Cave Refuge

Regarding Dong Tianyu's mockery, Ye Liuyun didn't particularly mind. However, out of consideration for their friendship, Ye Liuyun still offered a brief explanation, "I'm currently outside and can't return for now. There are some things I can't discuss over the phone, so don't get mad yet. I'll explain everything in detail when I get back."

Hearing what Ye Liuyun had to say, and given the substantial friendship between them, Dong Tianyu didn't persist on that topic anymore and his tone softened slightly, "Since it's inconvenient to talk over the phone, then why are you calling me now?"

Seeing that Dong Tianyu's attitude had eased, Ye Liuyun then revealed the purpose of his call, "Zachary, I know you're even stronger than my brother. I was a bit hesitant before making this call, but hearing that you just handled a monster on your own, regardless of whether you did it alone without anyone's help.

But at least from what you've said, I can tell that you really did encounter that kind of monster and truly killed one. I believe you must now have some initial understanding of that monster."

Hearing Ye Liuyun express trust in his capability to have killed that monster, but still doubting whether he did it independently, Dong Tianyu knew what Ye Liuyun was questioning. Given the monster's actual combat power, which was less than five, Ye Liuyun probably couldn't believe how Dong Tianyu had escaped the layered illusion on his own.

Dong Tianyu understood what Ye Liuyun was doubting but didn't want to get caught in a trap of proving himself, even though they were friends. So Dong Tianyu didn't respond to that but directly counter-asked, "Fine, whether you believe it or not is up to you. I believe you didn't call me to debate this with me. Just say what you want."

When reminded by Dong Tianyu, Ye Liuyun also realized he was indeed seeking help with this call, not just to chat. So he quickly made his request:

"Honestly, I don't know if you're just lucky or if it's bad timing. I thought since you just got back to the camp, you wouldn't encounter that kind of monster. I'm calling first to alert you about these special monsters hiding among the survivors.

Another reason is to ask you to take care of my parents as well as my sister-in-law and my nephews and niece. I've run into some trouble here and can't come back for now. If there wasn't any monster at the camp, it wouldn't be a big deal. But those suddenly appearing monsters have disrupted my plans, so I need you to protect my family for a while.

Once I'm done here, I'll immediately come back and treat you, to apologize and share everything with you in detail. How does that sound!"

After Ye Liuyun finished speaking, Dong Tianyu, with a sorrowful tone, replied, "You should have just stated your business directly instead of always setting up flags. A normally safe experience can become extremely dangerous because of your careless flag-setting."

Hearing Dong Tianyu still joking with him at this time, Ye Liuyun immediately understood that Dong Tianyu had agreed to help. Now that Dong Tianyu had agreed, Ye Liuyun then said in a feigned nonchalant manner, "Thanks, let's have a proper drink once I'm done." Then he hung up the phone.

Seeing Dong Tianyu sigh helplessly at Ye Liuyun's pretentious behavior before hanging up, Dong Tianyu thought to himself that Ye Liuyun should have just stated his business directly. Not only did he start off by setting flags, but he also kept stacking buffs.

In a TV series, an event that should proceed seamlessly and safely, could turn into a perilous ordeal because of Ye Liuyun's antics.

Even though Ye Liuyun didn't tell him the exact location of his family over the phone, Dong Tianyu believed Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson definitely knew Ye Liuyun's family situation. So after hanging up, he just headed straight to the park to look for his parents.

Although the camp had expanded quite a bit since the last time Dong Tianyu left, facilities like parks could generally only be built near neighborhoods with better living environments. After all, unlike before the Natural Disaster, those survivors still struggling to meet basic needs had no time to enjoy life.

Mr. Thompson, who was enjoying playing cards, introduced his son to his friends around him in excitement when he saw Dong Tianyu coming back, then noticed the look Dong Tianyu was giving him. Mr. Thompson laughed and stood up to vacate his seat and left with his son.

When the two of them reached another area of the park where Mrs. Thompson was practicing singing with others, the three of them went home together with laughter and chatter.

Initially, when Dong Tianyu left the residential area to find his parents at the park, he had thought that the villa attacked by the monster might not be his own, especially since his parents had stored the furniture in their Storage Space when they had left the Water Base.

Since they had settled here now, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson should take out the old furniture from the Storage Space to decorate their new home.

Also, having experienced an Illusion Technique attack, Dong Tianyu had another suspicion that the monster might have targeted him long ago, perhaps as soon as he entered the residential area to find a house. Therefore, it was quite possible that the villa he was in, decorated in a Syrian style, was not his parents' residence.

But as he followed the now-familiar route led by his parents, Dong Tianyu never expected that the house he had just been attacked in was indeed his parents' villa.

Walking into the familiar courtyard and entering the familiar house, Mr. Thompson noticed Dong Tianyu's perplexed look and thought Dong Tianyu was questioning why the house was still unfinished. He immediately explained,

"Don't look at me with that strange expression. I know what you're thinking. The furniture from our home wasn't lost; it's all kept in our Storage Equipment. The reason I haven't taken them out is that I've felt something isn't quite right in the camp recently, so I put the furniture back."

Dong Tianyu did not expect Mr. Thompson to give this response. From his father's words, Dong Tianyu could guess that although his old man had not been attacked by that type of monster, he had noticed some clues and thus felt this way.

At that moment, Mrs. Thompson took out a set of sofa stools from the Storage Equipment and said, "Tianyu, your dad is experiencing paranoid delusions. He keeps thinking that there is some problem in our camp. Don't listen to him. It seemed normal at the park, and there was no tension in the atmosphere. That's just your dad's baseless worries. Our camp was just set up; how could there be any problems?"

Mr. Thompson, about to explain, heard Dong Tianyu interject, "Mom, Dad's feeling is right. There indeed is danger in the camp now. Nobody was home when I just got back, and I did suffer an attack by a monster."

Hearing that Dong Tianyu had been attacked by a monster as soon as he had returned, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson immediately became tense. Mrs. Thompson stood up from the sofa and approached Dong Tianyu to carefully check his body to see if there were any wounds.

Sitting beside them, Mr. Thompson asked about the details of the attack, and after listening carefully to Dong Tianyu recount his experiences upon returning, Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson were shocked by his ordeal.