"Are you sure this price is 'cheap'?" Lin Sizhi asked.
Yang Yuting's profession was a corporate executive, a fact that could be roughly discerned from her appearance and demeanor.
She wore exquisite, light makeup, and while her clothes didn't look particularly flashy, a closer look revealed that each piece was highly designed, likely from some international luxury brand.
And her temperament gave off a distinct impression of being pampered and well-off.
"Of course it's very cheap!"
Yang Yuting said seriously, "We can determine the general purchasing power based on the food ingredients.
"Using the prices of Coke and eggs to calculate, 1 minute of visa time here is roughly equivalent to 1 yuan in our original world, right?"
Lin Sizhi nodded, "Right."
Yang Yuting continued, "Then, let's calculate based on the minimum hourly wage in our original world:
"Working for one hour earns about 20 to 30 yuan. Even if we use the highest standard, 1 hour only converts to 30 yuan.
"But here, 1 hour is equivalent to 60 yuan.
"Enough to buy two pounds of chicken wings or six pounds of potatoes.
"Isn't that considered cheap?"
Lin Sizhi was silent for a moment, "But have you considered that this is a world where even breathing costs money?"
Yang Yuting was taken aback for a second, then it dawned on her.
"Huh?
"Ah, right...
"In this world, just by doing nothing, you'd spend 24 hours of visa time every day, 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 to cover basic living expenses, we need to earn an additional hour or more of visa time.
"A daily income of 1500 minutes is the bottom line for us to survive in this world.
"Not only that, but compared to raw ingredients, the 'labor cost' for prepared meals is also much higher than in the original world.
"Take egg fried rice, for example. At normal prices, it should be around 15 yuan, but here it's doubled.
"Can you imagine spending 30 yuan on a simple plate of egg fried rice from a street stall?"
Yang Yuting's expression clearly turned a bit sour, "That does seem a bit expensive..."
The two of them said no more.
After a moment of consideration, Lin Sizhi still chose to order a plate of tomato and egg over rice.
Then he placed the visa bracelet on his left hand under the machine to scan it.
"Beep."
After the soft beep, the screen displayed Lin Sizhi's remaining visa time.
[117 days - 21 hours 53 minutes]
"In other words, I still have over three months to live..."
Lin Sizhi found it hard to say whether this amount of time should be considered long or short.
If calculated based on a real-world lifespan, assuming a life expectancy of 70 years, three months could clearly be described as "not far from death."
But one point couldn't be ignored: he and these people might already be dead.
Every minute lived in this new world was a gift of sorts.
In many similar survival-themed films and TV shows, the survival days granted according to the game rules were usually counted in days.
Being given three months right from the start was already quite generous.
What's more, visa time could be earned later through games in the Arcade.
Although there was a certain degree of danger, no matter what, as long as one was alive, there was still hope.
"What! It's so little!"
Ding Wenqiang, the 53-year-old delivery driver, stared 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 with concern.
Ding Wenqiang's expression was a bit stiff, "See for yourself."
Su Xiucen took a look, "11 days... Brother Ding, I'm about the same as you, I have 17 days."
She then looked at Qin Yao beside her, "Young lady, what about your time?"
Number 7, Qin Yao, 24 years old, a fashion model.
She was the youngest and prettiest of all the players.
"I... I have 45 days."
Qin Yao hesitated for a moment but still answered truthfully.
Ding Wenqiang's face darkened. He looked around and soon saw Wang Yongxin, separated from him by an empty vending machine.
"How much time do you have left?"
Wang Yongxin gave him a baffled look, "Why should I tell you?
"Let alone a stranger, even asking relatives and friends directly how much they have in savings is considered very ill-mannered, isn't it?"
Ding Wenqiang's eyes widened, "Kid, who are you calling ill-mannered?"
Once again, it was Fu Chen who came to mediate first, "Alright, alright, Uncle Ding, there's no need to argue about this. The remaining visa time is indeed rather private information, it's normal for someone to be unwilling to disclose it.
"If you really want to know, I can tell you my remaining visa time: one month and ten days."
Criminal police officer Cao Haichuan came to the vending machine on Ding Wenqiang's right, discreetly separating him from Wang Yongxin, and then scanned his own visa.
"Yo, 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 Baijiang? Heh, that's great."
Cao Haichuan immediately spent 10 minutes of visa time to buy a pack of Baijiang, and the vending machine even thoughtfully included a lighter.
"Smoke?" Cao Haichuan offered one.
Ding Wenqiang shook his head, "Next time."
"Alright." Cao Haichuan didn't even bother to order food and went straight to find an outdoor smoking area with his cigarettes.
Lin Sizhi listened from a distance, quickly organizing the relevant 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's designer will receive all of that player's remaining visa time.
So, the extra time Lin Sizhi had was very likely from Wei Xinjian, or a special reward for completing the game.
Therefore, if others found out about his visa time, it could very well plant a hidden danger.
Although there were many ways to cover it up in the short term, as time went on and everyone understood the rules better, this hidden danger could take root and sprout.
Lin Sizhi quickly completed the payment and exited the vending machine's purchase interface.
A "Dispensing" message appeared on the screen, and soon, a steaming plate of tomato and egg over rice appeared in the vending machine's window.
"Brother Lin, you've already ordered? How much time do you have left?" Fu Chen asked casually as he saw Lin Sizhi walking towards him with the tomato and egg over rice.
"About the same as you all, a little over a month," Lin Sizhi said with a normal expression.
Fu Chen nodded slightly, "Hmm... seems to be as I estimated. The new world's distribution of basic visa time should also follow some fundamental rule...
"Everyone's baseline visa time is about a month.
"But this time fluctuates based on certain different factors.
"For example, younger people generally have more than a month of visa time, while older people have some deducted, or perhaps it's related to the wealth everyone possessed in the real world."
Fu Chen then looked at Wang Yongxin. It was clear that if he wanted to verify this point, Wang Yongxin was the most suitable control subject.