Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 319 Six Months Later

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Xu Xiaoyan's life gradually became more regular.

I wake up at seven o'clock every morning, then do a quick wash, cook some porridge and side dishes for breakfast, and then go out.

The morning was a strict training session. The self-defense skills training for women that she had previously enrolled in had already ended, and she had also learned some wilderness survival and first aid techniques.

But she felt it wasn't enough, far from enough, and always felt that what her personal trainer was teaching her was too basic.

Things like how to find water in the wild, how to treat a snake bite, and how to defend yourself with a stick sound useful, but are these things enough to actually help you in a real emergency?

She doesn't believe it.

So she found another personal trainer.

The man was called Lao Qin. He was in his forties, thin and small, and looked no different from an ordinary person.

But it is said that he used to be a member of a "security team", but he quit and started his own business, specializing in teaching people self-defense techniques.

He doesn't charge cheap fees, 3 points per lesson, but what he teaches is truly practical.

The first thing Lao Qin taught her wasn't how to hit someone, but how to get hit.

"You need to learn how to protect your vitals first," he said. "If you get hit, how do you curl up into a ball, how do you protect your head and stomach, how do you reduce the damage? If you don't know these things, you'll just be asking for trouble."

Xu Xiaoyan thought this made sense, so she obediently learned how to "take a beating" for half a month.

Then I slowly started learning how to hit someone, how to punch, how to kick, how to use my knees, and how to use my elbows.

Old Qin said that these movements need to be practiced until they become muscle memory, so that when a real situation arises, the body will have already moved before the brain can even react.

She practiced very diligently, three hours every morning without fail.

At first, I was in pain all over my body, and I couldn't fall asleep at night, tossing and turning in bed.

I continued training the next day, and gradually got used to it. I developed a thin layer of muscle and felt much more energetic.

Old Qin would occasionally praise her, saying, "Not bad, you're quite strong and resilient."

She was pleased to hear this, but she didn't show it on her face. She just nodded and continued practicing.

I'll go home at noon to see how things are going; if I'm in a good mood, I'll cook some lunch.

When I'm in a bad mood, I take out hot meals like dumplings, steamed buns, pork and cabbage rice, or pork and chestnut rice from my online space. After eating and resting for half an hour, I take a nap.

The afternoons are her own time. Sometimes she goes to buy goods, sometimes she organizes things at home, and sometimes she does nothing but lie in bed and daydream.

In the evenings, she would go out to set up a stall. Business was so-so, but stable.

Setting up a stall for two or three hours every evening can earn you around a hundred points.

Days passed by one by one.

But Xu Xiaoyan always had one thing on her mind—her precision crossbow.

Whenever it was late at night and everyone was quiet, she would take it out, wipe it, and study it.

She dared not fire the gun because there was no suitable location and she was afraid of being discovered, so she had been struggling to find a chance to try out the crossbow.

In several dreams, she was dominating the battlefield, aiming, pulling the trigger, the arrow flying out, hitting its target precisely, surrounded by gasps of amazement from others!

Perhaps it was the automatic aiming system that gave her enough confidence to be able to hit the target every time, even though she had never touched a crossbow before.

Upon waking, Xu Xiaoyan was utterly speechless at her own dream.

Speaking of crossbows, we must also mention arrows; she currently only has one hundred arrows.

What can you do with so few arrows?

If something really happens, she might run out of arrows in just a few minutes, so she'll have to find a way to get more.

So she started visiting that "future robot company".

The first time I went was the day after my personal training ended.

She went into the shop and found the clerk who had sold her the crossbow.

The girl paused for a moment when she saw her, then recognized her.

"Oh, it's you?" she asked. "Is there anything else you need to buy?"

Xu Xiaoyan said directly, "I want to order a bow and arrow that match that crossbow, the kind with three-edged arrowheads."

The waiter nodded and said okay, then went to find the manager.

As a result, the store manager came out and said that the customized arrowheads, just as he had said before, would cost 2 points per arrowhead, with a minimum order of 1,000 arrowheads.

Xu Xiaoyan tried to negotiate the price, but the store manager shook his head and refused, saying that it was the rule and couldn't be changed.

She asked if she could order less, but the store manager shook his head again, saying that the minimum order was one thousand pieces.

She had no choice but to go back first.

But she didn't let it go.

After that, she would go to that store several times every month.

Sometimes I go specifically to ask about prices, sometimes I pretend to be passing by and go in to take a look, and sometimes I don't buy anything but just chat with the shop assistants and try to get on their good side.

Almost all the shop assistants knew her, and they would smile and say, "You're here again?"

She smiled and said, "Coming, coming! Is the store manager here today?"

The store manager was initially annoyed by her and would frown whenever he saw her, but he gradually got used to it and would occasionally chat with her.

She knew the store manager's surname was Ma, that his family lived in the South District, and that his wife and children lived there, with his child currently learning robot repair from a master craftsman.

She also knew that although the store ostensibly sold robots, it had been secretly engaged in this kind of "special business."

The crossbow was just one of them; there were others, though she didn't ask, she could guess.

Every time she visits, she brings something with her. Sometimes it's local delicacies from the night market, and sometimes it's homemade snacks. They're not expensive, but the thought is what counts.

The shop assistants treated her better and better after eating her food.

Once, she was chatting with Brother Ma, and the conversation drifted to the topic of bows and arrows.

"Brother Ma," she said, "I really want to order those bows and arrows. Could you make an exception and give me a discount?"

Brother Ma glanced at her and sighed.

"Miss, I know you really want to book, but the price isn't something I can decide on my own. There are rules from above, and there's nothing I can do about it."

She nodded and said nothing more.

After that, he continued doing what he was supposed to do, continuing to try to get closer to people and bringing them things.

Later on, when the shop assistants saw her come in, they would take the initiative to say a few words to her.

Someone told her that the store had recently received some new stock.

Someone told her that a certain customer had bought something unusual.

Someone also quietly told her that Brother Ma was in a good mood recently because his son was about to finish his studies.

She would bring up the matter of bows and arrows again when Brother Ma was in a good mood.

It took a full six months to polish.

Finally, one afternoon, she walked into the store again. When Brother Ma saw her, he suddenly said, "Alright, alright, stop running around. I'm annoyed. I give up."

She paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"Brother Ma, you mean—"

Brother Ma waved his hand, signaling her not to get agitated.

"I applied to the higher-ups," he said. "It was a special approval, just this once. 1,700 points for every 1,000 arrows. It can't be lower than that."

Xu Xiaoyan almost jumped up.

1,700 points and 1,000 arrows, a full 300 points cheaper than the original 2,000.

She nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, Brother Ma, I'll buy them! I'll buy three thousand!"

Brother Ma glanced at her and smiled.

"Okay, you've accumulated quite a few points," he said. "Three thousand sticks, that's five thousand one hundred points. Can you come up with that?"

She nodded. "I can produce it."

If you enjoy stories about surviving the apocalypse by stockpiling supplies, please bookmark: Apocalypse Stockpiling Survival Story