"Can we check the surveillance footage? Don't all supermarkets have internal monitoring systems?" asked one of the staff sent to collect supplies.
But it was useless.
"They're no help. Inside the supermarket was nothing but poisonous fog. Regular surveillance systems without heat sensors couldn't detect anything. Even if they had heat sensors, do you think the thieves wouldn't have covered themselves? You have to remember, that fog is poisonous. Even if the footage caught someone, their face would be obscured. Let alone anything caught from the outside."
In other words, even if the supplies were gone, the supermarket manager had no choice but to accept the loss.
But there was another, more disturbing issue.
"Someone figured out how to move around in the poisonous fog even earlier than we did. Isn't that the scarier part?"
That sentence immediately raised alarms among the group. The head of the supply team said, "Report everything that happened today. Check with other areas to see if anything similar occurred. If it's just us, then we need to pay special attention to the people in this area."
Everyone froze for a second, then realized what was being implied.
"You mean, it's possible that the people who did this live nearby?"
"Exactly. The outside is full of poisonous fog. Even for us, it took considerable time to get here using our gear. Whoever pulled this off might know how to move through the fog, but they certainly don't have equipment as good as ours. They wouldn't be able to go far.
Plus, supermarkets like this aren't spread too far apart. If someone was going to loot a place, why target just these three? All in the same area? That suggests they're operating close by. If they don't live in this district, then they're likely no more than a street or two away. Otherwise, how could they possibly transport that many supplies?"
It made sense when explained that way. The man continued, "Go investigate. Focus on this street and the surrounding blocks. See if anything strange happened right after the poisonous fog came. No matter what it is, report everything to me."
"Understood."
With that, he left to begin the investigation, while the team leader roused the supermarket manager, who had collapsed after the shock.
"The remaining goods could still be exchanged for a fair amount of contribution points. Do you want to trade them now?"
"But... what about the rest of my stock?" the supermarket manager asked, voice trembling.
Everyone already understood that the lost goods were as good as gone. Getting them back would be like trying to pluck stars from the sky.
The two locked eyes in silence. After a long moment, the supermarket manager clenched his jaw and said, "Trade them. Trade everything. Let's get whatever we can."
…
Over on Lan Jin's side, whether it was a lot or a little, she now had contribution points safely stored in her residence permit. The same couldn't be said for Ren Xing and Meng Ying, who lived in the apartment complex across the street.
Those two were renters. When they moved in, they had brought some basic furniture, but they'd never planned to stay long. So what they had was just the bare minimum: a few emergency pieces. Now that they wanted to trade for contribution points, they had nothing valuable to offer.
But just because their place was empty didn't mean Lan Jin's former home was.
Even though Lan Jin had already moved out and put the apartment up for sale, Ren Xing and Meng Ying had never actually seen her move. Which led them to believe that her unit was still packed with things. If they could trade all of that, surely they'd get a significant number of contribution points.
Meng Ying didn't dare speak too directly, so she took a softer approach. "Brother Xing, the community clearly made an announcement. That means contribution points are going to be important. I think it's safer if we each get some. We don't have much furniture or appliances, but maybe we can trade something small first and just try it."
Ren Xing looked around and frowned. "Do we even have anything worth trading?"
The layout of the rental was the same as Lan Jin's: three bedrooms, two living rooms. But aside from a bed in the master bedroom and a sofa in the living room, the place was practically barren. They didn't even have a dining table, just a coffee table they used for meals. The wardrobes were cheap collapsible cloth racks from the supermarket. They didn't cook either. Visibly, the house had nothing.
Meng Ying sighed. "So what do we do? I saw in the group chat that contribution points can be used like money. We can buy food with them. We've got no food, no points, and we can't leave the house. What are we supposed to do, starve? No matter what, we need to get some contribution points."
In this moment, Meng Ying and Ren Xing had completely forgotten how greedy they'd been during the initial chaos, fighting over snacks. People like that always found a way to team up when there was profit involved.
Ren Xing asked, "So what do you want to do?"
Meng Ying glanced toward the apartment across the hall. "Lan Jin moved out, right? Her place is empty now. What if we go in and trade her furniture for contribution points? Maybe there's still some food inside too. I remember she loved stockpiling supplies. There's probably a bunch of grains and dry goods."
The moment food was mentioned, Ren Xing, who had been hesitant, began to waver. They really had been hungry lately. Just the idea of getting a full meal was enough to tempt him.
He thought for a bit. "Alright, let's go take a look."
Ren Xing grabbed the spare key for the apartment across the hall. They stood outside, expecting they'd need to fiddle with the lock, maybe even break in. But to their surprise, the key worked without a hitch. The door opened smoothly.
They barely had time to feel pleased before stepping into the apartment — and getting hit with a wave of disappointment.
The place was empty.
Completely, utterly empty.
Meng Ying's face twisted in disbelief. "No way. How can there be nothing here?"
Ren Xing was just as stunned. "That's impossible. I never saw her move anything. Where's all the furniture? There's not even a single chair."
The two of them searched every corner of the house, but it really was empty. Lan Jin had already left. Nothing remained.
Meng Ying no longer cared about saving face with Ren Xing. She snapped, "I told you she moved out over the New Year, but you wouldn't believe me. You said she probably just changed the locks. Now we're inside, but look. Nothing. Not a damn thing!"
Staring at the vacant apartment, all the illusions Meng Ying once had about Ren Xing shattered. She suddenly realized he wasn't as decent as she'd imagined. Lazy, broke, petty — and that old-fashioned macho attitude had always irritated her. Looking at him now, she wondered how she ever saw him as worth anything at all.
He was useless. Completely, absolutely useless.