Cave Refuge

After discounting Shadow Evasion, a seemingly good option that was practically unaffordable, Dong Tianyu had no choice but to proceed cautiously, sticking to his original plan.

Upon entering the Refuge Center, Dong Tianyu took an electric car out of Shadow Space and began to use a long-dormant ability to experiment.

'Transform!' The words seemed juvenile, yet upon speaking them, the foot pedal electric car in front of him began to change.

The original metallic appearance of the car disappeared; it transformed into a wooden color. The electric car exploded; its parts scattered only to come back together into a complete whole under an inexplicable light and shadow effect.

Observing the scene in front of him, Dong Tianyu nodded his head and thought to himself that the light and shadow effects were not bad. However, he was unsure whether the end product would meet his basic transport needs.

Technology: Electric Car → Mystery: Fluid Horse (Low-Level Ink Implement)

After the transformation was completed, Dong Tianyu was shocked to find that the process had only consumed 10 survival points. His expectations, which had been high when the light and shadow effects first appeared, plummeted.

What finally appeared before Dong Tianyu was an odd thing: the front part resembled the fore-half of a fine horse, complete with all four hooves.

The rear half, on the other hand, resembled the back half of a tricycle, comprised of a carriage and two wheels.

From a distance, it appeared as if the front half of a fine horse had been forcefully fused with the back half of a tricycle.

Looking at the bizarre creature, Dong Tianyu felt an urge to give it a try.

When he carefully sat on the fore-half horseback, Dong Tianyu found that the back of the horse was hard, and sitting on it was rather uncomfortable. An underlying sense of discomfort arose.

After taking out some cushions from the Shadow Space to soften the hard horseback, the driving experience significantly improved.

The controls were quite peculiar; they involved manipulating several sets of hard hair on the horse's mane.

The control mechanism resembled that of an excavator. It didn't have a steering wheel. Instead, it used levers for control, each direction controlled by a different push-pull lever.

The controls were simple but also complicated.

The simplicity lied in the fact that each direction—forward, backward, left, and right—had a separate set of horsehair for control. After a few tries, one could quickly become accustomed to the operations.

However, the complexity was that mastering the controls for easy use needed plenty of practice and dedication.

Name: Fluid Horse (Low-Level Ink Implement)

Use: Vehicle

Speed: 30km/h (theoretical maximum speed).

Durability: 300,000 kilometers (theoretical limit)

After reviewing the data on the System screen, Dong Tianyu found that the transformed vehicle was better than he had imagined. Apart from the lack of insulation, there were no other drawbacks except for its slow speed.

However, considering that it was transformed from an electric bicycle, the lack of insulation and slow speed were to be expected.

After this trial, Dong Tianyu planned to go beyond the mountains to find a better car for transformation. He wondered whether a transformed damaged vehicle could repair itself.

Since the vehicle was now ready, he needed to revise his plans for going beyond the mountains.

Dong Tianyu temporarily lost interest in the factories north of Pengcheng because his Cave Mansion had already been upgraded.

Nor did he consider going further north to the coal washing ands coal refining plant. After all, once the Cave Mansion's door was shut, there was no connection with the outside world. Even if it was colder outside, it would not affect the inside of the Cave Mansion.

Under the precondition of ensuring his survival, Dong Tianyu wasn't planning on disturbing resources that others might need for survival.

Even if these goods would probably never reach those people, Dong Tianyu, given the availability of alternatives, wouldn't disrupt the supply. This wasn't about being saintly, but about giving others a chance.

Even if others might never make use of it, he still held onto a slim hope. Some might label this hypocrisy, but to Dong Tianyu, he was just following his heart.

If Dong Tianyu had chosen to go to the coal refining and washing plant in the northern part of Pengcheng, he would have found that the place was bustling with activity, even though the outdoor temperature had already dropped to minus fifty or sixty degrees Celsius.

Coal might be cheap now, but it was once Pengcheng's most important source of income. Therefore, it was naturally connected with Pengcheng's railway network.

Workers were continuously loading clean coal into wagons, which were then hauled to the old railway station by old-fashioned coal-burning locomotives.

If the location of the original railway station was deemed remote, now it had become the center of Pengcheng according to the map.

Therefore, the train carried the cleaned coal here. From this place, the Community Shelter of the subway station, through the subway network, distributed it to ensure the heating supply of other shelters.

That's why Dong Tianyu advised his father to let his parents remain in the better-conditions community shelter.

In the early stage, the environment of the Community Shelter was better than the subway station shelter. However, as time passed, the originally stocked resources in the Community Shelter gradually depleted.

By that time, the external temperature would have dropped to around minus 100 degrees Celsius. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to move around in the open. The Community Shelter could then only wait for the Officials to distribute supplies through the subway station shelter.

Those in the know understood: during a disaster, those with plenty of food wouldn't starve, or even go hungry.

When that time comes, if one wished to get into a subway station shelter, it would be increasingly difficult because the people there would have already filled it to capacity.

Because by then, the family members who originally resided in the Official's directly administered shelter would also have been moved to the subway station shelter.

At that point, in the subway station shelter, excluding the subway tunnels saved for transportation, even the public toilets in the subway station would be overcrowded.

Having ruled out the northern direction, Dong Tianyu could now only choose between the eastern and southern directions.

The east doesn't need much consideration, it's where the three long-planned locations are: Huahua Pharmaceutical Factory, Pengcheng Medical Warehouse, and Food City Storage Zone.

Huahua Pharmaceutical Factory is a pharmaceutical manufacturing company with a plethora of medicines though the variety may be limited.

Pengcheng Medical Warehouse, on the other hand, is different. All medicines entering Pengcheng must first go through the Medical Warehouse for quality inspection, and then will be distributed to various hospitals and pharmacies— this applies only to legally sourced medicines.

Food City Storage Zone is a location considered when collecting rent at Black Tortoise Transit Warehouse. The rent at Black Tortoise was too high, so many people moved their warehouses here. Slowly, a warehouse cluster formed where one could find a diverse range of items. From food and entertainment, to various household furnishing and renovation materials— everything could be found here.

Taking a trip to the east would not only fulfil Dong Tianyu's demand for supplies, but he could also drop by the subway shelter to see his parents and learn about their current situation.