Everyone present who had survived to the third year of the apocalypse had experienced a great deal. Some had even been millionaires or billionaires before the apocalypse; when it arrived, the government forcibly confiscated a vast amount of resources—a fact well known to many.
Before the apocalypse, some famous financial magnates seemed to vanish into thin air. Some reappeared in their circles after a time, faring even better than before. But the period of their disappearance, and the vanishing of some friends, was never mentioned—as if by a collective, unspoken agreement.
And those who managed to thrive again did so by clinging tightly to the government's coattails.
But it was an open secret that if anyone had an abundance of food, essential supplies, or other scarce items, the government might "confiscate" them. Even the richest energy tycoons in Wu City, despite being in league with the government, were likely coerced. Thus, nobody dared to appear too affluent.
