Cave Refuge

In simpler terms, everyone in the camp owned no private property; all production within the camp depended entirely on the distribution by the ruling class to which Ye Liuyun belonged.

Although Zachary's Thompson Family was not part of the camp's ruling class, they enjoyed the same quantity of resource distributions as the ruling elites when supplies were allocated.

However, this privilege relied on Ye Liuyun, and only in such a small camp that belonged wholly to those in power could the Thompson Family enjoy this special treatment. If they were to enter a city controlled by Officials, where distribution was based on labor contributions, the Thompson Family would not enjoy any such special treatments.

After Zachary's careful analysis, Father Dong and Mother Dong understood why Zachary did not want them to move to a city controlled by Officials at this time.

If they were not expected to offer supplies, even without any income, Father Dong and Mother Dong could still live well off the supplies provided by their own family. However, once all the goods in the city became public property, if Father Dong and Mother Dong really moved in, they would have to start working; otherwise, they would completely deplete their resources.

Although Officials would grant a large number of Contribution Points to those who donated substantial resources, if one were not to work at all, the Contribution Points earned could never buy back the donations given.

Everyone understood, after surviving so many natural disasters, that the majority of supplies that the survivors could carry and retain were mostly various foods, as survival was the most crucial thing.

When Mrs. Thompson heard from Zachary that moving to a city controlled by Officials would require them to actively offer up supplies, and the feedback in Contribution Points would not allow them to repurchase the equivalent supplies, effectively meaning a loss of about one third of their resources, she immediately became resistant to the idea of moving to the city.

After hearing Zachary's explanation, Mr. Thompson saw the expression on Mrs. Thompson's face and realized his wife had been persuaded by their son, so he did not add anything more.

Seeing that his parents had accepted his proposal, Zachary continued to inquire about the location of the Taylor family's residence.

Upon his son's question, Mr. Thompson immediately stood up from the couch, "At this time, it's very likely for one to encounter danger when alone. Didn't you say that the illusion cast by that creature poses danger only to individuals and not so much to groups?

Since Ye Liuyun has entrusted the care of the Taylor family's young and old to you, and since our house is barely furnished, let's just move there and live with them—stay until Ye Liuyun returns."

Hearing Mr. Thompson's suggestion, Zachary did not refuse because that was exactly what he was thinking. After all, even though he had promised to take care of the Taylor family's young and old, Zachary could not ignore his parents' safety, so it was a cost-effective solution for the two families to live together at this time.

Since their home was also unfurnished and all their furniture was carried with them, it didn't matter where they lived.

The Thompson Family had always had good relations with the Taylor family; otherwise, Ye Liuyun would not have entrusted his family to Zachary upon leaving the camp.

For this reason, the houses allocated to both the Thompson Family and the Taylor family were not far from one another. Although the Taylor family's decor could not be considered luxurious compared to the Syrian style of the Thompson Family, they at least had some green plants growing in their yard, and there was a set of stone tables and benches in the pavilion.

The weather outside was still decent, so the Ye Family were in the yard playing with the two children. Like Zachary, even as Ye Liuyun's age increased, his personality meant he didn't settle down with a steady partner, although it wasn't to the extent of marrying every night.

So, the woman playing with the two children in the yard was Ye Liuyun's sister-in-law, and those two kids were his nephew and niece.

Seeing the Thompson family of three coming over together, Master Ye immediately stood up to meet them. Because the two families were so familiar with each other, they skipped the pleasantries upon meeting: "Ye Liuyun told me, he just happened to run into Zachary at the city gate when he was leaving, otherwise... sigh.

Let's skip the formalities. I had actually planned to come to see you tomorrow, and then our two families could just live together. I didn't expect that all three of you would come over today, so let's just stay put. From now on, you should live here."

Mr. Thompson didn't decline Master Ye's suggestion and agreed right away. They wouldn't have come as a family of three if they didn't have that intention.

After Master Ye brought the Thompson family of three into the courtyard, Mrs. Thompson directly joined Ye Liuyun's mother and sister-in-law in playing with the two children, while Master Ye took Father Dong and Dong Tianyu to the other side of the pavilion for a chat.

"Regarding what Liuyun told me, I didn't quite believe it at first, but after hearing Ye Liuyun's suggestion, I immediately agreed. Old Thompson, you know as well, whether or not the campsite has the kind of monsters Liuyun mentioned, having two kids at home, I just can't feel at ease leaving them.

Especially now, when we don't know when we'll run out of food, I dare not even leave the courtyard. Although I've already made contact with Robinson William, but as you know, now that the floodwaters have receded, one can only return on foot.

Even though Robinson William has a high cultivation level, the journey back isn't just for him alone, he has to return with the hunting team, so even if there aren't any mishaps, the time spent just traveling should be considerable.

The more this is the case, the less we know what has happened to Liuyun on his side, forcing him to leave the camp. But with him gone, now there's only one man left at home, so I dare not leave the house at all. Your coming over this time is just what I needed for some company."

Listening to Master Ye's complaints, Mr. Thompson inexplicably glared at Dong Tianyu first, then finally said: "Liuyun was right, my son encountered an attack from the kind of monsters Liuyun mentioned when he came back. If my boy wasn't lucky, he probably would've been a goner."

Hearing his father's habitual belittlement, Dong Tianyu just pursed his lips and didn't argue back.

However, Master Ye, upon hearing that Dong Tianyu had just returned and encountered an attack by those monsters, immediately turned his gaze to Dong Tianyu and then asked: "You really encountered an attack from those creatures? Tell me in detail." Seeing Master Ye's anxious expression, Dong Tianyu could only repeat the story of his return to camp once more.

After listening to Dong Tianyu's recount of his experience and his analysis afterward, Master Ye went silent for a while, then spoke with some fear: "According to what you said, those people with closed eyes or wearing dark sunglasses are very likely under the control of those monsters.

I've been wondering why these past few days either acquaintances or strangers have been knocking on my door, either saying there's a problem at home that needs help, or wanting to take me out for some entertainment. If it weren't for my concerns about the house, I might have gone out with them already."

Hearing Master Ye say this, Mr. Thompson curiously followed up: "People have been coming to see you these past few days?"

In response to Mr. Thompson's question, Master Ye looked at him with a somewhat strange expression: "Indeed, quite a few people have been coming to see me regularly. I thought they were just dropping by, since people who live in this area are mostly acquaintances, and even strangers usually have mutual friends.

After all, there weren't many people in the campsite originally, so the members of the original fleet were allocated residences in this area. The survivors who joined the camp later weren't arranged to live nearby.

What about you, have people been coming to your house lately?"