"I just need a temporary residence token," Jiang Chen said directly after hearing the explanation.
Other levels were certainly better — longer residence time. The price was something Jiang Chen could afford as well.
But for him, even a bronze-level residence token with ten years of residence rights was far too long.
He had no intention of staying on Winter Extension Island for ten years.
Forget ten years — he couldn't even accept three. He had only one goal: to leave as soon as possible. Leave Winter Extension Island, the sooner the better.
So a temporary residence token with one to three months of validity would be enough. If it wasn't sufficient when the time came, he could always renew it.
After all, Jiang Chen had no plans for long-term residence.
The masked leader felt slightly relieved upon hearing Jiang Chen's words. But then he couldn't help muttering inwardly, thinking this young man was being rather stingy — buying only a single temporary residence token?
However, given Jiang Chen's imposing manner, he didn't dare show any displeasure.
"Here are one thousand Heavenly Spirit Stones."
Since there was a rule, Jiang Chen naturally followed it.
The masked leader took the stones, and before long, returned with a temporary residence token and handed it to Jiang Chen: "This is a temporary residence token. You'd better keep it safe. In the City of Sin, if you don't have a residence token and get into trouble, don't blame me!"
Jiang Chen took the temporary residence token without saying a word.
He nodded, tapped the tip of his foot, and drifted through the city gate, entering the City of Sin.
The masked leader watched Jiang Chen's retreating figure and finally let out a breath of relief.
"Captain Yue, that kid doesn't look like a pauper — why so stingy?" a guard couldn't help but grumble.
"Exactly! After all that questioning, he only gets a temporary residence token? Captain Yue, that kid looks like a fat sheep."
"Yeah, Captain Yue, isn't it a bit of a shame to just let him go like that?"
Clearly, these guards weren't exactly upstanding citizens either. Using their position as guards to extort passersby and those entering the city was probably a regular occurrence.
With someone like Jiang Chen — a new face who clearly wasn't a pauper — he was an ideal target for them. Despite wearing guard uniforms, those in the City of Sin who bore that title might actually commit more evil than anyone else.
Because they could commit evil under the guise of a guard's identity, making them even harder to guard against.
If it hadn't been Jiang Chen but some other young person, they would likely have been cowed by these fellows on sheer intimidation alone.
The reason the masked leader had been so cooperative afterward was entirely because he had been awed by Jiang Chen's Evil Golden Eye.
But after the initial shock wore off, the masked leader's mind grew excited again.
Because he had a premonition that this young man was a fat sheep. Such a fat sheep, if he didn't take a cut, would be a lifelong regret.
So while he had appeared respectful on the surface, he had actually pulled some tricks behind the scenes.
These tricks, Jiang Chen was unaware of.
Now that Jiang Chen had entered the City of Sin, his first act was to observe his surroundings.
The City of Sin couldn't really be called prosperous — it was far from matching a great human metropolis like the Glazed King City.
However, when Jiang Chen first set foot in the City of Sin, his first impression wasn't about how prosperous it was, but rather how many people there were!
The streets were filled with people, a constant flow of traffic.
It seemed as though every person on the entire Winter Extension Island had poured into the City of Sin.
"Handsome, you've come a long way — need a room?"
"Young man, our Chunman Tower has the most ladies, and they're the best at caring for guests. Want to come in and sit?"
"Brother, need a rest? Our Gaosheng Teahouse is where cultivators gather — it's the liveliest spot. You can often hear all sorts of news there."
As soon as Jiang Chen's unfamiliar face appeared, similar approaches flooded toward him from all along the street.
Jiang Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This time, he truly understood what was meant by madness.
The City of Sin was simply an extremely crazy place. Everyone here seemed as if they'd been injected with chicken blood, brimming with enthusiasm.
But Jiang Chen saw through everything like fire — under his Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil, behind those hypocritical faces lay concealed ill intent.
Jiang Chen naturally had no intention of entertaining anyone's pitch. He simply strode forward.
His goal was to find a more reputable-looking inn and secure a place to stay first.
As he was walking, a sudden burst of shouting erupted from the side, followed by an extremely unpleasant voice: "You little brat, you owe Master Jiu money and you're already half a month past the deadline! Go on and hide — keep hiding! See if you can hide your way underground!"
The coarse voice came from the side. A ragged young man darted out from an angle, rushing past Jiang Chen.
The pursuer behind was hot on his heels.