Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 493 Public Networks

"I found a job," she said.

"So fast?" Xu Xiaoyan looked up at her, her surprise undisguised.

They arrived in Qing City less than four hours ago, from the moment they entered the city gates until now.

In that short time, aside from listening to the explanations, she took a shower, and while shopping, Lan Yue even managed to find a job.

This speed completely exceeded her understanding of the word "efficiency." In her plan, the first few days should have been used to rest or to figure out the various rules and regulations of the city.

Work? That's for later.

"Yes!" Lan Yue nodded vigorously. "It's on the street downstairs, about a ten-minute walk ahead."

A shop was hiring. When I went to buy towels, I saw a notice posted at the door. I went in and asked, and they said they were short of someone and I could start work tomorrow.

She spoke much faster than usual when she said these words, clearly very happy to have found this job.

"What shop?" Xu Xiaoyan asked in detail.

"It's a general store, the kind that sells daily necessities, like pots and pans, brooms and mops, batteries and light bulbs, and so on."

The boss said that the person who used to help me left half a month ago, and they haven't found a suitable replacement yet. He asked me if I could read and do math, and I said yes.

He then asked me if I had any experience. I said I had worked in the bunker's canteen. Although I wasn't selling things, the interactions with people were pretty much the same. He said okay and told me to try it tomorrow.

Xu Xiaoyan looked at Lan Yue and remained silent for about two seconds, several thoughts running through her mind.

It's not that we don't support Lan Yue going to work, but they've come all this way just to find a place where they can survive, right?

Work is one of the ways to survive, perhaps even the most important one, but she doesn't understand why there's such a rush.

They had just walked such a long way and their bodies hadn't recovered yet; Lan Yue's condition probably wasn't much better.

Logically speaking, what they need is rest.

Besides, they have enough money in their accounts to last for at least several years, so they shouldn't be short of money. They clearly have time to rest and recuperate, so why are they pushing themselves so hard?

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Xu Xiaoyan thought to herself, and asked the same question. "Our account balance is enough to allow us to rest for a while."

Blue Moon's smile faded slightly.

"I've seen that many places here are already at full capacity. Most positions, such as warehouses, construction sites, canteens, and cleaning teams, are already filled."

"I walked down that street for about half an hour and then I saw this place with a job posting," she said, holding up her hand and making a "one" shape with her fingers.

"It's rare to find an opportunity that needs people, so I thought it would be good to grab a position as soon as possible, otherwise the position might be gone in a couple of days."

She made a lot of sense, and Xu Xiaoyan had to admit it in her heart. Qing City could not absorb an unlimited number of people; it had its own upper limit.

Resources are limited, and job positions are even more limited. It truly is a first-come, first-served survival model. Those who arrive early take the positions, while those who arrive late can only find the dirty and tiring jobs that others have left behind.

Lan Yue wasn't in a hurry; she was using her own methods to earn a foothold for herself in this new city.

"Are you going or not?" Lan Yue looked at her, her brown eyes filled with a cautious, tentative expectation. "I can help put in a good word for you."

Xu Xiaoyan shook her head. "I want to rest for a few days first, figure out the various rules of this city, and then consider starting work."

"Alright," Blue Moon sighed.

"What time do you start work tomorrow?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.

"It has to be eight o'clock, so I have to get up at seven." Lan Yue shifted her gaze from Xu Xiaoyan's face to the ceiling.

"It's about a ten-minute walk from here, plus time for breakfast, so getting up at seven should be enough time," she said, yawning as she finished speaking.

"Then you should go to sleep early," Xu Xiaoyan leaned closer to the door frame.

"Hmm," Lan Yue nodded and turned to walk towards her room.

Xu Xiaoyan took a step back and closed the door.

Feeling a bit hungry, she took out a fast food box containing chestnut and pork rice from her spatial storage.

The lid is made of thin, transparent plastic with a sealing buckle around the edge, allowing you to see the contents inside.

Rice is placed at the bottom of the box, chestnuts are scattered among them, and the pork chunks are coated with a rich broth.

She opened the box, and a burst of steam poured out, carrying the sweet aroma of chestnuts, the meaty fragrance of pork, and the rich aroma of rice soaked in oil.

Xu Xiaoyan hadn't had a proper meal in a very long time. She stuck her spoon into the rice, scooped out a large spoonful, and could feel the chewiness of the meat fibers when she bit into the pork chunks.

The chestnuts were very sweet and had a soft, powdery texture. She chewed them for a long time before finally swallowing them.

Soon, the lunchbox was empty.

After eating and drinking her fill, she packed all the items in the room into her spatial storage, then took out her large bed from Xuan County, prioritizing comfort when sleeping.

She plans to restore her original state before going out each day, and when she is alone, she can rest peacefully in her own bed.

Xu Xiaoyan lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling out of boredom. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she quickly picked up her phone to check.

The app icons on the home screen were arranged in rows. Her gaze swept over these icons and finally stopped on the "Settings" icon, which she tapped.

She scrolled down through a series of options, including "Airplane Mode," "Bluetooth," "Notifications," and "Sound & Haptics," until she found "Wi-Fi."

A list of Wi-Fi names popped up on the screen, densely packed and filling the entire screen. There were even more at the bottom of the screen, which you had to scroll down to see.

The names were all over the place, some were gibberish, strings of letters and numbers that made no sense, as if someone had just randomly typed a string of characters on the keyboard when naming their child.

Some of the names are personal names or place names, such as Zhouji Restaurant, Liujia Convenience Store, 502 Zhang, Lijia Grocery Store, Lao Wang Car Repair Shop, Xiao Fang Hair Salon, Lao Li on the Third Floor, and Xiao Wang on the Fourth Floor.

Most of the names have a small lock icon next to them, meaning a password is required.

Her gaze swept across the names line by line, her fingers slowly scrolling down the screen, until she saw one without a lock icon, which was the pinyin for Qing City.

It's located in the lower middle of the Wi-Fi list, not very noticeable, and she might miss it if she scrolls too fast.

It must be a public network, so she clicked on it.

The name on the screen turned into a dark gray background, and the words became white, as if they were highlighted.

A circular, rotating loading icon appeared in the center of the screen.

She stared at the circle for about two or three seconds.

The phone reacted for a few seconds; the circle on the screen was still spinning, but it was spinning more slowly.

Then the text on the screen changed from "Connecting" to "Connected".

It's connected!