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

Chapter 039 Public Transportation

Lu Chen had suspected this before.

—As a member of the "property class" with occupational number 172, Yu probably wouldn't stay at a rope hotel.

I never expected that Yu's residence would be so far from the city gate.

The City of Time has walls on its east, south, west, and north sides, each 200 kilometers long.

The only open city gate is located in the middle of the south wall.

To the west of the city gate is a semi-enclosed parking lot located under the city wall, specifically for scavengers.

On the east side, in order, are: a bank, a rope hotel, the No. 3 recovery point and surrounding shops, as well as a coal mine and a power plant a few kilometers away.

Over the past few days, Lu Chen's activity area has actually been limited to the area east of the city gate—a few kilometers from the Rope Hotel to the coal mine.

Yu's residence, however, was located on the west side of the city gate, more than ten kilometers away from the city gate!

"They don't allow cars in the city?"

Walking on the streets inside the city walls, Lu Chen asked a question with a tired expression.

Then Yu Wen smiled gently and shook his head.

"Any car that can be driven in the city must have complete documentation."

"Just like in 2025, it requires annual inspection, maintenance, and registration."

"Moreover, there is no sunlight in the city, so we need to use charging stations to charge our cars."

...

"The scavengers' vehicles are actually old, scrapped cars in the city, or assembled from scrapped parts, with a solar panel added to the roof."

"Apart from the permit to enter and exit the city gate, there were no other procedures at all, and it wasn't even considered a 'vehicle'."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen understood and nodded slightly.

But soon, he frowned again.

"District 18 has a circumference of 800 kilometers, and the furthest point from the city gate is nearly 400 kilometers away."

"How do I get there?"

"walk?"

...

"And—I haven't seen a single car in the city."

"Is it because nobody can afford it?"

"Still in District 18, nobody here owns a car that can drive within the city?"

Upon hearing this, Yu first shook her head and smiled.

Then, with her hands behind her back, her steps unconsciously slowed down.

"There's a bus."

"--There are about ten vehicles, mostly traveling between several large factories and the workers' residences."

"There's another one, which travels the entire loop of the 18 districts."

"A complete circuit around the 18 wards is 800 kilometers long, with a station every 20 kilometers, for a total of forty stations."

"The ticket costs [1 hour and 45 minutes] for each stop."

...

"The bus is very slow, it only goes ten stops a day, which is 200 kilometers."

"—Starting from the city gate today, it will take four days to circle all 18 districts and return to the city gate."

"Therefore, the bus that runs the loop only once every four days."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen roughly understood the situation.

—In addition to large factories with high technical content, relatively higher wages, and workers with purchasing power, there are dedicated public transportation lines for workers to commute to and from get off work.

Clearly, the coal mines and power plants near the city gates are not included in this list.

The parasites working in these two places obviously couldn't afford train tickets either.

As for the so-called "loop route," it only runs once every four days, meaning there's only one bus.

Each stop costs [1 hour and 45 minutes];

The entire loop line, with forty stations, goes around 18 districts and returns to the starting point. The ticket costs as much as 70 hours, which is equivalent to 2 days and 22 hours.

Adding the four days that would naturally pass by taking the bus around the 18 districts, it means that taking the bus around the 18 districts would take [6 days and 22 hours].

Moreover, since there is only one bus on this dedicated line, it must be one-way.

Starting from the city gate, no matter where you go in District 18, if you want to take the bus back to the city gate, you have to go around the entire District 18.

Moreover, once you get off the train, you have to wait four days to catch the next one.

At this point, Lu Chen had a general understanding of the public transportation system in District 18.

—Not cheap.

The cost of tickets and time investment is very high.

Therefore, unless there is something important that absolutely requires you to go to that place, it is best to try not to leave the core area of ​​your work and life.

The city gates, naturally, are the living and working areas that the parasites and scavengers "cannot leave".

Parasites should try to live as close as possible to the coal mines and power plants near the city gates for easy commuting.

Scavengers, on the other hand, need to be closer to the city gate so that they can easily go out of the city to scavenge.

"So, you're saying your place isn't actually that far away?"

When Lu Chen asked, Yu nodded again with a smile.

"Within a few kilometers of the city gate, there are basically rope hotels, providing overnight lodging for the parasites."

"Because the coal mines and power plants are all here, far away, the parasites don't have time to commute to and from get off work."

"As for scavengers—they don't have to adhere to fixed get off work hours, so their time is relatively flexible."

"Therefore, most of them rent apartments ten kilometers west of the city gate."

apartment?

Lu Chen felt a sense of wonder and couldn't help but feel a little expectant.

—The experiences of the past few days have caused Lu Chen's expectations for accommodation to plummet.

What is clean or unhygienic?

Lu Chen no longer cared about space or facilities.

As long as I can lie down, that's fine.

You can lie down comfortably without having to hang on a rope or sleep on a reclined car seat.

Even a car seat will do!

It's better than a rope...

"As for cars—there are quite a few in the 18th ward."

"But luxury cars that cost 20 years or more are clearly not something that the parasites of coal mines and power plants, the spurrs of rope hotels, or us scavengers can afford."

"Only farmers, ranchers, and law enforcement officers can afford cars."

"And they were mostly near the North Gate, a full 400 kilometers away from the South Gate."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen understood why he had never seen even a single car on the street.

—In the City of Time, District 18 is on the outermost layer, and is also most likely the poorest layer.

Even in the 18 districts, there are rich areas and poor areas.

In places like Yukou, the area north of the gate where farmers, ranchers, and even law enforcement officers operate, and where vehicles can be seen on the streets from time to time, can be considered a wealthy area in a certain sense.

The area near the South Gate, where the parasites gather, is probably the "backwater" of District 18, the kind of place where you can't even see a car on the street.

With these thoughts in mind, Lu Chen followed Yu's footsteps and walked for more than ten kilometers before arriving near the "apartment" that Yu had mentioned.

On the way, Lu Chen also saw the textile factory.

However, it was already past working hours, and Lu Chen did not see the groups of female workers entering and leaving the textile factory.

When Lu Chen arrived at a rather dilapidated low building that even gave the impression of being on the verge of collapse, he couldn't help but stop.

Raising his head, Lu Chen looked at the cracks in the wall of the low building, hastily covered by metal sheets, and then cast a hesitant glance at Yu beside him.

Then Yu waved his hand dismissively: "It won't fall over."

"It's been hundreds of years; if it were going to collapse, it would have collapsed long ago."

These words only deepened Lu Chen's doubts.

In the end, she gritted her teeth and followed Yu inside.

The dimly lit stairwell and the dirty, sticky floor made Lu Chen feel uncomfortable again.

Climbing to the third floor, Yu bent down outside a door, and a red light immediately lit up on the lock.

"Scan pupil information."

jingle.

With a mechanical sound, the red light turned green, and the door unlocked.

At Yu's invitation, Lu Chen finally stepped into what Yu called the "apartment".