"What on earth does Su Mali's family do? My god, did none of you notice she tossed a Cartier in there like it was nothing?" The voice was hushed, incredulous, as someone pointed at the pile of discarded luxury items Su Mali had left behind.
"I saw several luxury watches strung together like a bracelet. Her family clearly isn't short on water. Why won't she trade us some water?" Another complaint rose, tinged with bitterness.
"That's a joke. Have you ever seen the rich short of money? Does anyone ever think they have too much money? With water this scarce, who would think they have too much water?" The retort was cynical, born of hardship.
Zhang Lingling led a few people into the empty mall, her flashlight beam cutting a path. It had been stripped clean, a skeletal husk. Not a single piece of clothing or even a needle remained, only scattered garbage on the floor and large, immovable machines, their shadows hulking and strange.
Unlike in many apocalypse movies, there were no piles of brand-new clothes, no heaps of glittering jewelry, no rows of designer bags waiting for a protagonist to sweep into their arms to try on and admire. None of that existed. Reality was barren.
Either everything had already been hauled home by early looters, or it had been traded off cheap for food in the first desperate months.
Even whatever the suddenly dead had not managed to collect had been meticulously reclaimed by the government down to the last feather. Thieves had even removed the doors and window frames to trade for work points. The mall had been combed through several times already, a picked-over carcass.
"Alright, hurry in. See what can be swapped." Zhang Lingling's voice echoed slightly in the vast, empty space.
It was like wandering a ghost market. Everyone held a flashlight, the beams crisscrossing in the dark as they shone over the meager piles of unwanted items tied to rear bicycle racks outside. Some compared lists on their phones, screens glowing in their hands. Others had already agreed in advance on what to trade, their negotiations brief and quiet.
Jing Shu and Yao Zixin had also made plans beforehand. He brought rolled-up planning blueprints, the paper slightly frayed, for Jing Shu to confirm and revise under her flashlight. She brought ten liters of water in a sturdy plastic container as a deposit. They agreed to discuss the details after the swap meet ended, their conversation efficient.
Compared to the sunny campus heartthrob he had been, Yao Zixin had changed a lot. After more than half a year of poor nutrition and constant worry, his face was sallow and thin, though his fine-boned features were still there, a ghost of handsomeness. Compared to their other classmates, who looked gaunt and haunted, he still looked much better, a testament to his family's slightly better reserves.
A little over twenty people had come in total. Most arrived on bicycles, a few on e-bikes with faint battery hums, and the flashy Xie Zihao showed up in a dusty BMW energy car, a statement of fading status.
But the air inside the mall reeked, a thick, sour stench of unwashed bodies, foot odor, bad breath, the pungent smell of clothes worn for weeks. Jing Shu couldn't wait to leave. She put on a mask from her pocket and covered herself tightly, the fabric a thin barrier against the miasma.
She watched the small swap meet unfold from behind, a silent observer. There was everything from towels and bolts of cloth to pots and pans, the detritus of normal life now become currency.
She saw someone trade a precious, unopened bag of chips for three packs of sanitary pads. Someone else swapped a can of milk powder, the label faded, for He Shouwu's vial of floral cologne, a trade of sustenance for a fleeting scent. Xie Zihao traded a single, dented tin of luncheon meat for a box of cold medicine, his expression triumphant.
Speaking of milk powder, Jing Shu felt it was time to make more at home. It was indispensable for travel, lightweight and nutrient-dense. Dried into milk tablets, she could pop one in the mouth at any time for energy, or stir it in hot water for instant milk, then add some oats for a simple meal. Though that would have to wait until after she made another batch of ice cream for the Qian family deal.
Zhang Lingling's family used to make medical auxiliary equipment, not pure medical devices. As Jing Shu understood it, they sold medical components, connectors, small valves, specialized screws. Screws and the like might be small, but they were crucial. Before the apocalypse, it was fairly profitable, a niche business.
After the apocalypse, medical equipment was still precious, but with medicine gone or hoarded, even precious equipment could only sit there, useless. Auxiliary parts, even more so, were worthless without the whole.
