Cave Refuge

After a bit of consideration, Mr. Thompson hesitated for a while before tentatively asking Dong Tianyu, "Do you know when the disaster will specifically appear?"

"The temperature is already starting to rise, which indicates that the disaster is upon us.

Dad, think about last time when the weather got colder. Didn't it start out just like now, with minimal changes in the outside temperature? Back then, it was just getting colder every day, not warmer. In the beginning, everyone didn't pay attention either, but in the end, we really couldn't withstand it outside, and ended up having to move into the Refuge Center."

Hearing what Dong Tianyu said, Mr. Thompson instantly understood his son's thoughts: the sooner we react to such matters, the better.

With this in mind, Mr. Thompson no longer hesitated. Immediately, he and Dong Tianyu headed upstairs to find Smith.

At this moment, only Smith was at home. As Mr. Thompson and his son were coming upstairs, Smith had just finished taking a shower and was leaning back in a lounge chair, reading a book.

Hearing a knock on the door, Smith walked out with some confusion, unsure who would come to him so early in the morning.

Seeing Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu at the door, Smith grew even more puzzled. After all, they had just played ball together in the morning. If there was anything, they probably would have mentioned it then and there. Considering that Mr. Thompson was now visiting with his son, Smith guessed they had come about something related to the young man.

After the three entered the room, Mr. Thompson carefully shut the door, a gesture Smith quickly noted. It suggested that Mr. Thompson's business with him was probably confidential.

As soon as the three had sat down, Mr. Thompson, not in the mood for niceties, went straight to the point.

"Brother Smith, after the flood receded, the outside temperature hadn't changed until the day before yesterday. But today, the outside temperature has risen a few degrees. I feel that there's something wrong with this weather."

Upon hearing this, Smith glanced at Dong Tianyu, who was seated next to Mr. Thompson. Smith had played ball with Mr. Thompson in the morning. If it was Mr. Thompson who had noticed the change, he would have mentioned it then, not wait until now, bringing his son along.

However, there were some things better left unsaid. After all, if it was Dong Tianyu proposing this, Smith would have taken it as a joke. But since Dong Tianyu had convinced Mr. Thompson, there must have been some credibility to it.

After Mr. Thompson finished speaking, instead of directly questioning them, Smith told them, "Wait for me a moment, I'll make a phone call to confirm."

When they heard that he was going to make a phone call to check, both Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu looked surprised. Could there still be working phone lines at this point? Had the communication base station been repaired?

Only after a while, Smith came back with confirmed information. However, upon receiving this information, he looked at both Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu with a curious gaze.

But after noticing Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu's surprised and slightly confused looks, Smith soon figured out their thought processes:

"Only internal lines are available right now. This phone can only be used in the office building. The communication base station hasn't been fixed, so regular cell phone service is still not possible. We can only use the landline within the office building.

But what I'm curious about is that there's no temperature monitoring station in the West City District. Just recently, a spare outdoor thermometer was repaired at the Meteorological station. Given it's still within the early days of use, how did you guys know about the change in the outdoor temperature?"

Hearing what Smith had to say, Mr. Thompson glanced at Dong Tianyu beside him.

Feeling Mr. Thompson's gaze, Dong Tianyu understood that he was expected to provide the substantial information needed to convince Smith, even if he didn't understand why his father brought him here.

"Uncle Smith, you probably know a bit about my situation. Since the end of the Cold Catastrophe, in order to prevent a similar situation from occurring again, my friend obtained a simple thermometer to continuously monitor the outside temperature.

After the flood receded, the outside temperature remained within the normal fluctuation range. However, starting from two days ago, both the minimum and maximum daily temperatures have risen by two degrees. Compared to the same times in the past, the temperature is also two degrees higher.

At first, we didn't pay much attention to these slight fluctuations but when the temperature increased consistently across all intervals, by two degrees no less, we became alert. After repeated comparisons, the current situation reminds us of the early stages of the Cold Catastrophe where temperatures slowly fell."

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu's explanation and comparing it to the information from the phone call, Smith gave around eighty percent credibility to Dong Tianyu's words.

However, Smith was still unclear about the specific purpose of Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu's visit: "Mr. Thompson, speak your mind."

Hearing Smith say this, Mr. Thompson shared his thoughts: "Brother Smith, I initially thought of relocating back to the Refuge Center in the subway station.

We all stayed there during the Cold Catastrophe. Now, other people haven't yet realized what's happening. There should be no one living there at the moment, and we can move there early enough to get a decent spot."

Upon hearing this, Smith didn't respond. If Mr. Thompson only had this thought, he wouldn't have needed to come upstairs and consult with him. Since he did, Mr. Thompson must have had other thoughts in mind. Therefore, Smith wasn't in a hurry, and calmly waited for Mr. Thompson to continue.

Seeing that Smith wasn't responsive, Mr. Thompson thought to himself, "Crafty old fox."

However, at this point, Mr. Thompson needed something, and so continued: "Well, since it's already like this, I won't beat around the bush. Tianyu says that after the disaster strikes, the outside temperature will likely become extreme, similar to the last Cold Catastrophe.

Going by the rising temperatures, this disaster will likely be a drought. We have been through a great drought that lasted for three years. Although we were quite young back then, we still remember.

Although there are several urban lakes within the city of Pengcheng, they would all dry up in a drought. Didn't we narrowly survive by drilling deep wells for underground water? So this time, I was thinking…"

Before Mr. Thompson could finish, Smith understood his intentions: underground and water wells. With these two conditions, it was clear that Mr. Thompson was interested in the War Reserve Warehouse beneath People's Square.

By now, two-thirds of the items inside had already been moved aside. It wouldn't be impossible to live in there. In fact, the West City District Command Post originally planned to arrange for some people to live in there.

Considering all the supplies stored inside, the air was decent once the ventilation ducts were opened, making it habitable by human standards.

What Mr. Thompson didn't know was that after their retirement group left, the West City District Command Post did a thorough exploration and inspection of the place.

When the War Reserve Warehouse was constructed, there was a plan to make it double as a Refuge Center, which meant that there was no problem in arranging for people to live there full-time.