Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

She took out a children's telescope from her spatial storage, pointed the eyepiece downwards, and although the image quality was average and the edges of the field of view were somewhat distorted, it was enough for her to see the general situation.

What was originally a gentle slope that could only accommodate twenty or thirty people has now amassed about sixty or seventy people.

The crowd split into several groups, facing off against each other.

The glow of the torches danced in the lens, illuminating faces contorted with excitement, fear, or greed.

Near the entrance to the mountain road, several burly men wielding sticks and with fierce expressions were surrounding an old man curled up on the ground.

The old man clutched a cloth bag tightly to his chest, with a few golden ears of corn scattered beside him.

A burly man was kicking an old man while cursing. Although the exact words were unclear, his arrogant attitude could be felt even through binoculars.

A little further away, two groups of people were shoving and arguing fiercely, seemingly over a backpack.

One of the women was pointing at the other woman, her lips moving rapidly, her face full of indignation.

One of the men on the other side impatiently waved a piece of steel bar in his hand, his expression full of threat.

What made Xu Xiaoyan even more uneasy was that she saw several figures moving furtively on the outskirts of the crowd.

They took advantage of the chaos to reach for the backpacks and packages that were carelessly placed on the ground.

One of them quickly stuffed his backpack into his clothes, then casually squeezed into the crowd and disappeared.

She moved the binoculars, carefully searching the corner where they had rested earlier.

Sure enough, the area had already been occupied by another group.

Several people were sitting casually on the rock they had leaned against earlier, sharing food that they had probably stolen from others without any courtesy.

Xu Xiaoyan put down the binoculars and took a deep breath.

Fortunately, they evacuated decisively. If they had been a few minutes later, they might have been surrounded and then caught in endless wrangling and arguments.

After a while, Xu Xiaoyan picked up the children's binoculars again to check the situation below.

The initial fierce conflict seemed to have come to an end, but the tense atmosphere did not dissipate.

She noticed that some people clearly no longer wanted to stay in this place of trouble.

They hurriedly packed their scattered belongings and quickly headed down the mountain, their figures soon disappearing into the dark path leading to the main road.

Those who remained were mostly exhausted, seemingly believing the danger had passed, or simply too physically drained to move.

They found places to sit or lie down in twos and threes, while a few people who looked like they had spontaneously organized a night watch sat on the periphery of the crowd, carrying simple weapons.

But their attention was focused more on the interior of the slope and the direction downhill, and no one looked up to gaze into the higher and darker depths of the mountains where Xu Xiaoyan and his group were.

Xu Xiaoyan gently exhaled the breath she had been holding in her chest. Once her highly focused mind relaxed, a strong sense of fatigue swept over her again.

She blinked hard, shook her head, trying to shake off the sleepiness, but the sense of responsibility for keeping watch kept her going, and she dared not relax completely.

The next day at daybreak, she gently shook Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao awake, and the two immediately opened their eyes.

"How's the situation down here?" Xie Yingtang's voice was low and hoarse, as if he had just woken up.

"Most people are still asleep, a few have woken up, but no one is coming this way," Xu Xiaoyan replied simply. "It seems safe for now."

Wang Xiao yawned and rubbed his stiff neck. "This whole night was more tiring than traveling."

The three of them ate a few roasted corn cobs with cold water to stave off hunger. After finishing their meal, they carefully descended the mountain along the other side of the ridge and returned to the main road that pointed northwest.

For the next seven days, they traveled through barren fields, desolate villages, and broken roads.

Avoid other survivors as much as possible, whether they are lone individuals or in groups of three or five.

The food was monotonous, with roasted corn always being the priority. Occasionally, a few wild fruits or non-poisonous wild vegetables could be found, which was considered a rare improvement.

Water sources were their primary target for search.

Whenever they hear the babbling of the stream, they are invigorated and cautiously approach it. Only after confirming that it is safe will they quickly fill all the bottles and clean themselves in the process.

On the afternoon of the eighth day, as they climbed over a gentle slope covered with gravel, the sight before them brought the three to an instant halt.

Ahead lay a relatively open river valley, where a large and well-organized force, unlike anything they had ever imagined, was stationed.

At the very front was an army of about five or six hundred men.

They were dressed in uniform combat uniforms, which were covered in dust but still clearly marked as standard. Their ranks were relatively neat, and they were fully equipped with weapons. Several trucks were parked on the side of the road.

The deep roar of the engines blended together, and the fluttering flags, though tattered, still waved in the wind, proclaiming the presence of order and power.

What's even more awe-inspiring is the massive, seemingly endless crowd following right behind this army, numbering three to four thousand people!

Men, women, the elderly, children... they carried their bags, pulled simple carts, and helped the old and carried the young.

Although the procession was large, it did not appear chaotic. There seemed to be an invisible discipline binding them as the crowd moved slowly and persistently forward along the path worn by the army.

"Found it... really found it..." Wang Xiao murmured, his mouth agape, his voice filled with unbelievable excitement.

Xu Xiaoyan felt her eyes getting hot.

The anxiety and arduous journey of the past few days seemed to find meaning at this moment. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms.

A hint of joy flashed across Xie Yingtang's deep eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "Let's go, let's go, be careful."

The three of them carefully joined the end of the huge procession, surrounded by the noise of people, the roar of vehicles, and countless pairs of eyes filled with weariness and anticipation.

Xu Xiaoyan's gaze swept across the crowd and finally landed on a middle-aged woman sitting on a simple bag, who was mending clothes with her head down.

The woman's face was weathered but carried a simple and peaceful quality. She didn't seem like a cunning person. Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and forced a friendly smile onto her face.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said softly, with an appropriate tone of inquiry.

"We just arrived and wanted to ask, what are the rules for following the troops? For example... how can we stay with them? Do they provide us with food and lodging?"

The middle-aged woman raised her head, pushed up her worn-out glasses that were tied to the bridge of her nose with a rope, looked Xu Xiaoyan up and down, and then glanced at Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao not far behind her.

Seemingly judging them to be no threat, he sighed and said in a heavily accented voice, "Girl, you just arrived, right? The rules are simple in some ways."