Ye Tianxuan was stunned, staring thoughtfully at the price list.
The waiter next to him thought he was frightened and quickly said, "Our Longevity City wasn't like this before. Who cared about lifespan before? But after the gods disappeared, everyone is aging rapidly. This is something many people in our city can't accept. All resources are no longer precious. The most precious thing here has become life."
"You look very young, and you're from another city, so you must have a long life ahead of you, right?"
The waiter cautiously inquired, explaining that lifespans in the City of Immortality could be traded. In other words, after the gods disappeared, the citizens of the City of Immortality had been trading their lifespans with each other to avoid death, thus depleting each other's lifespans.
This city, which appears calm on the surface, is probably in utter chaos inside.
"Your prices..." Ye Tianxuan muttered, staring at the price list, "...five carats of aquamarine, can you buy it for one day of your lifespan...?"
Compared to Ye Tianxuan's understanding of gem prices in reality, the prices of luxury goods in Changsheng City are no longer considered extravagant.
"Sigh, in this City of Immortality, staying alive is the most important thing right now. Nobody's buying any of these gemstone ornaments." The salesperson rubbed his hands together. "Sir, this aquamarine you've got your eye on would really suit you. We have one in our shop with a color intensity that's just like your eyes! Would you like to consider it? It's only for one day, just think of it as sleeping in at home for one day!"
Faced with the waiter's enthusiastic sales pitch, Ye Tianxuan pretended to ponder for a moment, "You know I come from the City of Destiny's End. Look at my sickly appearance, who knows how much life I have left? I might die at home tomorrow after buying a gem."
The waiter chuckled dryly. "You're right, sir. You're new here and not familiar with the rules of the City of Immortality yet. I should have you have your lifespan checked first."
As he spoke, the other person hurriedly turned around, took another form from the front desk, and handed it to Ye Tianxuan. "Take a look. If you are interested in our store's gemstones, remember to come and buy them."
This time, what he handed over was the rules sheet, the rules sheet of Changsheng City.
[Rules of the Immortal City:]
The gods of Changsheng City are no longer here, and all the old rules are no longer valid. From now on, the city will be managed by the High Priest. The following rules are newly formulated by the High Priest and will apply throughout Changsheng City.
Rule 1: Resources within Changsheng City will be managed by the main city. From now on, the currency within the city will be lifespan. Lifespan can be freely traded within Changsheng City. Residents who wish to trade lifespan should register at the main city of Changsheng City and meet with the High Priest once a week for the transaction to be conducted personally by the High Priest.
Rule 2: Residents who wish to check their lifespan can go to the main city to have their lifespan checked by the High Priest's subordinates. There is no need to pay for the lifespan check, and the main city is open to residents for free at any time.
Rule Three: Residents of the City of Longevity are required to regularly provide lifespans to the High Priest who manages the City of Longevity, in order to provide the City of Longevity with a longer future. All lifespan management is decided by the High Priest.
Rule Four: Residents are requested to work hard to earn lifespans. If a lifespan is insufficient to sustain them until the next transaction, the city will not be held responsible.
Rule Five: Those who do not live long enough should make arrangements for their own funeral in advance and avoid causing trouble for others.
After reading the entire set of rules, Ye Tianxuan frowned.
In Changsheng City, resources are controlled by the main city. This means that residents need resources and must exchange them for lifespans. They also have to regularly offer lifespans to the high priest. If all currency in the city is converted into lifespans, then if you want to live, you must work to earn lifespans to survive. If your lifespan is insufficient to last until the next transaction, Changsheng City will not care. In fact, if you know that your lifespan is running out, you have to prepare a coffin for yourself in advance.
Every word of these rules exudes utter indifference, showing no regard for human life.
There wasn't a single drop of blood, yet death permeated everything.
Life is both precious and cheap here. It is precious because it is so scarce that everyone wants it, but cheap because it has become a currency for transactions and has lost its original value.
"Sigh... This is really something." Ye Tianxuan had vaguely sensed the abnormality in this city when he arrived, but now, judging from the situation, this city is practically an invisible death compared to the obvious chaos in Zhong Mu's place.
"Lifespan, you have to go to the main city to check, right?" Ye Tianxuan put away the rules sheet and asked the waiter, "Is it really possible to see a person's remaining lifespan?"
"Of course!" the waiter nodded. "Our original gods in the City of Longevity were related to lifespan. Although the gods are no longer here, the High Priest still has the power of the gods. Trading lifespans and checking lifespans are all things that the High Priest can do."
"No wonder the High Priest is managing the City of Immortality..." Ye Tianxuan was originally wondering what kind of person the High Priest was, that he could issue new rules to manage the city. If he was originally associated with the gods, then it would make sense.
"Since you've just arrived in Longevity City, it's best to check your lifespan first to see if you can stay here. The lifespan test is free, so you can go and have it checked," the waiter kindly reminded him. "If it's not suitable, you should try to go to another city. Although none of the cities are very good these days, Longevity City is really taking a toll on your life."
Ye Tianxuan looked up and saw that the waiter had already shaken his head and turned to leave.
His tone was heavy without any attempt to conceal it. The current system is extremely stressful for the residents of Changsheng City. Every day is filled with urgency. In order to make up for the lost lifespan, they can only try their best, otherwise they will really die.
Ye Tianxuan left the gem shop with the rules sheet in his hand. After understanding the city's system, he looked around the city again and realized why everyone in this seemingly glamorous city was so lifeless.
Whether it's the impact of their inherently shortened lifespan or the pressures of the environment, they are indeed not living as well as they appear on the surface.
This is only part of what he has seen so far, and as he approaches the main city near the end of the trading lifespan, he will likely witness some deeper chaos that Ye Tianxuan had anticipated.
"I never thought that I would waste my lifespan in dungeons before, and now I'm in another place that wastes my lifespan. It seems like I'm never having a good time anywhere." Ye Tianxuan clicked his tongue and shook his head, then slowly headed towards the main city.
Since we're already here, let's show him how much lifespan he has left after this resurrection.
Ye Tianxuan didn't know what exactly happened during his slumber. He only heard from the town's members that he was resurrected because of an item, but no one knew about that item or whether his lifespan would be restored after resurrection. So he assumed that his lifespan was the same as before.
If I can tighten my belt and smoke less, I might be able to help Yin Xiu get through this mess, and then I'll have some free time to do what I want when I get back to town.
Of course, the premise is that he can refrain from wasting his lifespan to help others.