Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 244 Gathering Information

Xiaoling's voice was low, carrying a mixture of excitement and nervousness at discovering a secret:

"I heard that a lot of people in Area C are setting up food trucks. Once they get one, they can buy raw materials or finished products from the base. If I didn't have so few points, I'd like to give it a try too..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Ah Jing immediately stopped her.

"You should probably avoid mentioning the food truck thing. You have no idea how fierce the competition is. I heard about it from relatives; if you don't have a strong backing or haven't spent enough points, you have absolutely no chance of getting one!"

But their "whispering" gradually turned into clear conversation as they became emotional, sounding particularly jarring in the room.

Xiaoling, in particular, seemed convinced of her discovery and kept steering the conversation back to the scent, repeatedly describing and emphasizing the details of the aroma, her voice unconsciously growing louder and louder.

"Screech!" A slightly shrill sound of air pressure being released suddenly rang out, the sound of a capsule door being quickly opened from the inside!

Immediately afterwards, a woman's voice, thick with a Northeastern accent and clearly angry, rang out, "What are you doing?! Are you three ever going to stop?!"

The voice was powerful and penetrating, instantly drowning out all the whispers.

"If you keep arguing here and come to a conclusion, will you get a reward or something to eat? Huh?!" The woman with a Northeastern accent continued her barrage, speaking at a speed like a machine gun.

"Can't a person get any sleep?! What time is it? Making such a racket this early in the morning! Pork and chestnuts? Am I having a Manchu Han Imperial Feast?! What's wrong, are you still dreaming or starving? Can't you just shut up for a second?!"

This barbed and unforgiving rebuke instantly silenced the three arguing women outside.

Xu Xiaoyan could even imagine their awkward expressions as they choked, looked at each other, and blushed or turned pale.

"I'm sorry..." It was the voice of Ah Jing who reacted first, her tone immediately becoming respectful and ingratiating.

"We didn't mean to, it's just... there was a slightly strange smell, we discussed it for a bit... we're so sorry to have disturbed your rest!"

"Yes, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Xiaoling's voice quickly followed, trembling with tears and fear. "We'll shut up right away, we'll shut up right away! Please don't be angry!"

"Sister Fang, we were wrong, we won't say it anymore, we absolutely won't say it anymore!" The third voice quickly chimed in.

"Hmph!" The woman from Northeast China snorted heavily, her tone still unfriendly, but her anger seemed to have subsided somewhat.

"If you want to discuss something, go somewhere else! Don't disturb the peace here! This isn't just for the three of you, and there are so many other people sleeping here. At least show some respect for others!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We'll go out right away! You can continue to rest!" The three women hurriedly agreed.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Xiaoyan heard the sound of the heavy dormitory door in the common area being opened and then quickly closed.

The three of them probably went out into the hallway to continue their unfinished "smell reconnaissance".

The dormitory returned to silence, except for a sound that seemed to come from one of the cubicles, where someone turned over and muttered "annoying" in dissatisfaction, before gradually falling silent.

Lying in the warehouse, Xu Xiaoyan was caught between laughter and tears. She felt both relieved and terrified to have escaped a disaster, as well as grateful for the tough-talking woman from Northeast China and deeply annoyed at her own carelessness.

She was too careless!

The transmissibility and sensitivity of food odors in such an extremely enclosed, densely populated environment were underestimated, while the sealing performance of this cheap capsule was overestimated.

She let out a soft breath, groped in the darkness, took out her phone from her inner pocket, pressed the side button, and the screen lit up faintly, displaying the time: 5:47 a.m.

She had slept for more than seven hours. Although the sleeping environment was terrible, the amount of deep sleep should have been enough for her body and mind to undergo basic repairs, and her fatigue had lessened considerably.

She needed to find out about the permits for street vendors as soon as possible. A sentence from the conversation just now reminded her that if she wanted to get a food truck, she couldn't do it without connections or spending points!

She quietly moved her somewhat stiff limbs and sat up as silently as possible in the cramped space.

Every tiny movement of her joints was accompanied by a sore, grinding sensation and a slight protest from her muscles, a reminder of her uncomfortable sleeping position the night before and the lingering fatigue.

The top of her head almost touched the cold, smooth bulkhead; the feeling of confinement was like an invisible wall, causing her to instinctively shrink her neck.

She listened intently for a few seconds, confirming that apart from the almost negligible hissing of the ventilation system and the even, indistinct breathing rhythm that might be coming from other cabins in the far distance, there was no other noticeable noise in the public area outside.

Then, she reached out her finger and groped in the darkness for the slightly raised button with a lock-shaped symbol on the control panel inside the cabin, and gently pressed it.

