bookbashuk Chapter 82 Pixiu Jade
Chapter 82 Pixiu Jade
The conversation ended after 23 p.m.
The curfew arrived quietly.
Perhaps they were too tired, neither of them said anything more and went to sleep in the apartment.
Yu always falls asleep very quickly, as if she has already mastered the secret of falling asleep at the speed of light.
As for Lu Chen, he was still shaken by Yu's ambiguous actions, which seemed both provocative and seductive.
Even though I was exhausted and sleepy, I still managed to hold on for a while.
Once he was certain that Yu wasn't faking sleep or causing trouble in the middle of the night, he finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, the two left the apartment as planned and went to the city gate together.
The first thing to do: register and queue up to determine the specific time for the next trip out of the city.
"Scan pupil information."
"Should we register our departure from the city?"
Yu immediately nodded: "Yes."
There was a brief moment of silence inside the window, followed by a muffled buzzing sound.
Then, the mechanical voice sounded again.
"Current number of registered users: 538."
"Current number of people requesting expedited service: 196."
...
"With proper registration, you may be granted permission to leave the city at 18:30 on August 29th, Genesis 294".
"With the urgent payment of [20 days], you may be granted passage out of the city at 12:8 on August 20th, Genesis 294."
The mechanical voice announced the number of people queuing or cutting in line to leave the city, and Lu Chen and Yu sighed in unison.
When the mechanical voice clearly indicated how long it would take to queue normally or to cut in line to leave the city, the two exchanged a wry smile.
Today is September 8th.
There are still eight days until August 20th, the day when I can be allowed to leave the city after spending 20 days to cut in line.
As for normal queuing?
—August 29th, that's seventeen days from now!
What's even more awkward is that the normal queue is just a "tentative" departure date of August 29th.
In the next seventeen days, for every person who takes 20 days to cut in line, Lu Chen and Yu's departure order will be postponed by one person.
For every 28 people who cut in line, Lu Chen and Yu's departure time from the city would be delayed by a whole day.
At this moment, the 196 people who have already cut in line are definitely in a hurry to get to the hibernation pod area.
Seven days later, when they return to the city, they will likely cut in line again...
"The competition for hibernation silos is likely to intensify."
Then Yu turned around with a wry smile, looking at Lu Chen with a helpless expression.
"Normally, if you cut in line to leave the city, you only need to wait a maximum of three days."
"If you queue normally to leave the city, it will take seven or eight days if you're lucky, and ten days or so if you're unlucky."
"And now, even cutting in line will have to wait eight days..."
As she spoke, Yu You sighed softly for no apparent reason and shook her head to herself.
"There are more people cutting in line now than there are usually people queuing."
"I'm afraid that many of those who used to stay in the city, just getting by and living day to day, have also been attracted to the hibernation silos."
As soon as Yu finished speaking, a mechanical voice came from inside the window again.
"Would you like it expedited?"
Yu was about to shake her head instinctively, but the word "no" was on the tip of her tongue and she swallowed it back down.
She turned to look at Lu Chen, giving him a "what do you think?" look.
Lu Chen then fell into deep thought.
August 20th and August 29th are actually not that different.
In any case, neither Lu Chen nor Yu had an urgent need to leave the city or make money.
It saves you the 20 days needed to cut in line; waiting in line isn't a big deal.
The problem is that it takes 20 days to cut in line so that the two of them can confirm their departure from the city on August 20th.
If you don't cut in line, your scheduled departure time of August 29th will likely be pushed back by other people who cut in line.
If it lasts until early September, it's still manageable;
The worst-case scenario is that the queue-jumping will continue indefinitely, putting Lu Chen and Yu Ding in the queue until the end of September, or even the beginning of October.
Whether Zhao Jie can afford to wait is secondary.
"But we..."
"Instead of wasting a month or two in the city, wouldn't it be better to join the queue and leave the city sooner?"
Lu Chen's words caused Yu to frown slightly, looking conflicted.
Finally, he shook his head helplessly again, bent down, and faced the mechanical probe inside the window.
"Expedited processing confirmed."
As soon as he finished speaking, another mechanical hum came from inside the window.
The robotic arm extended, and the capsule was placed in front of Yu.
Yu extended her left arm and paid for [20 days].
After completing the queue-jumping procedure, he walked back to Lu Chen's side from the window, looking unhappy.
Lu Chen just shook his head and smiled, then reached out and grasped Yu's left arm, turning it over to Yu for 10 days.
"Each party contributes half of the funds invested outside the city."
Yu lowered her head, looking at the timer on her left arm that showed an additional 10 days, and then looked up at Lu Chen with an unhappy expression.
A moment later, he gave a strangely bitter smile.
"I'm not feeling sorry for my own [time]."
"They're worried about us, because we've had to spend an extra 20 days for no reason."
"It wasn't supposed to cost anything."
"It's all because of that hibernation pod area..."
She trailed off, her voice involuntarily lowering as if she lacked confidence.
Lu Chen chuckled and lowered his head, tilting it to look at Yu with amusement.
"Whose hibernation pod was that again?"
"After taking advantage of us, you're now blaming the pot for being in the way?"
The teasing remark caused her jade-like face to blush, and she instinctively turned away.
After a long while, he raised his head with a normal expression.
"The departure time has been confirmed."
"What are your plans next?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen slightly suppressed his smile and nodded.
"Around District 18"
"It's a rare opportunity like this, I'd like to take the bus and go around all 18 districts."
"Let's see what the complete 18th district looks like."
Upon hearing this, Yu showed no change in expression.
He simply nodded slightly: "The next bus should arrive at the city gate the day after tomorrow morning."
"We'll get the pickup truck modification and Zhao Jie's matter sorted out over the next two days."
Lu Chen nodded obediently.
That evening, Lu Chen found Zhao Jie again outside the No. 1 recovery point.
The scavenger who had slipped through the net—number 9530—was handed over to Zhao Jie to inquire and investigate. Lu Chen and Yu then went to the black market that night.
The next day, in the parking lot inside the city gate, they watched as the auto repair shop completed the pickup truck modification and bought back the three solar panels that the two had picked up for a price of [1 year].
After all that's been taken care of, all that's left is to wait.
Lu Chen invited Yu to take a walk around District 18 together.
Yu refused frankly, saying that she wanted to rest and cherish this hard-won short holiday.
Yu also offered many practical suggestions regarding Lu Chen's plan to bypass District 18.
For example: Don't miss the bus.
Because if you miss it, you'll have to wait four days to catch the next bus at the same location.
The bus takes four days to circle all 18 districts.
Add to that the four days of waiting for the next bus, and that makes eight days.
If Lu Chen misses the bus and returns in eight days, he will miss the next trip out of the city.
Lu Chen wanted to fight for it, but had no choice but to give up.
—This time, the city tour can only be done on a bus.
But that's alright.
Take a walk around and do some sightseeing.
This is a rare opportunity to learn more about the 18th ward.