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

Chapter 045 Survival = Main Theme

From beginning to end.

From the moment the old man stepped out of the iron gate until the car drove away.

Throughout the entire process, Lu Chen and Yu remained in a state of constant confusion.

Even after the sedan carrying the old car disappeared at the end of the street, the two remained standing there for a long time without any reaction.

Neither of them could understand it.

I can't understand why, in the City of Time, in this dog-eat-dog world, there would be someone wearing an executive jacket walking out of the recovery point.

In any case, Lu Chen did work as a trainee police officer for a few months in 2025.

Putting aside his professional experience—at least Lu Chen had read the news!

Lu Chen was absolutely certain that the old man's attire and demeanor could only exist in a specific group of people.

Officials.

Moreover, he is a highly recognizable senior official.

So, why?

Why is he in hibernation?

Thinking further: Why was his recovery process conducted at recovery point number 3?

After his recovery, why was he able to enjoy such high treatment and attain such a superior status?

Where did that car come from, and who sent it to pick him up?

Where will he go and what will he do?

……

In a short moment, countless thoughts flashed through Lu Chen and Yu's minds.

The more I think about it, the more questions arise in my mind;

The two felt an increasingly strong sense of unreality about what had just happened.

After an unknown amount of time—so long that coal miners starting to leave work began to appear on the streets—the two finally regained their composure.

With Yu's reminder, they carefully put away the 1000g gold bar, and then, in a daze, they started walking, like walking corpses, on their way "home".

It's past 19 PM.

Coal mines, power plants, and textile factories have all ceased operations.

The number of pedestrians on the street suddenly increased.

Lu Chen had no interest in observing the factories he didn't know or the workers in different professions.

Back at Yu's apartment, Lu Chen couldn't even remember how he got back.

"you say……"

"That nuclear war that spanned the entire globe..."

Following Yu into the house, Lu Chen sat cross-legged in front of her after Yu sat down on the edge of the mattress.

After a long silence, he finally uttered these words.

Yu Hun nodded absentmindedly, then shook his head inexplicably.

"It's hard to say."

"That is indeed a possibility."

"—They may have foreseen the outcome before the war even broke out."

"That's why some people were selected, or perhaps everyone was put into hibernation."

"Judging from the way the City of Time treats them..."

Yu stopped speaking halfway through her sentence, frowning.

Lu Chen then took over the conversation, murmuring in a tone almost like a dream, "If that's really the case..."

"Then, after the war, the survivors who built the City of Time should perhaps no longer be called 'survivors'."

"Instead, they should be called: postwar rebuilders who were tasked with 'building the city of time' and were designated to 'survive by orders'."

...

"If this conjecture is true, it means that the blueprint for the construction of the City of Time was already determined by those in power long before the nuclear war."

"They knew that nuclear war would break out, and they knew the consequences of war."

"Therefore, they made arrangements in advance for the 'Reconstructors' to build the City of Time after the war."

"As for themselves, they hid in hibernation pods to avoid the nuclear apocalypse."

"When their hibernation pods are retrieved one day, their power in the old era will be transformed into a transcendent status in the new era—in the City of Time."

...

After saying these words, Lu Chen inexplicably felt his mouth dry and his expression remained blank.

Yu also looked deep in thought, her gaze unfocused, sitting on the edge of the mattress in front of her.

—The 1000g gold brick was placed between the two of them.

At this moment, neither of them had any interest in this priceless piece of gold.

It's like one day you're working overtime at the company, and all you can think about is earning a few dozen yuan in overtime pay.

As it was almost midnight, an alien suddenly appeared and transferred 50 million to your bank account!

Fifty million is certainly a lot.

Receiving 50 million is certainly something to be happy about.

—You should even be overjoyed and slap yourself repeatedly to see if you're dreaming.

But your focus will inevitably be on that alien, not on the 50 million dollars that fell from the sky.

At this moment, Lu Chen and Yu are in a similar state.

...

"Therefore, no one has ever seen a recovering person walk out of recovery point number 3."

"—Because they don't belong to District 18 at all."

"They belong to the very top of the pyramid."

After a long silence, Yu Youyou uttered a word that slightly pulled Lu Chen back to his senses.

Looking up at the sound, she saw a bewildered expression on her jade-like face, but her gaze was fixed on the depths of Lu Chen's eyes.

"They were taken away, probably to Zone 0."

"They might become the rulers of the City of Time, even 'possess' the City of Time..."

"Profession Number 1"

...

……

The room fell completely silent.

Neither Yu nor Lu Chen spoke again.

Even their breathing slowed down and became lighter involuntarily.

Within the City of Time, the lights are bright, day and night.

As it approached 21 p.m., the streetlights shone faintly through the milky white plastic window, illuminating Yu's back and Lu Chen's face.

The two sat facing each other on the edge of the window, like statues, remaining silent for a long time.

...

"What do you think will be the number one profession?"

"City Lord?"

"ruler?"

Finally, Lu Chen broke this long trajectory.

Yu took a deep breath and shook her head absentmindedly.

"In District 18, people's knowledge of occupational codes is limited to those below 154."

"No one with a job number higher than 154 has ever appeared in the 18th district."

...

"Sheriff No. 154 is the highest-ranking and most powerful person in the 18th District."

"But in the inner city, he might just be a local police officer, or a sheriff or something like that."

After saying this, Yu returned to her dazed state and sat blankly on the ground.

A long, long time passed.

After a long while, Lu Chen inexplicably felt a tightness in his chest, and Yu Cai finally "returned to his senses".

He took a deep breath, then exhaled a long breath of stale air, his gaze still somewhat unfocused as he looked at Lu Chen.

"Someone once told me this."

"—The City of Time holds countless secrets."

"But time is precious and should not be wasted on searching for meaningless secrets."

"Survival is the main theme of the City of Time."

"At least it's the main theme of District 18."

...

"We probably shouldn't delve too deeply into that person's background and whereabouts."

There's no need to think about it too deeply.

"—It's meaningless."

"Whether we want to or not, whether we can see through it or not, we cannot change reality."

"What we should be concerned about is our own survival."