Cave Refuge

As the water level gradually receded, the land's true form resurfaced.

Perhaps because they had been stuck in one place for a long time, after the flood receded, the survivors of Pengcheng, like wild horses free of their reins, began to appear all over Penisual.

After the flood, no one wanted to be crammed into small spaces with other people. The vast majority of survivors decided to move back home. Although their houses had been submerged by the flood, and the dampness inside hadn't completely dispersed, it was, after all, home.

Just like the saying goes, even a house of gold or silver isn't as good as their own doghouse.

When the flood receded, the office area that had been temporarily relocated to the top floors of skyscrapers was no longer suitable. After all, nobody wanted to climb thirty or so flights of stairs to get to and from work every day.

Luckily, the buildings here were office blocks and not residential buildings. The Command Post was able to move the office area from the top floor to the ground floor within a day.

Because of Dong Tianyu's suggestion, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson did not move out of the office building after the flood receded, but instead continued to live there just like other families.

But as they had initially guessed, the uncle and aunt's family, who now had new jobs and a new social circle, probably moved out of the high-rise building because it was inconvenient for their children to get in and out.

Meanwhile, Dong Tianyu's grandfather, due to missing his son for a long time, planned to move back to his original residence, hoping to see if his son had returned.

The start and end of each natural disaster always drastically affect the survivors' daily habits.

Pengcheng, after the flood receded, reluctantly returned to the 1960s, even steam-powered cars, due to being submerged in water for an extended period, were all rendered unusable.

Instead, simple transport mechanisms like bicycles and tricycles, despite various degrees of rust on their parts, became usable after some basic repairs.

Apart from that, pure wood wheel carts became the favored means of transportation in this era. After the floodwaters receded, those wooden boats had lost their original purpose.

At this time, the demand for transportation was high. Hence, to avoid wasting resources, many wooden boats were disassembled and reassembled into two-wheel carts.

"Mr. Thompson, do you really not intend to move out and are planning to live here with us?"

"Of course, you know my family's situation. Ever since the Cold Catastrophe, my brat of a son hasn't been willing to live with us. Although he comes over occasionally, he usually doesn't stay. There are hardly any of our former friends left after these years of natural disasters. The new friends we've made all live in this building. After living here for so long, we've gotten used to it."

"We've grown accustomed to living here, despite the inconvenience of the stairs. We're getting older and don't want the bother of moving again."

Hearing Mr. Thompson explaining his reasons for not wanting to move, the others smiled and said nothing more.

At this point, many families from the Command Headquarters who had been living in the skyscraper had also moved out. Even though the houses were somewhat damp after the flood, those houses were still their homes, and the living spaces were not as cramped.

The office block seemed large, but with so many people living in it, each family's allocated space wasn't actually that much. Even Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, in the end, only managed to secure a general manager's office of barely more than twenty square meters and a rest area that was less than ten square meters.

As the weather improved day by day, the officials started street-by-street cleanups with the goal of steadily restoring the city's functions.

One evening, Mr. Thompson and a few old friends were playing badminton in People's Square next to the skyscraper, a game provided by Dong Tianyu. During the break, they somehow started discussing the issue of resources.

"We've survived the Cold Catastrophe that froze the land and then the flood that submerged everything. At this time, the granary is empty of grain. Although there were plenty of fish in the floodwaters towards the end, and everyone has a stockpile of dried fish at home, the food crisis hasn't ended—it's just been postponed."

Upon hearing this, a retired old cadre who had once served as the head of a disaster prevention group, stomped on the ground and said jokingly to the others:

"Do you know why the West City District Command Post hasn't moved back to its original place now that the flood has receded, and why we're still sticking around here?"

Hearing this, everyone shook their heads. Even though they had once served in important positions, they weren't privy to a lot of inside information since they were now retired. Unless they went out of their way to ask about things, the information they had was only slightly more, and slightly earlier, than ordinary survivors.

Seeing the puzzled looks of the others, the retired old cadre stomped on the ground again: "The reason we're not moving is quite simple—there's plenty of valuable stuff right under our feet."

Because the entrances and exits to People's Square subway station were located on either side of the square, the others assumed that the valuable stuff he was talking about was hidden in the transformed subway shelter.

"After being submerged in water for over a year, what good stuff could there be? Besides, didn't we bring all the stuff with us when we moved out of the underground shelters?"

"No, no, no. I'm not talking about the subway shelter. You should all remember the plan—the subway could've just run straight under People's Square. But why didn't the subway line pass under the square? Instead, why was it built across the street? Don't you think there's something fishy about that?"

"You're saying there's something underneath here?"

"Of course, there certainly is valuable stuff here. I'll just say this much about this matter. Let's drop it and not spread it outside."

After saying this, he deliberately paused, whetting the others' curiosity further.

Seeing his coy behaviour, Mr. Thompson immediately understood what he was up to. He pulled out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, distributed a round to everyone, then handed the half-empty pack to him.

"I knew you wouldn't be so kind-hearted—you just wanted to get the rest of my cigarettes. If you want to smoke, ask your sons to buy them for you. Stop taking advantage of me."

Hearing Mr. Thompson's words, everyone gave a somewhat sly grin.

These people might have been strict and serious when they were young and at work. But now that they've retired, they've all turned into little old children.

Even at this point in time, none of them lacked cigarettes. But when they get together with friends, they all like taking minor advantages.