A young man in his early twenties dressed in burlap clothing asked curiously after Li De's figure had disappeared.
“That adult just now, was he a member of the saintlight vampires? Why does everyone respect him so much? Even the patrol officers don’t get treated like that.”
The freckle-faced boy he asked lifted his head with pride and replied in a haughty tone.
“Of course! That’s our City Lord, His Majesty Kachar, patriarch of the saintlight vampires and the protector of our Dawn City.”
After speaking, he turned to glance at the boy who had asked and added with prideful emphasis,
“Newcomer, His Majesty Kachar is the master of this city. No matter who you were before, no matter your background, in this place, you are a subject of His Majesty Kachar.
You must show enough respect to the master of this city. Otherwise, the only one losing face will be yourself.”
With that, he walked away with his head held high and chest puffed out. After all, he was a resident with 3 points of contribution. If these newcomers ran into him at the store, they would have to yield.
Thinking of that, a satisfied smile curled at the corner of his lips. Lately, in front of these new residents, he had fully enjoyed privileges he never had before. It felt amazing.
He could cut in line when shopping, use special priority channels without waiting, and even have his business at City Hall processed ahead of others if his contribution score was high enough.
Hearing this, the young man who had asked earlier curled his lips at the departing back and turned toward the Medical Department.
He understood the pride of these old residents, it came from having more contribution points. During this time, he had been cut in line countless times by them.
If this were the outside world, he would’ve had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure. But in this city, he could also enjoy those privileges.
“Just wait till I earn contribution points by donating blood, then let’s see if you still dare cut in front of me.”
City Hall had a regulation: new residents of Dawn City were not required to donate blood within the first three months. At first, he hadn’t planned to do so either. But now, he needed points, no one was going to stop him.
He wasn’t backing down.
As the only group with privileges in Dawn City, contribution point holders were naturally held in high regard.
The contribution point system was essentially equivalent to a noble hierarchy: the more points one had, the higher their equivalent rank.
The only difference was that nobility was something only a rare few could obtain, while contribution points were something anyone could earn, so long as they contributed to Dawn City.
The path of advancement was clearly defined.
This created a situation where those without points strove desperately to earn them in order to rise above others.
And those who already had points and were enjoying the power that came with them had no intention of losing that status, so they worked even harder to gain more.
Completely unlike the rigid and fixed nature of a noble system.
Of course, the current system was still far from perfect. That contribution points only accumulated and weren’t consumed was one issue. The rate of point gain was another.
But for the short term, it wasn’t a concern. Li De had a clear understanding: no policy was meant to last unchanged forever.
It only needed adjustments before problems arose. He would make the necessary changes in the future. As it stood, the point system could operate for at least five to ten years without major issues.
By then, who could say what level of development Dawn City would have reached or what kind of system would be designed?
So, while he knew the current system was imperfect, it was effective for now. Changes could always come later. After all, he was the sole boss here, whatever he said, went.
There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
That was the advantage of dictatorship.
He stepped into City Hall and headed directly to Harrison’s office on the second floor.
Without pause, he entered the open door and was slightly surprised by the scene inside.
Not only was Harrison present, Niko, that little girl, was there too. The two sat across from each other at the office desk, with several documents spread out. Clearly, they were discussing something.
Upon seeing Li De’s arrival, the two immediately stood and saluted.
“Good day, Patriarch.”
“Good day, Lord Kachar~”
Li De nodded and, without ceremony, took a seat on the sofa to the right of the office.
“How has the population acquisition plan progressed this month?”
Although Harrison had reported to him once during his seclusion, at the time, he had been at a critical stage in his magic modifications. Upon hearing that the plan hadn’t encountered any major problems, only that the beastmen invasion was somewhat unusual, he hadn’t paid it much attention.
At present, Li De’s primary role in Dawn City was to stabilize morale. As long as he remained within the city, everyone maintained a strong sense of unity. He didn’t need to do anything specific to reassure people.
Under such circumstances, the boss didn’t actually have much hands-on work to do.
Of course, this was also thanks to Harrison and his subordinates being highly competent.
The City Hall’s system was already fairly well-established, and for the population acquisition plan, they had prepared over ten contingency strategies three months in advance. Otherwise, Li De wouldn’t have had so much time to focus on studying magic.