Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 221 Central City

Xu Xiaoyan fell silent, quickly reassessing the situation in her mind.

20 points to buy two boxes of unopened premium blended spices is, according to her valuation, a complete bargain, even a steal. As for the box of jewelry... it's purely an unexpected bonus, a "burden" that the aunt emotionally discarded.

She looked at the woman's slightly reddened eyes, at her hands that were tightly gripping the box and trembling with force, and at the vulnerability and heartache that could not be hidden beneath her forced toughness.

20 points is not a big burden for her current relatively comfortable situation. For this woman, it might make her feel a little better when she hands over her life's treasures, even if it's just a little self-deception.

In the apocalypse, reason and calculation are the cornerstones of survival, but sometimes, a less "economical" understanding and tolerance may not be entirely a bad thing. Who knows if this box of "beautiful junk" will really be completely useless in the highly regulated underground society of the future, which may also give rise to alternative needs?

The thought flashed through her mind so quickly that she could barely grasp it.

"...Okay," Xu Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had made a difficult decision. Her tone was a little helpless, but she seemed to be moved by the old lady's "treasure" statement. "20 points it is, big sister, don't get excited... I'll take this box with me, just as a special keepsake."

As she spoke, she took out her phone from her inner pocket. The older woman was clearly surprised that she agreed so... suddenly? Or rather, so "quickly"? She paused for a moment, and the toughness and excitement in her eyes were quickly replaced by a feeling of reluctance.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she only let out a barely audible "hmm," loosened her grip on the box, her fingers lingering on the smooth sandalwood surface for a moment before abruptly turning her gaze away.

The 20 points were transferred, and the transaction was completed quickly.

After returning home, Xu Xiaoyan locked the door. On the ground, two heavy boxes of Thirteen Spices and a sandalwood box casually wrapped in old cloth had quietly disappeared. She did not feel any heartfelt joy of finding a treasure, but only a faint, slightly chilly feeling.

In the apocalypse, with its undeniable violence, all values ​​have been reshaped. Gold cannot provide warmth, diamonds cannot fill an empty stomach, and jade cannot withstand the freezing winds of minus seventy degrees Celsius. Faced with the absolute priority of survival, all the value symbols of the old era pale in comparison and even appear absurd.

She shook her head, putting the subtle emotions brought on by this little episode behind her. In the apocalypse, sentimentality is the most useless thing; what she needs is absolute clarity and decisiveness.

On the eighth day, Xu Xiaoyan stood in her almost empty little room, which seemed more spacious than ever before. She sighed softly, not for the parting, but for an unplanned, slight annoyance and helplessness—her space was almost completely filled.

There was also a lot of coal, firewood and sand in the space. At the time, the mentality was "just in case it's useful", "let's put it aside first", "it's better than leaving it outside", with a broad instinct for hoarding.

But now, given the clear information that permanent housing in Zone B will have "free central heating," the presence of these fuels and original building materials seems particularly out of place, cumbersome, and even... somewhat foolish, as they occupy a considerable amount of space.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

The next second, a pile of black coal, firewood tied with hemp rope, and bulging sandbags appeared out of nowhere on the floor of the hut that served as a warehouse. Dust rose slightly as these things reappeared where they were originally collected, carrying a sense of desolation as if they had been "returned".

Since the official exchange points clearly exclude coal, firewood, and other fuels from the recycling list, this is a signal that couldn't be stronger.

Xu Xiaoyan's thinking followed this signal and deduced that the underground city should be a large, enclosed building complex that is buried deep underground, has a complex structure, and relies on an artificial environment maintenance system. No matter how advanced the ventilation system is, it is essentially a relatively closed artificial environment in which air circulation depends on mechanical force. In such a space, what would happen if a large number of residents were allowed to use open flames for heating or cooking?

