Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 233 Lottery Division

Housing, the cornerstone of survival and development in the underground city, is acquired and circulated in a way that strangely combines absolute randomness with controlled market flexibility.

This is not just about allocating houses; it's more like a subtle social experiment, a preliminary test of the adaptability of this group of "elites" or "lucky ones." Xu Xiaoyan felt that she had gained a deeper understanding of this so-called "B District."

The lottery terminal stood a few steps in front of the semi-transparent partition. It consisted of two gray-white pillar-like devices, about two people tall, that required looking up at. The design was simple and cool, with a fine matte coating on the surface and no decoration.

A large, high-resolution touchscreen is mounted at the top, emitting a soft blue light and displaying an extremely simple interface: "Please swipe your ID code or enter your temporary lottery code."

At the bottom of the screen, about chest height, is a circular sensor port with a faint blue glow around its edges, just big enough for one hand to fit inside. That will determine the fate of many people's residence for the next few years or even longer.

The line split into two, slowly crawling towards the two gray-white terminals. The air seemed to solidify under invisible pressure; the previous collective anger and clamor were replaced by an almost suffocating tension. Every tiny footstep, every rustle of clothing, every uncontrollable swallowing sound was amplified in this extreme silence, intensifying the tension in their nerves.

Xu Xiaoyan was in the right-hand line, neither too far forward nor too far back. From this angle, she could clearly observe those who were already close to the finish line and standing at the very front of the line.

Their postures varied; some had their eyes closed, hands clasped together, muttering incantations, their fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of their clothes or the seam of their trousers in front of them.

Some people stared intently at the back of the person operating the device in front of them, glancing quickly at the unchanging terminal screen every few seconds, trying to find "patterns" or "omens" from the previous person's body language or the slightest clues in the result. Their eyes were full of prying and analysis.

Some people were as pale as paper, with fine beads of sweat on their foreheads. Their bodies were stiff, their breathing was obviously disordered, and some even trembled slightly involuntarily. It was a kind of physiological fear of the impending "judgment" that was completely beyond their control.

This collective anxiety had reached its peak, and finally, after another person finished their task and left with unsteady steps, the man behind him, who looked to be in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, a suit and tie but with a crooked tie, could no longer hold back.

He abruptly raised his head and, in a voice hoarse with tension, asked the staff member waiting beside the terminal:

"Hey! Comrade! Wait, wait a minute! That number we drew... how are we supposed to know what size apartment it corresponds to? Is it 9 square meters, 6 square meters, or... 3 square meters? We need a clear answer! We can't just let the machine decide like this!"

This question revealed the most pressing and anxious question in the hearts of everyone in line! Countless gazes, filled with the same urgency and unease, immediately focused on the staff member from all directions, and the air seemed to thin out under their gazes.

The staff member showed neither surprise nor impatience. He simply cleared his throat, glanced at the momentarily stunned crowd, and then spoke in a flat, monotone voice:

"The rules for the lottery numbering will now be explained once and for all, so please listen carefully. The residential unit number is randomly generated by the system and consists of a six-digit code. The number corresponds directly to the apartment size based on its range." He paused to make sure everyone was listening intently.

"Numbers between 1 and 10000 correspond to a standard single room of 9 square meters."

"Numbers between 10001 and 30000 correspond to a standard single room of 6 square meters."

"Numbers in the range 30001 and later correspond to a basic single room of 3 square meters."

9 square meters! 6 square meters! 3 square meters! Ten thousand "lucky" numbers, twenty thousand "decent" numbers, and thirty thousand numbers representing the "bottom"—the probability is laid bare before everyone in a naked way.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, the staff member continued:

"In addition, the Phase I residential area of ​​Zone B is divided into four large residential sectors: East, South, West, and North, according to the main passages and functional zones. Within each sector, the planned quota for 9-square-meter apartments is 2500 units, the quota for 6-square-meter apartments is 5000 units, and the quota for 3-square-meter apartments is 20000 units."

