novelraw Chapter 049 Idealists
Chapter 049 Idealists
"Effective benefits..."
He uttered a soft murmur, and Lu Chen nodded slowly, seemingly lost in thought.
Before scavenging outside the city, Lu Chen already had a similar concept in mind.
—Working in a coal mine for a day earns you [1 day 2 hours], of which [1 day] will be consumed naturally over time.
Therefore, coal miners only have [2 hours] of disposable income.
Even these two hours are not considered "disposable income" in the conventional sense.
All living expenses, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation, are included within these [2 hours].
Previously, Lu Chen couldn't think of a more accurate adjective, so he temporarily referred to it as: disposable income.
Now, Yu tells Lu Chen: These 2 hours are the miner's "effective income".
Lu Chen had to admit that this term was clearly much more accurate than "disposable income".
Having accepted this new term, Lu Chen pursed his lips slightly and looked at Yu again.
Yu Qing flicked his cigarette ash and said calmly, "The maximum effective benefit that Parasite No. 243 can obtain is [2 hours] per day."
"That means working in a coal mine."
"The higher the job title, the higher the maximum amount of effective income you can obtain."
"From No. 243 all the way to No. 181, they can all be called: laborers."
"The effective income limit for workers is 6 hours per day."
...
"The dividing line between laborers and property owners is number 180: the spurr."
"The maximum effective benefit a motivator can obtain is 10 hours per day."
"—It seems like they only work [4 hours] more than laborers."
"But this [4-hour] period is an almost insurmountable barrier."
"To cross this insurmountable barrier and become a 'property owner,' one needs to at least buy a rope hotel."
"Price [15 years]"
"Like farms and ranches, they have a fixed number and original owners."
"Even if you want to buy, the seller has to be willing to sell to you, and they generally don't accept payment by [time]."
Hearing this, Lu Chen gained a deeper understanding of the City of Time and the various professions in District 18.
Numbers 243-181 represent a total of 63 occupations, all of which involve laborers who earn remuneration by selling their physical labor or certain skills and techniques.
The 27 professions listed as numbers 180-154 mostly acquire wealth through fixed assets, such as rope hotels, farms, and ranches.
Among them were "outliers" such as Enforcement Officer No. 154 and Scavenger No. 172.
The former are those in power, while the latter are considered freelancers.
In the "property-owning professions," even the entry-level 180th whipper needs to spend 15 years to buy a rope hotel.
To be precise, it is a rare resource worth [15 years], not [15 years] of time.
"So that means..."
"Are scavengers who need to spend [240 days] to buy a used pickup truck one of the lowest-investment professions among those with productive assets?"
When Lu Chen asked this question, Yu nodded gently.
"Scavenger No. 172 is the profession with the lowest entry barrier for property ownership."
"—It is also the only profession with property that the vast majority of recovering individuals have a chance to pursue."
"Among the professions with property, apart from scavengers, the 180th type of 'motivator' requires the least investment."
"For professions numbered 180 and above, the required investment will increase, until agriculture and ranching start at 400 years."
...
"Moreover, a used pickup truck worth 240 days can be bought with time."
Other fixed assets can only be obtained by exchanging them for scarce resources of equal value.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen nodded in response, a look of understanding on his face.
Lu Chen finally understood why Yu had said on the day he was resurrected: the only ways for the resurrected to gain time are through coal mines, power plants, and scavenging outside the city.
—Among the labor professions, only the coal mines and power plants where parasite No. 243 worked had no entry barriers.
Other jobs, such as those in chemical plants, steel mills, and textile factories, either require certain technical skills and experience, or a relatively strong physique and extraordinary strength.
Among the professions with assets, only the second-hand pickup truck worth 240 days, which is required to become scavenger number 172, is a threshold that survivors have a chance to reach.
As for the others, they also need to go out of the city to scavenge and obtain scarce resources before they can exchange them for the fixed assets corresponding to their profession.
"So, in other words, if recovering people burdened with debt want to survive in the long run, they have to become scavenger number 172?"
Yu nodded again.
"The effective income from coal mines, power plants—or more accurately, any occupation—is insufficient to support the debt."
"Only by becoming a profession with property can one avoid being crushed by debt."
"Scavenger No. 172 is the only profession with property that the survivors could possibly and have the opportunity to access."
"At the same time, it is also a necessary step before acquiring fixed assets and becoming a propertied profession."
……
Lu Chen slowly nodded, then fell into thought.
After absorbing all this information, he looked up at the jade again.
"I have passed the 'debt repayment' stage."
"We have also acquired the scarce resources needed to purchase fixed assets."
"Therefore, my best option is to use the gold I have to buy fixed assets and become a propertied professional who does not need to venture out of the city."
"The same to you."
Upon hearing this, Yu shook her head with a sigh.
After sighing for a while, he said helplessly, "That's true."
"If you can just sit back and collect rent, who would want to venture out of town and risk their life?"
"But decent fixed assets are very expensive—we simply can't afford them."
"The less desirable ones are like rope hotels, but it's not as good as scavenging outside the city."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen realized: Yu hadn't told him yet how the 180th Whiplash, who owned the Rope Hotel, obtained [Time].
Each person can have 12 minutes per night, with a maximum capacity of 40 to 50 people, resulting in a total income of less than 10 hours.
Add to that the natural 24 hours each day – and the effective returns become negative for 14 hours!
However, before Lu Chen could ask a question, Yu realized what was going on.
With a few words, Lu Chen's doubts were dispelled.
"The Rope Hotel is a kind of welfare provided by the City of Time to its parasites."
"—This is also the origin of the professional title 'Parasite'."
"The 180th Whipper, who owns the Rope Hotel, can receive subsidies from the City of Time as long as he operates normally and accommodates parasites overnight."
"It is distributed once a year, for one year each time—just enough to offset the natural loss."
Lu Chen immediately understood.
That's how it should be, isn't it?
What kind of business is it if you have a productive occupation but the effective income is negative?
However, after learning about the situation, Lu Chen also gave up the idea of "buying a rope hotel".
—The investment of scarce resources, valued at [15 years], yields an effective return of no more than [10 hours] per day.
This gave Lu Chen a strange sense of déjà vu, as if parents were spending hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy their child a job with a monthly salary of 3000 yuan.
It is truly stable.
But it only offers stability.
You won't get rich, but you won't starve either.
...
The 300g of gold in Lu Chen's hand is worth exactly [15 years].
If you want to live a life of leisure with all that gold, then the 180th Whiplash is indeed a good choice.
But Lu Chen's true feelings were utterly opposed to this choice.
After more than 300 years of dormancy, he finally recovered from cancer and was given a second life!
And incredibly, he not only paid off his bank debts, but also acquired 300g of gold!
In this situation, what Lu Chen wants is clearly not a stable life where he can see the end from the beginning.
Furthermore, Lu Chen didn't want to become a thug wielding a stick, patrolling and beating up "hangers".
If possible, Lu Chen even hoped that he could change all of this absurdity—change this absurd city of time.
Even if we can't change things for the time being, we can't just give up completely and quietly blend into it.