Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1201 - 1194: Going Back to School

Chapter 1201: Chapter 1194: Going Back to School

These astonishing feats caused a huge stir in the Otherworld, showing all its inhabitants that Earth’s industrial civilization could indeed bring benefits, that not all Earthlings were greedy, and that there were those truly willing to trade with them on an equal and fair basis.

Thus, the people of the Otherworld began to aspire to migrate to Lipei. By the third year of migration applications, the number of registrants once exceeded two hundred thousand, with more continuing to arrive. In the Otherworld, with its disadvantages in transportation and communication, this was an astonishing figure.

As immigrants continued to pour in, it was certain that the existing land would not be sufficient to distribute, and it was not possible to provide new immigrants with land anymore. So, these additional new immigrants could only be recruited into municipal projects led by the district government to hasten Lipei’s modernization.

Due to the lack of large construction equipment in the Otherworld, they had to rely heavily on manpower, thus, a project often required a very large number of people.

Overall, the salary of a worker from the Otherworld was definitely not comparable to that of an Earth worker, but the sheer number of people made up for it. With so many people involved, the salaries paid out were quite staggering. If it were a private enterprise, it would definitely be unsustainable. However, these projects were all guaranteed by the district government, so there was no need to worry about the funds.

The district government spent so much money not because it had excess funds with nowhere to spend them, but rather to control the unemployment rate, stabilize these new immigrants, and prevent them from causing trouble in Lipei due to idleness.

At the same time, the district government also accelerated the construction of industrial parks in the Otherworld, and then sent these new immigrants to work in factories to maximize the mitigation of unemployment.

In the future, the main industries of Lipei will certainly be tertiary industries related to trade, but primary and secondary industries should not be neglected. It’s not reasonable to invest solely in tertiary industries just because they are profitable, thereby neglecting primary and secondary industries and letting the capitalists earn huge profits while the ordinary people suffer from unemployment and poverty.

No matter what, this did not align with the country’s goals nor with the founding principles of the Lipei district.

Because there was a district government, the headquarters only needed to take care of Lipei’s military defenses, and Wang Xu and his team were relieved that headquarters had not taken full control of Lipei but had instead established a special district government.

They witnessed firsthand that the staff of the district government almost never had time to rest; they basically had to rush to Lipei as soon as they started work, and sometimes, just as they had warmed their seat, trouble would come knocking, necessitating immediate attention.

The high intensity of the work overwhelmed many employees of the Lipei district government, and quite a few even suffered from mild Magic Power Erosion. Over three years, more than a hundred people resigned from the district government, including two district chiefs.

However, all their efforts were not in vain. When they first took over Lipei, it was a derelict small city with beggars as the majority of its population. But by the third year after takeover, Lipei had transformed into a modern city with a distinctive Otherworld style, teeming with people in its streets and rows of diverse goods for sale, accompanied by street vendors.

The perfect municipal facilities kept the streets of Lipei incredibly clean, with Earth’s industrial style and the Otherworld’s historic architecture blending perfectly here, making everyone walking through Lipei City feel very comfortable.

Thanks to the improved environment in Lipei, the district government started considering promoting tourism from within the country to Lipei. However, due to the risks of Magic Power Erosion, Earth’s tourists could only stay in Lipei for one day and were also subjected to a quota limitation.

Despite this, the one-day Lipei tours became increasingly popular domestically. Since their launch, the slots were snapped up in seconds. Many who missed out called on the official website to increase the quota.

With the establishment of Lipei, news of sub-race people and Otherworld cities spread rapidly domestically, and many had come to accept the concepts of sub-race people and inhabitants of the Otherworld. Yet, despite this acceptance, Shenghua Academy and Haiya Academy remained military zones forbidden to the public, who were only allowed to visit Lipei for tourism.

Simultaneously, with the rollout of the Elf Planet Project, the country also began purposefully promoting unions with the Otherworld, preparing to secure quotas for mixed-blood Elves, and thus launched the one-day tour travel packages to Yiniya and Yiniyal Towns with the slogan: "Love at first sight, meeting is the first love," calling for single men and women to visit the Elf towns for a chance at a beautiful marriage.

