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

It was around 5 PM on August 11th, in the year 294 of Genesis.

It wasn't time to leave work yet, and there weren't many people to be seen on the streets.

Lu Chen and Yu sat on the street outside the apartment, their expressions indescribably complex.

"I'm thinking..."

"If the inner city is really that good, why don't the farmers and ranchers in the north go there?"

These words brought Yu back to reality. Lu Chen then turned his upper body slightly, trying to face Yu as much as possible.

"According to document 9529, moving from District 18 to District 17 only requires paying the district upgrade tax for 5 years."

"Returning from District 17 to District 18 will grant you a 4-year relocation compensation."

"If that's the case, why don't the wealthy people in District 18 spend [5 years] trying to make their mark in the inner city?"

"Even if I don't make a name for myself, I can still get back the [4 years] when I go back to District 18, right?"

...

"Not to mention farmers and ranchers—even the poorest whippersnappers in the property professions spent 15 years to buy the Rope Hotel."

"—It's not even about getting [15 years], but about getting equivalent rare resources!"

"Why don't they take five years to go and see the inner city?"

These words accurately pinpointed Yu's doubts.

As scavenger number 172, it's actually quite normal that Yu didn't know anything about the inner city.

After all, most scavengers only have about 180 days of time on hand.

Yu also admitted that before discovering the hibernation pod area and retrieving Lu Chen's hibernation pod, Yu had never owned [2 years].

And this is the norm for most scavengers.

— Almost no scavenger can afford to pay the upgrade tax for moving to District 17 all at once for 5 years.

If you can't afford the taxes, you can't go to District 17.

Naturally, there's no need to know anything about District 17 or the inner city.

But as Lu Chen said: the fact that scavengers cannot afford these 5 years does not mean that no one else in District 18 can afford it!

At least farmers and ranchers will definitely have the financial resources to pay for [5 years] to visit and explore District 17, and then receive [4 years] back to return to District 18.

Lu Chen guessed that some of them might have done this before.

Spend [1 year] to go to District 17 - to see the world in the city.

For wealthy landowners who purchase farms and ranches with rare resources worth [400 years], the cost of [1 year] is certainly considerable.

But it certainly won't cause serious damage.

That's precisely where the problem lies.

They can afford the time commitment and the one-year loss that would result from the trip.

If the inner city is really that good and can completely and utterly crush the 18th district, then why do the rich people in the 18th district still stay in the 18th district?

If they had been to the inner city and witnessed its prosperity, why didn't they just stay there?

Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix?

Or perhaps, the farmers and ranchers who wielded immense power and wealth in District 18 became something else entirely once they entered the Inner City…

Parasites or the like?

...

"The information from District 17 was given to us by number 9529 as a 'thank you gift'."

"Whether he has any ulterior motives for doing this is currently unclear to us."

"What we have to be sure of is that there is nothing on us that he would covet."

at last.

After an extremely long period of deliberation, Yu finally "returned to her rightful place."

The first sentence he uttered made Lu Chen nod repeatedly in approval.

yes;

Lu Chen and Yu are among the few "rich" people in the scavenging community.

He possesses 10 years of time, 869g of gold, and rare items such as capsules.

But for No. 9529—for a big shot who carries a fortune of 5000 years—this little thing is not worth his time at all.

Lu Chen and Yu have enough liquid funds to last for approximately 11 years.

869g of gold, worth nearly 43 years.

In addition, there's a capsule that's "supposedly" worth 1000g of gold, or 50 years' worth, a jade pickup truck, and the two's weapons and tools...

Even including the three solar panels they brought back from this trip out of the city, Lu Chen and Yu's entire fortune is only about 115 years.

Indeed a lot.

However, this is only relative to the 18th district.

It's even limited to the southern part of District 18.

For the farmers and ranchers in the north of the city, the two men's wealth could at most be considered "not poor".

As for number 9529?

—Of Lu Chen and Yu's wealth over the past 115 years, at least 110 years were given to them by others!

1000g of gold worth 50 years, capsules of equal value, and this time, 10 years.

There was even the [8 years] that the City of Time had awarded the two of them last time!

Regardless of how much "time" No. 9529 actually possesses—whether it's 5000 years or more;

The fact that Lu Chen and Yu's wealth basically all came from the "rewards" from No. 9529 is enough to show that No. 9529 doesn't care about the meager earnings Lu Chen and Yu have.

Even if he had designs on the two of them, it wasn't for their time or wealth.

Realizing this, Lu Chen and Yu Xin felt somewhat relieved.

As for whether or not to spend 5 years each to visit District 17 when the inter-regional passage reopens on September 1st...

My opinion is: let's take a long-term view.

After regaining her composure, Yu quickly offered her advice.

"According to the information disclosed in document 9529, the cross-regional channel will be opened in one direction on the 1st of each month."

"Upgrades to a district occur on the 1st of each month, while downgrades can happen at any time."

"But we don't have an urgent need to go to District 17."

...

"Having information about the passage does not mean that we have to go to the inner city on September 1st."

"Even: it doesn't mean that we have to cross over into District 17."

At this point, Yu gave Lu Chen a slightly serious look.

He then turned his gaze away, stood up with a solemn expression, and looked toward the high walls in the direction of the inner city.

He sighed inexplicably and then said, "We can keep the information about the passage for now."

"You don't have to."

"I do not recommend entering District 17 until you have more information about the inner city."

"—It's not just because one transaction will cause us a loss of [2 years]."

"More importantly, for us right now, everything in the inner city is unknown."

"Spending a year's worth of resources to go to an unknown place where it is almost impossible to generate any benefits is neither worthwhile nor rational."

As Yu finished speaking, Lu Chen, who had been sitting by the roadside, stood up.

He stood shoulder to shoulder with Yu, looking up towards the inner city, separated by the high wall between Districts 17 and 18.

I don't know how much time passed.

Lu Chen was so engrossed in his work that he almost forgot he had important business to attend to. Yu nudged Lu Chen with his elbow.

"I'm gone."

"The recovery process for those three rookies should be almost over."

"—Let's go to the second recovery point first and see the daughter of patient number 9529."

"Then go to the first recovery point, just to get it over with."

"Let's discuss the rest later."

There's no need to rush.