He pointed to the terminal screen and said, "Therefore, after the lottery is completed, the screen will immediately display the area range corresponding to your number, as well as a list of residential sectors that have not yet been selected within that area range and are available for you to choose from."

"You must select and confirm a sector from the available list within 30 seconds to complete the initial area binding. If you do not select a sector within the time limit, the system will randomly assign you a sector from the remaining properties in that area range."

"We have to choose our own area?!" The crowd erupted in low, barely suppressed murmurs and discussions again. This meant that, in addition to the initial purely gambling-like lottery of numbers, there was now a second choice based on limited information, or even just baseless personal preferences, intuition, or herd mentality! Although the range of choices might be equally limited, or even narrower due to the quick choices of those who came before, it at least gave people a fleeting illusion of "autonomy."

"The first 10,000! It has to be the first 10,000!" The young man wearing glasses, who was not far in front of Xu Xiaoyan, finally couldn't help but roar out. His voice was hoarse, and he pressed his hands together against his forehead, his fingertips losing color from the force.

"God bless me, Buddha bless me, please don't let it be after 30,000... please don't let it be... after 30,000 it's all over..." A pale-faced middle-aged woman next to me, her eyes unfocused, kept repeating this sentence in a low voice, as if she was chanting her last protective spell.

"There's still the area... Which one should we choose? The east? I heard that the east is close to the main circulation ventilation duct and the fresh air outlet, so the air quality might be the best? What about the west? What's the situation there?" People who had already drawn lots and received their numbers but hadn't yet chosen an area started discussing nervously in low voices with their equally bewildered companions, even though they didn't even know what their list of options was. Their discussion was purely based on guesswork and conjecture.

"The top 30,000... no, the top 10,000 would be best! I hope it's the top 10,000!" This thought, like the most contagious spell, instantly swept over almost everyone still waiting to draw lots.

Xu Xiaoyan's heart was in her throat. Her initial relief at the "free housing" had vanished in the face of the cruel numbers, replaced by intense anxiety about the unknown outcome and a hint of suppressed fear.

Nine square meters might allow for some planning, enough to fit in essentials besides bedding, and perhaps even a quiet corner for a moment; six square meters would barely meet the most basic sleeping needs, compressing survival to the extreme; three square meters… she could hardly imagine how to “live” in that. It would probably just be a concrete cubicle where she could lie down but not truly “live”. The difference wasn’t just numbers, but a huge chasm in terms of future quality of life and psychological space.

She clenched her fists involuntarily, her nails digging deep into the soft flesh of her palms, bringing a clear pain. This pain, however, made her even more alert, and her gaze was fixed on the person in front of her who was about to put his hand into the circular sensor port.

The man's body stiffened noticeably, his arm seemed to tremble slightly, and then the screen lit up with light, displaying several lines of black text.

It was too far away to see clearly, but the person's shoulders slumped down instantly, their head drooped abruptly, and their arm hesitated to lift and tap the screen to make the next choice, which seemed to say it all.

He stood there until the people behind him couldn't help but urge him on impatiently. Only then did he seem to wake up from a nightmare, and very slowly took a small piece of paper from the exit at the bottom of the screen, before dejectedly making way for them.

The line inching forward a little further. Just as the crowd was becoming increasingly anxious and uneasy due to the specific number range and the subsequent complex area selection, and was almost overwhelmed by silent panic again—"Look! Look over there! The public screen over there is lit up!" A sudden shout, distorted with excitement, rang out from the side and back of the crowd, breaking the heavy, suffocating air!

Almost as if they had heard a unified command, everyone's heads turned to the other side of the atrium, where a giant display screen that occupied almost the entire tall wall had silently lit up.

Against a deep blue background, a crystal-clear data table is scrolling and refreshing at a certain frequency. Above the table, a bold, scarlet title is prominently displayed: "Real-time Allocation and Stock Dynamics of Residential Units in Phase I of Area B".

