Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 235 Forced Room Change?

The front of the card features a raised numerical code "BE-000063", below which is an abstract emblem of area B—a simplified, protective combination of a gear and a shield. The edges of the card are inlaid with fine, almost invisible metallic circuit patterns.

"Your access card is also your basic energy rationing card," the staff member said, handing over the card with lightning speed, as if reciting standard terms and conditions.

"Please keep your card safe. Loss or damage will require deduction of personal contribution points and a waiting period for replacement. Initial access is now granted, allowing you to pass through public access control in the corresponding residential area and use the user's basic energy interface. For detailed terms of the resident rules, area map, locations of public facilities, and precautions, please check the public information screen on the left side of the exit. Next!"

The process was straightforward and efficient, without a single unnecessary word.

Xu Xiaoyan took the card, carefully placed it in a buttoned pocket inside her coat, made sure it was fastened, and then turned and left the service desk, walking towards the wide corridor connecting the lobby and the various residential areas, as indicated by the staff.

This corridor is significantly more spacious than the central passageway. The ceiling features neatly recessed light strips, the walls are covered with light gray, sound-absorbing decorative panels, and the floor is made of a slightly elastic, high-grade composite material that makes walking on it almost silent.

The corridor is not straight; it curves gently about 100 meters away, where the flow of people is much more dispersed and no longer as dense as in the atrium and registration area.

However, just as Xu Xiaoyan stepped into this relatively quiet corridor, less than ten meters away, before she could even determine her direction or check the area map on the wall,

About five or six meters ahead, three figures who had been leaning against the wall, seemingly checking a map or talking in hushed tones, seemed to receive a silent signal. They shifted their positions casually and unintentionally, forming a loose yet effective semi-encirclement that blocked her path.

On the left is a middle-aged man wearing an old but well-maintained brown leather jacket, with even the collar and cuffs worn smooth and shiny.

He wore a shrewd, seemingly kind smile typical of businessmen, and his eyes quickly scanned Xu Xiaoyan, pausing for a moment on her backpack.

In the middle was a thin young man, about twenty years old, wearing an ill-fitting oversized coat. His eyes darted around, revealing a slickness and alertness typical of the common people. His fingers unconsciously twirled the zipper pull of his coat, showing a mixture of impatience and excitement.

On the right was a burly man with a cold and hard expression, wearing dark work pants and a tight black long-sleeved shirt. He stood there silently with his arms crossed, his expression unchanging, but his eyes were fixed on Xu Xiaoyan's face, as if he were assessing her or exerting an invisible intimidation.

The three people, seemingly standing casually, happened to block the widest passageway in the corridor, leaving only a relatively narrow space that required turning sideways to pass through.

The man in the leather jacket spoke first. His smile was amiable, even carrying a hint of elder-like kindness, but his eyes were devoid of warmth.

He lowered his voice, just enough for Xu Xiaoyan to hear, without drawing too much attention: "Young lady, just finished the formalities? You're quite efficient." This sounded like a casual greeting, but it actually indicated that they had been observing her for a while, from the lottery machine to the registration desk, and then to the direction she left in.

The thin young man quickly followed up, speaking rapidly as if he didn't want to give Xu Xiaoyan much time to think. He cut straight to the point: "Judging from your appearance, you got one of the early numbers, right? Good luck. How about we chat?" He rubbed his fingers together, making a subtle gesture that represented a "transaction." "The price will satisfy you, cash on delivery, no cheating."

The burly man with his arms crossed remained silent, but he slightly shifted his imposing body and adjusted his stance, effectively sealing off the already narrow gap that Xu Xiaoyan might try to quickly bypass from the side, forming an insurmountable wall of flesh.

As the sparse flow of people passed through the corridor, they subconsciously avoided this small circle, quickening their pace, and no one gave it a second glance, let alone intervened.

