Lingpingan leaned back on the chair, humming a little tune, and filled in the options on the phone screen with his fingers.
He was fulfilling his civic duty - filling out his annual tax return.
In the federal empire, taxpayer is a wonderful word.
Because most citizenship rights are closely related to paying taxes.
For example, the right to vote and propose rights are not innate.
The empire's voter qualifications are directly linked to tax payments.
If you don’t pay taxes, you won’t have the right to vote or propose proposals.
Nor can I take the national examination.
Therefore, in the federal empire, taxpayer qualifications are very important.
Even though, in fact, many people, especially low-income people, pay zero tax every year.
However, this tax return form must be filled out every year.
Moreover, it must be completed and submitted within the legal time.
Only in this way will the various institutions of the empire be willing to help you.
Otherwise, all federal agencies will refuse to serve you.
Because, you are not their service target.
Therefore, accountants in the federal empire are very popular.
People in the middle class and above need an accountant to help them fill out their annual tax returns.
First, carry out financial restructuring to reduce taxes as much as possible within the legal framework.
Second, it is to prevent some income from being legally declared in the manner stipulated by law, resulting in tax stains and thus affecting the federal services enjoyed.
But, people like Lingpingan are not needed.
Because of his tax file, he was directly classified into the third category.
That is, ‘other categories’.
He can enjoy special tax exemption policies with annual income of 200,000 and below.
Filling out this form is just going through the motions.
Therefore, he filled it out very quickly. If he encountered a problem, he could just check the third item.
Completed the form? Lingpingan put down the phone.
The annual civic duty is fulfilled.
Standing up, he stretched, then looked at the kitten Best who had been lying in the corner of the counter, and said: "Go to sleep!"
Best jumped off the counter and landed at his feet.
Lingpingan took out his blanket and put it at the door.
The little guy lay down obediently.
Lingpingan turned off the light and said to it: "Good night!"
So, I picked up my cell phone and walked upstairs.
The kitten is lying on the towel? The amber cat's eyes reflect the shadow of its owner.
It slowly closed its eyes.
Behind him, the pyramid is reflected.
Countless prayers and petitions? Are coming.
The thread of faith connects all the cat goddess temples in the Kingdom of Egypt.
Those tall ones? Temples built in the middle of cities.
Devout believers pray loudly.
The priests recited the sacred scriptures of the goddess.
They want to connect with their gods to receive power and favor from them.
but……
The Cat Goddess made no move.
He doesn't want to interfere anymore.
Is he just a pet? A pet should behave like a pet.
Can you take action? Lend your divine power to Egypt to eliminate civil strife.
Is this the limit? If you interfere any further, you may be beaten to death by a fist falling from the sky!
Besides...
Now? It’s a time of great strife.
Can the cat goddess feel it? The concentration of spiritual energy recovery continues to rise.
He understood that soon the ancient gods in this world would become active.
so……
What Egypt should do now is to calm down and lick its wounds.
Don't get involved in things you can't get involved in.
Don't even think about things you can't think about.
A small country with few people must have the consciousness of a small country with few people.
…………………………
Lingpingan took a bath, put on pajamas, sat on the sofa in the living room, and drank kvass.
The empty living room was very quiet.
I don't know why, but he doesn't feel sleepy at all now.
On the contrary, it is very exciting.
"what happened?"
For some reason, he had the urge to go out for a walk.
This kind of impulse has not appeared for who knows how long.
It seems... it seems...
When I was a child... I didn't know much, so I just liked to go out and play.
Climb the wall of the industrial park and sneak into the factory to cause trouble.
Or maybe you catch cicadas under the trees with your neighbor’s children, or fish for frogs on the river next to the industrial park.
However, when he grew up and became sensible, he disliked going out less and less.
A little further, the mobile Internet is coming.
Everything can be solved with a mobile phone, so you don’t even want to go out.
"Well..." He finished drinking a bottle of kvass and stood up: "It's okay, there's nothing to do... Let's go out for a walk..."
“The night market nearby…”
"The surrounding shopping malls and so on..."
