Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

In no time at all, the three of them had packed their bags and rejoined the slowly creeping crowd.

Xie Yingtang continued to walk at the front, Wang Xiao was in the middle, occasionally turning back to check Xu Xiaoyan's position, while Xiaoyan followed at the back, adjusting the shoulder straps of her backpack as she walked.

As dawn broke, this massive procession began its long and seemingly endless journey northwest along the abandoned road.

With their relatively abundant physical strength, the three of them continued to weave through the pedestrians.

They surpassed those with families to support and heavy burdens, and they also overtook those who, though strong and healthy, fell behind due to hunger or illness.

While surpassing others in physical strength may attract some envious, jealous, or indifferent glances, it causes far less conflict than fighting for territory in the camp.

Most people just watch them pass by silently, at most sighing in their hearts, and then continue on their way with their heads down.

After following the main force for two consecutive days, Xu Xiaoyan, with her keen observation skills, roughly figured out the movement pattern of this large group:

Around six o'clock in the morning, faint sounds and whistles could be heard from the core area of ​​the army, which was the signal to break camp and set off.

At noon, the team will stop in a relatively open area for a short rest of about an hour.

This period of time was extremely tense, barely enough for people to catch their breath, drink some water, and eat a few bites of cold dry rations. There was simply no time or energy to leave the brigade to find additional food.

At 6 p.m., as darkness begins to fall, the team will stop again and rest overnight in a selected area.

The crux of the problem lies here: a grueling twelve-hour hike each day severely depletes everyone's physical strength.

When they could finally stop at six o'clock in the evening, most people were exhausted and just wanted to collapse on the ground, not wanting to move a single finger.

Where would they find the extra energy to carefully search for food in the unknown and potentially dangerous surrounding areas?

However, not seeking food means either running out of resources or waiting to starve to death.

This immense pressure to survive directly led to the proliferation and normalization of plundering within the group.

Those who still have physical strength or who are inherently predatory target those survivors who appear weaker or less wary.

Robbing them of their already meager rations became the fastest and easiest way to "obtain" them.

Those whose food was taken away were instantly plunged into despair; without food, they could not sustain themselves for the long journey the next day.

In order to survive, they had to leave the main group and find anything they could eat on the spot.

This stop often means falling behind the pace of the group and being left to fend for themselves.

Therefore, people constantly fall behind or disappear for various reasons, but new survivors from all directions hear the news and continuously join the group, thus forming a cyclical pattern:

The weak are eliminated, and new people join, while those who can keep up with the army are almost always people with outstanding physical strength, mental fortitude, and methods.

The three of them kept overtaking the exhausted crowd and gradually moved closer to the front of the group.

However, just when they thought they could get closer to the army, an invisible barrier appeared.

Ahead, about a hundred people had clearly formed a close-knit group.

Unlike the scattered crowd behind them who acted independently, they had a vague formation and division of labor.

Several burly men with fierce eyes were positioned around the perimeter of the group, like patrolling sentries, vigilantly scrutinizing every "outsider" who tried to approach.

Their gazes swept over Xie Yingtang and his two companions, carrying undisguised rejection and warning, as if to say, "This road is blocked."

Upon seeing this, Wang Xiao's anger flared up instantly. His brows furrowed, his mouth opened, and the words "What the hell are you blocking the way for?" were almost about to spill out.

Why are you the ones who get to occupy the best spots when we're all refugees?

Just before he spoke, Xie Yingtang's arm, like an iron clamp, silently grabbed his arm. The force was not great, but it carried an undeniable sense of restraint.

Wang Xiao swallowed the profanity that was on the tip of his tongue, stiffened his neck, and glared angrily at the "wall of people" in front of him.

Xie Yingtang didn't look at Wang Xiao. He stopped moving forward and led the two of them to retreat slightly to the side, maintaining a distance of about forty or fifty meters from the group.

Xu Xiaoyan looked at the already formidable group of a hundred people in front of her, then glanced at Wang Xiao, who was suppressing his anger, and Xie Yingtang, who had a calm expression, and understood.

She lowered her voice, a hint of knowing mockery in her voice, and said, "This is... forming alliances and carving out territories in advance?"

Xie Yingtang nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the movements ahead, and replied:

"Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Judging from their behavior, this situation has been going on for a long time. They have a tacit understanding with each other. The three of us will not gain anything by forcing our way in."

He paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice, "Let's just bear with it for now. It's better to avoid trouble. There's nothing we can do about it."

Xu Xiaoyan sighed helplessly after hearing this.

Four consecutive days of tedious and exhausting trekking left the entire team in a state of numb silence.

On the fifth day, as darkness fell, the procession slowly came to a stop as usual. People, covered in dust and weary, began to look for their places to stay for the night.

Xu Xiaoyan and her two companions wanted to grab a spot that was relatively close to the small group.

Unlike many others, they didn't immediately start a fire. Instead, they found a place to sit down and prepared to rest for a while before considering starting a fire for warmth.

Just then, a chaotic scream and commotion erupted unexpectedly from the middle and rear of the line!

At first, there were a few cries of confusion and discomfort: "Ouch! What kind of bug is this? It's black and keeps crawling all over me!"

"Ouch! My body hurts and itches so much! Is it a mosquito? No, this thing doesn't have wings!" The voice was filled with the pain of being bitten and the sudden panic.

Immediately afterwards, a piercing, almost distorted voice, filled with extreme terror, tore through the night sky:

"Oh my god!!! It's a tick!!! I've seen these horrible things in the mountains back home! Run! Run fast!! Don't let it bite you!" This realization spread like wildfire among the crowd.

"Ticks? The kind that sucks blood and can transmit diseases?"

"Don't get bitten! I heard it can cause a high fever and even death!"