Become a god from scratch

Chapter 104: Twenty-fold Increase

"From Longjiang to Dijing, a second-class seat costs 10,000 yuan, which is more than 20 times more than before..."

After arriving at his seat, Lin Xuan checked the current ticket prices on his watch terminal and couldn't help but sigh.

Before the Second World Declaration, a second-class seat on the high-speed train from Longjiang to Teikyo cost only a little over 400 yuan.

After World War II, due to market fluctuations and price changes, the ticket prices of high-speed trains also increased slightly.

But even at that time, the price of a second-class seat only increased from over 400 to 600 at most, which was still within a reasonable range overall.

However, when the disaster rules finally spread to the Earth Origin Star, the prices of all inter-city transportation skyrocketed.

Looking at the ticket price from Longjiang to Dijing, you can see that this price is definitely not a small number for an ordinary family. The reason for this sudden price surge is mainly due to the surge in operating costs.

In order to ensure the safety of trains as much as possible, the railway company first needs to control the total number of people on each train, so every train cannot be full, and its regular passenger capacity is only one-fifth of the original full capacity.

Of course, if that were the case, a four or five-fold increase in ticket prices would be enough.

But the problem is that the actual cost is much more than that.

Because the railway company must also arrange extraordinary people of corresponding strength for each train to deal with possible disasters.

Although disasters do not necessarily strike, railway companies must minimize the possibility of accidents.

The extra ticket prices are the fees the railway company uses to hire extraordinary people to protect the trains. Usually there are at least three people on a train.

In addition, if there are extraordinary people who need to take a high-speed train, they can also take the initiative to apply for escort quotas from the railway company in advance.

The railway company will arrange carriages, reduce fees, and even pay additional employment fees according to the applicant's ability.

Because if there are powerful extraordinary people on the train, the railway company will be able to free up some manpower to arrange more trips.

After all, when airplanes completely withdraw from the civilian stage and the number of people carried by trains plummets, transportation capacity will undoubtedly become somewhat strained.

Being able to arrange one more train during the original time period can also generate more revenue.

However, Lin Hai and Ye Hongyu obviously did not think that Lin Xuan and the others needed to save money, nor did they want them to apply for guard positions.

Although the ticket price of ten thousand yuan per ticket is not low, it is not that expensive for the Lin family today.

So, Lin Xuan and Lin Long ended up becoming members of the second-class carriage like most of the passengers.

"Hey, Xiao Xuanxuan, you seem to have reached the third level of martial arts, right? If I help you apply for a guard quota now, can we be directly transferred to first class or business class?"

Lin Long looked at Lin Xuan and began to ponder.

Indeed, with the changes in the old land, the Earth Origin Star has truly reached a consensus among the entire nation and has completely entered the extraordinary era.

I don’t know if it’s the influence of the change in mentality or some other reason, but in the past period of time, the extraordinary people of Diyuan Star have experienced an extremely obvious blowout growth in strength.

Many obstacles that were originally insurmountable were overcome inexplicably.

Therefore, the number and quality of the extraordinary people on the Earth Origin Star have reached a higher level than before.

In the past, only those who graduated from some of the top universities could be guaranteed to reach the third level of martial arts, but now this range has been further expanded.

Of course, even if the number increases, the third level of martial arts is equivalent to the upper-level soldier level.

The railway company wanted to hire a martial arts master of the third realm. Normally, it would cost at least twenty or thirty thousand for one trip.

However, in most cases, it is definitely impossible to deal with disasters relying solely on the upper-level soldiers, so the fixed accompanying extraordinary people hired by the railway company are usually at the general level, and their costs are naturally far higher than those of the upper-level soldiers.

But no matter what, the railway company generally will not refuse to add more guards on the train. After all, the ticket price is there.

Lin Long suddenly had an idea and felt that the second-class seats were a bit crowded, even though many seats were removed.

But Lin Xuan shook his head and said, "There are at least four cameras on this train alone. Do you think Mom would not know if we really moved to the front?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Long glanced at the cameras in the front and rear of the car, and immediately gave up his previous thoughts like a deflated ball.