With that said, he started to change clothes.
He has always been like this, doing whatever he wants and doing whatever he wants, without any hesitation.
He put on his clothes and shoes and walked downstairs.
Meow!
As if hearing his footsteps, the kitten at the door suddenly stood up and ran over quickly.
Lingpingan picked up the little guy and walked to the door without turning on the light. He took out the key and pulled up the rolling shutter door.
Then, he opened the door and looked at the quiet streets outside.
Tonight, the moon is sparse and the moonlight is as white as frost, shining on the city.
The street lights in the streets are on one by one.
The ivy on the wall of the industrial park opposite is clearly visible.
The evening breeze blew in the streets, making it a little bit cold.
Lingpingan hugged his cat, walked out of the door, and locked the door.
"Little darling..." Lingpingan said to his pet: "Let's go on an adventure tonight!"
Meow!
The kitten meowed softly, agreeing very much.
The amber cat's eyes reflected the image of its owner at this moment.
The head shrouded in mist slowly emerged.
Two bits of flowing fire, like bits of starlight, penetrated into the eye sockets.
An ordinary young man with cheap eye sockets appeared in the cat's eyes.
Lingpingan was already looking to the left, at the end of the street.
He remembered that when he passed through this street and turned left, there was a park.
So, holding the cat in his arms, he walked over.
It’s been a long, long time since I went to the back hill of the park to play at night.
……………………
"General..." Song Shihui was awakened from his practice by an emergency call: "He is out!"
Song Shihui immediately opened his eyes and interrupted this practice.
Then directly connect the large screen in your room to the monitoring center.
So, he saw a video that was sent to him.
The ancient god's already closed door was opened.
In the darkness, two streams of fire slowly appeared under the camera.
Shrouded in mist, the head is indescribable.
A thin young man appeared on camera.
He was holding his pet and appeared under surveillance.
Then……
The head filled with mist showed bits of flesh and blood, while the two points of flowing fire turned into dots of starlight, condensing a pair of black and white eyes.
He smiled.
It seems to be under surveillance.
That smile means a lot but is indescribable.
Then, He closed the door, turned around, and walked toward the end of the street.
The street lamp reflects Him, and His shadow is unremarkable.
Song Shihui was stunned.
He watched this video over and over again.
Because this video is the first time that evidence of the bookstore owner's form transformation is shown to the black guard.
Don't underestimate it, in that moment, everything changes from nothing to something.
because……
This probably means some kind of trust or acceptance.
It's easy to understand!
For example, many circles in the imperial capital cannot be entered with money.
If you are not qualified enough and are not recognized, no matter how rich you are, you will be turned away.
In the same way, this ancient god showed the moment of his form transformation in front of the camera without any covering.
This is a kind of trust.
It means acceptance and recognition in a certain sense.
otherwise……
The existence of this kind of person makes it impossible for outsiders to glimpse any of his secrets.
Even if the secret actually has no effect.
but……
"He goes out?" Song Shihui thought: "What does he want to do?"
Especially that meaningful smile.
Song Shihui kept replaying that smile in his mind, and he understood that this person went out at this time specially.
There must be a purpose.
But what does He want?
Song Shihui didn't know.
He could only tell Xia Ping on the other side of the communicator: "Start all monitoring methods immediately..."
"I want to know...His whereabouts..."
After thinking about it, he added: "If He doesn't want to, don't force it!"
The standard of unwillingness has already been set.
For example, the camera is not working properly...
In other words, monitoring cannot be ignored...
This is not allowed.
Even if it is a malfunction, it must be regarded as not allowed.
Because...the black guards must not take risks.
Any risky options must be eliminated!
This is wisdom!
The result of analysis by countless think tank staff.
………………………………
Lingpingan held his pet in his arms, walked through the quiet streets, and turned into a road.
This road, which used to be bustling with traffic, now has very few vehicles.
Occasionally you can see a passing taxi.
Lingpingan is also used to it.
Since then, the factories in the industrial park have either closed down or been relocated.
