Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

She couldn't remember how many "pitfalls" she had encountered, some of which were ridiculously large.

The pit was several kilometers in diameter. Standing on the edge and looking down, all you could see was a patch of yellow mud where no plants grew. She didn't dare take it; it was too big and too conspicuous.

Some were too small, just a pit, no more than two or three meters deep and five or six meters wide. These could only be considered cellars, and no one could live in them at all.

Some were the right size, but the bottom of the pits was full of pebbles.

The surrounding rock walls have weathered, and rubble has rolled down from above, piling up on the ground. It creaks and groans when you step on it, and you never know when it will collapse.

Some of the spots have already been taken.

On the fifth day, Xu Xiaoyan found a small sinkhole on the map and excitedly drove over there.

She parked her car a few hundred meters from the pit opening, parted the withered vines and looked down, discovering that there were people below.

A tent, a pile of campfire ashes, a few empty cans, and a towel drying on a tree branch.

She squatted at the edge of the pit for a long time, making sure no one was down there, probably out looking for food or water. But she still left; a place that had been occupied by someone else became someone else's place.

She didn't want to know who those people were, where they went, or whether they would ever come back. All she knew was that this place wasn't hers.

She continued her search.

On the sixth, seventh, and eighth days, Xu Xiaoyan began to doubt whether she was being too picky, or if the sinkhole she had imagined simply did not exist.

Perhaps she should lower her standards and find someone decent enough to settle down with first, and then worry about the rest later.

But the thought only lingered in her mind for a few seconds before she suppressed it. She couldn't settle for less; in this world, settling for less meant entrusting herself to luck.

On the ninth night, she found a place to live that suited her tastes in a remote mountain valley that didn't even have a name on the map.

It was a very ordinary mountain hollow, which from the outside looked like a trough between two mountains, overgrown with withered yellow miscellaneous trees and shrubs.

It's no different from the hundreds or thousands of other valleys in this mountainous region.

She was just passing by, the map on her watch scrolling automatically. She glanced at the dense contour lines every now and then, and suddenly, she stepped on the brakes.

The contour lines break here, not in the normal, gentle transition from hillside to valley, but in an abrupt, closed circle.

It's tiny, only the size of a fingernail on the screen, but the shape is so familiar.

She zoomed in on the map, zoomed in, and zoomed in again, until the circle became clearer.

The contour lines, one ring after another, shrink inwards from the outside to the inside, with the innermost ring having a drop of nearly fifty meters from the outer slope.

She looked up and glanced out the car window. The headlights couldn't reach that far; all she could see was a dark expanse of mountain shadows ahead.

She turned off the engine, stored the car in her storage space, and then walked in that direction with a flashlight.

The road was difficult to walk on, with loose stones and fallen leaves underfoot, making it feel soft and spongy. The beam of the flashlight swept back and forth among the bushes.

Xu Xiaoyan walked for about thirty minutes, then pushed aside the last patch of bushes, and the beam of her flashlight shone down into a dark void.

She crouched down, lay on the edge of the pit, and stretched out her flashlight to shine down.

The light shone on the opposite rock wall, a grayish-white limestone covered with ferns.

As the beam of light moved downwards, the patterns on the rock face appeared layer upon layer, like traces of water erosion over thousands of years. The further down you went, the darker it became, until finally nothing could be seen at all.

She lay there, her ear pressed against the edge of the pit, listening intently.

A cool breeze rose from the bottom of the pit, carrying a damp, earthy, and humus-like scent.

Then she stood up, patted the dirt off her knees, and swept the beam of her flashlight around, but saw no trace of anyone having been there.

Xu Xiaoyan found a flat spot nearby where she could park and took the small truck out of her storage space.

Then I reclined the seat, closed my eyes, and went to sleep. It was too dark now; I would find a way into the sinkhole when it got light.

She slept for an unknown amount of time before being woken up by the heat.

Sweat streamed down her temples, and the itch made her suddenly open her eyes. The back of her shirt was soaked through and stuck stickily to the leather of the seat.

The car was stuffy like a steamer. Last night, she had left a crack in the window to prevent air from getting in, but now it seemed that crack was useless.

The sunlight streamed straight down from the eastern ridgeline, through the windshield, and onto her knees. She reached out and touched the inside of the windshield; it was hot.

She glanced down at her watch; it was only seven o'clock.

She didn't dare to imagine what the sun would be like at noon if it was already this strong at seven o'clock.

This place is not a place to stay for long. Under this sunlight, a car parked in the open without any shade is just a metal coffin.

She can stay inside for an hour or two, but if she stays any longer, it's not a matter of willpower, but rather a matter of heatstroke.

She sighed helplessly, straightened the driver's seat, tugged at the shirt that was sticking to her body, and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

No matter what we're going to do later, let's fill our stomachs first.

She took out rice balls and braised pork from her spatial storage. The white rice grains gleamed slightly in the morning light. She took a bite and chewed slowly in her mouth.

He picked up another piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sauce carries the aroma of star anise, cinnamon, and a touch of dried chili. When mixed with rice, it is broken down into its most original flavor by salivary enzymes between your teeth.

Early in the morning, she wouldn't normally eat such greasy food, but considering that she would be looking for a way into the sinkhole later, she quietly increased her food intake.

Putting aside the sweltering weather, let's talk about the situation we'll be facing later.

Climbing up and down rocks and bushes in places without roads requires more physical exertion than a simple breakfast like porridge can sustain her; she needs calories and protein.

After finishing the last bite of rice, she pushed open the car door and got out.

The heat wave surged in from all directions. The mornings in the mountains should be cool, but the current temperature was beyond what could be predicted by common sense.

She stood by the car door, looked up at the sky, which was a pale blue without a trace of cloud.

The sun hadn't reached its highest point yet, but it was already very strong. The light was so intense that she squinted, and she could feel the burning sting on her skin.

She pondered for a moment and took out items such as sun-protective clothing, sun-protective masks, and sun-protective hats from her storage space.

Xu Xiaoyan unfolded the sun-protective clothing, put it over her short-sleeved shirt, zipped it up to her chin, and slipped the thumb loops on the cuffs into her thumbs, covering her entire arm and even the back of her hand.

Then there are sun protection masks, the kind that only exposes the eyes, dark gray, with a cool fabric that blocks out the heat the moment it touches the face.

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