NOVPUB"Identify yourself!" an Extractor shouted at a person who had appeared in front of the city gates.
"My name is Tarren Skylander, and I come from Sunken Ground City," Nick said, disguised as a smaller man with silver hair.
"What is your business with Gourmet City?" the guard asked.
"I am here to join the city and to found a Manufacturer," Nick answered.
The guard was taken aback when he heard that. "You want to make a new Manufacturer?"
"Yes, that is what I intend to do. I heard that the city's policy regarding new Manufacturers is very lenient. I always wanted to own a Manufacturer, but that is sadly not possible in Sunken Ground City," Nick answered.
The guards talked with each other.
"Wait here!" one of the guards shouted.
Nick did just that, and a couple of seconds later, a strong Extractor walked out of the city.
From what Nick could tell, this Extractor was a Mid Specialist.
"You want to create a Manufacturer?" the person asked.
"Correct," Nick answered with a smile. "I hope that's okay."
"We are always looking for new Manufacturers, and we could certainly use another Specialist in the city," the man said with a friendly smile. "My name is Jonathan Leery, and I'm a representative of Big Gourmand, the largest Manufacturer in Gourmet City."
Nick shook Jonathan's hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Why don't you come in? Oh, I almost forgot. You are fine with undergoing a series of tests to make sure that you are not a Specter, right?" the man asked.
"No problem," Nick answered.
Jonathan led Nick to the gate, and one of the guards took out a couple of devices.
First, the guard held some form of stick to Nick's body.
"Mid Specialist," he said. "No signs of Specter Zephyx."
Then, he activated another device, and Nick's Barrier activated. Naturally, Nick had changed his Barrier.
"Credentials check out," he said.
Finally, the man took out a small needle and pricked Nick's finger.
He put the needle into a tube and added some powder.
A moment later, the blood turned bright red.
"Human," he said before looking at Jonathan. "Everything checks out."
"You may enter. Welcome to Gourmet City!" the guard said, politely welcoming Nick.
"Thank you," Nick answered.
Then, Jonathan and Nick entered the city.
When Nick entered, he acted like he was surprised by what he saw.
Of course, he had already scouted out the city before officially joining.
Gourmet City was rather sizable. It was around five kilometers across, and it was filled with many tall and clean buildings.
There was even some greenery here and there, which was a luxury in most cities.
Surprisingly, there were almost no poor people walking on the streets.
Everything seemed pretty nice, but since this was a city controlled by Gluttony, there had to be a dark undercurrent.
And it was actually quite easy to see that undercurrent.
"The people seem… quite healthy," Nick said.
Jonathan laughed a bit. "They're all fat."
Sure enough, over 90% of people were morbidly obese.
Around 50% of them were driving around in little carts since they couldn't even walk anymore due to their weight, while the other 50% walked slowly while sweating profusely. R
