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

The pickup truck moved steadily forward amidst the swirling yellow sand.

Her delicate hands gripped the steering wheel, her gaze unwavering.

Beside him, Lu Chen cast his gaze out the car window—even though all he could see was the faint outline of an asphalt road, he still didn't look away.

After a long silence, Yu Cai said softly, "Thinking about the journey ahead, we'll talk a lot."

"Thinking about these past few days, Officer Lu has many more questions that he needs me, his 'guide,' to answer."

"I never expected..."

As she spoke, Yu slightly curled the corners of her mouth, her tone becoming increasingly relaxed.

"That's right."

"Outside the city gates, there are no taboos."

"Among scavengers, there will be exploitation, scheming, and even robbery and fighting."

"To reduce the probability of conflicts between scavengers outside the city, the city gates will allow entry in batches—one vehicle will be released every half hour."

...

"In most cases, letting a vehicle go is the same as letting a scavenger go."

"In very rare exceptions, two or three scavengers may travel together in one vehicle."

"But it would be difficult for such a team to return to the City of Time with all its members."

"When two people team up, usually only one of them comes back."

"When three people team up, 80% of the time one person comes back, and 20% of the time two people come back."

"As for the fact that all three of them returned to the city safely..."

"I've never seen it before."

After saying that, Yu fell silent for a brief moment.

As the vast expanse of yellow sand ahead visibly lightened—changing from a dark brown to a light yellow—visibility improved to about 50 meters.

Yu then turned the steering wheel, drove the pickup truck off the asphalt road, made a 90° turn, and drove into the dry, scorched earth.

After driving a few hundred meters, the asphalt road behind me was completely out of sight. Then I turned the car key and turned off the engine.

Then he turned to the side and looked directly at Lu Chen.

"Outside the city, the most dangerous people are the other scavengers."

"Whether they go out of the city together as a team or meet outside the city, once they get outside the city, if two scavengers are together, usually only one of them will be able to return alive."

"It's also possible that both sides will be severely injured and die outside the city."

...

"But the recovered are different."

"Those who have recovered must be accompanied by a scavenger before they can leave the city."

Similarly, to return to the City of Time, one must be accompanied by a scavenger.

"A lone survivor cannot pass through the city gates."

"Whether coming out of the city or going in from outside the city."

At this point, Yu smiled slightly.

"Especially when going into the city."

"Officer Lu, I'm the one who brought him out of the city."

"Only I can take it back."

"In order to pass through the city gate and return to the City of Time, Officer Lu, you must guarantee my safety."

"At least I must ensure that my pupil information can still be read when I return to outside the city gates;"

"And make sure I still have the strength to pay the toll for passing through the city gate."

By the end, Yu's face was beaming with a confident smile, as if she had everything under control.

In the passenger seat, Lu Chen understood, and his furrowed brows relaxed.

No wonder.

No wonder Yu wasn't worried at all that Lu Chen's presence would threaten her safety.

"So, my purpose in life is to protect you?"

Upon hearing this, Yu gave a strange smile and then shook his head.

"No matter what, I'm still a scavenger."

"It's not like I'm expecting a resurrected person to turn around and protect me."

Lu Chen nodded again.

—Those who have recovered must be escorted by scavengers when entering or leaving the city.

And it cannot be replaced.

Whoever took it out of the city must take it back.

For example, Lu Chen left the city with a jade belt, so he must be brought back with a jade belt.

In order to successfully pass through the city gate and return to the City of Time, Lu Chen must ensure the safety of the jade.

The "ensuring safety" here can refer to protection—which jade obviously doesn't need.

Of course, it could also be: not to harm.

"In order to get back to the city safely, I will not, and cannot, harm you."

"So, you don't see me as a potential threat."

A soft remark elicited a slight nod from Yu.

After a moment's thought, she looked at Lu Chen with a half-smile.

"As for Officer Lu's value, there's no need to worry about that either."

...

"The reason why scavengers often abandon the survivors is that, apart from the personal debt of [2 years], the survivors have no other value."

"Taking the resurrected out of the city, while not threatening the scavengers, is tantamount to carrying a burden."

"If there is anything about the resurrected that is worth using—anything that can be useful outside the city—the scavengers will not tacitly abandon the resurrected."

"So Officer Lu, you don't need to worry that I have any ulterior motives."

After saying that, Yu raised the corners of her mouth again and gave Lu Chen a peaceful smile.

Then turn the key to restart the pickup truck.

Instead of turning back to the asphalt road behind them, they continued straight ahead, venturing deep into the scorched earth.

This time, however, Yu did not fix her gaze on the 'road' ahead—there was no road ahead at all.

While driving, she smiled and occasionally glanced at Lu Chen.

"If I had to say what 'value' Officer Lu has that makes him worth using, then..."

"That might be a true teammate—one with whom I need and trust each other, who has good abilities, and who also maintains their principles."

...

"In the City of Time, there are many luxuries."

"—Smoke, water, and all non-renewable and scarce resources that are difficult to obtain."

"But the scarcest resource is a bottom line."

"The City of Time has no bottom line."

"Whether it's the people in the city or the city itself."

...

After he finished speaking, Lu Chen remained silent for a long time.

...

"You shouldn't assume I have a bottom line just because I'm a police officer."

...

Lu Chen's casual remark drew Yu's attention again, but Lu Chen turned his head away indifferently.

"Not all police officers have a bottom line."

"Especially in the City of Time, a place where there are no bottom lines."

The words, which had a slightly didactic tone, made Yu grin.

She casually withdrew her gaze from Lu Chen and looked out the car window, her mood becoming increasingly relaxed.

"I trust my intuition."

"It has nothing to do with your previous profession before you went into hibernation."

"Moreover, my judgment was not entirely based on intuition."

……

Silence fell again inside the car.

Yu drove, glancing at Lu Chen every now and then, the smile never fading from her lips.

In the passenger seat, Lu Chen leaned his head back against the seat, gazing unfocusedly out the window.

A long, long time passed.

It wasn't until the yellow sand outside the car window no longer completely obscured the view that Yu Rou's gentle and pleasant voice rang out again inside the car.

"Can you drive?"

Lu Chen turned to look at the jade, then glanced at the dial, which was clearly different from the layout in 2025.

I'm not sure.

Upon hearing this, Yu smiled again, her eyes crinkling, and slowly brought the car to a stop.

The two switched places, with Lu Chen now driving.

"How much longer do we have to walk?"

Lu Chen asked instinctively, but did not receive a reply from Yu for a long time.

Slowing down the car a little, I turned to look at the passenger seat and found that in just a moment, Yu had rested her forehead against the car window and was gently snoring.

...

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Chen reached out and gently patted Yu's shoulder.

After a while, Yu Yu said wearily, "Look at your [timer], wake me up in two hours."