Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

"What's going on? What lottery? What's going on? Can anyone explain this clearly? I just got here and I don't know anything. I'm completely confused!" This was the question from a middle-aged man with a thick out-of-town accent, who had just arrived and looked bewildered and anxious. His voice sounded helpless and panicked amidst the angry shouts.

"Didn't you see that big screen over there? Squeeze over there and see it yourself! Damn it, this is just awful... What kind of nonsense is this..." someone next to me replied irritably, their tone full of frustration and disappointment.

Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat, and the excitement that had just risen instantly froze. She hurriedly squeezed into the outer edge of the crowd, disregarding politeness, standing on tiptoe, craning her neck, and straining to look inside.

In front of the waiting area at the entrance of the housing allocation center, three huge holographic electronic notice screens stood prominently, displaying the "Provisional Plan for the Allocation of Residential Units in Area B".

The rules and regulations below are worded precisely, yet they exude a cold, unquestionable sense of authority:

Given the limited number of residential units in the first phase of planning and construction in Area B that have completed basic environmental control, and the fact that the number of people who have obtained eligibility and actually registered at this stage far exceeds the capacity of Phase I, in order to ensure the "relative fairness" and "efficient use" of resources, the Residential Management Committee has decided to allocate Phase I residential units by "random lottery after eligibility verification".

Unit type and area description: Single standard rooms are divided into type A (approximately 9㎡), type B (approximately 6㎡), and type C (approximately 3㎡), equipped with a basic sleeping area, a small integrated bathroom, basic storage space and standard energy interface.

The double/family rooms are divided into Type D (approximately 14㎡) and Type E (approximately 18㎡), each equipped with a separate sleeping area, a small activity space, integrated bathroom, storage, and standard energy interface.

Technical backbone/special contributor suite: This category is not subject to public lottery, with an area of ​​20㎡, equipped with a separate bedroom, work area, storage, dry and wet separation bathroom and standard energy interface.

Lottery mechanism details: After the final verification of identity ID and initial entry of biometric information (fingerprint, iris) are completed at the registration center, the applicant will receive a randomly generated temporary lottery code.

Using this code, a one-time lottery can be conducted at a designated terminal that is directly connected to the central housing management system.

The lottery process simulates a random draw, and the results will be displayed and locked on the terminal screen in real time and uploaded to the central database. Once the results are generated, they cannot be disputed, changed, or abandoned.

The lottery pool is strictly limited to currently available single standard rooms (Type A/B/C) and double/family rooms (Type D/E). Reserved suites are not included in the random pool.

Additional explanation: The residential units allocated through this lottery are considered to be "permanent use rights" of the units. Holders of these rights can trade or exchange them on the official regulatory platform.

"3 square meters to 9 square meters... random lottery..." Xu Xiaoyan murmured, repeating the most glaring words on the screen, feeling her throat go dry.

She anticipated that living space in the underground city would inevitably be scarce, after all, this was a refuge for humans huddled within the earth's crust, and limited resources were an ironclad rule.

But she never expected that the "B Zone qualification" she had worked so hard to obtain would not bring her a matching and secure living space, but rather a pure gamble!

With good luck, you might win a 9-square-meter Type A apartment from the wheel of fortune, a place to store a few personal belongings; with bad luck, you might draw a 3-square-meter Type C apartment... which is really just a pigeon coop to lie down in! No wonder these people are so furious.

Xu Xiaoyan's gaze swept over the excited and distorted faces. Many of them were well-dressed and their demeanor carried the lingering aura of a certain social class. Clearly, before entering the underground city, they were either "superior people" or at least members of a class that controlled considerable social resources and lived a comfortable life.

They paid a price to gain access to Zone B, thinking they were entering a safer, more orderly, and supposedly "a step up" level of security, a continuation or confirmation of their past status. However, they never expected that even their living space would be decided by a random algorithm. This huge psychological gap and the sudden loss of control over their own destiny were enough to ignite all the fear and resentment in their hearts.