Over three years, Luo’er and others witnessed Lipei’s development from a broken-down small town into a cosmopolitan international city. Walking on its bustling streets, they could still vaguely remember having once battled here.

One day, Luo’er and Ziang were walking on the streets of Lipei after just returning from Meila Village, planning to head back to Shenghua Academy to rest.

"Without seeing this city’s bricks, I wouldn’t even know this is Lipei," Ziang looked around and shook his head emotionally as he observed the modern buildings on the street.

"Isn’t it good though? It actually has its own unique character," Luo’er said, coming out of his reverie with a smile.

"Ah, we were fighting so hard here initially, and now it’s become a path we must take," Ziang said.

"Yes," Luo’er reflected, "Who would have thought that one day we would have to reopen the Otherworld Gate after we had shut it down."

As they walked, they saw a Wood Elf being stopped by two patrol soldiers not far ahead, and being asked to show his papers, yet surprisingly, although the Wood Elf frantically expressed he had no papers, the soldiers did not trouble him further but simply waved their hands and walked away.

"This Lipei really treats Elves well, not caring even if they’re undocumented. I worry that sooner or later this will cause trouble," Cheng Ziang said with a shake of his head and a wry smile upon seeing this scene.

"Yes, I’m worried too. Now Yiniyal Town still has many illegal settlers, and it’s not enough that they stay in the town; they always think about moving to Lipei," Luo’er also expressed his concerns.

"Hiss, is there a difference between Yiniya and Yiniyal?" Cheng Ziang thought for a moment and couldn’t help but ask.

"No difference, in Elvish it’s the same word," Luo’er replied helplessly with a shrug.

"You’re saying this about the Wood Elf and the Night Elves," Cheng Ziang shook his head.

As they rounded the street corner, they saw a handicraft shop run by a person from the Otherworld. There was a chalkboard outside the shop, written in Tasta letters and crooked Chinese characters: Single mother, small business, firm price, expensive—don’t enter, harassment reported to police!!!

"This..." Seeing these full-of-flaw words, they both wanted to say something, but couldn’t utter a word for awhile.

"What would our guests like?" They were bending over reading the words when a tall Snow Elf came out. She wore a lazy expression, her drooping eyelashes concealing her beautiful pupils, giving off an tranquil bourgeoisie vibe.

"Nothing much, just looking around," they straightened themselves and Luo’er explained.

"Hmm, a Wood Elf and a Northern Aud person?" Upon seeing them, the Snow Elf slightly opened her eyes and assessed them, "Sort of kin, I’ll give you a discount."

"Buying one to gift a girl should be nice," Cheng Ziang turned to Luo’er and suggested.

"Are you really buying?" Luo’er asked.

"If I buy it, the girl is definitely going to like it," Cheng Ziang claimed.

"How do you know a girl would like it? Such straight male thinking," Luo’er said with a wry smile as they entered the shop.

The shop was filled with many exquisite ornaments, mostly made of metal. It was hard to believe that this seemingly gentle and frail Snow Elf had the skills to work with metal.

The most expensive item was a golden headdress locked in a glass case, a very typical accessory of the Elf Race with beautifully embedded gems, priced over fifty thousand yuan.

Usually, such headdress used Kedal metal, but as Lipei did not have Kedal metal mines, this headdress was entirely crafted from gold.

"Wow, this..." Even Luo’er was taken aback upon seeing the headdress and was momentarily lost for words.

"Oh, that headdress is not for sale; it’s bespoke, just put there for show," the Snow Elf answered nonchalantly.

"Not for sale?" They looked at each other perplexed.

"Yes, I heard that on Earth there is some prize or such, and the first place prize is this headdress, so they specially commissioned me to craft it," the Snow Elf replied with a slight shrug, her lazy tone tinged with a hint of pride.