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

Chapter 81 Solving Accommodation

Yu also did not object to this point.

—The City of Time has four gates: east, south, west, and north.

The only gate that is open year-round for scavengers is the south gate.

If you leave the city through the south gate and head to the northern suburbs, you will inevitably have to walk around half of the city wall.

They either go around from the west or from the east.

Meanwhile, in the dormant warehouse area in the east of the city, a bloody storm that could last for more than a month, or even several months, has already begun.

For scavengers planning to leave the city, regardless of their destination, the eastern suburbs where the hibernation warehouses are located have become a "high-risk" area that they must detour around or avoid.

Unless, of course, the scavengers leaving the city are determined to participate in the bloody struggle for the dormant storage area, with the destination in mind.

...

Other scavengers might have doubts when faced with this problem, or rather, when making a choice.

But for Lu Chen and Yu, this was not a choice.

—Lu Chen and Yu have brought back four hibernation pods from that hibernation pod area.

Adding the hibernation pod that Yu brought back for Lu Chen alone, that makes five.

Among them, the two most valuable are undoubtedly the father and daughter, numbers 9529 and 9541.

In total, it brought Lu Chen and Yu 1000g of gold, one capsule, and a massive profit for a full 20 years.

Scavenger No. 9529's reward and bonus [8 years];

Scavenger No. 9541's reward [2 years];

And, the 10 years voluntarily given by No. 9529.

This huge profit greatly improved Lu Chen and Yu's situation.

First, thanks to this huge profit, Lu Chen became the fastest recoverer to repay bank debts since Genesis.

Although in the end, the bank debt with a main term of 6 years was restructured into a private debt with Yu as the creditor, with a total term of 7 years for principal and interest;

But for Lu Chen, the difference between the two was like heaven and earth.

The exorbitant interest rates on bank debt are self-evident.

Furthermore, of the 12 years that Lu Chen and Yu currently share, Lu Chen also has a portion, which is approximately 4 years and 9 months.

With this "deposit," repaying the principal and interest of the private debt for a total of 42 months (60 days per month) is naturally no problem for Lu Chen.

In other words, the most significant change this huge gain brought to Lu Chen was that his bank debts were paid off and he had nearly 5 years' worth of savings.

Although they are simultaneously burdened with private debt of principal and interest for 7 years, it is not a big deal.

...

Lu Chen's situation improved significantly, and Yu's "economic situation" also saw an extremely exaggerated increase due to this huge profit.

—On the day Lu Chen was revived, the remaining time on Yu's hand was only about 140 days.

When the two left the city for the first time, they only had 90 days left.

Yu also said in person that she had never owned it for 2 years.

After obtaining this huge profit, Yu Guang's "liquid funds" had reached nearly 8 years!

In addition to the savings of [8 years], there is also a private debt of [7 years] principal and interest, which Lu Chen will repay monthly over the next three and a half years.

—Lu Chen will definitely pay it back, and he can afford to.

This means that Yu's current wealth, in terms of time alone, has already reached a staggering 15 years!

Compared to farmers, ranchers, and even the big shots in the inner city, these 15 years might not seem like much.

However, among scavengers whose average net worth is less than 180 days, Yu's 'savings' over the past 15 years make him the richest scavenger.

...

The above describes the changes that this enormous gain brought to Lu Chen and Yu—to each of them.

Moreover, it is limited to the scope of [time].

In addition to the time, the two also received 1000g of gold.

Or rather, it was 869g of gold, plus two handguns.

Equipping them with firearms greatly enhanced their combat capabilities and their ability to withstand risks outside the city.

The 869g gold reserves give the two a very strong financial foundation.

Apart from a few extremely valuable fixed assets, there's nothing left in District 18 that the two of them can't afford due to their limited funds.

Then there's that [capsule].

It is worth at least 50 years in itself, and has the characteristic of 'storing time', which allows Lu Chen and Yu Weilai to save on bank fees every time they go out of the city.

...

In short: Lu Chen and Yu have already obtained enough benefits from the hibernation warehouse.

The two most valuable hibernation pods in the hibernation pod area have also been taken back by the two individuals.

For the two of them, engaging in a chaotic battle in the hibernation pod area just to get a regular hibernation pod would be a disproportionate risk to reward.

Therefore, once the battle in the hibernation silo area had settled and before the 'hibernation silo area' returned to ordinary scorched earth, that area had become a forbidden zone on the two's scavenging map.

Avoid it if you can, and go around it if you can.

The hibernation silo area is in the eastern suburbs. Lu Chen and Yu planned to go out the south gate to the northern suburbs, so they could only go around from the west side.

As for the light radiation zone of 300-500 kilometers, Lu Chen and Yu had discussed it before.

But in the end, the two decided that, just to be on the safe side, they should first go to the northern suburbs to check the situation.

Firstly, as Lu Chen just mentioned, Zhao Jie will be going out of the city with him this time.

If there are unstable factors in the team, then the route and destination should naturally be as safe and secure as possible.

Secondly, on their way back to the city last time, the two of them walked around most of the city wall.

As they passed through, they had already conducted preliminary surveys of the northern suburbs.

—Although it's just an estimate.

Although it was just a quick glance and a general observation of the situation, at least I went there.

Compared to the unknown low-radiation zone, the northern suburbs, which the two had already "inspected," were undoubtedly a safer choice.

"Then it's settled."

"—Next time we leave the city, take Zhao Jie with us and head to the northern suburbs."

"Tomorrow, we'll go to the city gate to register and queue up, and see when it will be our turn to leave the city."

"Go find Zhao Jie again and investigate the scavenger number 9530."

...

"It would be best if he were dead."

"If he's still alive, then we need to keep an eye on his movements."

"Especially before and after we left the city, did he follow us out of the city, or did he leave the city first to ambush us?"

Lu Chen, unsuspecting, nodded silently.

Then Yu took a deep breath, sat on the edge of the mattress, put her hands behind her back, and let out a long sigh.

"I estimate we'll have to wait in line for at least twenty days."

"The next time I leave the city may be in early September."

...

"You can take care of your accommodation during this time before leaving the city."

"I'll go to the black market and modify the car."

"The main issues are battery life and charging speed; it needs to be improved to at least 500 kilometers of range and fully charged in 3 hours."

"That way, even when we get outside the city, we won't waste too much time on range or charging."

After saying that, Yu seemed to remember something and hesitated for a moment.

Then he casually added, "If you don't mind an apartment like this, I can help you get in touch with one."

"Monthly rent [12 days], 12 days' deposit, 1 month's rent in advance."

"We might become neighbors."

...

"If you have other ideas, you can also travel around."

"—You have at least fifteen days of free time, and you can take this opportunity to travel around and see the entire 18th district."