A soft "hiss" sound, accompanied by a sense of pressure release, broke the absolute seal inside capsule 06.

The dark, slightly curved polymer panel on the front began to slide slowly upwards from the bottom edge at a uniform and steady speed.

A pale, faint green emergency light from the external public area then slanted into the dense darkness inside the cabin, illuminating a small area near the hatch and bringing in the mixed smells of the outside air.

Xu Xiaoyan did not go out immediately. She remained in a half-sitting position and waited quietly for a few more seconds. Her gaze quickly swept across the public space outside through the gradually widening gap in the cabin door—it was empty.

Rows of tightly closed gray capsule doors were neatly arranged in the dim light, with only the pale green sign in the corner indicating "Emergency Exit" emitting a constant, unwarm light.

She then slung her backpack over her shoulder, curled up as much as possible, and silently moved out of the open hatch, her feet gently landing on the cold, hard ground.

After regaining her footing, she turned around and pressed the close button on the cabin panel again.

The dark panel descended smoothly and closed tightly, resealing the narrow private space. The indicator light on the edge of the hatch flashed twice before returning to its locked red state.

She quietly pushed open the heavy metal door of dormitory 3421, which wasn't very soundproof, and went outside.

The passageway in Zone C was quite empty in the early hours of the morning.

Occasionally, a muffled murmur, a suppressed cough, or the faint creak of a door hinge turning in the distance would drift over, only serving to accentuate the deathly stillness and emptiness of this vast underground space as it slumbered.

She had only taken a few steps out of the dormitory when she unconsciously slowed her pace and habitually scanned ahead.

Just a dozen meters ahead of her, in the shadowy corner where the passage was about to turn right, three figures standing very close together, almost blending into one, immediately caught her attention.

They were huddled together, their heads almost touching, forming a tight, exclusive triangle.

Despite the dim light, barely enough to make out outlines, Xu Xiaoyan quickly made a judgment based on her memory of the sound and her current observation:

The girl facing her, with her head slightly tilted back as if she were speaking urgently, must be Xiaoling, the girl with the most sensitive sense of smell and the most high-pitched and excited voice who insisted on smelling "pork and chestnuts" last night.

Standing slightly behind and to the side of Xiaoling, the one who was a little taller, with a straighter back and a composed posture, was undoubtedly "A-Jing," whose tone was calm, analytical, and questioning.

The third one had her back completely to Xu Xiaoyan, and all that could be seen was her short hair and the outline of the back of her head. She was leaning slightly forward as if listening, and was probably the girl who had initially tried to smooth things over and change the subject.

Their lips moved rapidly in the shadows, their voices barely audible, forming a hushed whisper like mosquitoes.

In this empty and quiet passage, although the specific content could not be heard, the deliberate avoidance of others and the tense and focused atmosphere were exceptionally vivid.

Clearly, this was a private conversation that they did not want to be interrupted or overheard by any outsiders.

She adjusted her breathing and even slightly adjusted the shoulder strap of her backpack to make her posture appear more natural.

Then, without hesitation, he turned his footing and walked straight toward the three girls who were whispering in the shadows.

When she was about two or three meters away from them, at a distance that would not be offensive or abrupt, but would still allow them to hear her voice clearly.

She stopped, cleared her throat, and said, "Um... excuse me."

The sound was exceptionally clear in the silent corridor, and the effect was immediate.

The three girls, who were engrossed in their own little worlds, were suddenly jolted awake, raising their heads and quickly separating a little distance. In the dim light, all three pairs of eyes focused on Xu Xiaoyan, the uninvited guest.

When they saw that the newcomer was a young woman carrying a backpack, the confusion in their eyes instantly overshadowed their displeasure at being interrupted, and became more intense—who was she? What did she want? How much had she overheard?

Xu Xiaoyan took in their reactions without showing any emotion, only nodding slightly. This gesture was both a polite greeting and a subtle way of lowering her own posture.

She tried to sound humble in her tone and expression. "My name is Xu Xiaoyan, and I'm a new student in room 3421." She pointed to the dormitory door behind her.

"Just now... I was resting in the warehouse, and I vaguely heard you talking about... the mobile food truck outside?"

Before the other person could fully process or question her, she quickly switched expressions, perfectly conveying a mix of keen interest and practical frustration, her tone also carrying a hint of urgency and earnestness:

"To be honest, I'm extremely interested in this! I'm just wondering who to ask."

She shrugged, making a helpless and resigned gesture:

"I just arrived in Zone C, completely clueless. I have to figure everything out from scratch. Points are so hard to accumulate, I have to find a way... to earn some points to survive, right?"