Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

The wind blew across the plains without obstruction, carrying the scent of dust and withered grass.

This openness didn't bring her joy, but rather a sense of exposure, leaving her constantly on edge.

Just as she was considering whether to leave the main road and find a place to rest briefly, the scene on the roadside ahead made her stop in her tracks instantly, and her body instinctively went into a state of alert.

They were two men who looked very young, each carrying a bulging backpack, resting on some broken concrete stones by the roadside.

In peaceful times, their appearance might be categorized as that of a handsome young man with fair skin and regular features.

But at this moment, the dust on their faces and the undisguised weariness in their eyes diminished their refined appearance and added a touch of genuine vicissitude.

They spotted Xu Xiaoyan almost simultaneously. Seeing that she was alone, the initial wariness and scrutiny in the eyes of the two young men faded slightly, replaced by a hint of curiosity.

The slightly taller man, with more striking features, spoke first, his voice a tentative, hoarse tone, "Alone? Where did you come from?"

Xu Xiaoyan did not approach them, but stood about seven or eight meters away.

This distance allows for clear conversation, and also gives her enough time to react quickly or escape if things go wrong.

She nodded in response to the question about "one person," and then simply replied, "From the gold market."

"Gold Market?!" Another man, who looked even younger and had a baby face, suddenly widened his eyes.

Almost blurting it out, her voice filled with disbelief and shock, "Where? Jin City? You walked all that way by yourself?!"

His reaction was a bit too strong; his eyes, fixed on Xu Xiaoyan, were a mixture of astonishment and a hint of barely perceptible inquiry.

According to the old world's transportation concepts, the city of gold is quite far from here.

Not to mention, in today's perilous and transportation-disrupted environment, the hardships and dangers of traversing this route alone are unimaginable.

The tall man frowned almost imperceptibly, seemingly sensing that his companion's reaction was somewhat inappropriate. He gently patted the baby-faced man's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

He then turned to Xu Xiaoyan and took over the conversation in a relatively calm tone, introducing himself and explaining their origins: "We come from Xintang City, which is not far from here."

He pointed in the direction they came from. "There's a base there, and it's not small."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, before continuing:

"But the people inside... are rather domineering, and we're not used to their management style, so we came out together to see if there were any other survivor bases or more suitable places to stay."

His words sounded reasonable, and his expression was very sincere. Xu Xiaoyan vaguely remembered that there seemed to be such a place on the map, Xintang City, which was indeed not too far away.

However, after the incident at the university town, Xu Xiaoyan harbored a basic suspicion towards any stranger.

She did not lower her guard because of the other party's seemingly friendly attitude and reasonable explanation; she simply nodded slightly to indicate that she had heard.

She showed no intention of immediately sharing her information, nor did she inquire about further details regarding the Xintang City outpost, and a subtle silence fell over the room.

The tall man seemed to sense Xu Xiaoyan's wariness.

He didn't try to close the distance again, but instead casually picked up the water bottle at his feet, took a sip, and then asked seemingly casually, "So, where are you headed?"

Xu Xiaoyan quickly weighed the options: completely concealing the destination would seem overly cautious, but revealing everything would be even more unwise.

So she chose to tell part of the truth, answering in a calm tone, "I have relatives in Linchuan City, and I plan to go there and try my luck."

"Linchuan City?!" The baby-faced boy practically sprang up from the paving stones.

His eyes widened as if he had heard something unbelievable, and a barrage of questions came out like a machine gun:

"Do you know what you're saying? Do you know how far Linchuan is from here? Are you really going to walk all the way there?!"

His voice rose in shock, carrying the straightforwardness and disbelief characteristic of a young man, and sounded exceptionally clear in the open field.

These overly direct, even somewhat rash, "three questions" actually diluted the tense atmosphere of the previous cautious probing.

Xu Xiaoyan looked at his cheeks, which were slightly flushed with excitement, and saw pure surprise rather than calculation in his wide eyes.

For some reason, my tense nerves relaxed slightly, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You speak so fluently, you're quite the quick-witted kid," she said, her tone carrying a hint of teasing that she herself didn't realize.

Her smile and comment made the baby-faced boy blush deeply, realizing he had overreacted.

Somewhat embarrassed, he tugged at Xie Yingtang's sleeve, buried his burning face in the tall boy's shoulder, and mumbled incoherently, seemingly trying to save face but unsure what to say.

Xie Yingtang was amused by his ostrich-like behavior and patted his arm reassuringly.

Then he raised his head, looked at Xu Xiaoyan who still had a slight smile on her face, and formally introduced, "Don't mind him, he's a bit impatient. My name is Xie Yingtang, and his name is Wang Xiaodai..."

"You bastard Xie Yingtang! You've ruined my lifelong reputation!"

Before he could finish speaking, the baby-faced boy, who had been hiding behind his shoulder, suddenly looked up, interrupted him aggressively, and loudly declared:

"My name is Wang Xiao! Wang as in 'king,' and Xiao as in 'to covet'! Don't listen to his nonsense!"

His eagerness to clear his name, coupled with his forced "fierceness," made him seem even more ridiculous.

This unexpected banter, brimming with the familiarity and energy unique to young people, instantly dispelled the barriers between strangers.

Driven by this long-lost, slightly relaxed atmosphere, she lowered her guard a bit and replied, "My name is Xu Xiaoyan."

She paused, then added a polite remark, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

She was slightly taken aback when she said those words. Was she happy?

In this situation, facing two complete strangers you've just met?

Perhaps it's more of a sense of nostalgia and longing for a brief return to "normal" human social patterns.

After introducing themselves, the atmosphere between the three of them eased considerably.

However, Xu Xiaoyan's vigilance was not completely gone, and Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao seemed to relax a little because of her response.

Xie Yingtang looked at her, his gaze softening slightly.

The topic was brought back to reality: "Ms. Xu, Linchuan City is indeed very far away, and the road ahead may not be easy to travel."

His tone was a well-intentioned reminder, as if he wanted her to back down, or at least to be better prepared.