45: Chapter 45 Legal Status

After successfully passing the inspection by the secret realm guards, Wang Chen took Mo Yufei and quickly headed towards Tieyuan City in a hovercar.

The city's neon lights became increasingly clear in the night, the outlines of metal buildings cold and towering. Streaks of light sped across the lanes, fully displaying the prosperity and alienation of The Apocalypse's technology.

Xiao Hei's ears twitched from time to time, alert to the surroundings, while the Parrot Benboerba was restless, flapping its wings and squawking occasionally, its crisp voice especially noticeable in the night wind.

"Next, we will head to the city's Identity Management Bureau to get you a legal identity."

Wang Chen turned his head to look at Mo Yufei beside him, his tone steady.

"I will vouch for you and provide an endorsement as a researcher from Xing Shu Academy, which will make the processing much faster. You only need to cooperate with the information verification. In this world, you can barely take a step without identification, especially given your status as a native of the secret realm; it requires formal registration even more."

Mo Yufei nodded, his voice soft: "Thank you for the trouble."

Although he knew nothing about the rules of the outside world, he understood the importance of identity and completely trusted the person before him.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the Identity Management General Bureau of Tieyuan City.

The building was made entirely of alloy, its walls gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster. At the entrance, there were energy security gates and holographic verification equipment. People coming and going looked hurried, and the security guards on duty wore standard-issue gear, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Wang Chen walked straight to the administrative window and displayed the silver badge of a Xing Shu Academy researcher. The star track patterns and blue light crystals on the badge immediately made the staff member at the window show respect.

"I need to register the identity of this native who awakened from the secret realm. I am vouching for him as a researcher from Xing Shu Academy, and I will take full responsibility."

The staff member dared not delay and immediately pulled up the registration system, entering and verifying the information one by one according to the "Secret Realm Sleeping Ancestor" identity information provided by Wang Chen.

During this period, multiple tests including energy fluctuations and genetic samples were conducted. The entire process took nearly an hour. Eventually, all procedures were successfully passed, and an identity bracelet glowing with pale blue holographic light patterns was produced and officially placed in Mo Yufei's hands.

It was marked with his name and identity information. A special section also noted his qualification as a Beast Master. During the earlier test, the instrument had captured the contract energy fluctuations between him, Xiao Hei, and Benboerba, automatically classifying him as a Beast Master and requiring the simultaneous completion of Beast Master qualification registration and beast information filing.

"Next, we need to verify your Beast Master qualification and register your beast information. This world has strict controls on beasts; each one must be filed and archived." Wang Chen pointed to the Beast Master testing station beside the window and said to Mo Yufei.

Throughout their journey, Wang Chen had only seen Mo Yufei's sensory dog, Xiao Hei, and that Parrot that had no records. He had already been secretly surprised, having checked the beast encyclopedia and failed to find Benboerba's species, deducing that it was an ancient beast that had gone extinct during the Calamity.

At this moment, thinking Mo Yufei only had these two beasts, he signaled him to summon the two contracted beasts for testing.

But the scene that followed made Wang Chen's eyes widen instantly, full of surprise.

Seeing this, Mo Yufei closed his eyes slightly, and with a thought, a faint spatial halo appeared before him.

First, a snowy white figure leapt out—a white cat with fluffy fur and a cute appearance. After landing, it meekly rubbed against his pant leg; it was the healing spirit cat, Xue Rong.

Immediately after, another small animal with a petite figure, fur gleaming with a pearly white luster, and a fluffy tail darted out. Its round eyes were full of liveliness, its nose pink and tender, and it looked extremely cute.

Finally, another cat with grayish fur and keen eyes quietly appeared and sat silently to the side.

In just a short moment, besides Xiao Hei and Benboerba, Mo Yufei summoned three more beasts, totaling five contracted beasts neatly surrounding him. They all looked different but all exuded spirituality.

Wang Chen was completely stunned, his originally composed expression full of surprise, and he spoke instinctively: "I originally thought you only had two beasts, Xiao Hei and the Parrot. I didn't expect you to have three more... These two cats are rare, but I have never seen this small beast, and there is no record of it in the encyclopedia."

Mo Yufei looked at Wang Chen's surprised expression and explained softly, pointing to the small, snowy white animal: "This is a White Ferret named Xiao Bai. It can control the power of lightning and is my contracted beast. These two are spirit cats; one is the healing-type Xue Rong, and the other is Da Bai, which possesses enhancement abilities. Adding Xiao Hei and Benboerba, there are five in total."