A large number of workers and their families, along with their machines, were packed and loaded onto freighters and sailed to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Southern Zhou Dynasty, and Western Song Dynasty.
Manufacturing is slowly disappearing from the country.
The rise of the service industry.
A new economic cycle begins.
The depression in Chengdong District is already doomed!
Continuing forward, passing through two intersections, the shadow of a park built on a mountain appears in front of you.
When we arrived here, the market became lively.
Because this place has entered the traditional construction night market.
This night market has a history of a hundred years!
In the heyday of the industrial park, it was the most prosperous!
When I was a kid, Lingpingan often came here to play.
Because there is more than just a variety of delicious food here.
There are also various fun performances to watch.
Various performances and acrobatics from all over the country and overseas can be seen here.
pity……
Lingpingan walked in the night market for a while and then shook his head.
Traditional performances have disappeared.
This reminded him of the poor circus he encountered last time.
Those who are physically disabled but strong-willed, but still want to rely on themselves instead of being supported by the state.
He sighed.
"Technological progress is not always a good thing!" he said.
Under the wave of mobile Internet, his bookstore was a victim.
Acrobatics, circus, puppet show, monkey show...
Also a victim.
but……
This is the general trend of history!
Unstoppable and irresistible!
Those who obey will prosper and those who go against will perish!
Ordinary people like him have no other choice but to welcome him with open arms.
After walking out of the night market, he raised his head and looked at the park on the top of the mountain.
So, I walked up the steps of the mountain road.
This park has a history of hundreds of years. It was also built for the heavy industrial base back then. It is one of the infrastructure facilities that provides workers with leisure and entertainment.
Similar facilities once existed throughout Chengdong District.
pity……
now……
Lingpingan looked at the mottled steps and damaged fences around him.
This place has fallen into disrepair.
Fortunately, this park has enough historical heritage.
So, even though it was very late, there were still many people in the park on the mountain.
Most are old people and children.
Under the street lights, in the shade of trees and fountain squares in the park, people are walking or playing.
Lingpingan looked at it and felt a little childlike.
He hugged his cat and walked in.
Suddenly, he discovered that there seemed to be a crowd gathering at the foot of the downhill steps on his left.
Many old people gathered around a stall and talked about it.
Lingpingan walked over curiously, and saw a shirtless man sitting at the stall with a red cloth wrapped around his head.
A little girl, holding a gong, stood behind him.
She spoke politely to the crowd of onlookers, and held her hands like a little adult: "Dear elders, brothers and sisters..."
"We, father and daughter, came from Chu Land and passed by Guibao Land..."
"According to the teachings of our ancestors, please use your support to help your father and elders solve their problems!"
"If it works, please pay for it with one day's rent and food!"
As Lingpingan listened, he also saw what was placed in front of the muscular man.
It was a dustpan, and there seemed to be a thin layer of fine sand in the dustpan.
The man held a pen in his hand, his eyes were closed tightly, and he did not say a word. Only the little girl spoke behind him.
Lingpingan looked at it and suddenly became curious.
As a liberal arts student, he knows something like Fuqi.
It is probably an ancient feudal superstition.
Somewhat similar to God Fight.
only……
From the corner of Lingpingan's eyes, he caught a glimpse of a small bronze statue in front of the man's dustpan.
On the bronze statue, it is written in ancient traditional Chinese characters: The Queen of Taiyin, the Lord of God in the Clouds, and the Goddess of High Matchmaking.
A string seemed to be plucked in Lingpingan's heart.
An article I learned in school emerged involuntarily.
"The orchid bath is full of fragrance, and the beautiful clothes are beautiful..."
Qu Zi’s masterpiece is a must-read for all liberal arts students.
so……
"The god they support is Yun Zhongjun?"
This is interesting!
This is because most of the ordinary people who support the altar are Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, emperors and the like.
Shouldn’t it be that ancient beliefs and principles like Yunzhongjun’s have disappeared by now?
"No wonder they are so miserable..." Lingpingan thought.
Shouldn’t the current feudal superstitions be based on those gods that are more familiar to the general public?
