Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 458 Bunker Registration

When it was Xu Xiaoyan's turn, the wind and rain seemed to intensify, and thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance.

She stood in front of one of the long tables, behind which sat a woman in her early thirties.

He had short hair, wore black-rimmed glasses, and his dark blue uniform jacket was buttoned up tightly, with a section of gray turtleneck sweater peeking out from the collar.

Her face was expressionless, but her gaze lingered on Xu Xiaoyan for longer than on the previous people.

"Put your right hand on this," the woman said, pointing to a black box on the table.

The box is small, a little smaller than the palm of your hand, and has fine textures on the surface, like ventilation holes for something.

Xu Xiaoyan placed her right hand on it, her palm touching a cold piece of metal. The box beeped, and the indicator light changed from red to green.

The woman glanced down at the laptop screen, tapped a few times on the keyboard, then looked up, her gaze returning to Xu Xiaoyan's face.

"Xu Xiaoyan, former staff member of Linchuan Base." Her voice was not loud, but very clear. "Your information has been entered. After entering the gate, please follow the instructions to go to Zone 7."

After she finished speaking, she took out a small black card from under the table and handed it to Xu Xiaoyan.

The card was thin, like some kind of plastic material, with no text on it, only a number: 7-5027.

Xu Xiaoyan took the card and was about to turn around when the woman spoke again, "Wait a minute."

Xu Xiaoyan stopped and looked into her eyes.

The woman's expression subtly changed, as if she was carefully choosing her words.

She opened her mouth, paused for a second, and then said:

"We would like to learn about the situation at the Linchuan base. If possible, we would like to ask you for more details. It won't take up too much of your time."

Xu Xiaoyan glanced at her, then turned to look at Lan Yue.

Blue Moon had already registered and was standing to the side, clutching her black card with the number 7-5033 on it.

Lan Yue's mouth was slightly open as she looked at Xu Xiaoyan and then at the staff member, her face showing confusion as if she were wondering, "What's going on?"

"Okay," Xu Xiaoyan said, stuffing the card into her pocket and nodding.

The staff member stood up, walked around from behind the table, and headed toward a small door next to the bunker's main entrance.

The small door was also made of metal, much smaller than the main door, only wide enough for one person to pass through. She pushed the door open, stood sideways, and gestured "please" to Xu Xiaoyan.

Lan Yue stood there, the card in her hand slightly deformed from being gripped so tightly. She opened her mouth as if to say "What about me?", but when she saw Xu Xiaoyan nod slightly at her, she swallowed her words back.

"I'll be right back," Xu Xiaoyan said softly. "You go to Zone 1 and wait for me."

Lan Yue nodded, carrying her bulging backpack, and followed the crowd toward the gate, glancing back every few steps.

Xu Xiaoyan followed the woman through the small door.

Behind the door was a narrow corridor, not long; it ended after walking a dozen or so steps.

The walls of the corridor are gray concrete, unpainted, with traces of the formwork left during the pouring process still visible on the surface.

The overhead light tubes hummed softly, their stark white light illuminating the entire corridor without a single shadow.

At the end of the corridor was a small room, about ten square meters, with a long table, two folding chairs, a laptop and a black telephone on the table.

There was a vent in the corner of the room, making a soft whooshing sound. The air was warm and dry, completely different from the damp and cold world outside.

"Please sit down," the woman said, pulling out a folding chair and sitting down opposite her. She swiped her fingers across the laptop's touchpad a few times, and the screen lit up.

"Don't be nervous, just chat casually. Tell me what you've experienced, what you've seen, what you've heard, and whatever comes to mind. I'll take some notes."

Xu Xiaoyan sat down and placed her belongings at her feet.

"When should we start?" she asked.

"Anything you can remember from before you left the Linchuan base is fine, the earlier the better."

Xu Xiaoyan was silent for a few seconds, then began to talk about the daily life at the Linchuan base.

The daily rationing, roll call, and task assignments; the order and chaos in the camp; the fear and numbness of ordinary people; the staff's fingers rapidly tapping on the keyboard.

When she got to Lin Tongshi, her fingers paused on the keyboard, and she frowned.

"What about the rest of the people?" The staff member's voice was a little lower than before.

"I don't know," Xu Xiaoyan said. "I later went northwest alone and never went back."

The staff member's voice was much softer than before when they said "thank you."

"This information is very useful to us, especially regarding the situation in Lintong City. We had heard some rumors before, but not in this much detail."

Xu Xiaoyan nodded and didn't say anything more.

Guided by the staff, she walked along the corridor for more than ten minutes and saw two large open iron gates.

Behind the door was a wide passageway, at the end of which was a row of silver-white metal shelves.

Embedded on the shelf were several pieces of equipment she had never seen before, which looked somewhat like the turnstiles at airport security checkpoints in her memory.

But it's not quite the same; it's narrower and taller, with fine holes covering the metal plates on both sides, like some kind of sensor.

A queue had already formed in the passageway, with people carrying large and small bags moving forward.

No one spoke; everyone's eyes were fixed on those few pieces of equipment.

Xu Xiaoyan joined the end of the line and moved forward step by step with the people in front of her. Soon it was her turn.

A staff member in a dark blue uniform stood next to the equipment and gestured for her to proceed without any expression.

Xu Xiaoyan stepped into the narrow passage and, following the staff's instructions, stuck the small black card in her hand onto a circular sensor area on the right side of the device.

"Beep—"

The moment the card was affixed, a very thin blue light swept from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. She felt almost nothing, only a very slight coolness on her skin.

The display screen above the device lit up, showing her number: 7-5027, and a line of small print: "Identity confirmed, welcome to Zone 7".

"Pass," the staff member said emotionlessly. "Keep moving forward, don't stop."

Xu Xiaoyan put the card away and walked out of the row of metal shelves.

The space in Zone 7 was much larger than she had imagined.

The ceiling is an arched concrete dome, with a row of LED lights every few meters, illuminating the entire space with bright light and eliminating any shadows.

The ground was made of cement, polished smooth and flat, and covered with densely packed squares painted in yellow paint.

Each square is about one meter wide and two meters long, just big enough for one person to lie down. There are narrow passages between the squares, allowing only one person to pass at a time.