Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

She suddenly looked up, her gaze quickly sweeping around the area—before and after the path, through the overgrown weeds, along the edge of the mountain…

Apart from the rustling of the wind and the movement of the grass, there was no one around, no unusual sounds, and no signs of any potential threat.

But it was precisely this "normality," coupled with the girl's absolutely abnormal terror, that sounded an urgent alarm bell in her heart.

A strong sense of foreboding!

Something's not right!

Something's very wrong!

A lone girl, clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown, screaming in this desolate place... This in itself is like bait, or a trap!

In the blink of an eye, the instinct for survival prevailed over everything else.

She stopped looking at the girl who was still screaming and trembling, and fixed her gaze on the edge of the hillside beside the path.

The terrain there is gentler, covered with gravel and low shrubs; it is difficult to climb, but not insurmountable.

Without hesitation, Xu Xiaoyan rushed towards the gentle slope, grabbing onto any grass roots or rock edges she could use for support, and struggled to climb upwards. At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind:

Run! Get away from here, immediately!

She dared not gamble that this was just an over-frightened survivor.

They dared not gamble that there were no ambushes nearby.

I dare not gamble on even the slightest potential danger.

I'd rather expend my energy to hide and observe first; if it turns out to be a false alarm, at most it's just a waste of effort.

But if she falls into the trap, the price might be unbearable.

She climbed upwards for a full eight minutes without stopping.

Until the dense trees and protruding rocks completely blocked the view of the path below.

Until the piercing screams below became barely audible.

She dared to stop behind a thick old tree, leaning against its rough trunk, panting heavily, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

Xu Xiaoyan carefully concealed herself before peering down through the gaps in the branches and leaves, holding her breath. The path and the girl's figures had become blurry.

Once her breathing had calmed down a bit, Xu Xiaoyan immediately took out a children's telescope from her spatial storage, adjusted the focus, and carefully aimed the lens at the figure on the path below.

The woman had stopped screaming.

She was still tightly wrapped in her tattered clothes, her head down, her steps somewhat unsteady, but she was indeed moving.

She walked mechanically in the direction Xu Xiaoyan had come from. Her back looked particularly thin and fragile in the camera lens, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

One minute, two minutes... ten minutes... twenty minutes...

Time flowed slowly in the silent wait.

The woman below was almost at the end of the path, about to disappear behind a gentle bend in the distance. There were no pursuers behind her or in the vast area around her.

Xu Xiaoyan slowly put down the children's binoculars, her brows furrowed, a hint of doubt and self-mockery rising in her heart:

"Could it be... that I'm overthinking it? Is she just a survivor who suffered a huge shock?"

The thought had barely formed in her mind when she forcibly suppressed it. She couldn't jump to conclusions so easily; she forced herself to analyze the situation calmly.

The woman was dressed in rags, clearly in a mentally unstable state, and filled with extreme fear.

If she escaped from the direction she was headed for, then what caused her to look like this?

"It's dangerous ahead!"

This deduction shattered that last glimmer of hope; a lone woman on the verge of a mental breakdown could not possibly appear out of thin air in this desolate wilderness.

Something extremely terrible must have happened in the direction she came from, something that could destroy a person's sanity!

The unknown risks ahead were instantly elevated to the highest level in her mind because of this woman's appearance.

"We can't keep going down the path," Xu Xiaoyan made a decision instantly.

She looked up at the rolling mountains beside her. Although it meant taking a longer route and expending more effort, the higher she stood, the farther she could see, allowing her to spot dangers early and take precautions. Safety was always the top priority.

Xu Xiaoyan tightened her backpack and walked along the hillside, which was roughly parallel to the path below, for more than an hour.

While the dense foliage provided excellent concealment, it also greatly hindered visibility and speed.

She had to constantly be distracted by the overgrown branches, with thick layers of fallen leaves and tangled roots underfoot, requiring her to be extremely careful with every step.

Just as she began to doubt whether her choice was wise, the woods in front of her suddenly thinned out, and her view opened up.

She instinctively crouched down, using the last row of trees for cover, and looked ahead. Suddenly, a vast complex of buildings appeared before her.

Although most of the buildings had collapsed after the devastating earthquake, with ruins everywhere, Xu Xiaoyan almost immediately realized that this place had once been a university town.

The reason is simple: the outdoor basketball court, though dusty and damaged, is still eye-catching and meets the required standards, and the adjacent tennis court, separated by professional fencing, are sports facilities that ordinary primary and secondary schools cannot have.

More importantly, there are numerous buildings that have not yet completely collapsed and still stand stubbornly, all with a unified style and distinct functions.

Teaching buildings, dormitories, and even a circular roof in the distance that looks like an auditorium... This concentrated and massive scale of buildings points to only one answer: a university town.

She quickly retrieved the children's telescope from the storage space, adjusted the focus, and carefully examined the area.

Many buildings collapsed, but several buildings sustained minor structural damage and remained largely intact.

In particular, a building located in the north-central part of the complex and several dormitory buildings on the edge are mostly intact, and some windows even have some obstructions hanging on them.

Her camera moved slowly.

On the dilapidated street, she saw two or three figures moving slowly.

More importantly, through some windows in those intact buildings, she also caught a glimpse of blurry, swaying figures!

This shows that the dilapidated university town was not completely deserted; it was occupied by some people and became a survivor's stronghold.

However, Xu Xiaoyan did not feel much joy at "finding her kind," but instead became more vigilant.

Even though the figures didn't seem to be moving in a hurry and there were no obvious signs of fighting, that didn't mean the place was safe.

The girl's terrified face and shrill screams made her wonder if the girl had escaped from this university town.

What exactly did she go through to become like that?

Ultimately, caution triumphed over recklessness once again.

She decided not to enter the university town area for the time being, but she didn't want to leave immediately either.

She needs to observe more closely, at least to understand the activities of these people and the situation around those intact buildings.