Smoke, dust, ash... all of these pollute the limited air and increase the burden on the filtration system. But the most deadly is carbon monoxide, which is produced when an open flame burns incompletely. It is colorless, odorless, and difficult to detect, but it can accumulate rapidly in enclosed spaces, causing mass poisoning and death.

In the apocalypse, the greatest fear for any large-scale population center is not external open warfare, but rather these silent, yet potentially catastrophic, internal security threats.

In matters of fundamental importance concerning overall survival and the stable operation of the system, personal cleverness, wishful thinking that "it might come in handy," and the idea of ​​"using what others don't use" are often the most dangerous and most likely to incur severe punishment.

She recalled the madness on the glacier where people would fight each other with knives for a few pounds of fish. That was just chaos caused by scarce resources. But in the highly organized and strictly controlled underground city, violating core security regulations could have far more serious consequences than fighting on the ice. It could mean direct expulsion or even more severe punishment.

These chaotic situations and underlying rules served as a warning to her: at a critical juncture of resource redistribution and drastic changes in social order, the safest and most prudent approach is often to understand the overall trend and follow the clear direction of the "troops," especially regarding fundamental rules concerning public safety.

While the base's management may have many unfair, ruthless, and even exploitative aspects, their decisions are usually based on cold rationality and, to some extent, represent the greatest interests of the group in terms of the underlying logic that sustains the group's most basic survival—such as preventing large-scale internal disasters and maintaining the basic operation of the system. Violating these underlying rules is tantamount to being an enemy of the entire survival system.

After clearing out this part of the "historical baggage", a considerable area was freed up in the space. Xu Xiaoyan, adhering to the principle of never wasting any storage capacity, had an idea: she could go out for a walk and do one last round of "sweeping".

She put on the heavy military green cotton coat, wrapped her head and face with a scarf again until only her eyes were visible, tidied herself up in front of the blurry shards of glass, making sure she looked like an ordinary, down-on-her-luck resident making final preparations for relocation, and then pushed open the door and went out.

With only two days left before the unified relocation to the underground city, the atmosphere in the outer city has reached its limit. Cries, arguments, cheap sales, and even sporadic fights have become more frequent, and many people's eyes have been filled with nothing but desperate madness or utter numbness.

Walking through the increasingly chaotic streets, a thought that had been lingering in her mind for a long time became strong again: ever since the day she stepped into the Linchuan base, her activity radius had been confined to the residences and alleys in the outer city, as well as the treacherous glacier outside the city.

Behind that tall, heavy, heavily guarded concrete wall that separates the interior of the base, what exactly is inside the area known as "Midtown"?

All she knew was that Midtown was home to the base's technicians, low-ranking officials, employees with stable jobs and their families, some native inhabitants, and some people who had obtained residency rights through special contributions. It was a place with better order and more stable supplies, a place that the residents of the outer city looked up to. But just how good was it? And what was Midtown like now, at this critical juncture of the apocalypse relocation?

A strong curiosity, mixed with a need to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the future living environment, drove her.

On the afternoon of the eighth day, taking advantage of the relatively good lighting, Xu Xiaoyan took the initiative to walk towards the gate leading to the central city for the first time.

The scene before her made her pause slightly, a hint of surprise rising in her heart. Unlike the entrance she had imagined, which might be equally chaotic and crowded, the gate management here was distinct and exuded an unquestionable sense of order.

The wide gate was clearly divided into two channels. The right channel was relatively sparsely populated, and most of the people passing through were relatively neat and clean, walking at a leisurely pace. Some were even talking to each other in hushed tones.

They simply place their chip-equipped arms on the sensors beside the passage, and with a crisp "beep," the heavy metal gate silently slides open to the side, then quickly closes again after they pass through. The whole process is smooth and quiet, exuding an air of obvious convenience.

The passage on the left, however, presented a completely different scene. There was a queue of moderate length, with people dressed in relatively disheveled clothes and mostly displaying anxious, expectant, or cautiously ingratiating expressions.