The staff member was also stunned on the spot and hurriedly activated the beast detector to scan the five beasts one by one.

The test result for Benboerba still showed "No record, suspected extinct ancient species." The White Ferret Xiao Bai and the two spirit cats were also not in the existing beast directory; they were all extremely rare species.

Wang Chen regained his composure and looked at the five spiritual beasts before him, his shock deepening.

As a native awakened from the secret realm, Mo Yufei not only had a special status but actually possessed five unrecorded ancient beasts. Especially that extinct species of Parrot and the unrecorded White Ferret—such fortune was truly rare.

His gaze towards Mo Yufei held a bit more inquiry and solemnity, but it also strengthened his resolve to protect him.

The verification process was successfully completed, all five beasts were filed, and Mo Yufei's Beast Master qualification officially took effect.

Holding the brand-new identity chip and beast registration certificate, Mo Yufei finally truly possessed a legal identity in this world, taking the first step towards integrating into the outside world.

Wang Chen tidied up the relevant certificates and looked at Mo Yufei, who was accompanied by his five beasts, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "Alright, the identity is settled. Next, I will take you back to Xing Shu Academy to get settled first, and then we can slowly get familiar with this world."

After finishing the identity registration and Beast Master qualification verification, the two of them walked out of the Identity Management General Bureau with the five spirit beasts, standing on the vibrant, neon-lit street.

Neon lights reflected on the metal road surface, hovercars skimmed low overhead, and the evening breeze carried the cool, mechanical scent of the city.

Wang Chen stopped in his tracks, his expression changing from its usual composed gentleness to become exceptionally solemn.

He turned his head to look at Mo Yufei beside him, his gaze sincere and firm.

"There is something I must make clear to you."

Mo Yufei looked at him curiously and asked: "What is it?"

"Back in the depths of the secret realm, I accidentally encountered a siege by beasts and was in a desperate situation. It was you who stepped in and saved my life. I cannot simply act as if this debt of gratitude never happened."

Wang Chen's tone was slow and steady: "I have already officially reported the discovery of the high-level energy crystal mine in the secret realm to Xing Shu Academy, and also filed it with the Alliance Energy Administration."

He paused and patiently explained the rules to Mo Yufei: "The Alliance has ironclad laws. Anyone who discovers an undeveloped energy crystal mine receives one of two rewards after reporting it. Either they are directly granted a huge sum of credit points—which is the common currency of this world—or they wait until the mine is officially exploited and permanently enjoy a ten percent share of the total output."

"This rule was set to prevent anyone from discovering a mine and secretly concealing it to monopolize the resources, which would trigger fighting and chaos."

After speaking, Wang Chen looked directly at Mo Yufei, his tone leaving no room for negotiation, his attitude very firm: "This crystal mine was preserved and successfully reported because of you, so you deserve half the credit. Therefore, regardless of whether we end up taking the credit point reward or the ten percent mining share, I will split half with you."

Mo Yufei hurriedly waved his hands, declining somewhat embarrassedly: "No, no, I only helped a little. You were the one who fought the enemies. You helped me get an identity and vouched for me; that is already more than enough. How could I take your benefits as well?"

Having died once, Mo Yufei was naturally indifferent by nature. He had no concept of wealth or credit points and was even less willing to take advantage of Wang Chen for nothing.

Wang Chen shook his head slightly, his expression unyielding, his tone exceptionally serious: "Don't decline. First, you saved my life; I cannot owe this debt of gratitude. Second, without you, I would never have been able to walk out of the secret realm, let alone discover and report the crystal mine. This credit should naturally include you."

"The Alliance's reward will be approved soon. When it is, I will deposit it directly into your identity chip account. You have just arrived in the outside world; you need to settle down, raise your beasts, buy supplies, and get familiar with city life. Credit points are needed everywhere, and you are currently in need of money."

His tone softened, carrying sincere conviction: "It is settled. Don't be polite with me anymore. In my heart, you are no longer a stranger, but a trusted companion. I will not give you one cent less than what you deserve."

Mo Yufei looked at the sincerity and determination in Wang Chen's eyes and knew that his mind was made up. Declining further would only seem distant.