Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 294, Unit 1

Once inside the car, she didn't start it immediately. Instead, she leaned back in her seat and marveled at how this was an underground city, a world sustained by artificial light and air.

She suddenly thought of a question—what would happen if one day the underground city's system malfunctioned, the lights went out, and the air stopped?

She shook her head, dismissing the thought.

Thinking about these things now is useless.

What she needs to think about now is how to survive in Zone B, to live longer, and to live a better life.

Xu Xiaoyan drove slowly along the streets of the East District, looking for the nearest parking lot to her home.

After driving for about fifteen minutes, she saw a roadside sign—white with blue lettering, featuring a large "P" and the words "Parking at No. 23 East District, turn right 50 meters ahead."

She turned on her turn signal and turned right.

After turning the corner, a small open space appeared in front of us, enough to park about thirty or forty cars, but there were very few cars parked there.

She roughly counted, and there were only five or six cars scattered in different corners, with most of the parking spaces empty.

Xu Xiaoyan slowed down and drove slowly into the parking lot.

As she drove, she glanced around, found a spot closest to the exit, turned off the engine, and removed the key.

She didn't get out of the car immediately, but sat inside, looking at the empty parking lot through the windshield.

Earlier on the road, she noticed a problem – the parking lots in Zone B didn't seem to be just for random parking.

She got out of the car and walked to a sign at the entrance of the parking lot.

The notice board reads: "East District Residential Area Parking Fee Standard: 0.1 points per hour, maximum 2 points for 24 hours. Monthly parking space rentals can be obtained by calling the East District Management Office of the Underground City."

Below is a line of smaller print: "Commercial parking in the central area is now open free of charge. Citizens are welcome to use it."

After reading it, Xu Xiaoyan looked up thoughtfully.

At 0.1 points per hour, how should I put it... it's not expensive, but it's not a negligible amount either.

She did the math: if you park for 24 hours a day, you get 2 points; if you park for 30 days a month, you get 60 points. If you rent a parking space for a month, it should be cheaper, but it will still cost several tens of points a month.

This may not be a huge burden for residents of Zone B with a stable income, but it's not something they can just waste.

Many car owners might park in the free parking lot in the city center, as suggested by the signs, and then walk home.

She recalled the pedestrians she had seen on the road earlier—some carrying shopping bags, some walking dogs, and some simply strolling leisurely. Perhaps many of them had just parked their cars in the commercial district a few kilometers away and were walking home.

She's in a hurry to see her room right now; parking fees are a small matter, she can worry about them later.

Xu Xiaoyan walked back to the car, picked up her backpack from the passenger seat, put it on, locked the car door, and turned to walk towards the residential area.

It was supposed to be a residential area, but it was just a wide passageway, about four or five meters wide. She stood at the entrance, subconsciously watching the people around her.

Someone was walking ahead, a middle-aged man wearing dark blue overalls, carrying a plastic bag in his hand. He looked like he had just come back from get off work. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, without looking to the sides or back, just focused on walking his own path.

There was someone behind her; footsteps came from afar, growing closer. Xu Xiaoyan turned slightly and glanced at the woman out of the corner of her eye. She was a young woman with her hair in a ponytail, wearing casual clothes, with earphones in her ears, looking down at her phone screen. The woman walked past her without even lifting her eyelids.

Several more people walked by, all in the same state: eyes straight ahead, each going their own way, and no one gave her a second glance.

The previous probing glances have all disappeared, which precisely illustrates one thing—the security here is excellent.

Xu Xiaoyan had no idea what had happened during this time that made those who were eager to move to better apartments give up their plans.

Perhaps those people have already gotten what they wanted, moved into nice houses, and no longer need to keep an eye on the newcomers.

Perhaps those people are bound by some kind of rule and dare not act recklessly here.

She continued walking forward and began to observe her surroundings; the height of the passageway caught her attention.

In Zone C, the ceiling of the passageway was very low, only about the height of one floor, and in some places it was even densely packed with pipes and wires, which made people feel depressed.

But the ceiling in this passageway is very high.

She looked up—it was at least three stories high, with a light gray, smooth ceiling, embedded with rows of LED lights that illuminated the entire space.

There were no pipes, no wiring, nothing at all, just a clean, dry ceiling.

Xu Xiaoyan withdrew her gaze and continued walking forward.

Doors began to appear on both sides of the passage.

It wasn't one of those small, single doors; it was a very large, double door, made of metal, silver-gray, and looked heavy and sturdy.

There were no windows on the door, only a small numbered sign—Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3…

The rooms here are not arranged like those in Zone C, which are directly on both sides of the corridor. Instead, they are distributed in groups.

Simply put, units numbered 1 through 120 are grouped together. Residents with these numbers need to enter through a single main entrance, which leads to individual rooms, much like the old-style apartment buildings on the ground floor.

She walked to a door, stopped, and looked carefully at the numbered plaque.

"Unit 1".

The metal sign is rectangular, with white background and red lettering, and is embedded next to the door frame, making it very conspicuous. The door is silver-gray, double-opening, without handles, and has only a palm-sized sensor.

She tried to push the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Sensors!

She extended her index finger and tried fingerprint recognition.

With a "beep," the door lock clicked open.

She pushed open the door and went inside.

Behind the door is a large lobby.

No, it should be called a foyer. It's about thirty square meters, with a ceiling light hanging from the ceiling, emitting a bright light.

A bench stands in the center of the foyer, with a silver-white metal frame and a black plastic seat, looking simple and practical.

There were also a few potted green plants in the corner, their leaves lush and green, adding a touch of life to the space.

On the other side of the foyer is a staircase with non-slip steps and metal handrails on both sides.

Xu Xiaoyan went straight to the stairs.

The stairwell was clean, free of clutter and odors, with only a faint smell of disinfectant. She walked up the stairs, her footsteps echoing softly.

She walked out of the stairwell and found herself in a corridor.

On both sides are doors, each one the same—dark brown security doors with a peephole and a house number on them.