Chapter 23: Refugees & Citizens

The group walked along a barren hill for about half an hour when Wang Zhi spotted a concealed entrance on a raised mound. He exchanged a glance with the three people behind him, nodded, and moved toward it.

It was an iron door, similar to the one they had seen before. Wang Zhi placed the magnetic card on it. The door opened.

“Everyone, go in. We’ve arrived,” Wang Zhi instructed the students behind him.

“It’s so vast! We’ve been saved!” the students exclaimed.

After everyone entered, Wang Zhi followed them inside. As soon as the magnetic card was removed from the door, it closed automatically.

Once the iron door closed, they continued their slow march in the pitch-black tunnel, guided only by the flashlights of Wang Zhi and the others.

“Are you sure this is the place?” a student asked nervously.

“Yes, just keep going,” Wang Zhi replied, too tired to explain, as he continued down the stairs.

After a while, they finally reached the end. There was an elevator door.

Wang Zhi approached and opened it.

The space inside the elevator couldn’t fit all twenty of them, so they split into two groups. The first group, led by Fatty and Lao He, took the first trip with fourteen students. Wang Zhi and Ying followed in the second trip.

After the first group left, it took an hour for the elevator to return. This meant Wang Zhi would have to wait another half hour to enter the inner area of the Dawn Tower.

When the elevator door opened again, Wang Zhi was the first to rush out. He really couldn’t wait to leave the cramped space.

They arrived in a familiar lobby, where Fatty and Lao He were already waiting with their group, surrounded by fully armed guards prepared for any emergency.

The students, seeing the real Dawn Tower for the first time, were in awe, as though they had been transported from hell to heaven.

However, they weren’t fully inside yet. They still had to go through some checks.

“Please follow me to the medical room for a full disinfection and check-up,” a woman in a white lab coat and mask said, gesturing for Wang Zhi and the others to follow.

“We’re glad to see you back. You’re the first team to return from the outside. It must have been exciting out there,” the woman added.

“It wasn’t exciting at all. It was basically hell on earth,” Wang Zhi replied.

The woman led them to a room.

“This is the place. Director Sophie is waiting for you inside,” she said before leaving.

Wang Zhi recognized Sophie as the medical director they had met in the meeting hall earlier.

They entered the medical room, where Sophie led them to the changing and disinfection room.

“Everyone, take off your clothes and wash yourself in the disinfection chamber. Men to the left, women to the right,” Sophie said from the hallway.

Wang Zhi entered the men’s room, where three male doctors in white coats were standing beside several baskets used to collect their clothes. Wang Zhi removed his bloodstained clothes, including his undergarments, and placed them in the basket. He then walked into the disinfection chamber, where a spare set of clothes was waiting.

After the wash, they all changed into standard Dawn Tower attire. Then they followed Sophie to the testing room. The process was simple: they only needed to have their blood drawn and wait briefly for the results. As long as there was no hidden infection, they would be cleared.

The results came back, and there were no signs of infection. Wang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if any of them had a problem, it would have serious consequences for the whole team.

Afterward, Wang Zhi took the students to the mission hall. After confirming their information, he handed over the 24 survivors, which earned them 2400 survival points.

Having handed over the students to the Dawn Tower, Wang Zhi had one more task to complete: he needed to recruit Jia Liuli into the team.

He then took Jia Liuli to the mission hall, where he approached an empty window and handed his magnetic card to the staff member.

“Here. I’m Wang Zhi, the leader of the Sunset Twilight Team. I’d like to recruit one person to join our team.”

“Certainly. Please show the magnetic card of the new recruit,” the staff member said.

Wang Zhi then realized that Jia Liuli didn’t have a magnetic card.

“Actually, she’s someone I just rescued from the outside, and she doesn’t have a card yet. Can you help issue one for her?”

The staff member nodded. “Her current status is a refugee, so she needs to spend 1000 survival points to purchase citizen status. Only citizens can enjoy all the rights of the Dawn Tower.”

Wang Zhi understood. Survivors rescued from the outside were considered refugees, who had no magnetic cards. Without a card, they had no access to wealth or rights. Citizens, on the other hand, could freely earn and manage wealth, as well as enjoy all the privileges of the Dawn Tower.

To get Jia Liuli on the team, Wang Zhi had to pay 1000 survival points for her citizen status.

Looking at Jia Liuli, who seemed confused and unsure about everything, Wang Zhi recalled the day when she was standing alone in the sports hall, barely able to stand, waiting for them. His heart went out to her, and he didn’t want to abandon such a kind-hearted person. In this apocalypse, he needed teammates like her—people he could trust without doubt.

He turned to the others, who silently nodded in agreement.

“I’ll buy her citizen status,” Wang Zhi declared to the staff.

After the staff member confirmed, Wang Zhi’s team account was charged 1000 survival points.

From this moment, Jia Liuli officially became a citizen, the first refugee to transition into a citizen in the Dawn Tower. After the paperwork was completed, the staff handed her a magnetic card with ID number 10001.

This marked Jia Liuli as the very first person to transition from a refugee to a citizen within the Dawn Tower.