Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The shout was full of energy and resounded loudly in the morning light, attracting the attention of several people from the surrounding groups. Some of them couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Even the sergeant from the 122nd Regiment next to him, who had a stern face, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Some people in the 57th Regiment also laughed, but the laughter was relatively restrained.

Xu Xiaoyan smiled and glanced at Lan Yue. Lan Yue was covering her mouth with her hand, but her eyes were clearly full of laughter.

Sergeant Wu didn't laugh. He glanced in that direction expressionlessly, then turned his attention back to his own unit, closed the list, and muttered, "Alright, stop making a fuss."

But before he could finish speaking, the taut line at the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Sergeant Wu put the roster away, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "There are two places you can go now. You can decide for yourselves."

One way is at the official trading point, where you queue up to exchange tools and then go up the mountain to cut down trees and carry the timber down.

The other is the official recruitment point, where they need manpower to help saw logs and cut wood into planks. Either option is fine, you can decide for yourselves.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the group erupted in chaos, with everyone whispering among themselves.

"Going up the mountain to cut down trees? That's so tiring! Carrying logs down the mountain is no joke..."

"Working at the conscription point should be easier, right? At least you won't have to climb mountains."

"Not necessarily. I've done sawing wood before, and my arms were sore for three days afterward."

"A sore arm is better than a broken leg, right? Didn't you see those people coming out of the woods covered in mud?"

"Shh, keep your voice down..."

There was much discussion among the crowd, with everyone holding their own opinion.

Some people are counting on their fingers which one requires less effort.

Someone asked the person next to them where the recruitment point was located.

Several sturdy young men exchanged glances, looking eager to climb the mountain.

Xu Xiaoyan and Lan Yue huddled together, and Lan Yue whispered, "Going up the mountain to cut down trees sounds daunting, the slope is incredibly steep."

Xu Xiaoyan didn't rush to express her opinion, but simply nodded slightly, her eyes still scanning the reactions of the others.

Seeing that everyone was talking at once and couldn't make up their minds, Officer Wu pressed his hands down to signal for quiet.

Once the noise subsided, he slowly began to speak, his tone unhurried: "Let me explain it to you clearly. There's not much difference between these two jobs; they're both physically demanding."

One task involves carrying down felled timber from the mountain, which is physically demanding and requires a lot of effort from the legs and back.

Another task was to help saw the transported logs into planks and chips, which was hard on the arms and shoulders. One person had to run back and forth, while the other had to stand and saw.

He paused, glanced at everyone, and said, "To put it bluntly, it's all about putting in the effort; nobody can slack off."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of sudden realization.

It turns out that it's not a question of which is easier, but rather which is more "simple".

"Then I'll choose the second one," a tall, thin man in the front row of the line said first.

"At least you only have to do one thing, instead of logging and carrying timber, and having to climb mountains back and forth. Just thinking about the slippery mountain roads is enough to make you suffer."

As soon as he said that, several people around him nodded in agreement.

Soon, more and more people started walking towards the conscription point. Since they were going to be tired anyway, they figured they might as well minimize the hassle.

Logging timber up the mountain not only requires carrying and moving things, but also climbing back and forth. Just thinking about the slippery mountain roads is enough to make you suffer.

"Let's avoid the crowds before going up the mountain," Lan Yue tugged at Xu Xiaoyan's sleeve and whispered.

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at her, and without much hesitation, nodded slightly.

Sergeant Wu stood aside and watched as the crowd gradually split into two groups. There weren't many people going up the mountain; most of them were strong, nimble young men.

Those who went to the conscription points included people of all ages and genders, forming a large, bustling crowd.

Without saying hello to anyone, the two quietly found a secluded path and walked up the mountain one after the other.

The road was so narrow that only one person could pass at a time, and it was overgrown with bushes on both sides.

When she reached the middle of the mountain, Xu Xiaoyan stopped and looked at her watch.

The positioning function on the dial was flashing. She waited patiently for two seconds until the signal stabilized, then gently pressed the confirmation button. A green marker was then firmly locked on the map.

She then withdrew her hand with relief, her gaze sweeping around as she walked, noticing the clumps of yellowish-brown resin on the tree trunks and branches.

Lan Yue wasn't idle either. She pulled out a small knife from the side of her backpack, walked a short distance, picked a conspicuous tree trunk, and with a flick of her wrist, neatly carved an inconspicuous mark.

A diagonal line and a dot—simple yet easily recognizable.

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at it and understood. She knew that this was to mark the way, so that if they went too far or the forest became too dense, they could at least find their way back by following the markings.

She didn't say anything, only nodded slightly, and continued to focus on searching for pine resin.

There was more pine resin in the mountains than they had expected.

The resin that seeped from the wounds of the pine trees solidified into lumps of various sizes, emitting a strong and refreshing pine scent.

The two carefully scraped off the pieces with a knife and put them into their backpacks one by one.

Xu Xiaoyan's technique became more and more skilled, and later on, she could almost put a piece of pine resin into her bag with just a glance and a reach of her hand.

Blue Moon was a little slower to collect them, but she was meticulous, wiping away the attached bark and debris from each piece.

They continued walking and packing as they went, and before they knew it, their backpacks were bulging.

When Xu Xiaoyan opened the bag again to try to stuff in a piece of pine resin, the zipper was almost too tight to close. With a thought, she stored half of the pine resin into her storage space.

Blue Moon, on the other hand, weighed the backpack on her shoulder, let out a breath, and complained with a frown, "I brought so much random stuff... and now, there's no room left to put all these nice things."

As she spoke, she patted her bulging bag, looking annoyed.

Xu Xiaoyan patted the rosin crumbs off her hands, raised her head, and said calmly, "Opportunity knocks but once."

Lan Yue looked up at her.

Xu Xiaoyan continued, "If we don't collect all the pine resin from this mountain today, and then sell it tomorrow, people will immediately know that this stuff can be traded for goods."

"Believe it or not, within a day, everyone will realize what's happening and come all over the mountain to search. The whole mountain will be packed with people. How many will we still be able to find?"

This statement is very realistic, and even has a hint of prophecy.

Lan Yue felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this, and the image of the mountain teeming with people scrambling and fighting for things tomorrow immediately flashed through her mind.

She took a deep breath, clenched her fist, and swung it forcefully in the air. The frustration in her eyes vanished, replaced by a fierce determination: "I'll give it my all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she squatted down and deftly rearranged her backpack.

I pressed down those infrequently used odds and ends hard, managing to squeeze out about half a bag's worth of space.

Then he looked up at Xu Xiaoyan, a smirk playing on his lips. "Let's go, keep searching uphill. If all else fails, I can carry you!"