Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

These things are luxuries for the people in Zone C. A bag of rice can take half a day to exchange at the Zone C exchange point, and it's also limited in quantity.

She had personally witnessed the elderly people queuing up before dawn to reserve a spot and wait for four or five hours just to exchange for a bag of rice.

But here, in the supermarket in Zone B, they're just displayed on the shelves, and anyone can buy them, as long as you have points.

No need to queue, no limit, buy as many bags as you want, as long as you can afford it.

And what about her? What does she need to buy? Or rather, what does she need to stock up on?

She stood there, her gaze sweeping over the shelves, her mind racing with calculations.

Snacks—lots of them, all kinds of potato chips, biscuits, chocolates, and candies, all stockpiled before. These things are rare in Zone C, but in Zone B, because they are sold in supermarkets, they are not so scarce.

She had just noticed the various snacks on the shelves, some of which were exactly the same brands as those in her space. Of course, the production dates of the snacks in the supermarket were all from the last few months, while the production dates of the snacks in her space should be even earlier.

Tobacco and alcohol – she was grateful to Zhonglian Supermarket for providing the truck, which allowed her to stock up on more than a dozen cases of cigarettes of various brands and alcohols of all types, from high-end to low-end.

These items are considered hard currency in the dungeon; they are "luxury goods" that only those with surplus resources can afford to consume, and those with surplus resources are often those who have resources at their disposal.

Health supplements—there are some, such as Ganoderma lucidum spore powder, Dendrobium officinale, bird's nest, deer antler, American ginseng slices, etc. She didn't know what to do with them before, so she just left them in her space without touching them.

Thinking about it now, these things should be worth some money in the underground city. After all, the people here live in an artificial environment for a long time, lacking sunlight and fresh air, so they all have some health problems.

Especially for the middle-aged and elderly people in Zone B, who have points but health problems, they might be tempted by these "nutritional supplements".

She had several boxes of infant formula, but she didn't know if it was considered a valuable commodity in the dungeon. Logically, wherever there were children, there would be a need for formula, but how many children were there in Area B? How many points would the parents of these children be willing to spend on formula? She had no idea.

These things took up a considerable amount of space in her room. If possible, she hoped to exchange them for some truly practical food or firearms.

But the prerequisite is that she needs to have a clear understanding of the market in District B, know what sells well and what doesn't; know what is valuable and what isn't; and know what the people here need and what they are willing to spend points on.

This information cannot be obtained by simply visiting a supermarket once. It requires living in Area B for a period of time, interacting with people, and knowing the prices of tobacco and alcohol in the dungeon, whether health products are in demand, and whether milk powder is a form of hard currency.

She wandered around the supermarket again, this time more carefully, walking through every shelf and looking at every type of product. She even went to the clothing section on the second floor and the electronics section on the third floor, even though she didn't need those things for the time being, it wouldn't hurt to learn about them.

As she looked, she compared the prices in her mind with those during the ground-level period.

This comparison reveals the problem.

The prices of all items have increased significantly compared to the ground era.

When she was on the ground, although she didn't often buy groceries and cook, she still knew the basic prices. Back then, a five-kilogram bag of rice cost about 10 points, but now it costs 20 points.

She then took a closer look at the price of the fish.

Fish meat costs 10 points per kilogram. If she remembers correctly, the dungeon's official purchase price for fish meat was less than 2 points per kilogram.

Now, in the supermarket in Zone B, the same fish sells for 10 points per kilogram.

It has increased at least fivefold.

A box of ten eggs costs 20 points.

She stared at the price for several seconds: 20 points for ten eggs, averaging 2 points per egg.

She stood there, looking at the price tags, mentally calculating the numbers over and over again.

After calculating, she came to the conclusion that the prices in the dungeon were significantly too high.

This means they need to be careful with their money, and it also means that if they want to live a "better life," they must find ways to earn more points.

If someone is extravagant and eats a pound of rice a day, that's 15 kilograms and 60 points a month. Add in oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, vegetables, and occasionally some meat and eggs, and you'll easily rack up over a hundred points a month.

One hundred or so per person, so three or four hundred for a family of three.

This is just the most basic necessities: food, clothing, shelter, transportation, daily necessities, and what if you get sick and need to see a doctor?

Xu Xiaoyan slowly walked away from the frozen section and wandered aimlessly around the supermarket, still thinking about these things. She realized that she had unknowingly begun to see this place in a different light.

Through these price tags, she saw that the people in Zone B were not carefree either.

They also worry about points, but their "worries" are different from those of the people in Zone C.

The people in Zone C are worried about "whether they will have food to eat today".

People in Zone B are worried about "what to eat today".

The former is survival, the latter is life, but the boundary between survival and life is sometimes not so clear.

She walked to the vicinity of the cashier and stood there for a while. There were six cashiers, all of which were open, and there were three or four people queuing in front of each cashier. Not many people were queuing, and the checkout process was very fast.

A middle-aged man was pushing a shopping cart with several items inside: a bag of rice, a can of oil, a carton of eggs, and several packs of biscuits from the promotional area.

While queuing at the cashier, he took out a small notebook from his pocket, flipped it open, looked at it, and then closed it. Xu Xiaoyan glanced at it; the notebook was covered with writing, like an account book.

A young woman was holding a child and pushing a stroller. The stroller didn't have much stuff in it: a few vegetables, a bag of flour, a carton of milk, and a pack of diapers. The child was squirming in her arms and babbling.

An elderly woman with a full head of white hair walked slowly, pushing a small shopping cart with only a few items inside: a small bag of rice, a small bottle of oil, a few tomatoes, and a bunch of green vegetables.

When she was paying at the cashier, she cautiously said something to the cashier, who shook her head. She could only take the bunch of vegetables out of her car and put it back in the returns area next to her.