Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 435 A Triumphant Return

The two picked for about two more hours, their backpacks were already full, and each of them was carrying a large bag.

Blue Moon's fingers were blackened from being rubbed by the edges of the wood ear mushrooms, and her fingernails were filled with tiny bits of bark.

Xu Xiaoyan's right shoulder was a little sore from carrying that heavy backpack all the time, but she didn't say anything, just occasionally shifted her shoulder.

The light in the woods was dimmer than when we arrived, and the shadows cast by the birch canopies were stretched long and slanted.

Just then, they heard voices ahead. It wasn't one person talking to themselves, but rather a conversation between two or three people. The voices weren't loud, but they carried exceptionally far in the quiet birch forest.

The fragmented words drifted over on the wind, and it was impossible to make out what they were saying, but the tone and rhythm clearly indicated that someone was chatting while working.

The two stopped what they were doing at the same time and looked at each other.

Lan Yue's eyes widened slightly, and her lips moved silently, as if she were saying "Someone is here."

Xu Xiaoyan didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly. Then she put the piece of wood ear fungus she had just picked into the side pocket of her backpack, her movements light and quick, as if she was afraid of making any unnecessary noise.

The two barely spoke, yet their tacit understanding was as if they had rehearsed countless times. Lan Yue took off the small bags hanging outside her backpack and stuffed them into the large bag in her hand.

Xu Xiaoyan put the knife away, zipped it up tightly, and put the backpack back on her shoulder.

Then, the two began to back away.

Blue Moon walked ahead, crouching low, stepping on the soft ground covered with fallen leaves, trying to avoid the dry branches.

Xu Xiaoyan brought up the rear, her gaze constantly scanning back and forth between the few vaguely visible, moving figures in front of her and herself.

Make sure that you are not accidentally seen by the other party when you look up during the exit process.

To be honest, it's a bit dishonest to go to someone else's mountain to pick wood ear mushrooms.

This birch forest is not located within the core encampment area of ​​any squad.

However, according to the camp's unwritten rules, the produce from each hilltop, before being divided and made public, temporarily belongs to the fifty people stationed nearby.

It's like the jujube tree in your neighbor's yard. You can pick up the jujubes that fall over the wall, but you can't climb over the wall to knock them down.

What they're doing now, to put it mildly, is "picking outside designated areas," but to put it bluntly, it's no different from theft.

Both of them understood this principle perfectly well.

So from the very beginning, they deliberately avoided people, choosing the afternoon when there were the fewest people when they entered the woods.

When picking, they deliberately choose locations far from the campsite and off the main path, avoiding people whenever possible.

Ultimately, this matter cannot withstand scrutiny or confrontation.

If someone actually sees you, what can you say? That you didn't know this grove belonged to someone? That you were just picking them for fun? None of that makes sense.

Now that we've confirmed there are people ahead, and judging from their conversation, they won't be leaving for quite a while.

The two decided to give up any hope and returned the way they came, heading straight home.

When she reached the edge of the forest, Lan Yue finally straightened up and let out a long breath.

She glanced back at the birch forest gradually being swallowed by the shadows of the trees and muttered, "Luckily I walked fast, or I would have bumped into it."

Xu Xiaoyan followed behind her without turning around, simply replying, "These we picked today are enough to eat for a while."

Lan Yue nodded and said nothing more.

The two of them walked briskly towards the camp, one in front of the other, along the path they had come from.

As they approached the campsite and could vaguely see the outlines of several tents of different colors at the edge of the camp, Xu Xiaoyan suddenly slowed down.

Lan Yue walked several steps away, then, finding no sound behind her, turned around and looked at her strangely. "Xiao Yan, is something wrong?"

Xu Xiaoyan didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stood still, tilted her backpack up, and looked at the figures moving around in the camp, her brows slightly furrowed.

After a while, she finally spoke, "If we take so much black fungus back with us, think about it, big bags and bags of food, it's bound to attract unwanted attention."

Lan Yue followed her gaze.

There were indeed quite a few people in the camp, walking around between the tents in twos and threes. Some were organizing their tools, some were squatting on the ground eating, and a few were chatting idly against the tree trunks.

Although no one noticed them at the moment, as soon as they walked in carrying those two bulging backpacks, their gazes would inevitably gather around them like cats smelling fish.

Blue Moon subconsciously moved the backpack behind her, as if trying to hide it, but such a big bag couldn't be hidden anywhere.

She bit her lip and turned her gaze toward the trading post at the foot of the mountain, where she could vaguely see a row of low houses and a small square.

"Shall we just go and change it?" Lan Yue asked tentatively, her tone tinged with uncertainty.

"It's better to get the trading points and exchange them for points or cookies than to carry them back to camp and be surrounded by a bunch of people asking all sorts of questions."

Xu Xiaoyan shook her head. Her gaze shifted from the camp to the trading point, then back again. Suddenly, her eyes lit up slightly, as if she had thought of something.

"I'm thinking," Xu Xiaoyan said slowly.

"There are about three hundred people around trading point number 23. Some of them are always craving something different and want to try something different. What do you think, should we just move to the trading point and cook some wood ear mushrooms to sell?"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yue was taken aback for a moment, then turned her gaze away from the trading point, a faint look of sorrow appearing on her face.

She sighed, took the backpack off her shoulder, and rubbed her shoulders, which were sore from the straps.

"The idea is good," Lan Yue said, her tone carrying a hint of hesitation, as if to say, "I've thought about it too, but something just doesn't feel right."

"But we have so many fresh black fungus right now. If we move them over there, won't they be less noticeable?"

The trading point is bustling with people, even more so than the campsite. If we set up a pot there to cook some wood ear mushrooms, wouldn't we still get a crowd of onlookers?

After hearing what she said, Xu Xiaoyan's lips slowly curved into a smile. She raised her hand and pointed down the mountain, her voice becoming a little lighter, "You forgot? The official trading point is over there."

A brawl just broke out; people were blocking the door, hurling insults, and physically assaulting each other.

After all that commotion, the official response was to cut the price in half with just one sentence. What do you think those people's mentality is now?

Lan Yue blinked, waiting for her to continue.

"Those people now," Xu Xiaoyan lowered her voice even further, her tone carrying a knowing understanding of the ways of the world:

Everyone was on edge; those who caused trouble were afraid of being held accountable, while those who didn't were afraid of being implicated.

Believe it or not, no one dares to mess with the authorities anymore. They'd love to become invisible so the authorities forget who they are.