Chapter 476: Chapter 475 City Guardian Medal

Shao Zifeng quietly looked out the window. Apart from the damage to the city hall guesthouse and the commercial district of Bin City in the previous day’s battle, other areas of the city had not been greatly affected.

However, as the commercial district was the economic artery of Bin City, the emergency repairs there had noticeably increased the number of pedestrians and private cars on the streets.

Many parents, taking advantage of this rare paid vacation, chose to take their children out for a day of fun.

The commercial vehicle progressed slowly through the congested traffic, and Shao Zifeng watched for a while, his thoughts slowly returning to Qiuqiu, wondering how the little one was doing now.

Tsk–

It was unclear how much time had passed when the commercial vehicle smoothly stopped at the Bin City bus station.

The driver quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and jogged to the rear seat to open the door, “Mr. Shao, please.”

Somewhat distracted, Shao Zifeng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said thank you.

After he got out of the car, the driver quickly moved the luggage from the trunk, and just as Shao Zifeng was about to receive it, the driver shook his head with a smile, “Mr. Shao, Mayor Han is still waiting for you in the VIP room. I’ll take your luggage to the car, please rest assured.”

Shao Zifeng hesitated slightly, then nodded, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

Shao Zifeng had been mentally prepared to meet Han Jiugong.

After the driver left, he quickly found the VIP room following the signs.

Before Shao Zifeng could approach the VIP room, Secretary Huang, who had been waiting at the door, saw him.

Moments later, Han Jiugong came up with several people, “Little Shao is here, have you eaten yet?”

“Mayor Han.”

“How many times have I told you, just call me Uncle Han,” Han Jiugong said with a reprimanding tone, his gaze on Shao Zifeng as if he were looking at his own younger relative, “Come, let me introduce you, this is–”

The people following Han Jiugong mostly held important positions. Each of them had nothing but praise for Shao Zifeng, but unfortunately, after a round of introductions, he only remembered two captains in military uniform.

They were part of the Imperial Dragon Corps and the Running Rhino Corps, holding positions slightly higher than those assigned to protect him.

Possibly noticing that Shao Zifeng wasn’t very interested, Han Jiugong grabbed Shao Zifeng’s arm, “Let’s not stand here any longer, let’s go inside to talk.”

After Secretary Huang closed the door, everyone sat down on the single sofas inside the VIP room, with Shao Zifeng seated next to Han Jiugong.

“These past few days have indeed been very busy, I have neglected our little hero.”

As Han Jiugong finished, laughter in agreement rose from the room. He continued, “This time, there should have been a commendation ceremony for you, but it wasn’t permitted by the higher-ups, don’t mind it, Little Shao.”

Shao Zifeng quickly shook his head, “There’s no need for trouble, I didn’t really help much.”

Hearing this, Han Jiugong grew even more appreciative of Shao Zifeng, “Although we can’t publicly commend you, you shouldn’t lack for honor either, Mr. Huang.”

Secretary Huang approached with a box in hand, “Mayor.”

Standing up to receive the box, Han Jiugong surveyed the people in the room, “In recognition of Shao’s contributions to Bin City, the city hall has decided to award him the title of Honorary Citizen and the Guardian Medal as encouragement, let’s applaud.”

Applause broke out, and in the presence of everyone, Han Jiugong solemnly handed the shiny golden medal to Shao Zifeng.

Looking at the heavy medal in his hands, Shao Zifeng’s first thought was whether this thing was made of gold.

Ahem.

“Just kidding.”

But to be honest, even though he had heard of the City Guardian Medal before, this was still his first time seeing it in person.

This City Guardian Medal was shaped as a pentagram, with an ancient shield in the center. On the shield, the Chinese characters for “guardian” were engraved in clerical script, supported by waves representing Bin City below.

Apart from its glistening golden color, its design was quite simple.

Yet, it was this simple medal that many recipients could not receive personally; instead, it had to be collected by their direct relatives.

As Shao Zifeng knew, the primary recipients of the city series medals targeted internal members of the Abnormal Administration Bureau, as well as those who had made great contributions to protecting the city.

Depending on the contribution, the medals were divided into three levels: City Lookout, City Guardian, and the highest level, City Sacrificial.

As the lowest of the three levels, the City Lookout required a great sacrifice to earn, and generally involved serious injury or disability. Virtually every city had a few recipients of this medal.

The second level, the City Guardian, was much harder to obtain. In a city battle, one had to either withstand the attack of high-level mutant creatures alone or protect the lives and property of over a thousand people, thus demanding a certain level of strength from the recipients.

If the recipients of the first two levels still had a fair chance of personally receiving their medals, those who received the City Sacrificial Medal, being of the highest level, truly could only be represented by relatives.

The requirements for this medal were extremely strict; it was issued only if the city was completely overrun. The criteria included having made a significant effort to protect the citizens and having fought for the city until the last drop of blood was shed.

Take the previous fall of Su City, for example. Despite meeting the basic conditions for issuing the City Sacrificial Medal, a post-event review revealed that major casualties were caused by decision-making errors within the Abnormal Administration Bureau, and thus, after weighing the merits and demerits, not even a City Lookout Medal was awarded.

As Shao Zifeng understood, the City Guardian Medal he held was the highest an individual could receive in his position. As for the national level of medal systems, they were mostly designed for military personnel, and as a civilian, he wasn’t familiar with them.

Seeing Shao Zifeng intently looking at the medal, Han Jiugong smiled and said, “Don’t underestimate this medal; apart from being Bin City’s honor, it also has significant utility.”

“Ah?” Shao Zifeng looked up at Han Jiugong.

He had only a vague understanding of the city series medals. Hearing that they had practical use piqued his curiosity.

“Hehe,” Han Jiugong said with an intriguing expression. “You’ll find out the real perks once you have kids. Whether it’s about residency, schooling, or employment, your child will have an advantage over others.”

That’s it?

Shao Zifeng was baffled.

So this is a practical effect of the medal. I don’t even have a girlfriend, okay!

“Hahahaha.”

Seeing the bewildered look on Shao Zifeng’s face, a group of old men in the room burst into barbell-like laughter.

At that moment, Secretary Huang suddenly leaned over and whispered a few words into Han Jiugong’s ear.

With the smile fading from his face, Han Jiugong raised his hand to check the time. “It’s getting late, and Xiao Shao still has to catch the train. Let’s call it a day.”

After speaking, he grabbed Shao Zifeng’s arm and led the way out first.

Once out of the VIP room, Han Jiugong mysteriously pulled out a roll of wax paper from his pocket and stuffed it into Shao Zifeng’s hands.

“This is the third reward. Take good care of it; it will be of great use during the national competition.” After saying that, he patted Shao Zifeng’s shoulder with a smiley face. “That’s all for today, Xiao Shao. Visit Uncle Han when you have time. I won’t see you out.”

Shao Zifeng glanced at the wax paper and replied, “Then, Uncle Han… until we meet again.”