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

Chapter 059 Just Thinking

Starting from the South Gate, it's exactly 100 kilometers to the southeast corner of the city wall.

Yu's pickup truck has a top speed of 40 kilometers per hour and takes two and a half hours to reach the southeast corner of the city.

After walking for about an hour and a half, covering approximately 50 kilometers, Lu Chen offered to switch partners.

Yu did not object and immediately stopped the car.

Lu Chen walked around the front of the car, sat in the driver's seat, and handed the Glock to Yu.

After starting the pickup truck, it did not continue to move forward along the city wall;

Instead, it turned right and went into the sandstorm zone for about 30 meters.

Stop the car where you can just vaguely see the city wall and turn off the engine.

He took out the white box of cigarettes that number 9529 had given him and handed one to Yu.

He took out a cigarette, lit it, and repeatedly brought it to his mouth, inhaling and exhaling.

His gaze, however, fell on the city wall not far away, whose outline was faintly visible.

"If someone is following us, they certainly can't be too far away."

"—Visibility is low in the sandstorm zone, and it's easy to lose track of someone if they're far away."

"If we get too close, we'll be easily discovered."

...

"Let's wait a few minutes and see if there's a car."

Lu Chen's caution was something Yu, a follower of the Gou Dao sect, was naturally happy to see.

He nodded with a smile and lit the cigarette in his hand.

He picked up the Glock again, examined it for a moment, played with it for a while, and then handed it to Lu Chen.

"How do I use it?"

Lu Chen turned his head slightly to the side and pointed to the safety on the gun handle.

"It's already loaded."

"Disengage the safety, aim at the target, and pull the trigger."

"--A 9mm caliber, with a range of 50 meters, the recoil must be considerable."

"It's best to hold the gun with both hands."

Yu nodded, mimicking Lu Chen's earlier gesture, lightly touching the safety pin with her thumb, and placed the Glock on her lap.

Then came a long silence.

About 10 minutes later, Lu Chen started the vehicle again and returned to the city wall.

The pickup truck once again headed towards the southeast corner of the city.

"No one should be following us."

Yu nodded silently.

The two remained unusually quiet throughout the journey.

Lu Chen did not take the opportunity of traveling to ask about the City of Time.

Yu, unusually, refrained from teasing Lu Chen, simply holding the Glock and gently closing her eyes.

We departed from the city gate at 11:30 a.m. and the pickup truck arrived at the southeast corner of the city at around 2:30 p.m.

After changing cars, they continued straight for more than an hour before finally exiting the sandstorm zone from the east.

The time has come to 16 PM.

We have already traveled about 150 kilometers, and there are still about 150 kilometers to go to reach our destination: the hibernation pod area.

The next stretch of road offers no cover from the sandstorms.

There was no cover of night.

Within the sandstorm zone, visibility was approximately 50 meters, but as the pickup truck drove out of the sandstorm zone, it became completely clear.

Within a few hundred meters, large targets such as vehicles and people can be easily spotted.

However, to Lu Chen's slight surprise, as the pickup truck drove out of the sandstorm, Yu's previously serious expression instantly relaxed.

"In the afternoon, most scavengers are busy digging."

"Once we're out of the sandstorm zone, we can detect them instantly if they're being followed."

Yu Rushi explained, and Lu Chen hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.

The main reason is that they have guns.

Even if they encounter other scavengers, the ones they should be afraid of are not Lu Chen and Yu, but rather the opponents who most likely do not have long-range killing methods.

Lu Chen and Yu didn't even need to fire a shot.

Showing off one's equipment is enough to scare away any scavengers who still have a modicum of sense.

"If we could really find that small hibernation pod..."

"Number 9529 might give us another 1000g of gold."

"We will each receive [4 years] of the reward and bonus for retrieving the hibernation pod."

"At the very least, there will be a total of [2 years] of compensation."

As she spoke, Yu took out the gold brick with a missing piece from her bosom and began to admire it with great anticipation.

