Reborn with a Space: Hoarding Food and Raising My Kid

Chapter 343: Chapter 322: Pregnant Women’s Quarantine Zone (Part 2)

A few scattered stalls lined the sides of the street. He walked over, curious to see what they were selling, but the stall owners suddenly snatched up their cloth mats and packed up their wares.

"Hey! You guys again! Don’t run!" Suddenly, several men in police uniforms rushed out of the police station, shouting at the fleeing stall owners with their cloth bags. "You want to set up shop without paying the stall fee? Next time we catch you, we’ll break your legs!"

It was the same before the apocalypse with these pop-up street vendors. These men in police uniforms weren’t real cops; they seemed more like enforcers, meant to stop the freeloaders who tried to hawk their wares without paying the fees.

Neal Wallace thought, ’Life is hard for everyone in the apocalypse. They’re just trying to sell a few things to make a living. Do these guys really need to chase them a hundred meters and threaten to break their legs?’

When the enforcer-like men ran back, they saw Neal Wallace still standing there. One of them walked over, patted his shoulder, and surprisingly, offered words of comfort.

"Hey, buddy, don’t feel too bad! These scammers show up the second our backs are turned. It’s impossible to control them! If you got scammed out of a Crystal Core, just chalk it up to bad luck. Live and learn. Just don’t let it happen again!"

"Yeah, next time you want to buy something, go to the Back Alley. All the stalls there have paid a security deposit, so they’re legit. They won’t sell you fakes."

"They’re always on the lookout for newcomers like you to rip off. They’ll scam whoever they can. For example, some girl got cheated out of more than ten Second Level Crystal Cores last time!"

Neal Wallace was stunned. He wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t told him; it turned out there was so much he didn’t understand about this place. ’The human heart is a treacherous thing,’ he thought. ’Looks like I can’t take things at face value anymore.’

He didn’t bother explaining anything. Instead, he just good-naturedly thanked them and asked for directions to the civilian sector. The uniformed men were kind enough to lead him all the way there before leaving.

Meanwhile, Flora Bloom was following an extremely obese middle-aged woman. They started from inside the police station, passed through several open-air halls, and then, after a series of twists and turns, entered a pitch-black corridor.

As she followed, Flora Bloom asked, "Excuse me, where are we going?"

"The quarantine zone for you pregnant women. The path is a bit dark, so watch your step."

Flora Bloom’s expression was grim, her eyes filled with vigilance. ’Just how many pregnant women are there in Argent Base,’ she wondered, ’that they need a dedicated quarantine zone?’

Ten minutes later, Flora Bloom was led to a high wall. The fat woman pressed a button on it, and a stone door slid open.

It was surprisingly bright inside, but Flora Bloom remained at the entrance, unmoving.

"Here, take this." The fat woman handed Flora Bloom a numbered tag. "This is your tag. The guards check it when you leave, so don’t you dare lose it! Go on in. This is the quarantine zone for pregnant women. You’ve already been in quarantine for a day, so you just need to stay two more days and then you can get out."

Flora Bloom looked at the fat woman’s expression, which was filled with pity and concern. Clutching the numbered tag, she walked inside at an unhurried pace.

Flora Bloom could tell from the woman’s face that this supposed "quarantine zone" was not as simple as it seemed. At least, the look the fat woman gave her was the same look one gives a patient being wheeled into an operating room, with no guarantee they’ll ever come out.

The stone door slid shut. With a blanket draped over her arm, Flora Bloom walked slowly forward.

The place was like a giant metal box. It had high metal walls, two levels, and an unusually high ceiling.

Each level was lined with simple sleeping bags, and curled up inside each one was a pregnant woman.

Flora Bloom searched the ground floor for a long time but couldn’t find a single empty sleeping bag. She went up the stairs to the second floor and finally found an empty one in the very back.

But just as she was about to get into the empty sleeping bag, a pair of hands shoved her from behind. Flora Bloom deftly kept her balance and turned, her face devoid of expression, to look at the person who had pushed her. It was another pregnant woman, her belly abnormally large.

"Why did you push me?"

The woman shot her a cold glare, tilted her head back arrogantly, and snorted. "I saw it first! Don’t you understand first come, first served?"

Flora Bloom replied coldly, "I didn’t see you when I got here. Please move."

Flora Bloom squeezed past her and was just about to reach the sleeping bag when the other woman kicked it away. "Who do you think you are? If I can’t sleep in it, you can forget about it!"