paranoianovel Chapter 035 New Car?
Chapter 035 New Car?
Late at night, Lu Chen finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep in the driver's seat, filled with trepidation and unease.
Firstly, I hadn't slept much for two days and one night, and my eyelids were so heavy I couldn't lift them.
Secondly, the fact that Yu slept so soundly is enough to show that the rest area is safe enough.
Finally, ever since his recovery, that is, since arriving in the City of Time, Lu Chen has not had a single good night's sleep.
...
I woke up on the afternoon of July 31st and chatted with Yu. That night, I stayed at the Rope Hotel.
On August 1st, I went to work at the coal mine. After work, I "rescued" Zhao Jie outside the recovery point. We stayed together at the Rope Hotel that night.
On August 2nd, I successfully completed the jade test and was given the opportunity to scavenge!
That night, however, they still stayed at the Rope Hotel.
Rope hotels, well... how should I put it...
Well, it's even worse than just lying on the ground.
— Lying on the ground, regardless of whether it's cold or uncomfortable, at least you can lie flat or on your side, however you're comfortable.
In contrast, the rope hotel is less of a place to stay and more of a form of mental and physical torture.
So much so that in 2025, the driver's seat of a car, which Lu Chen rated as the "worst living environment in humankind," allowed Lu Chen to get a rare good night's sleep that night.
What water, what smoke, what black bread and pickled vegetables;
Lu Chen didn't care at all; he just closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Lu Chen, who wasn't wrapped in a sleeping bag, was awakened by the chill of the early morning air at dawn.
The first thing I did after waking up was to open the car door and go to the back of the pickup truck.
Seeing that the hibernation pod was safe and sound, he sat back in the driver's seat with a sigh of relief and lit a cigarette.
At the same time, his abdomen began to rumble.
Lu Chen ate two more slices of black bread and swallowed a mouthful of sewage from the steel plant.
Until the entire rest area was enveloped by a deafening mechanical siren.
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
「创世纪元294年，8月5日，6点57分。」
"South Gate, rest area."
"The passage is open. 180 seconds countdown."
"Please prepare to enter the city and proceed through the passage in an orderly manner."
...
"Beep~!"
"170 seconds."
...
"Beep~!"
"160 seconds."
……
Amidst the mechanical noise, Lu Chen could even feel the pickup truck's windows trembling slightly, making a soft clattering sound.
Yu, sitting in the back seat, finally woke up from her sleep.
He crawled out of his sleeping bag and nimbly jumped into the passenger seat through the gap between the driver and passenger seats.
He calmly got out of the car and wiped his face with the dirty water from his kettle.
He glanced once more at the hibernation compartment at the rear of the vehicle before walking to the driver's seat.
"To enter the city, a scavenger must drive the car."
Lu Chen, unsuspecting, got out of the car, offered his seat, and sat in the front passenger seat.
Shortly after, the countdown ended, and a mechanical voice began to announce the order.
"Number 18-172-2018".
...
"Number 18-172-7284".
...
"Number 18-172-1746".
...
"18-172..."
.........
"Number 18-172-9101".
Finally, the number for the jade truck sounded, and the pickup truck started and slowly drove towards the entrance of the passage.
As Lu Chen expected, in addition to the 'parking fee' for the rest area, there was also an extra 3-hour toll fee to enter the city.
The toll is the same as the toll paid when leaving the city.
After entering the city through the passage and passing through a tunnel over a hundred meters long, the pickup truck did not exit through the tunnel but went directly onto the streets inside the city walls.
Instead, we arrived at the inner side of the city wall, in a semi-enclosed parking lot that stretched as far as the eye could see.
—Looking around, there are at least a thousand cars!
Without exception, they were all dilapidated, and without exception, the paint color was no longer visible.
At least 70% of them are pickup trucks.
The remaining 30% consist of sedans and SUVs;
There are also vans that look very similar to the Wuling minivan, as well as small box trucks.
A wide variety of items, a dazzling array.
"If you really want to be a scavenger, then you should start thinking about buying a car."
"At the very least, choose a car model you like."
After parking the pickup truck in an empty space, Yu packed up the supplies inside, casually remarking something as she did so.
Lu Chen instinctively asked, "What are the prices?"
Without even looking up, Yu continued tidying up, yet she knew the prices of all kinds of car models like the back of her hand.
"All the cars parked here are secondhand."
"Pickup trucks typically take around 240 days."
"It offers the best value for money and is also the most suitable for scavenging."
...
"The rest are either too expensive or too small."
"-- Sedan [120 days], Urban SUV [150 days], Hardcore SUV [180 days]."
"A van [240 days], the price is about the same as a pickup truck."
"Small vans, [1 year 180 days]."
"The space is large enough, but the speed is very slow and the battery life is also very poor."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Very slow?
How slow can it be?
The top speed of a pickup truck is only 40 kilometers per hour...
"Top speed 20 kilometers per hour."
"If it's fully loaded, then reduce the load by half."
As if she could see through Lu Chen's thoughts, Yu Qingpiao's words made Lu Chen shake his head vigorously.
20 kilometers per hour!
Even when fully loaded, the speed limit is halved, which is 10 kilometers per hour!
Not even as fast as a bicycle...
"You just said these are all secondhand?"
"Are there any new cars?"
"—Is there a car factory inside the City of Time?"
This question only elicited a playful smile from Yu.
"Don't even think about it."
"—They start with 20 years at a time. Even if you sold both of us together, it wouldn't be enough to buy one of its wheels."
Lu Chen gave an awkward smile and said no more.
After packing up the supplies, Yu tossed the backpack to Lu Chen and gestured for him not to move.
I walked alone to the parking lot exit, bent down slightly, and leaned over the window.
"Scavenger No. 18-172-9101 requests the return of the hibernation pod."
As soon as he finished speaking, a mechanical sound immediately rang out from inside the window.
"Information confirmed."
"Scavenger: No. 18-172-9101, requesting the retrieval of the hibernation pod."
...
"Please wait."
As the mechanical sound faded, Yu didn't wait in the same spot, but instead walked back to the pickup truck.
A moment later, four black robots entered the parking lot and walked straight up to Yu.
After confirming Yu's identity, they went to the back of the pickup truck and scanned the hibernation pod again.
Then, under the envious and jealous gazes of the scavengers, he effortlessly lifted the hibernation pod.
"Hypnotic pod handover complete."
「请于8月5日19点前，前往3号复甦点领取报酬，并迎接：9529号复甦者。」
...
Watching the hibernation pod being carried away by four robots, Lu Chen's attention finally returned to the huge profits that were about to be in his hands.
Turning his head with a look of delight, he saw that Yu, who had been calm and composed just moments before and had appeared 'expert' throughout, was now frozen in place as if struck by lightning.
"Number 3..."
"Recovery Point 3..."
Seeing Yu's appearance, Lu Chen turned to the side, puzzled, and called out softly a few times.
"Jade?"
"Sister Yu?"
Unable to bring Yu's "soul" back, he reached out and nudged Yu's shoulder again.
Then Yu Shao came to her senses and looked at Lu Chen with a dazed expression.
Then, a look of wild joy suddenly appeared on Yu's face.
"It's number 3!"
"Recovery Point 3!"
...
"The people in the hibernation pods are not medical experimental subjects!!!"