Xu Xiaoyan stopped in her tracks. She didn't try to force her way in, nor did she show any panic. Her gaze calmly swept over the three people, and then she said, "Sorry, I live in the house myself, and I won't be trading it."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment the instant she finished speaking. The friendly smile on the leather jacket's face visibly turned cold, the thin young man narrowed his eyes, and an unfriendly light shone through his narrow slits. The burly man, the "wall of flesh," silently took half a step forward, and the shortening distance suddenly intensified the invisible pressure.

"Living alone?" The man in the leather jacket repeated, his voice even lower, with a hint of persuasion yet full of threat. "Young lady, you're new to Block B, so you might not know the 'market rates' here yet. Some things, having them in your hands, may not necessarily bring you good fortune."

The skinny young man spoke faster, his words like a machine gun, trying to exert psychological pressure: "Exactly! A newcomer getting a hot, desirable account is not only eye-catching, but they might not even be able to keep it. It's better to cash it out and exchange it for real points! With points, where can't you settle down here? Change to a smaller one, it's safer, and you can keep the money in your pocket. It's much more cost-effective!" He deliberately emphasized "can keep it" and "cost-effective," which was both an enticement and a veiled threat.

Although the burly man did not speak, his complete blockade of escape routes was the most direct and barbaric form of language.

The three worked together very well, with one playing the good cop, another the bad cop, and the third responsible for demonstrating force and exerting the most direct physical deterrence.

Xu Xiaoyan suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping across the three faces in turn, finally settling on the calculating eyes of the man in the leather jacket.

Her tone deliberately carried a hint of confusion, even a "Have you made a mistake?" "The three of you..." She glanced in a certain direction, as if carefully choosing her words, "Are you sure you want to talk to me here?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "here" with a barely perceptible but noticeable tone. At the same time, her left hand seemed to unconsciously press lightly on the inside of her coat pocket where the newly acquired access card was kept.

The three men were indeed taken aback. The man in the leather jacket frowned imperceptibly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the regularly rotating surveillance cameras on the ceiling of the corridor, and then glancing at the uniformed figure that was faintly visible in the information screen area not far away.

The skinny young man's darting eyes paused for a moment, clearly weighing his options quickly. Even the burly man's imposing posture froze slightly.

In public areas, especially in areas that have just completed important procedures and are theoretically under the strict management of the base, openly blocking and coercing "negotiations"... the risks do exist, and those in this line of work know best how to avoid obvious risks.

Xu Xiaoyan astutely seized upon the momentary hesitation triggered by her "reminder" and actions. Without giving the other person more time to think, she glanced almost casually at a dimly lit, shadowy corner high up in the corridor, where perhaps more sensors were located.

"I just came out of the registration office. All the information is locked in the central system in real time. Talking about a deal at this time..." She shook her head, then her gaze returned to the face in the leather jacket, and her tone became almost a statement of fact. "How risky is it? The seniors... should know better than I do."

Then, she abruptly changed the subject, her tone carrying a perfectly timed hint of doubt and a rhetorical question: "Besides, which eye of yours saw... me draw an early number?"

The skinny young man was provoked by the question, or rather, he preferred to solve the problem with direct pressure. He hissed, "Stop talking nonsense! Are you going to change or not? Give me a straight answer!" He took a step forward, trying to exert close pressure again.

"Exchange?" Xu Xiaoyan smiled very slightly, almost as if the corner of her mouth twitched, a hint of mockery in her voice. "Exchange a pigeon coop for a pigeon coop? Is that interesting?" She paused, her gaze sweeping over the three of them again, this time with a more pronounced scrutiny. "Which eye of yours saw that I was number 3 or earlier?"

Then, just as the skinny young man was about to lash out further, the leather-jacketed man's eyes flickered as if he were reassessing, and the muscular man's muscles tensed up again, Xu Xiaoyan suddenly turned her head to the side, her gaze seemingly unintentionally passing over their shoulders and landing in the direction of the other end of the corridor, where a small group of people were coming out of another registration point.

Her tone suddenly changed, carrying a sense of urgency, as if the opportunity was fleeting:

"Tsk, look over there, that guy who just came out, the one in the gray coat and glasses, the corner of the card he was holding... I think I caught a glimpse of it flashing, was it the one with the gold label?" She spoke faster, her gaze still fixed in that direction, as if she had really seen something. "The number seemed pretty high... There are a lot of people here right now, if we don't go ask soon, I'm afraid..."