Lu Chen gripped the steering wheel, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Why not hide inside the city?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Man smiled and looked at Lu Chen with amusement.

"Where to hide it?"

"apartment?"

"Or a bank?"

Lu Chen was speechless.

Yu withdrew her gaze, raised the gold brick to her eyes, and gently rested the back of her head against the chair.

"With such a large sum of money, it's definitely safest to carry it with me."

"If I stay in the city, I'm afraid I'll be distracted and my mind will be filled with thoughts of this piece of gold."

Lu Chen remained silent.

What Lu Chen actually meant was that only by leaving the gold in the city could Yu feel at ease with him.

Yu also most likely understood the implication in Lu Chen's words.

Although she didn't give a direct answer, she still expressed her trust in Lu Chen in this way.

—I'm not afraid of you 'murdering and robbing' me, killing me to keep all the gold for yourself.

"You have the nerve to call me a newbie."

...

"They trust everyone and have no suspicion whatsoever."

"I don't know how I've survived all these years..."

Lu Chen muttered something in a seemingly serious tone, which made Yu cover her mouth and chuckle.

The somewhat somber atmosphere lightened up a bit.

Then Yu turned around and took two slices of black bread from the backpack in the back seat.

He handed one of them to Lu Chen's mouth, and only after Lu Chen opened his mouth and bit it did he sit back in the passenger seat.

Chewing on a dark bread, he said softly, "After we return to the city this time, let's go see Zhao Jie together."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen took the black bread away from his mouth and quickly glanced at Yu.

Then Yu Yun said calmly, "If you want to repay a debt of gratitude, give Zhao Jie a way out."

"Then we'll have to let Zhao Jie scavenge."

"No one but you will truly help Zhao Jie."

...

"We are teammates."

"Being responsible for you is being responsible for the team and for myself."

"But I don't want Zhao Jie to join our team directly."

"We can take him a few times."

"Once he's familiar with the area outside the city, we'll have him buy a pickup truck and register as a scavenger."

After saying that, Yu turned her head to look at Lu Chen, her cheeks puffing out slightly, before gradually flattening out as she chewed.

Lu Chen chewed a few times symbolically before swallowing the black bread in his mouth.

He raised his hand and took another bite, his gaze still fixed on the road ahead.

"Zhao Jie has already used 300 days of his 365-day plan to pay this month's bank interest."

"He recovered on August 1st, and today is August 6th."

"Five days passed naturally. I bought mining clothes and a mining helmet, ate black bread, and stayed in a rope hotel."

"He should only have [59 days] left in his account."

Yu nodded slightly.

"Before September 30th, he had no pressure to repay bank interest."

"We helped him save up for 240 days to buy a pickup truck, so he could become a scavenger and then go out of town to scavenge alone."

Whether he can afford to pay the bank interest and survive is up to him.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen remained silent for a long time.

Only after Yu finished her black bread and cast a worried look at the driver did Lu Chen hesitate before saying, "I'm thinking..."

"Could I help Zhao Jie pay off his bank debts, just like you did?"

"And let Zhao Jie, like me, repay my private debts principal and interest monthly."

"In this way, his debt burden will be greatly reduced, and his chances of survival will be much greater."

"With a pickup truck, even if I become a scavenger, I won't be unable to pay off my personal debts, including principal and interest."

Yu Ying was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Where did you get '6 years' from?"

"You're not thinking of using gold to pay off Zhao Jie's bank debts, are you?!"

As she spoke, Yu's tone already carried a hint of anxiety.

But Lu Chen shook his head and sighed with a wry smile.

"Just thinking about it."

"Don't worry, I won't touch the gold—it's our collective asset."

"I was just thinking that maybe I could do that once I had enough time."

"I'm also worried that if Zhao Jie goes out of the city to scavenge and dies outside the city, we won't be able to recover this private debt."

...

"So, it's just a thought."