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

Chapter 75 The City of Slaughter?

Outside the No. 1 recovery point, the three of them gathered on the street and chatted for a while before finally deciding to find a place to sit down and talk.

Firstly, Lu Chen and Yu returned to the city at noon.

After returning to the city, I handed over the three hibernation pods and went back to sleep.

I was woken up by knocking on the door by number 9529. We talked for a long time, and then I went to the No. 2 recovery point.

It's past 19 p.m. now, and the two of them haven't had dinner yet.

...

Secondly, it was naturally jade, which Zhao Jie was very interested in.

After all, Lu Chen was the first resurrected person that Yu picked up, and also the first resurrected person that Yu got to know deeply.

Number 9529 was the second one that Yu had dealt with.

Zhao Jie is the third.

Yu was very interested in the differences between the revived individuals—especially Lu Chen—and other medical test subjects.

...

Unsurprisingly, it was the same sandwich shop.

Each of them ordered a basic sandwich, and Zhao Jie, being very considerate, insisted on paying for the three of them.

I just didn't expect that it would take 2 hours and 15 minutes for just three sandwiches.

After paying the "time" fee with a slight pang of regret, Zhao Jie sat down opposite Lu Chen and Yu.

"Brother Chen just said that number 3994 is dead?"

This question prompted Lu Chen to nod slightly.

"That happened six days ago."

As he spoke, Lu Chen turned his head slightly to look at the jade beside him, subtly examining Zhao Jie's jade.

Then he added, "Including the time before his death, he stayed outside the city for at least a day—number 3994 left the city, which is more than seven days."

"If Yu is right, number 3994 should now be presumed dead."

"The time he deposits in the bank will belong to the bank."

"Any remaining private debts will also automatically become invalid."

After speaking, Zhao Jie only managed a polite smile and thanked Lu Chen and Yu.

Seeing that Zhao Jie did not show any 'overjoyed' expression, Lu Chen understood.

For Zhao Jie now, that personal debt of [2 years] is not a concern at all.

Or it should be said: Too many lice don't itch, too much debt doesn't worry.

With six years of bank debt and monthly interest payments over 300 days, Zhao Jie was already burdened with a mere two years of personal debt, which was a real headache.

Bank debt has the highest debt priority.

Before bank debts are settled, any form of private debt is like a mirage—visible but intangible.

If Zhao Jie is fortunate enough to repay his bank debts in the future, then his mere two years of private debt will obviously be no problem.

Even with a debt of 6 years, and with bank interest accruing for 300 days a month with no end in sight, I can still grit my teeth and pay it off!

Let alone a mere two-year private debt?

Conversely, if one cannot repay bank debts, then let alone [2 years];

Even if it were 20 years or 200 years, for Zhao Jie, these were all things to be put on hold for the time being.

It's no wonder that Zhao Jie didn't show much joy when he heard that No. 3994 had died outside the city and that his private debt had become invalid.

—For those recovering from financial difficulties, bank debt is the real killer!

With 300 days every month, and an endless cycle, theoretically, the debt interest would have to be paid off until the end of time, making survival the most pressing issue.

To put it more bluntly, this bank debt has made the recovering people so desperate that they can't even think about paying it off completely one day.

The vast majority of people's thoughts are to do everything they can to pay back the interest for the 300 days each month.

Just get through one month at a time.

If you really can't take it anymore, just eat whatever you want, and then obediently get killed.

What?

Private debt?

We don't have the time, but we do have a body.

Creditors don't need to worry; the City of Time will allocate a portion of the funds to them based on their debt situation...

"Before, Brother Chen always said I was lucky, that I recovered on the first day of August."

After a brief silence, Zhao Jie shook his head with a wry smile and began to speak to himself.

"Brother Chen said I have a full sixty days to raise the interest for the [300 days] in September."

"Unlike Brother Chen, who only has thirty-one days to prepare for August."

...

"I think Brother Chen is much luckier than me."

As he spoke, Zhao Jie glanced at the jade, then looked at Lu Chen with undisguised envy.

Although he didn't say anything, Zhao Jie's thoughts were practically written all over his mind.

—Lu Chen was not abandoned by his scavengers.

Lu Chen got the chance to go out of the city to scavenge.

Even with a high level of debt—even just the interest alone could be enough to crush a person—Lu Chen still found a way to obtain high returns to cope with the City of Time's kill line.

In contrast, consider Zhao Jie.

It seems easier for him than for Lu Chen, as he has a full two months to prepare for the second installment of interest for [300 days].

But in reality, for Zhao Jie, who was abandoned by scavengers and had almost no chance of leaving the city, two months—or even two years—would be meaningless.

Because aside from scavenging outside the city, the highest income that the survivors can obtain is from working at the coal mine for 2 hours a day.

The effective daily earnings are [2 hours].

Spend 8 minutes buying two slices of black bread, then 12 minutes spending the night at the Rope Hotel.

In other words, Zhao Jie can only save up a maximum of 1 hour and 40 minutes each day.

Even if they work year-round, eat only two slices of black bread a day, and spend every night in a rope hotel;

Even if he only covers these two most basic expenses, Zhao Jie can only save up [50 hours] after working hard for a month.

That is, [2 days and 2 hours].

You can accumulate 25 days in a year, and it will take ten years to accumulate 250 days.

In other words, if Zhao Jie wanted to accumulate enough interest on 300 days of bank debt by skipping work, he would need to work continuously for twelve years.

For twelve years, Zhao Jie could not rest for a single day, nor could he eat more than a single piece of black bread.

Aside from black bread and rope hotels, there can't even be an extra expense for "1 minute".

After working hard for twelve years, I finally saved up 300 days' worth of savings, only to find it was just enough for one month's bank debt interest...

"Brother Chen said, 'We can't give up, we can't let ourselves fall into depravity.'"

"I gritted my teeth and persevered, saving wherever I could, and squatting outside the recovery center to earn a little bit more."

"But after so many days of hard work, I only earned [6 days]."

"—As Brother Chen also said, hibernation pods weren't always available."

"After this batch of hibernation pods, it's estimated that there won't be any more hibernation pods brought back from outside the city by scavengers for a long time."

"Without new survivors, the only time I can get is the daily wage of 2 hours a day at the coal mine."

As he said this, Zhao Jie still forced a smile, but his eyes were already filled with a thin mist.

"So, Brother Chen is still luckier."

"Life is tough, it's hard, but at least there are ways to make a difference."

"I can't think of any other way for me to survive in this damn world."

...

"Oh;"

"The City of Time..."

"More like a city of slaughter."