Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 287 Plastic Bag

"Come quick! This is the redemption point! They won't accept it! What? You got one too? Give it back now! With so many people around, maybe we can make a scene!"

Xu Xiaoyan didn't know when the people at the exchange point would be able to provide the "test results".

But she knew that, whatever the outcome, these people would most likely not get what they wanted.

If there's really something wrong with the pancakes, then they've been scammed. The scammer is the "Life Wisdom Lecture Hall," not the redemption point.

The redemption points are merely following the rules and should not be held responsible for this.

If the people in District 17 who distributed the pancakes weren't originally there to be people exchanging them for other things, then what were their motives?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sudden commotion arose in the crowd.

"They're out! They're out!" someone shouted.

Xu Xiaoyan stood on tiptoe and peered through the gaps in the crowd to see a person walking out from the other end of the exchange point passage.

The person was wearing the same gray uniform as the staff, but the style was slightly more formal, as if they were of some rank.

He was holding a piece of paper in his hand, looking at it as he walked, his expression very serious.

The crowd surged toward him, but he took a step back, stood in the middle of the aisle, and held up the paper.

"Quiet! Quiet down!" The loudspeaker he was holding was so loud it drowned out the noise of the crowd.

"The test results are in!" The crowd fell silent instantly.

For a moment, only heavy breathing and occasional coughs could be heard at the entrance of the exchange point.

Xu Xiaoyan unconsciously held her breath.

The man held up the paper, cleared his throat, and began to read—"Testing revealed that the submitted 'dried biscuits' contained hallucinogenic substances such as psilocybin and dephosphorylated psilocybin!"

How did this thing end up in a dried biscuit? Before she could figure it out, the voice from the loudspeaker continued reading.

"Is the reason everyone brought the dried biscuits to exchange for them because they tasted bitter and they suspected they were spoiled, so they rushed to the exchange point in a hurry?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's bitter!"

"Mine tasted bitter! I thought it had gone bad!"

"I tried a small bite, and it was terribly bitter, so I didn't dare eat any more!"

"Me too! I was wondering why this pancake tasted weird!"

The sounds rose and fell from all directions, as if confirming something.

As Xu Xiaoyan listened, the image of the old woman's excited face flashed through her mind—had she eaten the two pancakes she received yesterday?

Did she taste the bitterness? If she did, did she think it was bad, or did she think, "It's normal for a free pie to be a little bitter"?

The person on the loudspeaker waited a few seconds until the sound subsided slightly before continuing.

"Fortunately, everyone ate less. If they had eaten more, they might have gone crazy, experienced hallucinations, and lost control of themselves. I hope everyone will be vigilant and not easily trust others."

The people who were just exclaiming in surprise suddenly fell silent.

"The staff at the previous redemption point were not careful and accepted a batch of cakes. From now on, all food items will only be dispensed, not dispensed."

In other words, the redemption point will no longer accept any food items from now on. We hope everyone can understand.

When Xu Xiaoyan heard the words "only outflows, no inflows," her heart sank slightly. It seemed that this was not a temporary measure, but rather a long-term regulation.

What does this mean?

This means that all food will lose its official channels for monetization.

That was a really ruthless move.

But what's even more ruthless is that this move was only introduced after the "dry biscuit incident".

The authorities can say it was for everyone's safety and to prevent similar incidents from happening again. No one can refute this, because something did happen, and someone did indeed add something to the pancakes.

Those who were scammed not only failed to get what they wanted, but also became the reason for the authorities to tighten policies.

As Xu Xiaoyan was thinking, the crowd suddenly erupted.

"Liars! They're all liars!" The first to shout was a middle-aged man who was holding a dry biscuit in his hand and slammed it to the ground.

The pancake bounced on the ground, rolled a few steps away, and was stomped on by someone behind it, turning it into a pulp.

"I have three pancakes! Three!"

"Don't throw it away! Don't throw it away! Keep it as evidence!"

"Evidence my ass! The officials have already said it's toxic, why are you still keeping it?"

"I can't just throw it away for nothing!"

"What can you do if you don't just throw it away? What can you exchange it for?"

"I...I'll go find them!"

"Yes! Find them!"

"Ward 17! That lecture hall!"

Where are they?

"It's definitely still there!"

"Walk!"

The crowd began to surge, flowing from the entrance of the exchange point towards the other end of the passage.

Xu Xiaoyan was jostled back a few steps by the suddenly increased crowd, her back hitting a pillar, causing her to gasp in pain.

She leaned against the pillar, watching the crowd surge past her.

The people's faces wore a variety of expressions—angry, anxious, desperate, and bewildered.

Some people are running, some are walking, and some are being swept along by the crowd, moving forward against their will.

