True. When the merit system was applied, any rank of old members got airdropped merits depending on their activities. OP seems having 100 merits got from airdropped merits, it means he was already a full member in 2017. He only got 1 earned merit so far. It indicates that OP is less active and he didn't make valuable posts. It is easy to check it, OP was never active in 2022, the latest post was on December 2021. He just woke up on July 2023, but he suddenly feels jealous with the way to earn merits. I guess OP doesn't know anything about merit system. He needs to learn it first, so won't misunderstood about how people earn merits.
I'm not sure Op really doesn't know how this Merit system works. In 2020 he was still active on the forum and there was a history of him sending sMerits to other members in 2019.
I would rather believe the account changed hands than the Op who has been asleep for a long time and doesn't know anything about how the Merit system works.
Moreover, there are findings related to Op's alt account that have been discovered. It's possible that the account changed hands because it was sold. I haven't got any proof yet, maybe it will be revealed soon.
It sounds very ridiculous when someone who has distributed merit to someone else's account asks how to get Merit. Your assumption is correct, the account has changed hands to someone who is new to the forum. Op question has invited various speculations between the history of the account and the one just asked. I'm not sure Op doesn't understand the merit system works in forums unless the account has been managed by someone else.