Xu Xiaoyan watched the scene of the crowd's agitation, which was almost out of control. The staff in light gray uniforms stood behind the transparent partition as if facing a formidable enemy. Some people held megaphones and tried their best to explain the rules and calm the emotions, but their voices were completely drowned out by the angry waves and sounded pale and powerless.

She subconsciously gripped the backpack straps tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. The slight sense of relief she had felt earlier from successfully passing through layers of security checks had vanished, replaced by a deeper sense of reality.

The crowd gathered in front of the transparent partitions of the housing allocation center, their angry shouts rising in waves. The initial shock and doubts quickly escalated into utter fury and indignation.

Pushing and shoving began. Those behind were further frustrated by the stalled queue and the heated arguments ahead, and they pushed forward forcefully, while those in front pushed back in response.

Several men, who were the most agitated and seemed to feel the strongest sense of loss, were already red-faced and bulging with their necks. They began to ram their bodies against the seemingly thin but actually quite sturdy frosted semi-transparent partition, trying to break into the office area behind it to "demand an explanation."

The staff behind the partition, especially the female manager holding the megaphone, turned pale. She held up the megaphone in vain, repeatedly shouting, "Maintain order! Please stay calm! Storming the office area is a violation!" But her voice was instantly drowned out, and the situation was sliding towards the brink of getting out of control.

Just as the man at the front was about to slam his shoulder into the partition again, and more people were being incited by this violent tendency and were about to rush forward—"Bang!!!" A dull, metallic crash suddenly came from the side and back of the crowd! The sound was so heavy, with a physical vibration, that it instantly drowned out all the noise.

To the side of the crowd, the heavy security door, which had blended perfectly with the light-colored wall and was almost invisible, suddenly slid open to both sides! The door panels were extremely thick, and the sliding motion created a dull gust of wind. The shadow behind the door was not a passageway, but rather two squads of soldiers rushing out in an instant!

They were covered in matte, sharply defined black lightweight combat exoskeletons, with dark blue energy indicator lights flashing at their joints.

The helmet visor was fully lowered, completely obscuring the face and revealing no expression. Only a cold, emotionless dark red optical aiming assist light flickered on the goggles.

The standard compact submachine guns in their hands were not pointed directly at the rioting crowd, but held in a standard and efficient alert posture in front of their chests, with the muzzle naturally hanging down at about 45 degrees, but their fingers tightly gripping the trigger guard, ready to fire at any time.

What was truly chilling was their silent yet swift tactical encirclement. Two teams surged out of the door in an instant, one on the left and one on the right, silently, quickly, and precisely cutting into the outer perimeter of the crowd in a standard tactical formation. Their boots clattered on the smooth composite floor, producing a uniform, heavy, and unsettling "click! click! click!" sound.

In almost a few breaths, they formed an impenetrable, clearly intimidating arc-shaped encirclement, partially surrounding the restless crowd and the partitions of the housing allocation center.

There were no shouts, no warnings, no superfluous movements, only an absolute display of power and a sense of oppression that permeated the silence.

The deafening clamor abruptly ceased, as if severed by a sharp blade.

The people who were pushing forward, shouting and waving their arms just a second ago suddenly froze in place, as if they had been collectively frozen in place.

The faces, flushed with anger and agitation, rapidly lost their color, leaving only fear, bewilderment, and disbelief.

Those outstretched hands that were pushing and shoving hung in mid-air, then suddenly retracted as if electrocuted, pressing tightly to their sides or in front of them.

The previously boiling sound instantly evaporated, and the entire spacious atrium hall fell into a deathly silence. The only sounds were the uncontrollable, heavy, and trembling breathing of some people, and the pounding of their own hearts in their chests.

Faced with absolute power, especially such highly organized armed force, any theory, argument, or injustice loses its voice, leaving only the most instinctive fear of violence.

The staff members hiding behind the partition visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the female manager even subconsciously raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat that had instantly seeped out from her forehead.

She forced herself to remain calm, took a deep breath, and raised the megaphone again. Her voice, now exceptionally clear in the absolute silence, carried an undeniable air of authority, a result of both her earlier shock and her current control of the situation.

