Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The telescope's magnification was limited, so she couldn't see individual faces, but she could make out the overall outline of the group.

People walked in the rain, some carrying bags, some carrying things, and some holding simple rain gear, forming a long, loose line.

The front of the group had already turned into a low grove of trees, while the rear continued to surge out from the distant mountain valley, with no end in sight.

Xu Xiaoyan put down the binoculars. Rainwater hit the lenses, blurring her vision. She wiped the lenses with the back of her hand and then looked at them again.

She noticed that the group did not head towards the summit, nor did they even get close.

They circled around the foot of the mountain, hugging the edge of the slope, and followed a relatively flat route towards the mountains to the southwest.

Why not climb higher? Yunding Peak is right in front of us, with an altitude of over 3,600 meters, making it the highest point within a radius of dozens of kilometers.

She vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She put down the binoculars again, pushed up the brim of her rain hat, bent down, took out her watch from her storage space, turned on the screen, and carefully examined the map.

This time, she looked more carefully than ever before, her fingers swiping across the screen.

Zoom in on the map, zoom in again, and examine the terrain details around Cloud Peak one by one.

Genting Peak itself appears on the map as a dense network of contour lines, converging in one ring after another.

The altitude markings rise from over a thousand to over three thousand six hundred, and the mountain peaks stand out clearly and independently.

But when she zoomed in on the map and expanded her view to a ten-kilometer radius around Genting Highlands, she saw details she hadn't noticed before.

Not far from Yunding Peak is a large range of mountains. Although they are not as high as Yunding Peak, there are many of them.

On the map, to the southwest, due west, and even northwest of Yunding Peak, ridges and peaks stretch endlessly, some high and some low.

Most of those mountains are between two and three thousand meters in altitude.

Although they are not as high as Yunding Peak, their advantage lies in the fact that the mountains are connected to the mountains and the ridges are connected to the ridges, so that you can move between different peaks and not be trapped in one place.

Xu Xiaoyan raised her head, shielded her eyes from the rain with her hand, and looked southwest.

The outline of the mountains could be vaguely seen through the rain, a series of undulating, layered mountain shadows.

She turned to look at Cloud Peak again, that solitary mountain with no ridges connecting it to the surrounding area, and she suddenly understood why the team hadn't climbed up.

Although Yunding Peak is high, it is an isolated peak.

What does a solitary peak signify?

This means that the terrain around it is much lower than it, meaning that all the water will flow past it and into the low-lying areas instead of staying on it, which is a good thing.

But the problem is, what if the water level continues to rise?

It's not the kind of rise caused by a torrential downpour, but rather like the rise in a sinkhole, where the groundwater level rises and all the low-lying areas are flooded, turning this isolated peak into an island.

All the lowlands around it will be flooded, and all routes will be cut off by the water.

Where will you be able to go by then?

You can only stay on the summit and wait for the water to recede.

You won't be able to get out until the water recedes.

There was no road to walk on, no ridge to climb over, and no high ground to move to.

You would be trapped in a vast ocean, but the mountains are different; more peaks mean more choices.

She suddenly realized that the team wasn't unaware of Cloud Peak's existence; rather, they had understood this principle much earlier.

Xu Xiaoyan turned her gaze away from the summit and glanced down at the map on her wristwatch.

She then estimated the straight-line distance from the foot of the mountain to her current location, which was less than two kilometers. At her speed, she could probably walk there in about half an hour.

She stood in the rain, her mind starting to make plans.

She could live well on her own when she was in the sinkhole, but now the situation is different, and it seems that she can only live better by fitting in with others.

She didn't know if there was a place to settle down in the mountains, nor how long the rain would stop.

Considering that the team's direction was so clear, they probably knew something.

Even if she didn't know, having so many people together was better than her wandering around alone.

So she decided to go and try living there first.

If the place is organized, orderly, and allows her to settle down comfortably, then she will stay; if it is chaotic, dangerous, or hostile towards her, she will leave.

Anyway, she has space, supplies, and the ability to survive independently. If she can't adapt, it's not too late to leave.

The question now is, what should she bring?

She couldn't just walk over empty-handed; that would be too suspicious. She needed to present herself as a survivor who had gone through a long journey.

Backpacks, tents, flashlights, raincoats, and other such items are the obvious necessities, but she can't just bring these.

Living in a community means she has to interact with other people, and it means her quality of life no longer depends solely on herself.

Xu Xiaoyan needs to prepare some extra items that will make her life more comfortable, without exceeding the scope of an "ordinary survivor".

As for food, she can't live on compressed biscuits alone; those things...

Eating it once or twice is fine, but after eating it for several days in a row, all that's left in your mouth is a dry, nauseating powdery feeling.

Living among people, she needs things she can eat anytime, such as dried plums, instant noodles, starch sausage, bagged bread, and candy.

She can also bring some salt and brown sugar, both of which are valuable commodities in any group.

However, taking out too much will arouse suspicion, so just take a moderate amount, and occasionally exchange a little with someone without making a fuss.

As for cooking utensils, there is a small pot, a stainless steel bowl, a pair of chopsticks, and a spoon.

With these things, she could cook noodles, boil water, and make hot soup at the camp instead of always eating cold biscuits.

In terms of tools, a fruit knife and a lighter are essential. On a damp and cold rainy day, being able to start a fire means being able to keep warm, boil water, and dry clothes.

She took a deep breath, bent down, and began to take out the "obvious" items one by one from her spatial storage and put them into her backpack.

Salt and brown sugar were sealed in a plastic bag and stuffed into the inner compartment of the backpack. Small pots, bowls, chopsticks, and spoons were stacked together.

I put the fruit knife in the side pocket of the backpack, tucked one lighter into the inner pocket of the windproof jacket, and wrapped the other in a waterproof bag and put it into the top pocket of the backpack.

The backpack quickly bulged, and it took a little effort to zip it up. She tried carrying it on her back; it was a bit heavy, but she could manage.

Xu Xiaoyan adjusted the shoulder straps and chest buckle, tied the tent to the webbing at the top of her backpack, then stood up, turned around, and started to climb down from the top of the cloud peak.