Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Having received her "reward," she finally spoke, her voice hoarse and low, carrying a heavy local accent:

"A few beekeepers from out of town came to the market, carrying beehives. They were there to sell honey, and everything was fine at the time."

But Lai Laosan's gang had their eye on their honey and tried to trade it for some nearly moldy corncobs, but they couldn't reach an agreement...

Lai Laosan and his gang, relying on their numbers, pulled out knives, hoping to scare the beekeepers and steal their honey…

"And then?" Wang Xiao couldn't help but ask.

"And then?" The old woman twitched her lips, revealing an expression that was both crying and laughing. "Those beekeepers, they're ruthless characters too..."

Seeing that Lai Laosan was not giving them a way out, they simply... simply opened all the beehives!

They were shouting, "If you won't let us live, then nobody lives!"... And then, this is what you see... those damned bees, they all flew out...

After she finished speaking, Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Yingtang, and Wang Xiao fell silent. They had never expected that this sudden bee plague was actually caused by human error.

They exchanged a glance, and Xie Yingtang whispered, "No matter what, let's check the situation first. Remember, avoid that Lai Laosan."

By this time, many people who had been attacked by the swarm of bees on the roadside had recovered.

They started helping each other, gathering their scattered belongings, and carrying a mix of relief and worry about surviving the ordeal, they made their way towards the market.

The three of them said no more and silently blended into the newly flowing crowd, moving forward with the flow of people.

Perhaps it was the dry biscuit that worked, because the previously silent old woman, leaning on a tree branch, walked unsteadily a short distance away from them.

She glanced to her left and right, then leaned closer to Xu Xiaoyan and Wang Xiao, adding in a low, almost inaudible voice:

"If you want to go to the market to exchange things, you'd better do it in the next day or two. In a few days..."

It's hard to say whether this market can still operate or whether we can still exchange goods safely.

The information in those words made Xu Xiaoyan and Wang Xiao's hearts skip a beat simultaneously, and they almost asked in unison in low voices, "Why?"

The old woman's cloudy eyes scanned her surroundings warily, and only after confirming that no one was paying particular attention to them did she lower her voice even further, almost to a whisper:

"I heard that several important people died yesterday at the 'Dawn' survivor base. It seems to be due to internal strife, and things are in chaos inside now."

Some people are clamoring for independence, wanting to form their own groups and go it alone; some have already come to our side…”

Wang Xiao frowned, puzzled, and asked, "So what if someone comes? What does that have to do with whether the market can open or not?"

"Hmph," the old woman sneered through her nose. "This is a big deal! Do you think Lai Laosan dared to be so arrogant today, directly attacking the beekeeper with a knife?"

He's got a new "backer," supposedly the group that escaped from the "Dawn" base!

Those people have powerful weapons and act even more ruthlessly than Lai Laosan!

Today's commotion caused beekeepers to release their bees in a frenzy, scaring away many people who came to do business or trade. If this kind of thing happens a few more times, who will dare to come to the Huangsha Town market?

At that time, either the market will close, or...

It became a place where Lai Laosan and his cronies held absolute power. Whether you offered something in exchange or robbed it was no longer up to you!

After she finished speaking, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, or perhaps she was afraid of getting into trouble. She stopped looking at the three of them and quickened her pace.

They staggered into the crowd ahead, leaving Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Yingtang, and Wang Xiao standing there.

"Let's go take a look first," Xie Yingtang said succinctly.

At this moment, their only goal was to reach the market as soon as possible to complete the transaction and then leave this place of trouble.

After walking with the crowd for about half an hour, a complex smell began to fill the air—

There was the dampness of the river, the smell of sweat from the crowd, the sweet scent of honey, and a faint, lingering smell of blood.

The outline of Huangsha Town market gradually appeared on the horizon.

Built along the river, on a relatively open riverbank, are scattered various simple stalls and makeshift shacks.

However, the scene before them was far from the bustling market they had imagined.

a mess.

Many stalls were overturned, with goods scattered all over the ground, mixed with mud and dirt from being trampled on.

Many people were sitting or lying down, their bodies covered with obvious bee stings, and cries of pain and groans rose and fell.

Some people who appeared to be unharmed were in a hurry, their faces showing vigilance and anxiety, as they busied themselves packing their belongings, seemingly intending to leave as soon as possible.

The entire market was shrouded in a low atmosphere, chaotic and desolate.

"It seems that old woman was right, there was just a big commotion here," Wang Xiao said in a low voice, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"I'll find people who seem relatively stable and need food to trade with," Xie Yingtang said, his eyes searching among the remaining stalls and crowds.

Holding lotus roots, they carefully avoided the messy debris on the ground and the people groaning in pain, moving slowly along the edge of the market.

Their appearance attracted some attention.

Most of those gazes fell on the conspicuous, mud-covered lotus roots in their arms, filled with curiosity, longing, and even a hint of ill intent.

Xu Xiaoyan felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively moved closer to the two of them. Wang Xiao also tensed up, no longer as carefree as usual.

Finally, they stopped in front of a relatively intact stall near the river.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a dark complexion and sharp eyes. His stall mainly sold some simple handmade fishing gear, a small amount of dried fish, and two dried cakes.

He was frowning as he cleaned up the goods that had been somewhat disheveled by the swarm of bees.

Xie Yingtang stepped forward, trying to make his tone sound calm.

"Excuse me, boss, we have some fresh lotus roots and would like to exchange them for some salt and dried biscuits. Are you interested?"

The stall owner looked up, his gaze sweeping cautiously over the three of them before finally settling on the lotus roots in their arms. A hint of surprise and interest flashed in his eyes. "Lotus root? That's quite a rare find."

He stood up, walked over, and carefully examined the color of the lotus root segments. He then asked, "The lotus root looks good. How do you plan to exchange it?"

Xie Yingtang and Wang Xiao unzipped their backpacks, preparing to take out two pumpkins and hand them to the stall owner to negotiate the price.

Just then, a commotion and several harsh shouts suddenly came from the other end of the market, and the crowd parted to both sides like startled birds.

Several men, dressed in haphazard clothes but with burly builds and carrying sticks and even machetes, were seen swaggering along the riverbank.

The leader was a burly man with a scar on his face and a fierce look in his eyes. They kicked aside the debris blocking their way without any politeness, and their eyes greedily scanned the various stalls and the panicked crowd.

"It's Lai Laosan!" someone at a nearby stall whispered, their voice filled with fear.