"Are you sure this price is 'cheap'?" Lin Sizhi asked.
Yang Yuting's profession was company executive, which could also be roughly discerned from her appearance and demeanor.
She wore delicate light makeup, and although the clothes on her body didn't look particularly conspicuous, careful observation would reveal that each piece was extremely design-focused, probably from certain international luxury brands.
Her temperament gave people an obvious feeling of living in comfort and luxury.
"Of course it's very cheap!"
Yang Yuting said seriously, "We can determine the general purchasing power from the ingredients.
"Calculating from the prices of cola and eggs, here 1 minute of visa time is roughly equivalent to 1 yuan from the original world, right?"
Lin Sizhi nodded, "No problem."
Yang Yuting continued, "Then, let's calculate based on the minimum hourly wage from the original world:
"But here, 1 hour is equivalent to 60 yuan.
"Enough to buy two pounds of chicken wings or six pounds of potatoes.
"Isn't this still considered cheap?"
Lin Sizhi was silent for a moment, "But have you considered that this is a world where even breathing requires payment?"
Yang Yuting was stunned, then suddenly realized.
"Huh?
"Ah, right...
"In this world, if you don't do anything each day, you'll still spend 24 hours of visa time, which is equivalent to...
"1440 yuan!"
This number startled her.
Lin Sizhi nodded, "Yes, to survive in this world, we must earn at least 1440 minutes of visa time every day.
"And on top of that, even just considering basic living security, we need to earn at least 1 additional hour of visa time.
"1500 minutes daily wage is our bottom-line income to survive in this world.
"Not only that, prepared meals compared to ingredients have much higher 'labor costs' than in the original world.
"Take fried rice with eggs, for example. According to normal prices, it should be around 15 yuan, but here it's doubled.
"Can you imagine spending 30 yuan for a simple roadside stall fried rice with eggs?"
Yang Yuting's face obviously became somewhat unpleasant, "Then it does seem a bit expensive indeed..."
The two stopped talking.
After considering for a moment, Lin Sizhi still chose to order a tomato and egg rice bowl.
Then he placed the visa bracelet on his left hand under the machine and swiped it.
"Beep."
After a slight notification sound, the screen displayed Lin Sizhi's remaining visa time.
[117 days - 21 hours 53 minutes]
"That is to say, I still have more than three months to live..."
Lin Sizhi found it hard to say whether this time should be considered long or short.
If calculated according to real-life lifespan, assuming a life expectancy of 70 years, three months could obviously be described as "not far from death."
But there was also one thing that couldn't be ignored: he and these people might already be dead.
Every minute living in the New World was equivalent to some kind of gift.
In many similar survival-themed film and television works, the survival period distributed according to game rules was basically calculated in days.
Starting with three months was already quite generous.
Moreover, visa time could be earned later through games in the Gallery.
Although there was certain danger, no matter what, as long as one was alive, there was still hope.
"What! So little!"
The 53-year-old delivery worker Ding Wenqiang looked at the visa time on the screen.
[11 days - 13 hours 37 minutes]
"Brother Ding, how much visa time do you have?" Su Xiucen asked worriedly.
Ding Wenqiang's expression was somewhat stiff, "See for yourself."
Su Xiucen looked, "11 days... Brother Ding, I'm about the same as you, I have 17 days."
She looked toward Qin Yao beside her, "Little girl, what about your time?"
Number 7 Qin Yao, 24 years old, profession: fashion model.
She was the youngest and most beautiful among all players.
"I... I have 45 days."
Qin Yao hesitated but still answered truthfully.
Ding Wenqiang's face darkened. He looked around and quickly spotted Wang Yongxin separated from him by one empty vending machine.
"How much time do you have left?"
Wang Yongxin looked at him somewhat inexplicably, "Why should I tell you?
"Never mind strangers, even directly asking relatives and friends how much savings they have would be very ill-mannered behavior, right?"
Ding Wenqiang's eyes widened, "Kid, who are you calling ill-mannered?"
Again, Fu Chen was the first to mediate, "Alright, alright, Uncle Ding, there's no need to argue over this. Remaining visa time is indeed relatively private information, so it's normal not to want to disclose it.
"If you really want to know, I can tell you my remaining visa time: I still have one month and ten days."
Criminal investigator Cao Haichuan came to the vending machine on Ding Wenqiang's right, calmly separating him from Wang Yongxin, then swiped his visa.
"Oh, I don't have much time left either, only 21 days.
"It's fine, didn't the community rules just say? We can still earn time.
"Since we can earn it, what's there to worry about?
"Huh? They even sell cigarettes here?
"And Baijjiang? Ha, that's really great."
Cao Haichuan immediately spent 10 minutes of visa time to buy a pack of Baijjiang cigarettes. The vending machine even thoughtfully included a lighter.
"Want a smoke?" Cao Haichuan took out one.
Ding Wenqiang shook his head, "Next time."
"Alright." Cao Haichuan didn't even bother ordering food and went directly with his cigarettes to find an outdoor area where smoking was allowed.
Lin Sizhi listened from afar, quickly organizing related information in his mind.
"My visa time is more than double the normal amount.
"Is it because of Wei Xinjian?"
According to the rules, when a player dies in a game, the game designer will receive all the remaining visa time of that player.
Then the extra time Lin Sizhi had might very well come from Wei Xinjian, or be a special reward for completing the game.
So, if others knew about Lin Sizhi's visa time, it could very likely create hidden dangers.
Although there were many ways to cover it up in the short term, as time passed and everyone became more familiar with the rules, these hidden dangers might take root and sprout.
Lin Sizhi quickly completed payment and exited the vending machine's purchase interface.
The screen showed "Preparing meal," and soon, a hot tomato and egg rice bowl appeared in the vending machine's window.
"Brother Lin, have you already ordered? How much time do you have left?" Fu Chen saw Lin Sizhi walking toward him with the tomato and egg rice bowl and asked casually.
"About the same as you all, a bit over a month." Lin Sizhi's expression remained normal.
Fu Chen nodded slightly, "Mm... looks like it matches my estimate. The New World's distribution of basic visa time should also follow some basic rules...
"Each person's baseline visa time is about one month.
"But according to certain different factors, this time fluctuates up and down.
"For example, young people's visa time is generally more than one month, while older people get deductions, or it might be related to the wealth everyone possessed in the real world."
Fu Chen looked toward Wang Yongxin again, obviously wanting to verify this point. Wang Yongxin was clearly the most suitable control group.