Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 288 Old Wine in New Bottles

While there's stock available, let's stock up first. Two boxes may sound like a lot, but once we actually use them, they might be gone in no time.

As she was thinking, footsteps came from the other end of the passage, heavier than before, as if someone was pushing something.

Xu Xiaoyan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person pushing a flatbed cart over. There were two cardboard boxes on the cart, with some blurry writing on them that was hard to read.

Upon seeing it, Xu Xiaoyan immediately took the note and walked over.

After taking the note, the man took a cardboard box off the car, put it on the ground, and then took another one off and stacked it on top.

The cardboard boxes weren't big, each about half a meter square, and they were wrapped with transparent tape that had turned yellowish, as if they had been stored for a long time.

"Two boxes, sealed in plastic bags," the man said, then turned and pushed the flatbed cart away, quickly disappearing into the other end of the passage.

Xu Xiaoyan squatted down and looked at the two cardboard boxes in front of her.

The cardboard box had some words printed on it, in an old-fashioned font, which were a bit blurry—brand name, specifications, production date, and shelf life.

She took a closer look and saw that the production date was printed as "2026.02.26" and the shelf life was "three years".

She stood up and looked around.

The two boxes weren't particularly big or small; they were a bit difficult for one person to carry, but not impossible.

She bent down, stacked the two boxes together, supported them from below with both hands, and lifted them up with a strong pull.

It's a bit heavy.

She adjusted her posture, steadied herself, and walked towards her residence.

After walking a distance, Xu Xiaoyan unconsciously thought about the "dry biscuit" incident again. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong with the whole thing.

Adding things to dry biscuits is not surprising in itself; it's just the tricks of scammers, they'll use any underhanded method.

What's strange is why they added it so unprofessionally?

Psilocybene has a bitter taste, so if you're going to add it, you should add the colorless and odorless kind so that people can't taste it.

Even if you don't have that kind of seasoning, you should at least use some other seasonings to cover it up, such as chili powder or Sichuan peppercorn powder, or simply make it a little saltier or sweeter so that people can't tell.

But they did nothing.

They just added it in, so that everyone could taste the bitterness and immediately feel that something was wrong.

and then?

These people then brought the flatbreads to the exchange point.

When the people at the redemption point saw so many people bringing in cakes, they were bound to get suspicious. Once they got suspicious, they sent the cakes for testing, and that's when the problem was discovered.

Then the official announcement came out, and everyone knew that there was a problem with the "Life Wisdom Lecture Hall".

What's this called?

This is called walking into a trap.

This is called "lifting a stone to drop it on one's own foot".

What kind of scammer would do that?

Xu Xiaoyan became more and more puzzled as she thought about it, so she stopped and stood by the passage, leaning against the wall, and went through the whole thing from beginning to end.

She recalled some cases she had seen before, and some scams were indeed like this—first give them something sweet to build trust, and then slowly close the net.

But this "slowly" process takes time; it's not about adding things to the pancake right away.

This isn't a scam, this is self-destruction.

Unless they simply don't care about being discovered.

Unless they never intended to do it long-term.

Unless, from the very beginning, the purpose of those pancakes they distributed was to "get discovered."

What are they after?

A thought flashed through Xu Xiaoyan's mind—what if the hallucinogenic substance in the pancake wasn't meant to make people addicted, or to keep them coming to class, but was meant for something else?

For example, to create chaos?

To drive people who eat the pancakes crazy?

To create panic by letting those crazy people run around in Zone C?

But those people didn't eat it because it tasted bitter.

So this tactic didn't work.

Then why do they add bitterness? Why not make it more subtle?

A few words popped into Xu Xiaoyan's mind—a makeshift team, a term specifically used to describe teams that are unprofessional, full of loopholes, and rely entirely on luck.

Some people start companies with makeshift operations, some people do projects with makeshift operations, and some people commit fraud with makeshift operations—they may look impressive, but the inside is a complete mess, and they can't even think of the most basic details.

Is this "Life Wisdom Lecture Hall" also like this?

Those who give the lectures probably don't even know that psilocybin is bitter.

They only heard that "this stuff can cause hallucinations," so they thought it was some kind of miracle drug and added it all in.

When they tried it, it was so bitter that they frowned, and they still didn't know what the problem was.

Those who distribute the pancakes probably have no idea that the redemption points will conduct checks.

They only thought, "Who wouldn't want something for free?" so they distributed them in a big way, hundreds a day, until they were everywhere.

Upon investigation, the whole thing was exposed.

Those behind the scenes probably had no idea that the authorities would react so quickly.

They were only thinking of "giving out pancakes for a few days first, and then slowly pulling in the nets when there are more fish," but before they could even pull in the nets, all the fish had escaped.

The more I think about it, the more likely it is.

For every elaborate scam, there is a flawed one.

This "Life Wisdom Lecture Hall" might just be the latter.

Xu Xiaoyan really didn't know what to say.

