City of Time: Falling into the kill zone at the start

Chapter 80 Next Step

To be honest, Lu Chen can't really be considered an innocent young man.

Although she had just graduated and had only been interning for a short time when she was diagnosed with late-stage cancer and participated in a dormant experiment, she was not entirely naive.

However, Yu's unprovoked, slightly teasing provocation ultimately made Lu Chen unable to resist, and he subconsciously looked away.

"That thing."

"I haven't put out my cigarette yet..."

Speaking vaguely, Lu Chen quickly turned to the side to avoid Yu's intensely amused gaze.

He stubbed out his cigarette haphazardly, then casually retreated to the outside of the mattress and sat cross-legged on the spot.

He appeared serious, but in reality, he took several deep breaths in succession, trying to calm his burning lower abdomen down a little.

At the window, Yu crossed her arms and looked at Lu Chen with amusement.

After a long while, he chuckled and moved his feet to sit on the edge of the mattress.

"I have no objection to bringing Zhao Jie out of the city."

"Subjectively, I don't think Zhao Jie being outside the city would be a disadvantage to us."

"Objectively speaking, I don't believe Zhao Jie has the ability to threaten us."

...

"If you're determined to repay my kindness, I'll go with you."

"The worst thing about favors is that you can't repay them."

"By repaying this favor, you won't have any lingering resentment later."

As she spoke, her jade-like face still wore a half-smile, her gaze subtly shifting downwards to sweep over the bulge in Lu Chen's abdomen.

Lu Chen pretended not to see it.

He forced himself to look away from the jade, pondered for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

"Then next time we go out of the city, we'll take Zhao Jie with us."

"I'll keep an eye on him once we get outside the city."

"Help him accumulate enough time to buy the pickup truck as soon as possible so he can register as a scavenger."

"After that, it was all up to him."

...

"I don't intend to collect his personal debts of [2 years] either—it's a long way off anyway, and there's a high probability that I won't be able to get them back."

"If you're interested, that private debt can be yours."

After saying this, Lu Chen finally calmed down.

Turning his gaze back to Yu, he saw that Yu's smile faded slightly, and she shook her head a little.

You must repay that private debt.

"Even if you know you can't get it back, you still have to sign that Private Debt Repayment Agreement."

"You need to make Zhao Jie understand that we're not helping for free, but rather that we're mutually benefiting."

...

"In the City of Time, you can owe favors and repay them."

"But you absolutely must not let the other party realize that you are repaying a favor."

"A small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment."

"He'll be clinging to you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen frowned and fell into a brief moment of thought.

Then, after a slight hesitation, he said, "Signing the 'Private Debt Repayment Agreement' means that we want Zhao Jie's dismembered body to be auctioned off."

"I'm worried that doing this will upset Zhao Jie..."

"--Won't."

Before he could finish speaking, Yu interrupted Lu Chen.

"He has come to realize and accept the order of the City of Time."

"—In the City of Time, nothing is free or time-free."

"He's already realized that."

"We have something in mind, so even if he feels uncomfortable, it will make him feel a little more at ease."

"On the contrary, the fact that we have no ulterior motives will arouse his suspicion, making him worry that we have ulterior motives or some unknown sinister intentions."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen hesitated for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

Lu Chen recalled that he had a similar mindset on the day he recovered.

At that time, Yu told Lu Chen that the bank debt of 6 years, with interest paid every month for 300 days, would cause Lu Chen to die within three months.

As for the private debt of [2 years] that Yu should have received for retrieving Lu Chen's hibernation pod, it is almost impossible to recover it.

Upon realizing this, Lu Chen's first thought was, why would Yu still help him?

Why not just let Lu Chen fend for himself, wait for him to die, dismember him, auction him off, and then get some meager compensation?

Even later, when Yu took Lu Chen out of the city to scavenge for scraps almost as a volunteer, Lu Chen still felt uncertain.

Although he didn't show it, Lu Chen suspected Yu for several days after his first trip out of the city, wondering if she had any malicious intentions towards him.

Similar to: In a resource-rich area, there is a ferocious mutated beast guarding the resources of that area;

To obtain resources from that area, you must feed the guardian beast;

Therefore, Yu planned to take Lu Chen there to feed that mutated beast or something...

...

"it is good."

"Before leaving the city, I will sign a Private Debt Repayment Agreement with him."

"I will also have Zhao Jie investigate the scavenger who picked up number 9530."

Seeing that Lu Chen had figured out the key points, Yu nodded in satisfaction.

He finally put away the playful and teasing expression on his face and became a little more serious.

That concludes the debriefing.

"Next, it's time for our next operation."

"Where should we go?"

As she spoke, Yu knelt up and picked up the gold with 869g remaining, as well as the capsule with fluorescent green numbers, from the shelf above the mattress.

【12:00:00:00:00】

A full 12 years.

The "10-year" portion was deposited into a capsule (number 9529) and given to Lu Chen and Yu as a thank-you gift.

The remaining two years were the scavenger rewards that his daughter, who was in hibernation pod number 9541, received in exchange for Lu Chen and Yu.

There is still time.

"Should we divide this time directly, or store it in a capsule first?"

Yu asked again, prompting Lu Chen to subconsciously reach out and take the capsule in front of him.

Looking at the fluorescent green remaining time displayed on the side of the capsule, I pondered for a moment;

Then, Lu Chen handed the capsule back to Yu.

Let's exist together.

"Both gold and the capsules are considered rare resources within the collective assets, and you are responsible for their safekeeping."

"The time inside the capsule will be divided 4-6 as agreed."

"From now on, when we store [capsules] or retrieve [time], we will do so in the same proportion."

...

"For example, if I plan to take out 40 days' worth of capsules, then you also need to take out 60 days' worth at the same time."

"Or, if you plan to store [60 days] in the [capsule], then I will also store [40 days] in it at the same time."

"In this way, the remaining time in the capsule will always be 40% mine and 60% yours."

"When we leave the city, we each write down how much we have saved, and when we return to the city, we each take out our share."

Yu reached out and took the capsule, nodding without hesitation, approving of Lu Chen's plan for handling the capsule and their time.

"As for the next trip out of the city..."

Lu Chen then hesitated for a moment, struggling with his decision.

He then said, "In areas with low radiation levels, anti-radiation clothing is needed."

"I suggest we go to the northern suburbs first."

"If the benefits from the northern suburbs are not enough, we will consider the less affected area."

...

"On the way back this time, we walked around the entire city wall."

"In the northern suburbs, let alone scavengers—we didn't even see tire tracks."

"We can go out of the city gate, travel 100 kilometers west along the city wall, then turn north for 200 kilometers to reach the northwest corner of the city."

"It's a 300-kilometer journey, which can be completed in a day."

"About four days for exploration, with two days for the return trip, that's enough time."

...

"Following the city wall, hiding in the sandstorm zone, and going around from the west to avoid the hibernation warehouse area in the eastern suburbs, the route is safe enough."

"In the target area: the northern suburbs, there was no risk of encountering other scavengers."

"Especially this time when we leave the city, we need to take Zhao Jie with us."

"The safer the route and the target area, the safer Zhao Jie will be for us."