Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

"I can't go on..." A young girl stopped first, panting heavily with her hands on her knees. "Can I rest for fifteen minutes?"

Xu Xiaoyan slowed down, feeling the same way. When she worked as a warehouse clerk at Zhonglian Supermarket, she spent all day moving between the shelves and thought she had good physical strength.

But now, carrying a load of over ten kilograms on her back and walking on the uneven road, she realized that her usual amount of exercise was far from enough. Sweat had soaked through her back, and with each breath, she could feel a burning pain in her lungs.

A soldier jogged back, his young face flushed red from the sun, but his eyes remained determined. "Just a little longer! We've only covered a quarter of the distance."

A sigh rose from the crowd, and another soldier added, "It would be best to walk for another hour so that we can reach Qingshui Manor before dark. Think about it, walking at night is not only difficult, but also unsafe."

Xu Xiaoyan looked at the setting sun gradually sinking below the horizon, the twilight spreading across the sky.

"Let's go," a middle-aged man broke the silence, reaching out to pull the girl who had stopped. "If you stop, you'll be even less able to walk."

No one complained anymore, and the group started moving again. In the silence, only heavy breathing and messy footsteps could be heard.

Xu Xiaoyan adjusted her backpack straps, gritted her teeth, and kept up with the group. Every step felt like walking on cotton or dragging lead weights.

When Xu Xiaoyan had walked halfway, she finally heard two young soldiers ahead shout out the words everyone had been waiting for: "Rest for half an hour on the spot."

Almost the instant the words were spoken, everyone seemed to have all their strength drained away, and they plopped down on the broken road surface.

Xu Xiaoyan breathed a sigh of relief, took off her backpack, and took out a compressed biscuit and a bottle of mineral water.

She nibbled on the dry, hard biscuit, chewing each bite carefully, and only after swallowing the last crumb did she unscrew the bottle cap and gulp down water to soothe her throat.

Just then, a slightly shrill voice broke the brief silence beside them, chattering, "Oh dear, this walk is really tiring. I should have brought more things..."

Xu Xiaoyan frowned and subconsciously turned her head to look. She saw an elderly woman wearing floral pajamas standing not far away.

The woman looked to be in great spirits. Although she looked a little tired, she was still quite radiant compared to most of the people around her who looked disheveled and had unfocused eyes.

Her silver-gray hair was neatly combed, without a single strand out of place, and you could even see the signs that it had been styled.

Unlike others who carried bulging backpacks and large bags, the woman only carried a small beige handbag in one hand and held a mobile phone with its screen lit up in the other.

He stood out conspicuously among the fleeing crowd, as if he were taking a stroll in a neighborhood rather than trudging through hardship.

Before Xu Xiaoyan could look away, the older woman moved closer, a somewhat forced smile on her face, her tone carrying an undeniable air of condescension:

"Little girl, I see you just ate such a big piece of compressed biscuit and drank so much water."

As she spoke, her eyes were fixed on the mineral water bottle in Xu Xiaoyan's hand, and the smile on her lips became increasingly self-assured:

"Look, I'm older than you, so my body can't withstand as much stress as you young people. As the old saying goes, respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a traditional virtue. Why don't you give me the remaining half bottle of water? It would be a good deed for you."

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned. The mineral water bottle in her hand paused slightly. She opened her mouth, feeling a sense of absurdity welling up from the bottom of her heart. Are people this direct when asking for water these days?

They didn't even offer a polite "excuse me" or "could you please?" They couldn't even come up with a decent reason, and directly used "respecting the elderly and caring for the young" as a form of moral blackmail?

Her fingers tightened around the water bottle, her previously tired and unfocused eyes instantly clearing as she looked at the older woman with disbelief. "What did you say? You want me to give you the rest of the water?"

Several people who were also resting nearby heard the noise and looked up at them with curiosity and observation in their eyes.

The middle-aged woman seemed accustomed to such stares, even straightening her back slightly. Her smile remained unchanged, but her tone became more assertive:

"Yes, young lady, you're young and healthy, it's okay for you to endure the thirst. But my old bones can't take this. How can I get by without water? Besides, isn't it only right to respect the elderly and care for the young?"

Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and tried her best to keep her voice steady. "I don't even have enough to drink myself, how can I give you any?"

As she spoke, she shook the mineral water bottle in her hand. The bottle was only half full, and the swaying liquid was clearly visible in the sunlight.

The woman's smile froze for a moment, her eyes flickered, but she still refused to give up.

"But you're young. Young people can endure hunger and thirst, but I'm different. I'm old. What if I get sick from thirst and delay everyone's journey? Please, just let me have some help in this emergency."

Xu Xiaoyan frowned, gulped down the rest of the water, and said, "What does thirst have to do with age? Alright, the water's finished, don't worry about it anymore."

She paused, then pointed to the other people around her. "If you're really that thirsty, you can ask the others."

The older woman was speechless at Xu Xiaoyan's decisive actions, her face turning pale and then red.

She glanced at the thoughtful looks around her, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything more. She just glared at Xu Xiaoyan, picked up her handbag, and turned away sullenly.

Before leaving, he muttered to himself, "Young people these days are getting more and more immature."

Xu Xiaoyan ignored the old lady's complaints and rested on her own.

An older man next to her glanced at her and couldn't help but say, "Young lady, you did the right thing. Everyone's water is precious right now, there's no need to indulge this kind of person."

Xu Xiaoyan smiled at the uncle and didn't say anything more.