Cave Refuge

During family dinners in the past, Uncle used to make fun of Dong Tianyu, saying that he couldn't even catch a fish in the Fish Pond.

But ever since Dong Tianyu found out about this, whenever Uncle repeated the embarrassing story to others, Dong Tianyu would retort that his uncle was being stingy, tampering with his fishing hook just to save money, leading to his inability to catch any fish in the pond.

At first, when Uncle heard Dong Tianyu's rebuttal, he would insist that the inability to catch fish was due to Dong Tianyu's young age and lack of understanding.

But when Dong Tianyu pointed out that both his and his cousin's fishing gear were tampered with by Uncle, and yet his cousin kept catching fish whilst he didn't hook any, it seemed too abnormal given that the Fish Pond didn't charge for fishing time, but by the weight of the fish caught.

After refuting him several times, Uncle stopped using this incident as a joke at dinner parties.

Still, from that time onwards, Dong Tianyu grew a mild disdain for the leisure activity of fishing.

Aside from that incident, Dong Tianyu and his uncle actually got along very well. Uncle, in his younger days, often traveled abroad for work. Upon his return, he would share stories about his adventures and bring back locally inexpensive foods that were rare treats for young Dong Tianyu.

For instance, chocolates, fish fillets, and dried beef were treats that they could only have when Uncle returned home. Unless these items were included in the gifts brought by visiting guests, their parents would never actively buy such delicacies on regular days.

Besides food, Uncle enjoyed spending time with Dong Tianyu and his cousin Haiyang, too, whether they were out exploring or playing card games at home- every moment together was filled with joy.

Even though Uncle was known for cheating in card games—often playing extra cards—these games provided endless fun, especially when they caught Uncle red-handed.

In most families, relationships among relatives are just like this: although everyone has their own perspective, there are no ill intentions.

As Dong Tianyu grew older, his relationship with Uncle remained good, which is why Dong Tianyu invited him to the underground shelter during the crisis.

And Uncle, in turn, trusted Dong Tianyu. He gave up the Community Shelter nearby and moved into the subway station shelter, which everyone else had found undesirable at the time, in accordance with Dong Tianyu's arrangement.

So even after such a long absence, Dong Tianyu harbored some longing to see his Uncle.

Upon visiting his grandfather's house in the evening, Tianyu didn't hold back, not bringing watermelons this time but more than 20 strawberries instead.

Don't misunderstand and think Dong Tianyu was being stingy due to the small quantity of strawberries. Each of these Dandong strawberries was as big as a child's fist.

Given the rarity of fruit now, even before the Cold Catastrophe, strawberries of such quality weren't cheap.

Apart from the strawberries, he also brought four bottles of alcohol. Since it was meant for the family, he didn't focus on the brand—having something to drink was good enough.

Regarding the vegetables, Dong Tianyu didn't prepare any, not because he was stingy, but because Mr. Thompson had mentioned earlier that Mrs. Thompson took vegetables from their stored supplies when she went to her father's house in the morning.

After preparing the gifts for the evening, it seemed as if Mr. Thompson suddenly remembered something. With a creased brow, he asked: "Why did you come so early? Did something happen?"

During his previous visits, Dong Tianyu usually arrived around three or four in the afternoon. If he came too early, there was nothing to do, and if he came too late, his parents wouldn't have time to prepare dinner.

This time, seeing Dong Tianyu arrive early in the morning, Mr. Thompson immediately guessed that something must have happened—otherwise, Dong Tianyu wouldn't rush over at this early hour.

Upon hearing Mr. Thompson's question, Dong Tianyu nodded: "Dad, another catastrophe is about to happen."

Although he had speculated this internally, upon hearing Dong Tianyu's confirmation, Mr. Thompson's face turned deathly pale.

Seeing his father's state, Dong Tianyu didn't know what to say and remained silent by his side.

After a while, Mr. Thompson managed to calm his emotions: "Since you knew about the impending catastrophe in advance, you should know what kind of disaster it is. Let's hear it."

"Dad, the temperature has started to rise. Even though you don't feel it now, you will in a few days. It's better to move early. We can't stay here for long. Why don't you and mom move to my place? It will save me the worry."

Upon hearing about the rising temperatures, Mr. Thompson thought: how horrible could a drought be? He had lived through one during his childhood.

"Is it really that serious that we need to move? Is it just a bit hotter? Is it necessary to go through such a hassle?"

Hearing this, Dong Tianyu realized that his dad didn't fully understand the seriousness of the situation.

Deviant weather conditions deemed as natural disasters are not something humans can resist.

Consider that even in Turpan, the actual location represented by the Mountain of Flames in "Journey to the West," the highest temperature is over forty degrees but less than fifty.

At that temperature, people can't go outside and have to stay inside their homes, waiting for the hot weather to pass. Even so, this isn't classified as a catastrophe.

The Mountain of Flames in "Journey to the West," which was referred to as a catastrophe, burned like a furnace, nonetheless.

In Dong Tianyu's memory, during the peak of the heat catastrophe, the air appeared to warp. Many combustible objects spontaneously ignited, and even exposed metal showed signs of melting under the scorching sunlight.

What stuck in Dong Tianyu's memory was a convict that got expelled from the shelter. The convict didn't get far out of the shelter before fainting due to the heat. The next cool day, they saw the convict from the day before outside the shelter, transformed into a mummy.

With these thoughts, Dong Tianyu immediately urged: "Dad, please, just listen to me. Let's move. The sooner the better. I haven't been wrong in the past."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Thompson, remembering Dong Tianyu's accurate judgments in the past, didn't hesitate: "Alright then, let's move. We'll do it tomorrow. Where to, though? Back to the subway station at People's Square?"

"If there's nowhere else to go, that place is acceptable. But there isn't a well nearby. I would have to prepare extra water for you. Unlike during the cold catastrophe, this time I expect there'll be a water shortage even in the underground shelter."

"Drought, water shortage, well."

Upon listening to Dong Tianyu, an idea sprang to Mr. Thompson's mind. He immediately began to gauge the chances of actualizing this idea.