6. Prison Military's Issued Weapons

This was the fundamental reason Charles dared to lie openly. To check the records of an Empire bureaucrat, one needed to specifically go through volumes of files, and in the Fars Empire, where catalog indexing was not yet popularized, browsing through files was a taxing job. No one could expose his lies on the spot.

Charles didn't believe anyone would check the records afterward just to catch a "parasite" like him. There were far too many people to offend, and the entire bureaucratic system would resist "correction."

First, Charles returned to the Central Government Office and bought some bagels for breakfast along the way. It was only a pity that there were no streetside shops selling fresh cow or sheep milk throughout the Fars Empire, or else it would have been perfect.

While eating his bagels, Charles pushed open his office door and saw Mrs. Aldergunde. He showed her the transfer order he obtained yesterday.

Mrs. Aldergunde was quite surprised and made a rare attempt to persuade him, "The work environment and promotion opportunities at Kilmainham Prison are not as good as those of the Central Government Office. Are you sure you want to consider it more?"

With a helpless shrug, Charles said, "If I had a way to refuse, I would have already refused."

Mrs. Aldergunde sighed and signed her name.

The colleagues in the office all looked delighted at someone else's misfortune, with several of them secretly thinking, "Fortunately, it's Charles who's going; otherwise, the unlucky person transferred to Kilmainham Prison might have been me."

The transfer order did not specify Charles's exact position after his transfer to Kilmainham Prison.

Nor would Charles intentionally boast about it.

This was an entirely unnecessary and childish act that would only bring trouble and complications to his career.

After hurriedly departing the office he had been in for two years, he went to visit the personnel department. In less than an hour, he finished all the procedures, left the Central Government Office, hailed a public carriage, and went straight to Kilmainham Prison.

On his second visit to the Empire's oldest prison, Charles was already familiar with the process.

With the assistance of Mrs. Pascal, the reception secretary, he swiftly completed the onboarding process and became a 37th-grade bureaucrat of the Empire, the Clerk Chief in the warden's office at Kilmainham Prison.

As a former first-grade clerk and 41st-grade national employee of the Empire, Charles's weekly salary was one Fu Er and seventy Sheng Ding.

After his promotion to Clerk Chief, now a 37th-grade national employee, his weekly salary increased to six Fu Er and fifteen Sheng Ding, roughly 3.6 times his original salary.

Translated into Earth's purchasing power, it was the equivalent of a nearly 50,000 monthly salary, already among the high-income group with golden-collar earnings.

Having dealt with his official duties, Charles thanked Mrs. Pascal and politely inquired, "Where should I start working?"

He certainly couldn't share an office with Miss Menier Nierman; it would be against the rules.

As Clerk Chief, he should theoretically have his own independent office, and Charles was looking forward to his new work environment.

Mrs. Pascal smiled slightly and said, "You will need to go and collect the prison guard's gear, including a handgun, baton, and side sword. Although you are a civilian employee, you are now part of the prison military, and it's very likely that you will face threats and combat. These items are indispensable."

Charles couldn't help but ask, "Will there be violent incidents at Kilmainham Prison?"

Mrs. Pascal smiled and replied, "The last time there was violence in the prison was before Lady Black Moon took charge of the century. However, please do not refuse the weapons."

Charles smiled and answered, "I'm not refusing weapons."

He had been transferred from the harmless Central Government Office to a prison under the national machinery of violence; carrying weapons was an inevitable choice.

Of course, Charles didn't feel any danger here, not many places in the entire Empire were safer than Kilmainham Prison.

He followed Mrs. Pascal to the weapon room.

A middle-aged military man with a beard full of stubble muttered, "Another newcomer?"

Mrs. Pascal answered, "The Clerk Chief personally transferred by the warden.

The bearded middle-aged military man chuckled and said, "Then let's take good care of this little guy!"

"Come with me."

Mrs. Pascal said, "My work here is done, good luck to you. Your office is next to the warden's, and your name is on the door."

Charles quickly turned around, smiled politely, said goodbye to Mrs. Pascal, and watched her leave.

After waiting a moment, the bearded middle-aged military man asked, "Do you want the standard issue weapons, or would you prefer to pick some special ones?"

Charles raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the difference?"

The middle-aged military man with the beard explained, "The weapons room will have some confiscated weapons, slightly better in quality than the standard issue."

Charles asked, "Can I pick them out myself?"

The bearded middle-aged military man laughed, "Whatever you like!"

He took Charles into the weapons room, pointed, and said, "These are the standard issue weapons, and that little room in the back contains confiscated items."

The implication of the bearded man was very clear, the little room in the back stored Extraordinary Weapons.

In this world, there are gods, magical creatures, forbidden ancient artifacts, giants, barbarian sorcerers, members of the Blood Clan, magic, Fighting Spirit, Alchemy, and both Transcendents and Extraordinary Items.

Of course, the armory of Kilmainham Prison wouldn't have particularly fine Extraordinary Weapons; the best stock would've already been snapped up by the powerful and privileged. However, what remained was still extremely precious and absolutely not easy to come by outside.

Charles had yet to see an Extraordinary Item since arriving in this world, and in his memory, each Extraordinary Item was extremely expensive.

For example, the most common and cheapest magic lamps, used only for illumination, cost twelve Aegeus, way beyond his salary's capacity.

Extraordinary Weapons used for combat often value over one hundred Aegeus; in terms of purchasing power in Renminbi, they are worth more than two million, equivalent to an ordinary residence in a medium-sized city.

Unless there was a large amount of "extra income", Charles would never feel the urge to spend so lavishly on such expensive luxury items in his life.

The weapon racks outside were filled with all kinds of firearms.

The technology for gun manufacturing in this world was developing quite rapidly, with performance of firearms approaching that of Earth during World War I, and their design surpassing the aesthetics of the 2000s on Earth.

The Empire didn't have a police force, all duties typically carried out by police were done by military personnel instead, officially referred to as prison military, or Prison Armed Forces.

The handguns issued to the Prison Armed Forces, officially named the Magnum Hand Shuttle, had an eighteen-round capacity and featured superior close-combat capabilities. There was also a type of handgun similar to Earth's shotgun, called Thunder Gun, loaded with explosive rounds, a favorite "close-quarters heavy firepower" among prison military.