Cave Refuge

Upon hearing Thomas's words, the middle-aged man's face turned a bit unpleasant. Seeing Smith walking away without looking back only added to the man's loneliness.

This middle-aged man was not only Smith's son, but also one of the decision-makers at the West City District Command Post, with crisis-logistics as his responsibility. If it were not for his son, Smith would not have been so actively involved.

The one who had just expressed support for Thomas was the eldest son of the Taylor family. Despite being in charge of the Six-Gate Command, he was still under the supervision of higher management and had not entered the decision-making layer of the West City District Command Post.

Apart from these two, the ones standing behind the middle-aged man were all heads or deputies of various departments of the West City District Command Post. These individuals had deep connections with the older generation, either being biological children or close relatives.

The senior group that Mr. Thompson got involved in was large and wielded significant influence within West City District.

Once Mr. Thompson left with the seniors, the rest was beyond their concern. When Dong Tianyu returned to visit his parents again and heard about the situation from Mr. Thompson, more than ten days had passed since the opening of the war reserve supply depot.

"No wonder I saw so many cars on the road when I came here."

On his arrival, Dong Tianyu had noticed numerous vehicles along the way. Initially, he was curious because these vehicles were in incredibly good condition, not at all like ones that had been renovated after being submerged in water for a long time.

Initially, he wondered where these vehicles had come from, but his father had just provided the answer.

Even though Dong Tianyu started practicing immortal cultivation, for now, he couldn't provide his parents with anything that could prolong their lives.

However, despite the strict control imposed by Officials and the orderliness of Pengcheng, Dong Tianyu had made two pendants for his parents using survival points.

Mastering the hundred arts of immortal cultivation was not something Dong Tianyu could manage, yet, inside the cave mansion, survival points were incredibly useful.

The quality of the pendants was not high, being merely top-grade magic artifacts. The effects were also straightforward; they had engravings of the rejuvenation formation, which could rapidly restore the physical condition of the user when injured.

Even though the effects didn't match those of the Wind Shield, which produced a wind elemental shield that blocked damage when activated, the recovery was not as overt as having a wind shield appearing around the body.

Besides, Pengcheng, under the management of Officials, is absolutely secure. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson also wouldn't travel far from their apartment, so the chances of them needing to use the Wind Shield were extremely low.

The city had been flooded for nearly a year, and its buildings had suffered degrees of damage. It's not unusual to be hit by falling wall fragments while walking on the street. Even though such incidents rarely resulted in death, injuries were inevitable. With these pendants, even serious injuries wouldn't endanger their lives.

Mr. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson were very pleased with the gifts their son presented. Men wear Guanyin, women wear Buddha; the pendants carried good implications. Thus, they began wearing them around their necks immediately after receiving them from Dong Tianyu.

Dong Tianyu initially didn't plan to have dinner there. After all, food was scarce, and it was like the old days when the son had to give food coupons to come home for meals, even though Dong Tianyu had stored a lot at Mr. Thompson's place.

However, most of the supplies there were of high quality, and there was much less of the basic staple foods. When Mr. and Mrs. Thompson ran out of staple food, they were often reluctant to consume more of the supplies from the storage. They would take some items to exchange for basic foods instead.

Although Dong Tianyu spent most of his time practicing in the cave mansion, his frequent visits home made him well-aware of the lives of ordinary Pengcheng survivors.

In the past, Dong Tianyu couldn't understand why some people ate a lot yet remained thin. It was only when he casually mentioned it to Mr. Thompson during one of their chats that he learned the reason.

Apart from certain special constitutions, most of the people exhibiting such conditions were those who didn't have access to much nutritious food.

Because they couldn't get enough nutrients from their food, they had to eat a lot. It was similar to many herbivorous animals, whose food intake was usually several times that of carnivores of the same size.

After finishing their small talk, Dong Tianyu was ready to leave, but was stopped by Mr. Thompson: "Don't leave tonight. Have dinner with me."

"A meal? With your friends?"

"Yes, what else?"

"It's not suitable for me to go, is it? We have a significant age gap, and I wouldn't have anyone to chat with. I'd just be sitting there serving tea and water for you guys."

Hearing Dong Tianyu's reluctance, Mr. Thompson quickly explained: "You must go. This gathering is not only for me to further bond with my friends but also for youngsters like you to get acquainted with them.

The main objective is to introduce you to everyone else. All those youngsters from their families hold positions in the Command Post. You might not be familiar with them, but they should at least recognize each other.

You're different. You visit here less frequently. Take this opportunity to know more people at this dinner. It'll make things easier in the future."

Upon hearing Mr. Thompson's explanation, Dong Tianyu took a moment to consider and agreed that his father's point was reasonable. Since it wouldn't affect his nighttime cultivation back home, taking a little detour wouldn't hurt.

No matter when one attends a gathering, it's not polite to show up empty-handed.

"You two must have eaten most of the stuff stored in the warehouse. I'll bring more next time. Since you told me this on short notice, I didn't bring anything. Let's go to the warehouse first and see what's left."

Upon entering the warehouse, Dong Tianyu, noticing that the supplies were almost the same as he left them last time, immediately complained to Mr. Thompson: "Dad, haven't I told you to eat more? We're already past the flood. As I warned you before, new disasters might come. Keeping all these supplies here only attracts unnecessary attention.

While you still have time, you and mom should eat more without worrying about finishing everything. I have lots more stored."

Although his son was complaining, Mr. Thompson felt happy inside because he understood that Dong Tianyu cared for him. However, no matter what his son said, he and Mrs. Thompson wouldn't do what Dong Tianyu suggested.

They had been in the apartment building for far too long. Although not much was left in the small warehouse, Mr. Thompson wagered that the combined wealth of all the families in the building would be less than half the value of the goods in that small warehouse.

"Alright, don't worry about us. If you truly care, take this opportunity to find a partner and give us a big fat grandson to bring joy to our lives."

"Dad, we were just discussing serious matters, and you managed to bring up this topic again."

"To your mother and me, carrying on the family line is the most important thing."