She stood by the wall, watching the occasional figures passing by at the other end of the passage, and listening to the faint sounds of commotion in the distance. Hmm, they were having quite a blast.

Those who were scammed will not let it go so easily.

They will seek explanations, make a scene, hurl insults, and spread rumors.

Then, a few days later, a new wave of excitement arrived, and the matter was gradually forgotten.

There were far fewer pedestrians on the street than before; they had probably all gone to see what was going on in District 17. She was happy to have some peace and quiet and carried her suitcase back to her room.

Xu Xiaoyan carried the two boxes inside and then closed the door.

She found a pair of scissors in the space and carefully cut along the seal.

The first box was opened, and inside were neatly stacked stacks of plastic bags, separated by thin cardboard, with about a hundred bags in each stack.

She picked up a stack of bags and looked at them. The bags were transparent and thick. There was a crease at the seal, indicating that they were heat-sealed. They could be sealed by pressing them with her hand.

Xu Xiaoyan picked up a bag, looked at it against the light, and found that it was very translucent, free of impurities, and neatly sealed. She then pulled hard on the bag, but it didn't budge, showing good resilience.

"The quality is very good," she nodded in satisfaction, put the bag back, and rearranged it.

These two boxes of sealed plastic bags will last her a long time.

After checking the sealed bag, she sat up straight and glanced towards the door.

The door was closed and locked.

After confirming that it was safe, she focused her attention, and the next moment, a pile of snacks appeared out of thin air in front of her.

There were many bags of potato chips, boxes of cookies, vacuum-packed braised eggs, foil bags of chocolate, as well as beef jerky, wafer biscuits, nuts, and so on, all piled up on the floor in a colorful array.

This is what she got when she went on a shopping spree at "Zhonglian Supermarket". This is only a part of it, since the room is too small to fit too many snacks.

Xu Xiaoyan turned her gaze to the sealed plastic bags.

She picked up a bag of potato chips and turned it over to check the production date on the back.

It expired in August 2024.

She picked up a box of cookies and checked the production date.

It expired in November 2024.

Grab another bag of beef jerky.

It expired in March 2024.

These things are frozen in time within the space; whatever they are put in, they remain the same when taken out.

In theory, they will never spoil and will always remain in the same state as when they were first put in.

But the problem is—the production date on the packaging doesn't change.

So she had to find another way.

Xu Xiaoyan picked up the bag of expired potato chips from the ground and tore open the packaging.

Inside were whole potato chips, neatly arranged one by one, golden in color, and with a faint aroma.

She picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. With a crunch, it was crispy, salty, and savory, exactly the same as when she first put it in.

It's not broken!

She chewed on potato chips, picked up a plastic bag from the side, opened the seal, and began to repackage them.

A bag of potato chips was poured in, and it filled the container perfectly.

She pinched the seal tightly, pressed it along the indentation with her fingers, and sealed it.

The transparent bag clearly shows the golden potato chips.

She picked up another box of cookies, opened it, and took out the cookies one by one, arranging them into another plastic bag.

The cookies are perfectly shaped, with clearly visible patterns on the surface, and look almost exactly like they came from the factory.

Remove the beef jerky from the bag, tear it into small strips, and put it back into a bag.

The wafers were fragile, so she carefully placed them in one by one, trying her best not to break them.

Pour out the nuts, pick out a few that don't look evenly colored, and put the rest in a bag.

There was a pile of empty packaging bags on the ground. She looked at them, gathered them up, stuffed them into an opaque cloth bag, and threw them back into her spatial storage.

The individually packaged, sealed plastic bags are stacked on the ground; they are transparent, and you can clearly see the contents inside.

Looking at the bags, Xu Xiaoyan suddenly remembered what the woman at the exchange point had said earlier—"Apart from its transparency, it is inferior to bamboo bags in all other aspects."

But what she wanted was transparency. As for why it was packaged into small bags, of course, it was for convenience of carrying, storage, and quantity control; any of these reasons could be used to justify it.

This was something she had planned long ago.

In peacetime, her actions would be absolutely illegal.

Prepackaged foods are subject to strict regulations, and must be labeled with the production date, ingredient list, production address, shelf life, and production license number; none of these can be omitted.

Repackaging products without proper labeling or packaging results in "three-no" products (products without manufacturer information, production date, or quality certification). If caught, you will be fined, and in serious cases, you may face legal consequences.

But this is not a time of peace; it is a time of chaos.

The dungeon has its own rules and management system. As long as you don't cause trouble, no one will bother with the little stuff an individual has.

The staff at the exchange points are only responsible for exchanging currency, not for conducting investigations.

Patrol officers are only responsible for maintaining order, not for searching homes.

Therefore, no one will notice her "new wine in old bottles".

Xu Xiaoyan put the remaining plastic bags back into her space.

She didn't take out the remaining snacks; she didn't plan to deal with them all at once.

We'll do these for today, and then we'll get the new ones once they're sold out.