Cave Refuge

In addition to the public shelters established by the officials in Pengcheng, there are indeed, though few in number, private sanctuaries like the one built by Dong Tianyu.

Initially, these sanctuaries were created due to rumors of the end of the world. The apocalypse didn't happen, but the era of online stardom came.

They originally relied on live stream donations to get started on the construction, then adjusted their approach in the era of short-video to pursue popularity.

When the popularity of short videos declined, the era of pandemic came once again. The sanctuaries were taken over by the rich, who initially believed in the apocalypse, for yet another round of upgrades.

The overall cost of constructing these shelters may not be higher than the cost Dong Tianyu incurred in carving his sanctuary out of a mountain.

However, their space and comfort are certainly better than Dong Tianyu's original sanctuary. After all, Dong Tianyu had his project fully subcontracted, yet others built theirs according to their own specific needs.

After a month, the outside temperature had dropped below minus sixty degrees. Only the officials could still move around normally outside, because without special cold-weather equipment, no one could go out in this weather.

In just over a month, relying on their strong reserves, the officials had converted many vehicles that could move about outside. These vehicles were not powered by traditional fuel, but by steam.

Not that they completely abandoned fuel power. After all, they were still using fuel to boil water for steam, not coal.

The reason for converting to steam power was simple: compared to traditional fuel vehicles, steam engines could be almost purely mechanical and did not require electronic devices to control them.

What's more, there was one important factor: using steam power, the vehicle itself would become very warm. No one inside the vehicle would need to wear heavy cold-resistant clothing.

However, the drawback of using steam power was also fairly obvious. The vehicles tended to be significantly larger and their appearance gradually veered towards steampunk.

By then, two main roads that ran north, south, east, and west through the center of Pengcheng Plaza had been cleared. The vehicles that were previously blocking the roads had been pushed to the sides.

When the officials travelled to West City and saw that the main avenue there had been cleared by someone else, they didn't care. They knew that apart from the shelters they had collectively established, there were other private sanctuaries outside.

Dong Tianyu was not aware that his sanctuary had long been under the officials' scrutiny.

The only thing they were able to find out was the recorded data about the two-thousand-square-meter cave. They knew it had been turned into a sanctuary, but they had no idea about the specifics within.

After a month's work, somehow, the officials had managed to restore the electricity supply. Even though it was supplied only for limited hours each day, once power was restored, the environment in the underground sanctuary had drastically improved.

Without mentioning anything else, when many people stayed in the sanctuary, ventilation relied purely on natural air. No matter how cold the weather was, the underground sanctuaries could not be completely sealed off; they had to have area for ventilation.

Despite these precautions, over time, the air inside the underground sanctuary became increasingly polluted. Even the healthiest people would occasionally feel suffocated in the sanctuary.

When they identified this problem, to keep the air in the sanctuary circulating, officials specially designed a simple exhaust fan and arranged for it to be operated 24/7.

The manual exhaust fan, which relies on human labor, only consumed one person per hour.

After all, it's impossible to let living people suffocate from trapped stale air. However wearying operating the fan was, pulling people for this task ended as soon as electricity supply resumed.

Perhaps Dong Tianyu had seen too few things in his last life in the sanctuary. When Pengcheng's electricity was restored, he distinctly felt the change.

Although all electronic devices had been destroyed, various craftsmen constantly emerged. Without the help of electronic equipment, they managed to manually create all sorts of electrical devices.

Perhaps everyone was gradually getting used to it. Even though the weather was getting colder and colder, Dong Tianyu was surprised to find that more and more people were getting out and about.

The small supermarkets and shops on the street had been looted empty. Fortunately, they generally only operated near the sanctuary and wouldn't stray too far from it.

Since the day he came back and encountered the officials clearing the outer ring road, Dong Tianyu did not go to the logistics park as originally planned, but stayed at home to practice his cultivation.

The main reason for not going out was simple; Dong Tianyu's current ride was a bit conspicuous. Although the remix was noticeably larger than the pre-modified electric car, relative to the steam cars currently on the road, it was still quite small.

The situation now isn't as chaotic as when the flood came. If the officials really want to investigate something, they can find out some information despite it being a bit of a hassle.

So Dong Tianyu did not dare expose too much at this time, because he didn't want to bet on human nature or whether he could withstand a direct hit from a fire weapon.

Three days later, Dong Tianyu walked out of the sanctuary gate holding the liquid thermometer he had purchased online. He watched the scale on the thermometer rapidly drop after he exited the sanctuary.

Dong Tianyu chuckled wryly. He had made it to the fourth level of Qi cultivation and wanted to come out for some fresh air, and to get a sense of the outdoor temperature, only to realize the temperature outside had dropped below minus sixty degrees.

Maybe it was because he had been cultivating non-stop, but upgrading from the third level of Qi cultivation to the fourth level didn't feel exceptional. Everything felt like it was flowing naturally, without making any noticeable waves.

Once he reached the fourth level of Qi cultivation, the Hall of Longevity gifted him a basic spell: Object Control Technique.

According to the system display, the potential of this spell was limitless. It's not just about flying on a sword, even the ordinary use of magical weapons could be an upgrade from this spell.

Most of the various cultivation arts also revolved around this spell. It was a highly practical spell.

Flying on a sword may be too distant for Dong Tianyu, but having learned this spell, he no longer needed to sit on the hard back of the remix, but could get into the carrier and use his spirit power to control the remix.

This was actually the real way to control the remix. Initially, sitting on the horseback and controlling it is what mortals without spirit power would use.

Guessing that the surrounding roads had all been cleared by the officials, Dong Tianyu once again entertained the thought of going down the mountain to explore. After all, he had experienced the opening of a blind box once, and now he wanted to do it again.

The logistics storage area in the south was definitely a place abundant in blind boxes. Having had this idea, Dong Tianyu could no longer restrain himself. He simply packed up and prepared to go down the mountain.