"Damn Lin Wu, he's a traitor!" Lin Long couldn't help but mutter.

Because she knew very well that Lin Xuan's worries were justified.

Lin Wu had said before that as long as they were still on the Earth Origin Star, Lin Wu would be able to keep track of their whereabouts at any time.

This sentence may sound like bragging at first, but anyone who knows Lin Wu knows that he is not a person who likes to brag.

Since he said so, it means that he can really do it with a high probability.

Considering that Lin Wu had been able to move freely in the intelligence bases of several branches of Chiyan a few years ago, Lin Xuan and the others naturally would not think that Lin Wu could not hack into the railway company's system.

Seeing that there was no hope of changing positions, Lin Long accepted his fate.

He took out the potato chips he brought from his backpack and started to eat them with a crunch. The way he gnashed his teeth looked like he was chewing up the forest fog.

Lin Xuan didn't feel anything about this. After all, he was not a rich second-generation in his previous life, and he only rode second-class seats when he went out.

"Little girl, do you have any extra snacks?"

Just as Lin Long started fighting with the potato chips and the train started moving, a slightly restrained voice came from behind Lin Xuan and the others.

The person asking the questions was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. Judging from the condition of his skin, he must be a laborer.

Next to him sat a very thin little girl who looked to be no more than three or four years old.

Seeing Lin Long and Lin Xuan looking at him in surprise, the middle-aged man quickly explained:

"I'm really sorry to bother you. I'm not asking for it for nothing. I was in a hurry to leave this time and didn't have time to bring food for this girl... If you have extra, can you sell me some? If it's inconvenient, forget it."

"I have some extra, uncle, just give it to the little sister. It's fate that we meet when we're out and about, so don't talk about money."

Upon hearing this, Lin Long directly took out a bag of small cake snacks from his backpack and handed it to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was naturally embarrassed to ask for it and insisted on paying, but in the end he gave in to Lin Long's insistence.

With this little episode, Lin Long and Lin Xuan, the siblings, became familiar with the middle-aged man and the little girl. Through chatting, they learned that the middle-aged man's name was Yang Jian, and the little girl next to him was Li Yilin.

This was obviously different from what Lin Long and Lin Xuan had guessed at first, because they initially thought that the little girl was Yang Jian's daughter, but from the name they knew that the relationship between the two was most likely not father and daughter.

This is indeed the case. Yang Jian pondered and said, "Yilin is the daughter of an old comrade of mine. Her father was injured during his early military service and has not been in good health. He had a serious illness two years ago and did not survive..."

Based on Yang Jian's narration, Lin Xuan and the others quickly figured out the relationship between Li Yilin and Yang Jian.

To put it simply, Li Yilin's father and Yang Jian were old comrades-in-arms. They had served together in the old land and had a life-and-death friendship.

Li Yilin's father had been injured in the old land, so his health had always been poor. He finally fell seriously ill two years ago. Before he died, he entrusted Li Yilin to his old friend Yang Jian.

Lin Long subconsciously asked: "What about her mother?"

Yang Jian sighed, "Her mother died of a genetic disease not long after she was born. Old Li raised her all by himself."

Lin Long asked again: "Doesn't she have any relatives?"

Yang Jian said, "Of course there is, but the problem is that she has inherited a genetic disease from her mother's side. Once it breaks out, it will be a huge challenge just to keep her alive, and it will be even more difficult to cure her completely... Although her relatives are willing to provide some help, most of them are from ordinary families. Lao Li also understands this, so he entrusted her to me."

Lin Long said: "It seems that Yilin's father trusts Yang Shuyi very much."

Yang Jian nodded and said, "When we were in the old land, I saved his life twice, and he saved mine three times. I owe him a life anyway."

When Yang Jian said this, he couldn't help but chuckle, and it seemed that he wanted to ease the serious atmosphere.

However, after hearing what he said, Lin Xuan and Lin Long were both in awe of this seemingly ordinary middle-aged man.

Although Yang Jian and the little girl Li Yilin's father were indeed life-long friends, times have changed and so many years have passed.