Yet recently, according to the chatter, Zhang Lingling's family had made a small fortune. Jing Shu wondered how.
When most people had finished their quiet swaps, Zhang Lingling finally stepped forward into a cleared space, her manner taking on a mysterious, presenter's air. She brought out a box the size of a basketball, holding it with both hands. "Everyone be quiet and listen. Holding this swap meet today is also to bring you all a benefit." Her voice projected, capturing the scattered attention.
"You all know water is scarce. How scarce? You can tell from what is being traded today. No one is offering water." She paused for effect, letting the truth sink in.
The classmates nodded in grim agreement. Everyone's lips were cracked and peeling. They kept swallowing dryly, and only when they couldn't stand the rasping in their throats anymore did they take a tiny, careful sip from their personal bottles, rationing each drop.
Her smile deepened, a curve of confidence. "This is one of our hottest-selling medical devices: a solar distiller. It was originally used in desert environments. Just bury it in the soil and install it according to the manual. It will continuously extract moisture from the air, and the water it produces is directly drinkable." She patted the box.
"Then you won't need to spend all your work points on water. With your daily free ration plus the distiller's output, won't that be enough to drink?" The promise hung in the foul air.
The classmates' eyes brightened with sudden, desperate hope. Right, they had learned about this principle before, in school or on documentaries. How had they forgotten such a method? It seemed like a miracle.
Seeing their reaction, Zhang Lingling nodded with satisfaction. "Our current batch is almost sold out. We are telling you because we are old classmates, a little benefit for you." She leaned in conspiratorially. "The price for classmates is twenty work points per distiller. Not only that, if you introduce someone else to buy, you get two work points back. Also, the person you introduce can introduce others, and they also get two points back, while you receive one point."
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes behind her mask. She had forgotten why, in the previous life, she left the group. Watching this scene replay, a cold familiarity washed over her. She remembered some unpleasant events now. It had to do with Zhang Lingling and a scheme that left several classmates poorer and angrier.
Seeing confusion on some faces, Zhang Lingling took out a piece of paper and a pen from her bag and did the math for everyone, drawing circles and lines under her flashlight beam:
"For example, Wang Chao buys a distiller for twenty work points. Wang Chao introduces Mu Xiaoxuan to buy one, and Wang Chao gets two points back. Anyone you personally introduce earns you two points. Anyone they introduce earns you one point.
If Mu Xiaoxuan introduces Jing Shu, then Mu Xiaoxuan gets two points back, and Wang Chao gets one point. Anyone Mu Xiaoxuan introduces personally will give Mu Xiaoxuan two points, and Wang Chao one point.
Anyone Jing Shu introduces will give Wang Chao half a point, and Mu Xiaoxuan one point.
And so on. Do you understand? In the end, you not only get a distiller for free, you can keep earning work points." Her diagram was a messy web of referrals.
Mu Xiaoxuan, who had been frowning at the paper, suddenly understood. Her voice cut through the hopeful murmur. "Isn't that a pyramid scheme? You have to buy a distiller yourself first, then introduce everyone else to buy, and then pull in more people to buy distillers?" The term landed heavily in the quiet mall.
Zhang Lingling shot Mu Xiaoxuan a sharp glare. "How is that a pyramid scheme? Do you even listen to yourself? A real pyramid scheme has no actual product. We are running a promotion with a high-end device, a distiller that actually extracts water." She tapped the box emphatically. "Look, this jar will fill up before long. With something this good, people will be fighting to get one. Water is so scarce now. Tell me, who wouldn't want a distiller?" Her reasoning was smooth, practiced.
The classmates stirred, whispers passing between them. They were clearly tempted. A free device just for introducing buyers, plus actual water output. Who wouldn't want that? The lure was powerful.
Mu Xiaoxuan asked again, her voice steady but edged with doubt. "But I saw the news. Lots of people dug wells dozens of meters deep and found nothing. It is all dried up. If you bury this distiller underground, will it really produce water?" She shone her flashlight directly at the box, as if trying to see through it. "The air is drier than dust. Where is the moisture it is supposed to pull?"