She abruptly stopped speaking, but the keywords "gold standard," "highest number," "many people," and "why not go and ask" instantly struck a nerve with the three men in front of her—they were "resource hunters," their target was "good properties," and their modus operandi was to quickly identify and contact potential buyers.

The emergence of a seemingly more definite and potentially more lucrative target, which is also in motion, immediately becomes a powerful attraction for them.

The skinny young man was the first to lose his composure. Almost the instant before Xu Xiaoyan finished speaking, he muttered a swear word under his breath. He no longer cared about pressing Xu Xiaoyan for answers. He took a step, stretched his neck, and eagerly looked in the direction Xu Xiaoyan indicated, his body already poised to squeeze in that direction.

The man in the leather jacket stared intently at Xu Xiaoyan's calm and expressionless face for a moment, as if trying to discern the truthfulness of her words from her micro-expressions. However, his accomplice's urgent reaction, the blurry figure in the gray coat in the crowd in the distance that seemed to be looking around, and the sense of urgency that "the potential target might slip away" quickly took over his weighing of the situation.

He glanced at Xu Xiaoyan again, his eyes filled with a complex mix of resentment at his failure, a hint of doubt, but mostly a resolute determination drawn to his new target.

He turned around decisively, ignoring Xu Xiaoyan, and patted the burly man's shoulder quickly and forcefully.

Upon receiving the signal, the burly man immediately turned around. The three of them said no more, quickly adjusted their direction, and hurried away towards the crowd that Xu Xiaoyan had indicated, instantly merging into the crisscrossing flow of people.

Xu Xiaoyan stood there, quickly realizing that her "smooth" performance at the lottery machine and registration desk might have been noticed by some eyes in the shadows.

Now that he has the number of a 9-square-meter apartment in the East District, he is even more guilty of possessing a treasure. Since he has already been noticed, it is no longer safe to maintain the original appearance and route of movement.

Her mind raced, her eyes quickly scanning her surroundings. In the distance, a sign marked with a common symbol came into view—public restroom. She quickly blended into the flow of people also heading towards the restroom.

The bathroom was empty and quiet, with only the exhaust fan humming softly and the air filled with the faint smell of disinfectant.

There were several people queuing outside the cubicle. Xu Xiaoyan waited silently, her head down and her hat brim pulled low. When it was her turn, she quickly went into the innermost cubicle, which looked the cleanest and had the lock intact. She then locked the door with a "click".

In the cramped space, gleaming with the cold light of metal and ceramic, she quickly took off her coat, hat, and scarf, and tossed them into the space on a whim. Then, she took out an old work jacket from the space, put it on neatly, and zipped it up.

Then she took out a dark gray baseball cap, quickly untied her hair which she had tied up for convenience, casually combed it with her fingers a few times, letting it fall loosely over her shoulders, and then firmly fastened the cap. She carefully adjusted the angle of the brim so that the shadow perfectly covered her forehead, eyebrows and most of her eyes, revealing only a small part of the lower half of her face.

Finally, she took out an ordinary black mask, put it on tightly, and covered her mouth, nose, and jawline.

The whole process took less than two minutes. She looked at the blurry stainless steel plate in the cubicle, which only showed a rough outline. The reflection in the mirror was a low-key and blurry figure, completely different from her previous demeanor.

Unless someone who knows her very well is deliberately trying to identify her at close range, it would be difficult to immediately connect this "passerby" wearing a hat, mask, and dark work jacket with the "newcomer Xu Xiaoyan" who was stopped earlier and was carrying a backpack.

She didn't go out immediately, but stood quietly in the cubicle, listening intently for a while to make sure there was nothing unusual before pushing open the cubicle door.

Someone waiting outside cast a slightly impatient glance at her, but she ignored it, walked straight to the sink, turned on the tap, and carefully and slowly washed her hands. She then splashed cold water on the back of her neck to make herself more alert.