Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 428 Gathering Evidence

The burly man glanced at the calculator, said the number, then pressed a few keys on the calculator while muttering to himself:

"Eight and a half pounds, at the current rate of four biscuits for every pound, that's thirty-four compressed biscuits in total. Want to take them or exchange them for points?"

Xu Xiaoyan took him away almost without hesitation.

The burly man nodded again and gestured with his chin toward his companion on the left, who was standing with his arms crossed.

The man took a box of compressed biscuits from the cabinet under the counter, broke the seal, and began to count them.

He moved quickly, his fingers flying between the biscuit pieces. After counting them, he stacked them and pushed them to the edge of the counter.

"Thirty-four yuan, please count it."

She reached out and put the compressed biscuits one by one into her backpack, zipped it up, and put the backpack back on her shoulder. The whole process took no more than two minutes.

She stepped aside to make way, and Lan Yue immediately took her place.

Her scarf was still covering her face, and her voice was muffled, sounding somewhat gruff: "I'll change them all, and take them with me."

Weighing, calculating, and counting – the same process.

Finally, Blue Moon's pine resin weighed eight jin (approximately 4 catties), which was exchanged for thirty-two compressed biscuits.

The staff quickly arranged the thirty-two cookies, and Lan Yue hurriedly stuffed them into her backpack. She was so anxious that she almost dropped them when she zipped them up halfway.

Xu Xiaoyan reached out to help her hold the bottom of the bag, and the two exchanged a glance—let's go.

The group of people were still arguing in the open space directly in front of the trading point's main entrance.

Neither of them glanced in that direction; they kept their heads down and hurried out through the side door.

The two quickly climbed to the halfway point of the mountain. The path under their feet gradually narrowed, and the bushes on both sides were taller than a person, leaving the noisy campsite far behind in the mountain valley.

Lan Yue took a breath, finally unable to hold back, and tilted her head to ask, "Do you think they'll cause a scene?"

"Yes!" Xu Xiaoyan replied decisively, though the answer had already been presented to her.

Lan Yue sighed, shook her head, and said with a hint of disappointment in her voice, "Sometimes I really don't know what they're thinking. Captain Guo takes such good care of us. He arranges everything perfectly, from food and lodging to chores."

If it were someone else, who would care where you sleep or what you eat? What else could you possibly be dissatisfied with... It's truly a case of insatiable greed.

As she spoke, she tripped over a protruding rock, stumbled, regained her balance, and added, her voice lower:

"One pound for four compressed biscuits, such a bargain, and they still complain it's not enough."

Xu Xiaoyan didn't turn her head and continued climbing the mountain. Her voice came from behind her mask, carrying a hint of coldness:

"Desires are endless, isn't it because we've been too good to them, making some people think they can take advantage of us?"

She paused, raised her hand to push aside a branch blocking her way, stepped aside to let Lan Yue pass first, and continued:

"You give them a chair, and they want to put their legs up on the table."

You give them a table, and they want to tear the roof off. These kinds of people, haha, you take a step back, and they take a step forward.

Lan Yue remained silent for a while, without replying, but quickened her pace to catch up with Xu Xiaoyan's.

The two of them went around in a huge circle before finally returning to the hilltop where they were stationed.

The mountain road was winding and meandering, and they deliberately avoided the area where the "light show" was most concentrated last night.

I deliberately chose to walk on narrow paths in dense woods with few people, until the soles of my feet were sore and my shoes were covered with a thick layer of mud.

I could see people moving around in the camp from a distance.

A man in a gray jacket was squatting in front of a dark green tent, his back to them, fiddling with something.

When he stood up, Lan Yue immediately saw what he was holding: a few compressed biscuits in a transparent bag.

Lan Yue paused, leaned close to Xu Xiaoyan's ear, and whispered, "This awful weather, the rain just won't stop, nothing can be stored."

I think compressed biscuits will probably be used as the basic currency in the future. They're easy to store, don't spoil, and can be exchanged for things anywhere.

Before Xu Xiaoyan could reply, the man stuffed the biscuits in his hand into his backpack, then turned and walked towards another tent next to him.

The man in the gray jacket expertly unzipped his jacket and peered inside, as if searching for something.

Blue Moon's pupils contracted sharply, and she involuntarily wanted to speed up.

"Wait a minute," Xu Xiaoyan grabbed her arm. "If you rush in to arrest someone now, you might get falsely accused."

He'll say, "Why are you accusing him of stealing? He can argue that he went into the wrong tent or something like that."

Lan Yue was pulled so hard she stumbled, her expression shifting rapidly between anger and astonishment. Her lips moved as if she wanted to retort, but she swallowed the words back.

She took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Xu Xiaoyan lowered her voice, speaking quickly and steadily, "What's the rush? When something like this happens, remember to take out your phone and record a video; it can be used as evidence in a crucial moment."

Lan Yue was stunned for a moment, then nodded hard, biting her lip and trying to suppress the anger rising from her chest.

Her breathing was still heavy, her nostrils were flaring, and her whole body was tense, but she didn't rush forward anymore.

Xu Xiaoyan released her arm and slowly took out the cell phone she had bought at the Linchuan base from the inside pocket of her coat. It really came in handy now.

She unlocked the screen, opened the camera, switched to long-distance shooting mode, and then held the phone up to her eyes, steadily aiming it at the direction of the tent.

The picture quality is very good; every move of the man in the gray jacket on the screen is clearly captured.

He stepped out of the tent sideways, carrying a small, bulging bag in his hand, the contents of which were unclear.

He stuffed the bag into the large pocket of his coat, dusted himself off, and straightened up as if nothing had happened.

The only problem was the sound; the phone's built-in microphone recorded Lan Yue's suppressed panting completely.

The sound was like someone pumping a bellows next to a microphone, which sounded particularly jarring in the quiet filming footage.

Xu Xiaoyan maintained her shooting pose, not even turning her head, but slightly tilting her face, and whispered, "Why don't you move a little to the side?"

Blue Moon didn't react yet and was still panting.

"Your suppressed breathing is affecting my filming," Xu Xiaoyan could only say truthfully.

Lan Yue then let out an "Oh," as if suddenly realizing she was just background noise, and quickly moved a few steps to the side until she felt she was far enough away before stopping.

She leaned against a large pine tree, arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the gray-jacketed man still loitering near the camp.

His breathing gradually returned to normal, but the fire in his eyes did not go out; it was simply forcibly suppressed to the deepest part of his gaze.

Xu Xiaoyan continued filming, and on her phone screen, the man had already walked towards the third tent.