The table uses a clear vertical column layout, with four main columns arranged vertically on the far left: "East Zone", "South Zone", "West Zone" and "North Zone".

Each main category is further subdivided into subcategories such as "Family/Double Room", "9㎡ Standard Single Room", "6㎡ Standard Single Room", and "3㎡ Basic Single Room".

What truly captures everyone's attention is the number of "remaining quantity/sets" displayed behind each sub-section, which is visibly decreasing at an ever-increasing pace!

"East District! The 9-square-meter rooms in the East District are almost gone! It was 2381 just now, and now it's 2379!"

"Even the 6 square meters in the West District have decreased! Look! 5012 has become 5008! Four units have disappeared at once?"

"3 square meters in the North District... 19875... 19874... It's being used up so slowly, it's hardly being used at all..."

"There are still quite a few 9-square-meter units in the south area, but the number of 6-square-meter units is decreasing faster than in the west area!"

A commotion, even stronger and more chaotic than before, erupted from the crowd. A buzz of discussion instantly filled with shock, realization, and a deeper anxiety.

It turns out that choices are not made blindly! There is such a real-time public screen, like a cruel hourglass, clearly showing how every kind of "hope" is slipping away at a rapid pace!

Xu Xiaoyan also stared intently at the huge screen, her pupils slightly contracting, her brain processing the fluctuating numbers at an unprecedented speed.

She quickly discovered an extremely obvious, even one-sided, trend: the consumption rate of all types of housing in the East District, especially the consumption rate of 9-square-meter and 6-square-meter single rooms, was significantly faster than that of the other three sectors!

That number represents the remaining 9 square meters. With each tick, the East District tends to decrease the most; and in terms of the consumption of 6 square meters, the East District also takes the lead.

In contrast, consumption in the South, West, and North districts was relatively slow. In particular, the number of 3-square-meter units decreased slowly in other districts, and it seems that some 3-square-meter units in the East district were also "incidentally" selected, but at a much slower pace than the units with better layouts.

Why the East District? Is it simply a psychological preference—"East" represents the rising sun and vitality? Or is it some undisclosed, word-of-mouth "insider information," such as the East District having better infrastructure, being closer to the core functional area, and having a more stable energy supply? Or is it simply because the first few people who drew good numbers randomly chose the East District, forming an "anchor point," and later people blindly followed, creating a strong herd effect?

In an era of extreme information scarcity, the specific reasons are no longer important. The ever-decreasing numbers and the obvious "popular" trend become the most powerful and self-evident guide to action. Since the East District has the most people choosing it, perhaps this itself means that there is some kind of unspoken but collectively recognized "advantage" or "higher level of recognition" hidden there.

This discovery gave her a clear clue amidst great uncertainty: as long as the East District remained on her list of options, she had only one choice—the East District!

Given that you have absolutely no control over the numbering system, you should at least try to gravitate towards the area that seems "better," more "mainstream," and more likely to offer future conveniences.

This insignificant autonomy, limited by the remaining housing stock, is the only direction she can actively grasp and strategically grasp in the torrent of fate.

The line continued to crawl forward at an agonizingly slow pace, getting closer and closer to the two gray-white terminals. Xu Xiaoyan could now see the faint light patterns flowing on the screen in standby mode, the dark stains on the backs of the people drawing lots in front of her, soaked with sweat from nervousness, and hear the occasional short "beep" from the sensor port, as well as the subtle mechanical friction sound as the result slips were printed.

Just as it was about to be her turn, with only two people ahead of her, she noticed more clearly another carefully designed and ingenious detail in the lottery process: isolation and privacy.

At the very front of the line, within a radius of about 1.5 meters around the terminal, a faintly glowing light yellow line on the ground clearly marked out an invisible semi-circular isolation zone.

The person drawing lots must stand alone inside the yellow line, and the terminal is cleverly positioned so that the person drawing lots has their back to the queue.