Just before her death, she suddenly entrusted her daughter, who was suffering from a genetic disease and even her relatives were unwilling to take care of her, to Yang Jian. On the one hand, it showed her absolute trust in him, and on the other hand, it also reflected Yang Jian's character.

"Uncle Yang, what are you doing this time..."

Lin Xuan, who had been silent, suddenly asked.

Because he had noticed before that although Yang Jian was certainly a righteous man, judging from his appearance, it was obvious that he was not a wealthy and powerful person.

If he were really rich, he wouldn't bring the little girl Li Yilin to sit in the second-class seat.

Moreover, Lin Xuan had previously confirmed with [He Zhitong] that although Yang Jian also practiced martial arts, he was only at the second level of martial arts.

This kind of strength was indeed not weak in the past, and he could be called an extraordinary person at best. But nowadays it is not good enough.

It should not be difficult to earn 20,000 or 30,000 yuan a month as a bodyguard or guard, but nowadays it is just the money for two train tickets.

Things have come to this point. Lin Xuan doesn't think that Yang Jian would take Li Yilin to the capital for no reason.

Yang Jian's answer also verified his guess.

Because this time Yang Jian planned to take Li Yilin to Dijing for medical treatment to see if her family genetic disease could be completely cured.

But the problem is, as Yang Jian said before, just maintaining life when the disease strikes is a huge expense, not to mention a cure.

Right now, the prices of everything are skyrocketing. The fare to the capital alone is twenty times more expensive than before. I guess the medical expenses won't be much better.

It was undoubtedly strange that Yang Jian took Li Yilin to the capital at this time.

Facing Lin Xuan's doubts, Yang Jian hesitated for a moment before saying, "I really can't afford the money, but we had an old comrade-in-arms who also owed Lao Li a life... Lao Li saved a lot of people in the past, and he got sick because of this reason. I want to ask him for help."

Lin Xuan asked: "Is your comrade very rich?"

Yang Jian said, "He is different from me and Lao Li. He is smarter than us, and later he married a lady from the imperial capital. If he is willing to help, Yilin can be saved!"

When Yang Jian said this, he couldn't help but get a little excited.

However, when Lin Xuan and Lin Long looked at each other, they both realized that the other was not very optimistic about this matter.

Although Yang Jian's starting point was good, he was not doing it for himself from beginning to end. He just wanted to save Li Yilin, the daughter of his old comrade.

But the problem is that the old comrade he mentioned owed a favor to Li Yilin's father, not to him.

Even if we really want to get this favor back, it should be Li Yilin's father who takes her to the capital.

Of course, if their old comrade was as honest as Yang Jian, these details would not be so important.

But if the other party was really that kind of person, how could he have ignored his savior for so many years and not even visited him after he passed away?
Whether there was any hidden secret here, Lin Xuan and the others naturally had no way of knowing.

But if the situation was just as Yang Jian said, I'm afraid it wouldn't be so smooth when he brought the little girl Li Yilin to visit his old comrade this time.

"If your old comrade can't help, Uncle Yang, what are you going to do?" Lin Xuan asked again.

"This……"

Yang Jian was speechless when he heard this. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by the sudden vibration of the train!
Just as they were chatting, the entire carriage began to shake violently as if it had entered some rugged terrain.

However, they were riding a high-speed train.

Even if it had to pass through rugged terrain, it shouldn't have affected the train tracks. How could it suddenly shake violently for no reason?

"Something's wrong!"

Lin Xuan and Lin Long both realized at the first moment that they might have been unlucky, as they encountered an unexpected situation not long after they set out.

At the same time, the light on both sides of the carriage gradually dimmed, as if the train had entered a tunnel.

"All passengers please stay where you are and don't move. Our staff will sort out the problem as soon as possible and get everyone to their destination safely!"

"According to Taixia's latest highway law, when an unexpected situation occurs during the train's operation, it will be considered as wartime. If there are unnecessary misunderstandings caused by disobeying the requirements, all the consequences will be borne by the passengers themselves!"

The conductor's voice soon rang out over the train's radio.

(End of this chapter)