ocean-life Chapter 046 A horse won't get fat without night grass
Chapter 046 A horse won't get fat without night grass
As Yu spoke, she nodded to herself.
It seemed as if she was speaking to both Lu Chen and herself.
This was both an admonition to Lu Chen not to overthink things and a reminder to myself: don't waste your precious time and energy on trivial matters unrelated to survival.
But both of them knew in their hearts that even if these things had nothing to do with survival, and even if they could not be changed at all, they would never forget them.
Perhaps this is the reason why "the more awake a person is, the more pain they suffer."
—As the lowest level of the Time City, the Parasites No. 243 may not even know about nuclear war or where Genesis Origin came from!
They have no names, no aspirations;
It doesn't even have a soul.
The only thing driving them is the most basic biological instinct: survival.
They only care about whether the wages at coal mines and power plants are still maintained at 2 hours per day and 30 minutes per shift.
All they care about is whether a slice of black bread is still [4 minutes], and whether the Rope Hotel is still [12 minutes] every night.
They didn't care about anything else.
Unless they, like miner number 2, acquire a considerable fortune and no longer have to struggle for survival every day, they might not develop spiritual needs.
But it was limited to: asking about "rare things," treating it as listening to novels and reading books, and absorbing some spiritual nourishment.
...
The same goes for scavengers.
What they care about is the toll for entering and leaving the city, the resource-rich areas within a 300-kilometer radiation-free zone, and their personal safety outside the city.
In short: Everyone only cares about things that concern themselves and their survival.
They do things that can bring them profit;
They will avoid anything that could cause loss or danger.
As for the others?
Just like that day, when Lu Chen held up a map and asked Yu, "What's the situation in the inner city beyond District 18?", Yu gave the same answer.
—On that map, what scavengers should be concerned with is the scavenging area outside the city walls and beyond the yellow sand belt.
Instead of the inner city beyond the 18th ward...
...
"Phew~"
"We need to change our plans."
Although his emotions were still somewhat somber, with Yu's voice 'reminding' him, Lu Chen forced himself to bring his focus back to reality.
A casual remark caused Yu to frown again.
"According to No. 9529, his daughter's hibernation pod is visibly small."
"Then it wouldn't be the one we hid."
He also said that it was highly likely that his hibernation pod was in the same area.
"That is to say, it's in the hibernation pod area—or at least nearby."
As she spoke, Yu scratched her hair in slight frustration, forcing herself to calm down.
After sorting out his thoughts and pondering for a moment, he spoke again.
"We need to bring back the hibernation pods that have been hidden."
"That's a basic benefit that's readily available."
"But we need to find his daughter's hibernation pod first."
"This is an incredibly substantial and enormous benefit."
...
"Next time we leave the city, we should look for his daughter's hibernation pod first."
"If you find it, bring it back."
"If you can't find it, bring the one that's hidden back to town."
Lu Chen nodded in response, but like Yu, he frowned.
"Time is too tight."
"Number 3994".
"—He goes back to the city, we cut in line to leave the city, and he can leave the city again the next day."
"We only have one day to avoid him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen braced himself with both hands behind him and looked up at the shelf above his head.
Yu also took a deep breath, placed her hands on her sides, and slowly clenched them, her knuckles turning slightly white.
Neither of them said it explicitly.
But the final conclusion is obvious.
—Number 3994, he's beyond saving.
Even without what just happened, without the commission from number 9529;
Yu and Lu Chenguang were acting in their own self-interest—for that dormant warehouse area, and also to deal with scavenger number 3994.
Moreover, now, in addition to the existing "dormant storage area," there is another dormant storage unit that is extremely easy to identify, easier to transport, and most likely contains 1000g of gold...
"Approximately what is the value of this gold brick?"
Thinking of gold, Lu Chen's attention finally fell on the gold brick between the two of them.
This was the first time in Lu Chen's 'three hundred years' of life that he had ever seen a 1000g gold bar.
It was smaller than Lu Chen had imagined.
And it's much smaller.
Lu Chen spread his palm out to measure, and the length was about half a bundle, or a dozen centimeters.
The width is about half the length, around five or six centimeters.
The thickness is even more obvious: it's about the same width as a fingernail, around one centimeter.
Holding it in my hand, it feels about the same size as a mobile phone, but only half the thickness.
It's quite heavy, giving you a sense of disbelief that "such a small thing is so heavy?"
1000g of gold will be worth nearly a million dollars in 2025.
You can buy a nice house.
In the City of Time, the value of 1000g of gold would certainly be much higher.
Thinking this, Lu Chen held the gold brick in his hand and weighed it in his hand before handing it over.
Yu reached out and took the gold brick, and finally the joy that should appear on her face when she received a windfall appeared.
"Extremely valuable!"
"Unbelievably high!"
...
"In the black market, the vast majority of transactions do not use time as a bargaining chip."
"But there is also a set of conventional, default standards for measuring value, with time as the unit."
"—For example, a slightly worn revolver with 12 bullets is worth [1 year]."
"This doesn't mean you can buy a revolver in [1 year]."
"In other words, to obtain a revolver, one needs to provide scarce resources worth at least [one year], and the other party must be willing to exchange them."
As they talked, Yu's originally somber mood involuntarily turned to joy.
Finally, he held the gold bar up to his face, his eyes gleaming, and said, "The value of gold on the black market is 20g per year!"
"This gold brick weighs a full 1000g!"
"On the black market, it can be exchanged for..."
"—Any rare item worth [50 years]!"
Before Yu could finish speaking, Lu Chen couldn't hide his excitement and blurted out the answer!
Dai Yu nodded heavily, while Lu Chen's words of ecstasy were met with disbelief!
——【50 years】!
A pickup truck needed for scavenging outside the city is worth only 240 days!
Even with all the necessary paperwork, luxury cars that can travel within the city are only available starting at 20 years old!
This gold brick could actually buy two luxury cars, and there would still be some left over!
After the initial burst of ecstasy, Lu Chen felt as if he were in a dream.
This morning, after returning to the city from the rest area outside the city, Lu Chen was still thinking about whether the profits from the No. 9529 hibernation pod would allow him to easily cover the bank interest for the next 300 days.
After receiving unexpected extra rewards and bonuses, Lu Chen was able to pay off his bank debts in one go and felt as if he had been reborn, truly surviving in the City of Time.
After that, Lu Chen started planning to pay the jade monthly installment for 60 days each month;
Then save up for 20 days each month, and try to save up for 240 days in a year to buy a pickup truck and register as a noble scavenger.
But in the afternoon—just ten hours after Lu Chen paid off his bank debts!
Lu Chen and Yu obtained a gold brick worth 50 years!
What made Lu Chen even more confused was whether this was a dream or reality. This gold brick—this windfall worth 50 years—and perhaps there was more to come!
As long as Lu Chen and Yu can find that small hibernation pod, which is 1.4 meters long and 0.6 meters wide, and successfully bring it back to the city...