Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Xu Xiaoyan paused for a moment, but did not stop. She continued walking forward, only slightly turning her head to glance back out of the corner of her eye.

Then she saw several blurry, swaying shadows in a grayish-white expanse.

Her heart started racing again, but this time it wasn't from fear, but from an indescribable feeling mixed with helplessness and irritability.

"Look, there's someone over there! Hey! You in front, do you know which direction is northwest?" a loud female voice rang out.

Xu Xiaoyan was forced to stop. She stood there with her back to the three women, rain dripping down the brim of her hat, forming a thin curtain of water in front of her.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled; the air was filled with the smell of rain and earth.

She tried her best to suppress her emotions and slowly turned around.

The three women were standing about thirty or forty meters behind her, with blue and white striped tarpaulins still above their heads, but this time, their positions had changed.

The tall one went to the middle, the short one went in front, and the one of medium height was at the back.

The one who spoke was the woman with the walkie-talkie. Her arm was outstretched, pointing in Xu Xiaoyan's direction, her mouth was open, and rain was streaming down her cheeks.

All three of them stopped, and all six eyes stared at her as if she were a lifeline.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, her rain boots stuck in the mud, her windproof jacket soaked and clinging to her body. She was really confused and couldn't understand how the three of them had found their way.

They were heading southwest before, and she is heading northwest now. The angle between these two directions is at least 70 or 80 degrees.

In other words, they somehow ended up in a big circle behind her to the left.

This cannot be explained by "poor sense of direction"; it is a complete lack of sense of direction, and may even be spinning in circles.

Xu Xiaoyan had no choice but to nod at them. A few drops of rainwater on the brim of her hat were flicked off as she moved and landed on the muddy ground.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin, asking them where they came from.

Ask them why they were walking in this direction?

Ask them if they know how long this rain will last.

A thousand words stuck in my throat, finally condensing into the simplest, most direct question: "Where are you going?"

The sound wasn't loud, and it seemed somewhat muffled as it traveled through the rain.

She saw the three women exchange glances, and then the shorter woman in the middle suddenly looked up and stared directly at her.

She excitedly quickened her pace and walked towards her, not even bothering to put on her waterproof tarpaulin.

The blue and white striped tarpaulin slipped off her head and was caught by the tall woman behind her in a flustered manner, but she didn't turn her head, as if she didn't even notice that it was still raining.

The rain instantly soaked her hair and shoulders, and her dark clothes became even darker as they were soaked, clinging tightly to her body, but she was completely unaware of it.

Mud splashed around her sneakers, making a "plop plop" sound. She quickly walked up to Xu Xiaoyan and stopped two or three steps away.

Xu Xiaoyan then got a good look at her face. Her face was round, her skin was pale from being soaked in the rain, and her lips were a little purple. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold or from being tired.

He had deep dark circles under his eyes, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, but his eyes were bright. He was also clutching a black walkie-talkie in his hand, the casing of which was covered in water.

She was breathing heavily, her chest heaving violently. Rainwater streamed down her cheeks, dripping from her chin, landing on the back of her hands, and then sliding down the casing of the walkie-talkie.

She opened her mouth, her voice trembling slightly:

"We finally met someone! You have no idea, the three of us have been walking for a day and a night, and our walkie-talkies were out of power. If we hadn't met you, we really wouldn't know what to do."

She looked up at Xu Xiaoyan, her eyes slightly red.

The two women behind her followed. The taller one repositioned the tarpaulin to shield the shorter woman from the rain, but half of their own bodies remained exposed.

The woman of medium build stood there with her head down, not saying a word, her arms crossed over her chest, curled up in a ball, trembling slightly.

Seeing their expressions, Xu Xiaoyan was momentarily speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, "Why are you going to the northwest?"

The woman replied, "My name is Wang Ling, the lady on the left is Chen Wenshan, and the lady on the right is Wu Yue."

She paused here, wiped her face roughly with the back of her hand, and continued:

"The soldiers told us to head northwest, saying there were mountains there and there should be places to hide in them."

After she finished speaking, as if afraid that Xu Xiaoyan wouldn't believe her, she added, "It really was someone from the military who said it."

Xu Xiaoyan was taken aback when Wang Ling mentioned the "military"!

She asked hurriedly, "The troops are back?" Her voice was more urgent than she had expected, carrying an eager anticipation that she herself was unaware of.

Wang Ling looked at her with a puzzled expression, as if she hadn't understood the question.

"Haven't the troops always been there?" Her tone was natural, without questioning or doubt, simply stating a fact she took for granted.

Xu Xiaoyan immediately realized what was going on and asked, "You're not from the Linchuan Underground City?"

As soon as she said that, she saw confused expressions on the faces of Wang Ling and the other two.

Wang Ling and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Linchuan? Never heard of it." Wang Ling shook her head, then turned to look at Chen Wenshan and Wu Yue, who also shook their heads.

Chen Wenshan tilted the tarpaulin towards Wang Ling, blocking a gust of rain that was blowing in from the side.

Wu Yue remained huddled at the back, but when she heard the words "Linchuan," she slightly raised her head, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Wang Ling turned her head and looked at Xu Xiaoyan, her tone sincere and urgent:

"We are from Huaxing Underground City. We were escorted by the army all the way. It was only during the transfer that we were separated due to a mudslide. Fortunately, we had walkie-talkies, and we are trying to rejoin them."

After she finished speaking, she held up the walkie-talkie that had run out of battery and waved it, as if to show that she was not lying and that what she had in her hand was the most direct evidence.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, her mind racing through this information.