Hunter of Mysterious Creature-Chapter 352 - 20: Scented Diffuser Bottle

"Ration tickets..." Sun Hang murmured.

Ration tickets, things that belonged to the "exclusive vouchers" of the quarantine area—unlike regular towns with a market economy, most of the supplies in the quarantine area came from periodic shipments from the outside.

This meant that the goods people in the quarantine area could buy were limited.

Aside from a few individuals with military connections who could smuggle in some items outside the plan, for the vast majority of quarantine area residents, once a product was bought up, it was gone, unless they waited for the next supply shipment; otherwise, no matter how much money they had, there was nowhere to buy it.

To prevent hoarding and speculation, in addition to issuing the universal federal currency, the quarantine area also issued "exclusive vouchers" per capita, requiring tickets of specified types along with payment to buy goods: grain tickets for rice and flour, salt tickets for salt, and even a bicycle ticket to buy a bicycle.

This was to prevent someone from buying out an entire essential commodity and then reselling it at exorbitant prices.

Of course, to prevent the exclusive vouchers from becoming another form of currency, all vouchers in the quarantine area had a time limit—they would expire if not used by the end of the month.

Expired vouchers, like the one in Sun Hang’s hand, would be stamped with a square red mark bearing the word "Expired."

"Ever since a certain day, external supplies stopped coming in, and the people managing supplies in the town lost contact with the outer army; without grain, what’s the use of having ration tickets?" the old woman said slowly. "But no one dared to leave Maoyun Town... not even the most powerful people in town. Whether it’s special privileges or smuggled goods, these are trivial matters; as long as connections are made, the garrison turns a blind eye... But if someone attempts to escape the quarantine area, even if they bribed the officers and soldiers the day before, they would be mercilessly shot... that’s the bottom line, no one dares to defy it."

"Day by day passed," the old woman continued, "and the town finally saw its first death by starvation, then the second... Someone smashed into a rich man’s courtyard with a hoe, only to find that even the once esteemed families in town were counting grains of rice to get by."

"Gradually, people realized something was wrong, someone said, perhaps something happened outside, and the troops outside the town had withdrawn... rather than starve to death in town, why not try their luck outside."

"The idea quickly gained the support of most, and a team of a dozen or so young men left the town with a small amount of rations, but they never returned."

"Some said they were killed by the army, some said they betrayed Maoyun Town and fled for their own lives, while others said they might have encountered something monstrous outside and met a gruesome fate."

"The town organized a second, then a third team, with fewer people each time and less grain to take."

"Not one who left the town ever returned."

"No one was willing to step outside the town anymore, and suspicion festered among everyone, with people dying of hunger each month... At first, families would hang a white cloth at the door when someone died, and at night, you could hear the sobs of relatives... but later, even death became a commonplace occurrence, with fewer and fewer new pieces of white cloth... either the living were too starved to even hang a white cloth at their door, or the last living member of the family starved to death."

"Until Mr. Zhao, the crazed butcher living by the bridge, entered a neighbor’s home with his slaughter knife... that was when the townspeople realized one thing, there was still one last kind of ’food’ to eat."

At this, the old woman stopped, and she stood silently, gazing at the revelry in the square.

The townsfolk were euphorically stuffing the "food" they had been given into their mouths, their cheeks pumping furiously as they chewed with abandon, unmindful that fetid blood dribbled down their chins.

People eating people.

"This is pointless, I’m leaving." Sun Hang waved his hand, "Please show me the way."

"Where are you going?" the old woman asked.

"Back to where I should be." Sun Hang replied, "Someone is waiting for me, and they’re probably already anxious."

"This is where you truly belong... for you, this land is your ’homeland’."

"Are you suggesting that I’m a descendant of Yundian refugees... or that I was born in the Surrendered Area?"

"I don’t know, but the one who sent you here said so." The old woman shook her head slowly.

"The one who sent me here? Who’s that?"

"Don’t ask, don’t ask..."

"Is it Anna?"

"..."

"Damn it, I knew it." Sun Hang swore, "Did she tell you her reason for doing this?"

"..."

"Never mind, I’m sure you’re not privileged to know." Sun Hang took a deep breath, "Just tell me how to leave."

"If you wish to leave, you can leave at any time." The old woman said blandly, "What you see is only what you envision... Maoyun Town no longer exists."

Sun Hang stared at the square in front of him, pondering for a moment, then closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, the square was gone, the stage vanished, and the townsfolk queued for "food" had disappeared.