Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 524 Multiple People Missing

The person shouting was wearing a fluorescent green vest and stood on a cement block at the intersection, holding a sign that read "West Gate →".

His voice was already hoarse, but he kept shouting, using gestures to guide the crowd in the right direction.

Xu Xiaoyan slowed her pace, squeezed out of the middle of the crowd and moved to the side, walking close to the wall by the roadside.

She dislikes the feeling of being squeezed in the middle of a crowd, the feeling of being pushed around by people all around her, with her feet barely touching the ground. It reminds her of her past experiences of being swept into a train station by the flow of people, a feeling that makes her feel suffocated.

The path along the wall is easier to walk on, and there are fewer people there.

She quickened her pace and soon overtook a large group of people, ending up in the first third of the crowd.

She was already in good physical condition, and although the backpack looked big, it was actually very light. Most of her things were inside the backpack, so it was just for show.

As we approached the West Gate, the crowd became congested again.

It's not because the gate is too small, but because everyone stops in the same place and looks back.

Xu Xiaoyan tiptoed over the dense crowd in front of her and looked toward the city, where she saw many military green trucks moving slowly above the platform.

She withdrew her gaze, turned around, and followed the flow of people through the West Gate.

The gate is a gray-white cement archway with the three characters "West Gate Gate" engraved on it. The characters are somewhat blurred, but they are still legible.

Outside the sluice gate lies the city, where the dirt road is full of potholes, and on both sides are large fields of crops. The corn has already been harvested, leaving only rows of short stubble.

Xiling is not far away. It is a hill of medium height, dark in the distance. At the foot of the hill is an open space, probably left over from an abandoned quarry. The ground is flat and open, enough to accommodate several thousand people.

The crowd had already spread out on that open space, with colorful tents, moisture-proof mats, plastic sheets, and even a few tricycles that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, with blankets lined in the backs of the vehicles, as if they were going to use the tricycles as temporary bedrooms.

Some people were digging holes to prepare for a fire, some were building makeshift sheds with plastic sheeting, and some had already laid out moisture-proof mats and lay down, legs crossed, with a blade of grass in their mouths, looking like they were on a picnic.

Xu Xiaoyan found a relatively quiet spot, took the tent off her backpack, and quickly set it up.

Her tent wasn't big, but it was more than enough for one person. She laid out a moisture-proof mat inside, placed a folding stool on the side, and put her backpack in the corner. That was it.

When she crawled out of the tent, she heard people talking next to her.

Two middle-aged women sat on a floor mat with a bag of sunflower seeds in front of them, chatting as they ate. From their conversation, Xu Xiaoyan gleaned some information.

"Have you heard? Yesterday, the downstream floodwaters were released, and several people were swept away by the water. They haven't been found yet."

"I've heard about it. Apparently, people in every district are talking about this rumor. Some people believed it and gathered a group of people to go fishing, but the water was too high and they couldn't get out."

"Every district has it? Where did this news first come from?"

"Who knows... I found out yesterday that it wasn't just people from our District 7 who went missing."

Xu Xiaoyan squatted at the tent entrance for a while, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that what the two women had just said contained a lot of information. She stood up, dusted off her trouser legs, and walked towards the two women. "Sisters, are you from District Seven? Has someone gone missing too?"

"Yes!" one of the women replied.

"Little girl, sit down and talk," another person said warmly, patting an empty spot on the floor mat, as if greeting a relative.

Xu Xiaoyan didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down on the floor.

The floor mat was an old-fashioned foam interlocking mat, red and blue, and some of the edges were curled up, but it was still quite soft to sit on.

She crossed her legs, rested her elbows on her knees, and assumed a posture ready for a long talk.

"Big sister, could you tell me more about what you were talking about earlier? It was about spreading rumors that the dam was releasing water, misleading people into fishing."

The woman eating sunflower seeds was surnamed Li. Xu Xiaoyan later learned that everyone called her "Sister Li".

Sister Li is very outgoing and quick-witted. She can go in with a melon seed and out with the shell, all while spouting a long, complete sentence.

"Let me tell you, this isn't just something I spread around," Sister Li said, putting down the sunflower seeds in her hand and clapping her hands, the shells falling softly from between her fingers.

"In our District 7, three people have already gone missing! Two men and one woman, all young people, in their early twenties."

You didn't see the scene. First, a boy's friend went to report it to the police, saying that he couldn't contact him, he didn't answer the phone, he didn't reply to messages, and no one was home.

The people at the trading center didn't take it seriously at first. They thought it was normal for young people to go out and not answer their phones for two days, so they told them to go back and wait for news.

As she said this, she reached into the plastic bag next to her and grabbed another handful of sunflower seeds.

"And guess what happened? Not long after, another girl's neighbor came to report that the girl hadn't come home all day and hadn't said where she'd gone."

The neighbor was very kind-hearted and said that the girl was usually very well-behaved and always came home on time. She had never acted like this before, so something must have happened.

The woman next to them, who hadn't said much, was surnamed Wang; everyone called her Sister Wang.

Sister Wang doesn't talk much, but every time she speaks, it's a brilliant insight.

She chimed in, "I know that neighbor too. She lives across from my cousin. She's a really nice person, but she's just a worrier."

Sister Li didn't pick up on that, and continued: "Then, another person came, a man, who said he was the roommate of the remaining boy."

Three people came to report a crime, looking for three different individuals, and these three people didn't know each other. Think about it, three young people disappearing simultaneously in one day—can that be a coincidence?

Xu Xiaoyan nodded, her mind already comparing this information with Blue Moon's situation.

"The people at the trading center didn't dare to be negligent this time and quickly reported it to their superiors. When the superiors heard it, they felt something was wrong and sent people to inquire in other districts."

This inquiry revealed a surprising discovery: it wasn't just people missing in District 7, but also in other districts!

Sister Li lowered her voice, her eyes wide open, as if she were telling a huge secret.

Her facial expressions were perfectly controlled, conveying a sense of mystery that seemed to say, "I'm telling you something, but you absolutely mustn't tell anyone else." Even Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but lean forward slightly.