen, he would have to grind out his time in the Frontier City. But the Frontier City wasn't safe, and not many Outlander citizens actually lived to see the full ten years.

Just as Leon was about to say something else, a roaring sound from the sky interrupted him. Looking up, he saw a massive, lizard-like creature flapping its wings as it descended toward Frontier City No. 66, escorted by several large spacecraft.

Leon’s attention was entirely captured by the lizard, or more specifically, the text painted on its side:

[Aeon Logistics Group: Transport, Security, and other services. For inquiries, please contact xxxx....]

"Stop staring. That’s a transport dragon-beast from the Aeon Group," Danika said, slapping Leon on the back to pull his focus back. "If something hadn't gone wrong a few days ago, you’d be on your way to a prison planet with those ships today. Let's go, let's get your status processed."

Leon hurried after her. They soon arrived at the processing center for Outlander status, located right inside the Security Bureau. It was only then that Leon understood why Danika had said she could get it done so easily—when you’re part of the same system, efficiency is a given.

Before finalizing, Danika spoke up, "Once your status is updated to Outlander, you will officially be a Security Bureau operative. Your benefits will be issued normally. If you agree, I’ll process it."

How could Leon refuse? He didn't want to rot in a cell. Plus, being able to earn a salary while practicing his skills on the clock—it was essentially getting paid to train. Where else could he find such a job? It was a win.

Perhaps because of Danika, Leon's status was changed from prisoner to Outlander citizen in no time. Looking at the documentation in his hand, he felt excellent.

"Alright, time to get to work. Follow me."

With that, Danika headed toward the second floor of the Security Bureau. As soon as they arrived, however, she was called away by Chief Marcus. Fortunately, thanks to Leon's performance in the Technical Talent Placement Zone, the team members under Danika now treated him with great respect.

Before long, Danika returned, carrying a thick stack of files.

"We’ve got work. Take a look. I’ve sent the important details to your communication wristband." She paused, as if remembering something, and looked at Leon. "By the way, your wristband needed to be paid for; I covered it for you and transferred some extra cash. Remember to pay me back when you get your salary."

"Thank you for looking out for me, Captain."

Only then did Leon realize why his wristband hadn't been able to connect to the network—it was because of unpaid fees. He had thought the city's communication base station was broken. He tapped his wristband, and a pale blue light screen popped up in front of him, displaying the mission information Danika had sent.

[Capture Smugglers...]