Those dry biscuits that were just tightly clutched in their hands were either thrown on the ground, stuffed into pockets, or trampled on and turned into crumbs.

The old woman was helped by the young woman and led forward by the crowd.

She still had the three pancakes in her hand, which she was clutching tightly.

The young woman supported her while looking back, probably trying to find a less crowded place to hide, but there were too many people and she couldn't hide at all, so she could only follow along.

The area in front of the exchange point was a mess, with crumbs of crushed bread scattered all over the ground.

Two staff members began cleaning the floor. One of them used a broom to sweep the crushed cake crumbs into a dustpan, while the other squatted down to pick up the scattered pieces.

Seeing that the crowd had mostly dispersed, Xu Xiaoyan headed towards the exchange point.

The staff member with the loudspeaker was gone; only a woman in a gray uniform sat by the window, looking down at something.

Xu Xiaoyan approached and knocked on the counter.

The woman looked up, glanced at her, and asked, "Hello, what would you like to exchange for?"

Xu Xiaoyan leaned forward and said, "Hello, I'd like to ask if you have any food-grade plastic bags here? Big or small, it's fine."

The woman paused for a moment.

She looked up and glanced at Xu Xiaoyan again.

"A plastic bag?" she repeated the word, her tone uncertain, as if to confirm that she hadn't misheard.

"Yes, resealable plastic bags," Xu Xiaoyan nodded, maintaining a polite smile. "Food grade, the kind that can be sealed."

"Wait a minute," the woman finally spoke, "Let me check the inventory."

She lowered her head and tapped her fingers on the table a few times.

Xu Xiaoyan then noticed that there was a terminal behind the counter with a thick screen displaying green characters.

The woman tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and something flashed on the screen. She stared at it for a while, then tapped a few more times.

About three minutes later, she looked up.

"We have it," she said, her tone slightly surprised. "But there's not much stock left. We only have two boxes left, both of the same size, 15cm x 8cm."

After she finished speaking, she added, "It's really strange that this thing was brought down from the ground."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan raised an eyebrow.

She didn't show anything on her face, but her mind was racing. The words "brought down from the ground" were quite interesting.

This suggests that the plastic bags were supplies brought down from the ground during the previous relocation. The very existence of such inexpensive items may have surprised her.

Xu Xiaoyan smiled and said in a casual tone, "Isn't this normal? We don't use plastic bags to pack things. Do you think the dungeon uses something else now?"

The woman nodded. "Now we mostly use biodegradable bamboo bags. They're produced in large quantities, are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cheap."

Bamboo grows quickly in planting areas, reaching maturity in a year, and is easy to process; this is what the government is currently promoting.

The kind of plastic resealable bag you want, apart from being transparent, is inferior to bamboo bags in all other aspects. And after use, it has to be specially recycled, which is a real hassle.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded as if she understood, maintaining a perfectly humble expression.

She didn't know what a bamboo bag was, but judging from the context, it was probably the packaging material commonly used in the underground city.

Plastic resealable bags, a product of the ground-based era, have become a useless feature here.

"I'll take both boxes of those sealed plastic bags," she said readily. "Thank you for helping me get the goods."

The woman paused for a moment, probably not expecting the young girl to want it all.

"Okay," she nodded, then tapped a few more times on the keyboard. "I've confirmed with the warehouse, and the warehouse staff has already delivered the goods here. It's 20 points in total."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded, took out her phone from her pocket, opened the points payment interface, and handed it to the sensor at the window.

With a "beep", the payment was successful.

The woman glanced at the screen, nodded, and handed out a small ticket from under the window. "Take this. You can pick up the goods when they arrive, in about twenty minutes."

Xu Xiaoyan took the receipt and put it in her pocket.

"Thank you," she smiled at the woman, then turned and walked out.

After walking a few steps, she heard the woman behind her mutter something. The voice was very soft, but she had sharp ears and vaguely heard a few words—"weird."

Xu Xiaoyan smiled slightly but didn't turn around.

Let him be a weirdo.

She walked out of the passage, stood at the entrance of the exchange point, and looked around.

The ground had been almost cleaned up, and two workers were loading things into the garbage truck, shoveling in the crushed cake crumbs one by one.

She found a step by the door to sit and wait.

She had just heard the word "planting area," so she figured the underground city had already created a dedicated area for growing vegetables, otherwise where would the fresh vegetables from the supply points come from?

She had actually guessed this long ago.

I wonder if there are any "breeding areas"?

Currently, the supply points only sell frozen meat. When the supply points can provide fresh meat, it will mean that the livestock area has been developed.

As for the bamboo bag, it must have been something like a paper bag, opaque and not sealed.

But for now, it's not suitable to store the things in her space, so she needs a plastic bag.