"Please remain calm! I repeat, please remain calm!" Her sharp gaze swept over the crowd, half-surrounded by black-clad soldiers and trembling with fear. Her tone was resolute. "The allocation of residential units in Zone B will be strictly carried out in accordance with the 'Temporary Residential Management Regulations for Emergency Situations at the Base' and the recently announced 'Phase One Allocation Plan'! I understand that you are all new here and have questions or feelings about the rules! But—"

She deliberately drew out her words, "If you continue to storm the office area, disrupt public order, or hinder the normal operation of the base's management functions, the security department will have the right to take necessary measures! At that time, depending on the severity of the circumstances, you will be penalized with deductions of personal citizen contribution points, fines, or even—temporary suspension or cancellation of your access! You will bear the consequences!" The crowd fell even more silent, and even their breathing became much more subdued.

"Now!" The female supervisor raised her voice, her pace quickening, conveying an urgent need to get the out-of-control process back on track and to expedite progress under the guarantee of force. "Everyone, please line up in roughly the same order you arrived, or immediately in front of me in two separate lines! One line on the left! One line on the right! Hurry up! No whispering!"

The crowd began to move silently and obediently, heads bowed, avoiding the dark red spots on the black soldiers' masks and the stern gaze of the person in charge. They reluctantly and haphazardly rearranged themselves into two long, twisted lines that were no longer noisy and dared not overstep any boundaries. Each person subconsciously minimized their presence.

Seeing that order had been largely restored, and only suppressed breathing and the rustling of clothes remained, the person in charge softened his tone slightly, but what he said immediately invigorated many of those who had been listening intently:

"After the lottery is completed, take the confirmation slip printed from the terminal to the service desk marked 'Registration and Binding' on the right to have your fingerprints and facial recognition information entered to complete the housing binding! Don't forget!"

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the crowd again, lingering for a moment on the faces of several who had been the most vocal moments before, but now looked ashen and avoided eye contact. Then, slowly and clearly, she added, her voice carrying through the loudspeakers to every corner of the courtyard:

"In addition, the official statement hereby states: Considering the differences in individual needs and the optimal allocation of resources, if anyone—please note, if—is dissatisfied with their lottery results, the base allows, and only within the framework of official supervision, you to privately negotiate the transaction of the 'right to use' the house."

Many people suddenly raised their heads, and the light in their eyes, which had been suppressed by despair, began to flicker again, mixed with complex calculations, weighing options, and new hope.

"But—!" The female manager immediately emphasized, emphasizing the transition word and sternly suppressing the nascent commotion. "The prerequisite is that both parties to the transaction must be completely voluntary! They must both go to the 'Rights Transfer Registration Office' next to the service desk to complete the formal, registered rights transfer registration procedures! Furthermore, a prescribed transaction fee must be paid! Any transaction reached through coercion, fraud, or coercion, once verified, will result in the immediate cancellation of the B-zone residency rights of those involved, regardless of who they are! They will be permanently blacklisted on the base's credit and social rights blacklist! Do you understand?! This is the red line!"

"Private transaction...right to use the house?" Xu Xiaoyan stood in the slowly moving queue, her mind racing, calculating the implications of the official statement.

Luck determines the starting point, but points, resources, methods, connections... might change the ending point? The authorities don't seem to completely prohibit it, but rather, under strict supervision, tacitly approve or even guide this kind of redistribution based on resource endowment after the fact.

For those who are incredibly lucky and draw a relatively spacious and good unit but lack resources, this may be an opportunity to monetize their "luck" and exchange it for urgently needed points or other resources. For those who have resources or other connections but are unlucky, this may be a glimmer of hope, a possibility to make up for the "luck" gap with "capital". Of course, all of this must be done within the framework set by the authorities and a considerable "management fee" must be paid.

She couldn't help but glance again at the silent people queuing around her. Their faces, whether anxious, numb and resigned, or secretly calculating with their eyes darting around, seemed particularly vivid and complex at this moment.