parentshiftbook Chapter 002 Jade
Chapter 002 Jade
The robot carried them outside and placed them on the street.
Lu Chen lowered his head blankly and looked again at the string of constantly fluctuating fluorescent green numbers on his left arm.
time;
value;
remuneration;
debt.
【currency……】
[Is it currency, and also... lifespan?]
After thinking for a moment and taking one last look at his left arm, Lu Chen finally slowly raised his head.
The scene that unfolded before Lu Chen's eyes only intensified the sense of unreality, as if he were still trapped in a dream.
On the street, pedestrians come and go, each with their own unique characteristics.
Some have legs completely encased in metal from the knees down—or they may be metal prosthetics.
Yes, his right arm had been replaced by a thick metal object, resembling a certain anime character from Lu Chen's memory.
Yes, some have completely black eyeballs with a red glow emanating from the very center.
Others have metal 'embedded' in their bodies, like exoskeletons, or like mutated tissue growing out of flesh and blood.
Even people who appear normal and whose bodies do not "coexist" with metal often have unusual walking postures.
It's like...
It's like having someone else's hands or feet forcibly replaced on your own body, resulting in a sense of disharmony.
Furthermore, these "people" or individuals share a very peculiar commonality.
--urgent.
As I was walking, I would suddenly raise my left arm to check the ticking time, and then instinctively jog a few steps.
Even when walking, they resemble race walkers; if they increase their speed even slightly, they'll start running uncontrollably.
Through the pedestrians, you can see a row of shops across the street.
—The buildings all use metal as the main building material, supplemented by a small amount of other materials, but Lu Chen couldn't tell exactly what they were.
Occasionally, a few shops have used the side facing the street as a floor-to-ceiling glass window with a dim, semi-transparent yellow tint.
Through the glass, almost nothing could be seen inside the store—Lu Chen even wondered if it was glass or just a thinner plastic sheet.
Behind the shops is a chilling iron wall that extends upwards from the top of the shops.
Lu Chen slowly raised his head, repeatedly raising it until he was completely upturned.
That iron wall seemed to pierce the clouds, with no end in sight.
Of course, there were no clouds either.
At the end of the iron wall, there was a brownish-yellow 'sky' that almost blended into the wall...
"If you delay any longer, your vocal cords will become completely stuck together."
"The treatment costs for mute people are very high."
"Higher than that wall."
A clear, cool, and gentle female voice sounded from behind Lu Chen, who turned around in response.
Then he saw the woman leaning against the wall next to the iron gate where Lu Chen had just walked out, staring straight at him.
At the same time, Lu Chen was also sizing up the woman.
Tight black leather pants accentuate the woman's healthy and natural leg shape, while a pair of worn-out tan ankle boots are tucked into the cuffs.
Her upper body was covered by a large, dark trench coat that completely covered her from the knees up.
Even her face was mostly hidden by the stand-up collar of her trench coat, revealing only a pair of light blue eyes and unforgettable snow-white skin.
There was also equally snow-white, even more striking white hair, white eyebrows, white eyelashes...
"My name is Yu."
"Your scavenger."
"Come with me."
With a concise greeting, by the time Lu Chen came to his senses, Yu's figure had already appeared across the street.
"You have about three minutes left."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen's heart tightened for no reason, and he quickly took a step and walked towards the other side of the street.
·
·
·
·
Upon entering a shop with floor-to-ceiling windows, the two sat down on either side of a long table.
As soon as he sat down, the waiter in the store—a "person" whose leg joints moved in opposite directions—handed Lu Chen a glass of water.
Lu Chen quickly took it and tilted his head back to gulp it down.
The water slid down my throat, and a cool sensation spread through my chest.
Even my groggy head seemed to clear up considerably.
Sitting opposite, Yu remained hidden in her trench coat, silently looking at Lu Chen.
Only after the waiter handed her a flat metal block did she turn slightly to the side, extend her snow-white left arm, and place her wrist in the groove on the metal block.
【00:149:07:35:26】
...
【00:149:01:35:22】
"puff!!"
The moment Yu Lu's left arm was exposed, Lu Chen's attention was drawn to the familiar string of fluorescent green numbers.
When Lu Chen saw the number on Yu's arm—Yu's time—six hours were deducted in the blink of an eye, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of water.
Then, filled with horror, they craned their necks to look at the flat iron block in the 'person's' hand;
He lowered his head again and looked at the metal cup in his hand, which had a maximum capacity of 200 milliliters.
Six hours?!
"—It takes six hours to make a cup of water!!"
A hoarse cry of surprise failed to draw Lu Chen's attention to the fact that he was already able to speak.
Across from her, Yu frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat displeased.
"That spit you just made is worth two hours."
The cold, emotionless tone of his voice left Lu Chen speechless.
Although still shocked and angry, he also lowered his head in embarrassment, a sense of shame welling up inside him.
Two hours.
He vomited a mouthful of water on the ground for two hours straight, and it was impossible to pick it up.
Although he wasn't quite sure what the purchasing power of two hours was in this world, the thought that time was linked to lifespan made Lu Chen feel a pang of pain in his heart.
After a long while, Lu Chen finally managed to calm himself down and looked up at the person opposite him again.
A hint of complexity flickered in his gaze as he looked at Yu.
"Shouldn't we sign the Private Debt Repayment Agreement next?"
Before Yu could react, he quickly added, "Just now, that robot said..."
"--I know."
Before he could finish speaking, Yu coldly interrupted Lu Chen.
"You owe the bank 6 years' worth of debt, and you have to pay interest every month for 300 days until the debt is paid off in a lump sum."
"Bank debt takes precedence over private debt."
Lu Chen was taken aback upon hearing this.
How did you know?
Yu lowered her eyes indifferently: "You're not the first."
A single, casual remark caused Lu Chen's expression to change repeatedly.
His expression shifted, and he seemed to understand something as he lowered his head and touched the numbers on his left arm.
Then, he curled up the corners of his mouth with a slightly self-deprecating smile.
"The 9527th?"
Yu nodded gently.
"There is no point in me rushing to sign the Private Debt Repayment Agreement now."
"Because based on my experience, your chances of survival in the next thirty-five days are infinitely close to zero."
"That glass of water you just drank was most likely the last glass of clean water you would drink in the City of Time."
The tone was clearly calm and indifferent, yet it quietly stirred up a storm in Lu Chen's heart.
—The chance of survival is infinitely close to zero.
—Thirty-five days.
—The last glass of water…
In an instant, Lu Chen felt as if he had been subjected to a mental attack, his mind buzzing.
The blood, which had just resumed its flow, seemed to freeze again at this moment.
Even the fluorescent green numbers on his left arm seemed to be beating more slowly and heavily.
"Why... thirty-five days?"
In just a few words, Lu Chen's voice already trembled slightly.
Yu remained calm and composed, her eyes revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"For today is July 30th, 294 AD."
"You will have to pay interest on the debt for [300 days] before midnight tonight."
"—They gave you [1 year]."
"After using up [300 days], you have less than [65 days] left, which is only enough for you to get through August at most."
...
"Before September arrives, there is a very small chance that you will be able to make up 300 days to pay the interest on your debt in August."
"But it's just enough."
"--Perhaps it's September 1st, or maybe the 2nd or 3rd."
"At the latest, within four days, you will be forced to repay by the bank because you will run out of time and no longer have the ability to repay."
"Your body will be dismembered and auctioned off to cover debt losses."