Several guards in crisp dark gray uniforms, armed and with serious expressions, stood at the entrance. They checked the identity information of each applicant, questioned them carefully about their reasons, and registered them in detail on a handheld terminal.

Most importantly, everyone allowed to enter needs to confirm on the terminal and pay 0.5 points as a "temporary access management fee".

0.5 points! Not far from Xu Xiaoyan, a man who was also watching couldn't help but mutter a complaint, "Half a day's 'entry fee' just to get in? This is damn..." But despite his complaints, when it was his turn, he paid the points without hesitation, his face showing a mixture of obvious pain and a kind of desperate determination.

This scene deepened Xu Xiaoyan's doubts. At this critical juncture where points directly determine whether one can safely survive the first few days after entering the dungeon, and even the long-term survival level, 0.5 points is definitely not a small amount.

Paying such a price could not possibly be just for casual strolling or satisfying curiosity. What exactly exists in this inner city, or what opportunity could make people from the outer city willing to grit their teeth and pay this "toll" on the eve of entering the underground city, and fight tooth and nail to get in?

She didn't hesitate for long. After checking her heavily disguised attire, she headed straight for the passage on the right—the passage reserved for residents of Midtown and those with special privileges.

She walked up to the sensor, raised her left arm, and felt the cool sensor area touch her skin.

With a soft "beep," the green light turned on, and the heavy metal gate in front of us silently slid open to the side, revealing a clean, spacious passage with stable lighting.

She could feel the gazes cast upon her from the queue on the left—envy, inquiry, jealousy, numbness… She didn’t turn around, but walked steadily into the passage. Her figure quickly disappeared into the light and shadow inside the passage, and the gate closed swiftly and quietly behind her, shutting out the noise, dust, and atmosphere of despair outside.

The moment you step into the Midtown area, the information your senses receive instantly changes. It's not that the air suddenly becomes warm and fragrant—it's still cold, but that cold seems "cleaner." It lacks the thick dust, soot, rotting matter, and murky smell of crowds that are found in the outer city. Instead, there is a tense, restrained "quiet."

The streets were noticeably more orderly than those in the outer city. Although traces of time and signs of simple repairs could be seen, at least the roads were smooth, and there was no litter or puddles everywhere. There were not many pedestrians, and they all walked in a hurry with clear directions. It was rare to see the aimless wandering, the arguing in groups, or the figures squatting in the corners of the walls in a daze that were common in the outer city. Although people's clothes were not particularly fine, they were generally clean and well-fitting, and it was rare to see tattered clothes with patches upon patches.

Xu Xiaoyan's eyes quickly scanned the scene on both sides, and soon she noticed the first significant difference: the items displayed in the shop windows or inside the shops with signs such as "Technical Adjustment Center", "Precision Parts Recycling" and "Instrument Maintenance" made her eyelids twitch slightly.

Instead of the shovels and hammers at the outer city exchange points, there were metal parts that she couldn't name, but which were obviously finely crafted and complex in structure—gears gleaming coldly, neatly arranged circuit boards, cables with various interfaces, and even well-preserved small instrument panels or display modules.

These items lay quietly on the counter, marked with points prices. They were quite expensive, representing knowledge, skills, and the possibility of maintaining more complex systems. They were "high-end goods" rarely seen in the outer city.

Turning a corner, a familiar yet unfamiliar aroma of food wafted over. It was a shop with a small queue of about ten people in front of it, and steam was rising from the window. They were selling lightly baked multigrain pancakes.

The people in line were orderly, talking in hushed tones, and no one cut in line or pushed. The price tag showed that a pancake cost 0.3 points, which was more expensive than similar food in the outer city, but the supply seemed stable, and... the environment was "safe." It was not just about selling food, but more like selling a "guarantee of order" and "basic decency."

Just as she thought that the value of Midtown lay mainly in its relatively good supply of goods and order, she passed by a relatively intact gray three-story building. There were no fancy signs at the entrance of the building, only the house number and the simple words "Technical Data Department".