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

Chapter 064 Name Your Price

When Yu said these words, Lu Chen paid a little attention to Yu's emotional state.

Once it was confirmed that there was no problem with the jade—or at least not a major problem—then the current situation was considered.

As the old saying goes: plans can't keep up with changes.

Originally, Lu Chen and Yu planned to try to find the small hibernation pod entrusted by Commissioner No. 9529 on this trip.

If it can't be found, use the previously hidden hibernation pod as a guaranteed return for this trip out of the city.

Then they continued to cut in line to leave the city and continued searching for that small hibernation pod.

Whether or not we can find them, we must bring back at least one hibernation pod each time—two would be even better.

Those six wheel axles were custom-made to meet the requirement of "bringing two hibernation pods back to the city".

They would make two or three trips back and forth like this until the dormant storage area was "exposed," then abandon the area and plan for the next exploration zone.

For example, the remote northern suburbs, or lightly irradiated areas more than 300 kilometers away.

...

Now that the hibernation silo area has been exposed ahead of schedule, all plans have been disrupted.

Even though he was unwilling, Lu Chen could only admit: there would be no next trip.

This trip is the last time Lu Chen and Yu will be able to obtain a hibernation pod from this area.

At most, only two of the hibernation pods in this area belong to Lu Chen and Yu.

Moreover, these two weren't just lying there openly for Lu Chen and Yu to pick up—they needed to be fought for.

It requires fighting against those three thugs, as well as other scavengers who have come to watch.

Only by winning them over and bringing them back to the city can Lu Chen and Yu truly belong to each other.

"Since they intend to take over this hibernation silo area for themselves, they must have complete confidence in their military strength."

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Chen made his own judgment.

Upon hearing this, Yu nodded slightly and took over the conversation.

"Their weapons are probably more than these."

"If they're willing to use detonators, they must have hand grenades too."

"Firearms are unlikely, but bows and crossbows are not."

"At least there are things that can be thrown, which can cause damage from a distance."

Yu stopped there, and Lu Chen nodded slightly.

Just three people, and they want to monopolize this entire hibernation pod area?

And it caused such a big commotion, attracting dozens, or even hundreds, of scavengers.

Even though scavengers generally act alone and rarely form alliances, this is undoubtedly an extremely risky move.

The only explanation is that they are confident enough to deal with the scavengers who are "surrounded by wolves".

With only three people, this confidence does not come from a numerical advantage.

We're all scavengers, so our fighting skills won't differ too much;

At least they cannot fight against many people alone. Three people can deal with dozens or even hundreds of people in a relay battle, and they are even afraid of it.

Therefore, their confidence can only stem from their weapons.

...

"There is a very high probability that there are explosives, and there is a high possibility that there are long-range attack methods."

"A direct assault is too risky."

Lu Chen's words caused Yu to turn around with a slight surprise.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Lu Chen clearly conveyed: risk?

Who said we should be "radical"?

Despite being stared at by Yu's strange gaze, Lu Chen remained unfazed.

Without changing his expression, he calmly said, "Major decisions can be radical, but specific actions must, of course, be more cautious."

"I'm just radical, not that I'm fearless..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Wei curled the corners of her mouth and looked ahead again.

After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Our advantage lies in our numbers and our weapons."

"They would never guess that there was a second person in the car besides me."

"And who would have guessed that we all had guns."

"Simply put, I'm in the open, while you and the two guns are in the shadows."

"By taking advantage of this, we can catch them off guard."

...

"There are also expected returns."

"This will be our last visit to the hibernation pod area."

"In the next two to three years, we will have to take a detour whenever possible when passing through this area."

"Therefore, our main target is the small hibernation pod entrusted by 9529."

"Once found, you must leave immediately."

"If it cannot be found, then depending on the situation, and provided it is safe to do so, take one or two ordinary hibernation pods with you."

As she spoke, Yu raised her hand and pointed to the instrument panel.

"The battery life is almost gone."

"I can walk a maximum of 60 kilometers."

"If we take action tonight and leave tomorrow morning, we can only travel 60 kilometers before stopping to recharge."

"Where to stop and charge, and which route to take back to the city, also need to be carefully considered."

After he finished speaking, a long silence fell over the carriage.

Both of them were thinking.

They were all working at lightning speed, formulating their next course of action.

At the same time, the two of them, with remarkable tacit understanding, each took out a cigarette and lit it.

Amidst exhaling smoke, the two talked back and forth, gradually refining the plan.

"After we succeed, where to charge our batteries and which route to take back to the city are all things to consider later."

"--agree."

"We can consider it after we succeed."

...

"They have explosives, and they may also have long-range weapons. We can't get too close."

"But the Glock has a limited range, and the distance cannot be too far."

"—That's right."

"A distance of 30-50 meters is barely considered safe."

"I'm confident I can get within 35 meters."

"agree."

...

"We must wait for one of them to leave."

"--agree."

...

"We need to find a way to make them lower their guard a little."

"Try to operate in the latter half of the night."

"--agree."

"It would be best to wait until one of the two people staying behind takes a break before taking any action."

"agree."

...

……

The two spoke and responded to each other from time to time;

He smoked one cigarette after another.

Once the final plan was decided, Yu started the vehicle and reversed to a position 2 kilometers away from the campfire.

After confirming that there were no other scavengers nearby, Lu Chen carefully got out of the car.

He jumped onto the back of the cargo box, crouched down close to the back of the truck, covered his body with a tarpaulin, and then set up the binoculars.

Inside the carriage, Yu crawled into the back seat, pulled up her sleeping bag, put it on, and fell asleep in no time.

Over the next few hours, the binoculars were passed back and forth between the two men.

Lu Chen was in the back cargo box, and Yu was in the back seat of the truck bed, taking turns resting and keeping watch.

Around 2 a.m., one of the three people by the campfire finally drove away, carrying the hibernation pod.

Lu Chen, who was on duty, paid special attention to the size of the hibernation pod.

Then I breathed a sigh of relief.

After that, they didn't change the person anymore.

Yu sat in the driver's seat to keep watch, while Lu Chen went to sleep in the back of the truck.

It wasn't until nearly 5 o'clock that Yu gently tapped the roof of the car.

Three rhythmic knocking sounds came from the back of the truck, and Yu started the pickup truck and drove towards the campfire again.

This time, the pickup truck didn't stop.

I walked straight to a spot about 50 meters from the campfire, then inexplicably turned in an arc and walked diagonally forward, adding another ten meters or so.

When the pickup truck was about 40 meters away from the campfire, diagonally facing the fire, Yu turned the key and turned off the engine.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the two people by the campfire and at least a dozen scavengers within a kilometer radius, they slowly opened the car door.

"There's a deal to be made."

"I need to talk to you guys."

The moment she got off the bus, Yu raised her hands above her head and shouted at the top of her lungs.

After waiting for a moment, he moved very slowly, exposing his entire body to the sight of the two thugs.

"I want his life."

As she spoke, Yu pointed to vehicle number 3994, which was half-dead and leaning against the outside of the pickup truck wheel, by the campfire.

Then he looked at the two of them and gave them an extremely sinister smile.

Name your price.

"As long as I can afford it."

...

"Hand him over to me, and I'll leave immediately."

"As for your hibernation pods, I'm not interested."