Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 412 Blue Moon

Xu Xiaoyan was about to walk towards the top of the mountain when she caught a glimpse of a figure approaching from her left rear.

She neither quickened her pace nor stopped, maintaining her original speed as she continued walking forward, only slightly tilting her head to glance at the scene out of the corner of her eye.

She was a young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties. She was half a head shorter than me and was wearing a dark blue windbreaker with the cuffs rolled up twice, revealing the cuffs of a gray sweater underneath.

Her hair was tied into a low ponytail, wet from the rain, and stuck to the back of her head. A few stray hairs peeked out from under the brim of her hat, sticking to her forehead and cheeks.

He was carrying a dark red backpack with a trekking pole tucked into the side, its tip covered with a rubber protective cap, swaying back and forth.

Two seconds later, she was standing next to Xu Xiaoyan. The girl was clearly someone who knew how to seize opportunities.

She barely hesitated for a moment before speaking, introducing herself as Blue Moon.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded without giving her name, and Lan Yue didn't press her for details.

"I just checked, and the dozen or so people coming from behind this group are negligible."

Lan Yue's voice wasn't loud, just loud enough for Xu Xiaoyan to hear clearly, but not loud enough to carry further away.

She looked straight ahead as she spoke, without turning her head, as if she were talking to herself, but every word was meant for Xu Xiaoyan.

"People who can't even understand a note are not suitable for teamwork. Working with such people means not only having to complete your own part of the work, but also having to dedicate some of your energy to helping them figure things out."

She went on to say:

"Among the other forty or so people, there are five or six people of similar age to us, and you are the only one of the same gender as me. In logging, it is generally more advantageous to team up with men."

When Lan Yue said this, her tone remained unchanged.

"But I've been harassed by guys before, so I'd rather go through the trouble of teaming up with girls than cause them any trouble."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan felt deeply moved; the hardships of single women are truly something only those of her own kind can truly understand.

She was thinking that if she teamed up with Blue Moon, the use of the space would be limited, meaning she could no longer take things from the space anytime, anywhere as she did when she was alone.

But at the same time, she was also aware that there were nearly fifty strangers around her, and several hundred more at the foot of the mountain.

In a communal environment, relying entirely on space for survival without any form of cooperation or exchange with anyone may be feasible in the short term.

But in the long run, she will be isolated.

Blue Moon, at least so far, has demonstrated a rare quality: clarity.

If she can live in this group as an "ordinary person," then her space becomes a true trump card, rather than a crutch she relies on daily.

Once you understand this logic, forming a team is no longer a question of "whether to take risks" but a question of "whether to expand your way of life".

Xu Xiaoyan is incredibly strong, and this is no exaggeration. Cutting bamboo, digging soil, watering, building bamboo sheds, pickling vegetables, and drying plums are all easy tasks for her.

Her strength in her hands, waist, legs, and stamina far surpassed that of those who had just come out of the underground city and were already on the verge of falling apart after walking for nine days.

Logging was nothing to her; she could carry a log that was 20 centimeters thick and 3 meters long by herself, and she wasn't necessarily slower than the boys.

But Lan Yue knew nothing of this; all she saw was a woman of similar age, and she had no idea how strong Xu Xiaoyan was.

After thinking it through, Xu Xiaoyan nodded.

Upon seeing this, Lan Yue smiled, took a half-step forward from her side, and then they walked together toward the mountaintop.

In this phase where everyone is still observing, testing, and sizing each other up, having a clear-headed person willing to stand with you is the greatest source of confidence.

They walked through a patch of low bushes, stepped over a layer of soft humus, and avoided several fallen trees lying across the road before finally reaching the relatively open flat area at the top of the mountain.

Upon arrival, they discovered that they were among the earlier arrivals. The view from the mountaintop was unobstructed, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and pine needles.

The air was filled with the scent of pine resin and decaying leaves, damp but not unpleasant, carrying the unique aroma of the forest.

Xu Xiaoyan glanced around. Including herself and Lan Yue, there were less than five people in total, scattered in twos and threes in different places on the flat ground.

Some people were bending over to clear away the pebbles on the ground, some were measuring the size of the plot with their steps, and some had already laid out a waterproof tarpaulin and were squatting on it to organize their backpacks.

In the distance, near the edge of the woods, a middle-aged man was pulling a military green tent out of a storage bag.

His movements were clumsy but earnest. He would insert the tent poles incorrectly, pull them out, and reinsert them, muttering to himself, though it was unclear whether he was cursing himself or the tent.

Apart from that, most of the area on the mountaintop was still empty, with a complete layer of fallen leaves and no signs of being trampled.

In other words, they can choose the best locations first.

Lan Yue was clearly aware of this as well. Her lips were slightly pursed and her brows were furrowed gently, not out of anxiety, but out of calculation.

Blue Moon asked, "Should we choose the best position or the upper-middle range?"

The difference between these two options lies not in geographical location, but in risk preference.

Lan Yue handed over this decision-making power to Xu Xiaoyan, not because she lacked her own judgment, but because she wanted to see how this partner would choose.

Xu Xiaoyan did not answer immediately, but stood still, her gaze sweeping from the center of the mountaintop to the edge and then back from the edge to the center.

She was looking at the terrain, the wind direction, the drainage, and which direction the people who had already chosen their spots were gathering in.

But more importantly, she was thinking about a question: if she chose the best location, would someone cause trouble?

If someone comes looking for trouble, can Blue Moon withstand it?

After a moment's hesitation, she asked directly, "Have you ever been in a fight?"

Blue Moon raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I've never lost a one-on-one duel!"

She said it quickly and decisively, without any hesitation, with a firm confidence.

This means she's done it more than once, and in this world, that's not shameful, it's a skill.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded. "Then let's find the best spot to set up the tent. If we encounter any unreasonable people, we can always fight them!"

She is not someone who likes to fight, much less someone who would provoke others.

But if someone tries to cause trouble because she chose the best spot, she won't back down.

Lan Yue gave an OK sign, then bent down and took off her backpack.

I started taking out the tent accessories from the side pockets: tent pegs, tent poles, inner tent, outer tent, and laid them out on the ground one by one.

After taking each item out, check it to make sure it is undamaged before putting it back in its proper place.