parentshiftbook Chapter 034 Don't Blame Me for Not Warning You
Chapter 034 Don't Blame Me for Not Warning You
Perhaps the lights were too bright.
Or perhaps it's the keen perception that scavengers have ingrained in their bones and blood.
As the pickup truck approached the rest area, Yu, who was in the passenger seat, slowly woke up.
As expected, a few hundred meters from the rest area, he asked Lu Chen to park the car so he could drive himself.
Then I floored the gas pedal, trying to get to the rest area as quickly as possible!
Under the glaring lights, the pickup truck screeched to a halt outside the intersection, making a piercing "whoosh" sound.
In the driver's seat, Yu gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, her leg on the brake pedal stretched straight out.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was solemn!
But when the two mechanical arms on either side of the car door slowly raised and handed the card reader out the window, Yu's tense expression suddenly relaxed.
"Scan pupil information."
"Scavenger: No. 18-172-9101"
"Recovered: No. 9527"
「于294年8月3日，7点01分06秒外出；于8月4日，23点14分50秒回返。」
「于：8月5日7点之前停靠休息区，停靠时长【7小时45分钟】。」
...
"Please pay."
Accompanied by mechanical noises, Yu and Lu Chen each rolled down one of the car windows.
Then he quickly stretched out his left arm and placed it in the groove on the card reader.
"Payment successful."
"Approved."
...
"Please strictly abide by the 'Regulations on the Management of Rest Areas (Draft for Trial Implementation)'".
Do not move your vehicle unnecessarily; do not approach other people's vehicles;
"Do not touch controlled weapons; do not..."
The mechanical voice coldly proclaimed, and the railings slowly rose.
Yu Yi, no longer anxious, calmly and steadily drove the pickup truck into the rest area.
Lu Chen looked down at the timer on his left arm.
【00:04:21:09:22】
...
昨天出城时，陆晨的余额是【00:06:21:09:35】。
It's clearly not 7 a.m. yet;
It's been 48 hours since we left the city, but there are still 7 hours and 45 minutes left.
But Lu Chen's balance was exactly 2 days short.
Why?
Because in rest areas, you have to pay a 'parking fee' based on the length of time you park.
Lu Chen and Yu will be docked for 7 hours and 45 minutes, waiting for the city gates to open at 7 a.m. tomorrow.
The "stopping fee," or rather, "protection fee," for this stopover time is [7 hours and 45 minutes].
—7 hours and 45 minutes per person.
At any other time, such a large amount of time would definitely have made Lu Chen feel the pinch.
A slice of black bread takes only 4 minutes!
The Rope Hotel is only 12 minutes away!
But now, Lu Chen was looking through the rearview mirror at the hibernation pod that had been towed all the way to the back of the car.
Although he was still a little distressed about the high "parking fee", a tired smile quietly appeared on Lu Chen's lips.
—I'm back.
—It returned intact, with its hibernation pod in tow.
Next, they only need to wait until dawn, when the passage inside the rest area will open, and the two of them can go directly into the city.
In a sense, the rest area can also be considered a city of time—at least an extension of 'law' and 'order'.
"Phew~"
"Now, it's truly 'safe and sound'."
Lu Chen sighed with relief, and Yu beside him nodded slowly.
"Yes~"
"I'm back."
As she spoke, Yu's tone revealed undisguised joy, but her face showed utter exhaustion.
They subconsciously raised their hands, covered their mouths with the backs of their hands, and yawned, thus beginning a yawning relay between the two.
They yawned repeatedly, one after another, and then inexplicably smiled at each other.
Then, they tacitly got out of the car and went to the back of the car to look at the hibernation pod that symbolized enormous 'wealth'.
"It should also be a medical experimental subject."
"—More than 90% of those who recover are medical guinea pigs."
"Private debts of 2 years are mostly unreliable."
"We can only wait until his [time] runs out, he is dismembered and auctioned off, and the bank will give us about 150 days' worth of compensation."
...
"If you don't have the patience to wait, you can sell your private debt claims directly to a bank."
"You can get about 100 days."
Yu spoke calmly and without changing his expression.
It's like saying: How much is this cow worth? How much can you get for the meat and the hide?
Lu Chen's expression was strange; he was still not quite used to this way of thinking that treated people—living people—as commodities, or even livestock that could be "dismembered and sold," and valued them.
Especially in the hibernation pod in front of him, there lay Lu Chen's kind: the revived.
Lu Chen slowly turned his head and looked at Yu Na's calm and composed face, which showed no emotional fluctuations whatsoever.
Perhaps, I haven't fully adapted yet...
Lu Chen thought to himself.
Feeling a mix of emotions, Lu Chen subconsciously turned around and looked at the rest area, which was as bright as day.
—It looks just like a service area on a highway in 2025.
However, unlike the wide variety of goods and shops in the service area;
Before us, there are only two buildings in the rest area built along the outer side of the city wall.
One spot was beneath the huge fluorescent green characters for "bank," with a row of dark, gaping wounds that Lu Chen couldn't possibly miss.
There was no text in the other place, but a bright red cross that was equally huge and inexplicably familiar to Lu Chen.
[Red Cross Foundation?]
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Lu Chen shook his head violently.
How could something so "human" appear in a place like the City of Time?
It may not be "humane" or "good".
It might not even be a thing...
as predicted.
Before Lu Chen could continue guessing, Yu refuted his judgment.
"It's a medical institute."
"We sell various external wound medications and also provide first aid services."
"As long as you're not completely dead—or even as long as your brain is intact, you can survive."
"But it's very expensive."
"Extremely expensive."
...
"Medical costs in the city are already extremely high."
"The elevation here is more than ten times higher than in the city."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen slowly nodded, but had no desire to find out more.
Right now, Lu Chen is still burdened with a 6-year bank debt because of that 10-year-value healing agent.
The thought of medicine and treatment made Lu Chen feel uneasy.
But the banks...
"Walk."
"First, retrieve the stored time."
"After 7 a.m. tomorrow, the service fee for [one day] will be deducted again."
Lu Chen nodded in response and followed Yu to the window.
Before long, both of them retrieved the time they had deposited in the bank.
Lu Chen has saved for 57 days, and Yu has saved for 92 days.
Since it wasn't a full two days, only the service fee for two days was deducted.
陆晨取回【55天】，余额回到【00:59:20:58:14】。
玉取回【90天】，余额回到【00:94:17:20:08】。
The time is 294th year of Genesis, on the evening of August 4th, at 11:26 PM.
"What's next?"
"Want to take a nap?"
After retrieving the [Time] from the bank and returning to the pickup truck, Lu Chen asked a question softly, his finger gently sweeping towards the hibernation compartment at the rear of the vehicle.
Yu, however, came to the driver's seat, casually pulled up his pants, and lit a cigarette for himself.
If you're really worried, then you should stay and watch over it.
"I'm not going to stay."
After saying that, Yu Meng took a few puffs, smoking off most of the cigarette, and then nimbly climbed into the back seat of the car.
He then took out another sleeping bag and quickly stuffed himself inside.
"The driver's seat and the passenger seat are both yours."
"Smoke as much as you want, there's plenty of black bread, and you can even eat the pickled vegetables."
"Drink your own water, and don't touch my clothes."
...
"Even if the sky falls, you hold it up for a while, and whatever you do, don't wake me up."
"I have a terrible temper when I wake up."
"—Very, very heavy."
"Don't blame me for not warning you."