Cave Refuge

But the Officials were different; after all, there had to be people before there were Officials. If there were no people left, what use would those Officials have?

In the past, if three or five people or even ten or twenty died, the Officials could turn a blind eye. But if the death toll reached into the hundreds in one go, well, not to mention the Imperial Court's accountability, even the most placid Rabbit would see red in such a situation.

If the Officials still did nothing under these circumstances, the eventual outcome for the Zoo would be either the animals scattering and escaping or the collective rebellion of those animals. Either way, it was not a result the Officials wanted to see.

If the Officials' inaction in the past might have only provoked protests, now their inaction could result in true existential danger.

Add to that the Officials were very aware that the reason they were still living well during this period was not only because they inherited the relics of the pre-disaster era but primarily because other animals were continuously contributing to the Zoo.

Once the other animals were all gone, their days would no longer be as secure and comfortable as they now were.

Of course, the above was only the situation with the Rabbit's Home; the situation in other Zoos was not as good, for unlike the Rabbits who liked to plan and had multiple burrows as contingency, other Zoos did not have the habit of storing supplies in advance.

Therefore, when the natural disaster initially struck, the number of animals in those Zoos decreased by seventy percent directly.

And with the advent of the flood disaster, their population was further reduced, as most of them lived by the philosophy of drinking today and worrying about tomorrow, due to their lack of stockpiling habits.

And similar to the Basin Chicken's scenario, the more ordinary the rednecks were, the more they wanted to investigate the mysterious appearance of the Mysterious Ship during the initial period, as their thrill-seeking nature had already gained worldwide notoriety before the natural disaster.

As for the so-called elite class, precisely because they lacked nothing, they were all the more cautious about their lives, keeping as far away as possible when faced with the Mysterious Ship.

Thus, by now, it had come to pass that most of those who possessed Companion Spiritual Treasures were ordinary rednecks, while those of the elite class were living on the large ships that had been built before the disaster.

Despite the fact the children of the Eagle Sauce Family, raised on a happy-go-lucky education, did not understand scientific principles, they had a lot of free time and gained a rudimentary understanding of various natural disasters through watching extreme survival and sports programs.

Thus, when faced with a Dragon Siphon disaster, they quickly thought of the idea of hiding underwater; knowing that Spiritual Treasures could be taken back into their bodies made their leap into the sea all the more decisive.

However, unlike the Basin Chicken's situation—where most of the Old Faction members with Missiles had died—Eagle Sauce fared much better.

At least, although there were some conflicts between the elite class and the rednecks, their disagreements were not life and death matters.

At worst, they detested each other and tried not to interact, but in situations with shared interests, they could still work together sincerely.

But when those rednecks tried to use diving as a method to avoid Dragon Siphon and took their Companion Spiritual Treasures into their Sea of Consciousness, the Dragon Siphon following the ships would lose its original targets and thus approach other nearby ships.

Indeed, it was due to the rednecks' evasive maneuvers that the pressure to face the Dragon Siphon head-on was passed directly onto those elites with the large ships.

Honestly, there were a few submarines on Eagle Sauce's side; if those elite members just wanted to save their lives, there were plenty of ways to do so—certainly much better than the rednecks who entered the water alone to hide.

But even if they could save their lives with absolute certainty, the number of those who chose to abandon everything just to survive was not that high.

After all, if they abandoned their ships to escape, they might seem to save their lives on the surface in this disaster, but losing their ships meant they would once again fall to the status of an ordinary person.

After Rabbit began his cultivation to become a Martial Artist, even if they were to abandon the ship, they would still have the use of powerful martial force. However, for the Eagle Sauce Family, abandoning their ship truly meant they were leaving everything behind.

Not to mention carrying away money, gold, or antiques, which are high-value items. The saying "In troubled times gold, in prosperous times antiques" actually doesn't apply here. It's not an era of chaos but an apocalypse.

In the apocalypse, other than one's own life, there is only one thing that is most precious, and that is food. When carried, food is not only cumbersome but also very conspicuous.

Once they leave their own ships, if they escape with a large amount of supplies, they will end up as targets for plundering by others, unless they are incredibly lucky.

For this reason, those large ships carrying elites, when faced with several Dragon Siphons, would rant and rave in anger, but would ultimately resort to using Missiles to eliminate those Dragon Siphons that approached them.

After the majority of the Dragon Siphons in most regions have been eliminated, the dark clouds that once covered the sky gradually dispersed, and sunshine once again fell upon the water's surface.

Unlike the past disasters that caused significant casualties, after this one had ended, the number of deaths and injuries were far lower than other disasters.

However, although not many people died in this disaster, the loss suffered by the survivors was immense, far exceeding any previous disasters they had experienced.

Even the earthquakes that affected all regions in the past caused far less damage to the survivors compared to this occurrence of Dragon Siphons.

There were two reasons for this situation. The first was that the Dragon Siphons targeted the ships, not the individuals.

Most of the medium and small-sized ships built before the disaster were completely scrapped after this encounter with the Dragon Siphons.

Furthermore, whether they used Companion Spiritual Treasures as storage ships or modified their Companion Spiritual Treasures, after the disaster, all the Companion Spiritual Treasures of the survivors returned to an empty state. The items originally stored inside were scattered and sunk into the depths of the sea when they reclaimed their Companion Spiritual Treasures into their Sea of Consciousness.

This situation only provided salvage teams with new job opportunities, allowing treasure hunters to emerge once more at the now busy seafloor.

In addition, due to the large consumption of Missiles and shells, the already scarce Ammunition became even scarcer. If this trend continues, firearms would eventually fade out of public view.

After all, up to this point, nobody has found a substitute for gunpowder. But this was actually a good thing for Dong Tianyu since he had specifically spent a high price to restock a batch of weapons and ammunition before leaving the Water Base.

Although he paid a slightly higher than market price to ensure the quality of the weapons and ammunition, he could never have imagined that after this disaster, the price of the weapons and ammunition he purchased at high cost would surge several times over. Moreover, after the disaster, it became exceedingly difficult to purchase weapons and ammunition even at a premium.

While Zachary was still in the Cave, recording various roleplay shorts with the Canaries, he was unaware that many people were sending him messages, inquiring whether he had safely weathered the disaster.

Zachary rose from a blanket of white, first rinsed off with a shower, then laid down in the bath. The warm water of the pool submerged his neck, and he instantly relaxed a great deal.

At that moment, he let his thoughts drift. Although he was not cultivating, the Spirit Energy in the Cave seemed to be drawn to him, actively penetrating his body.

When Zachary came to his senses, he was surprised to find that his Cultivation Level had actually increased somewhat. Even though the increase was not substantial, it was equivalent to two to three months of diligent cultivation.

Actually, Zachary was quite satisfied with his cultivation progress. While he hadn't achieved ascension like the monkey who became an immortal within just a few years, in just over a decade, he had reached the Golden Core Stage. He believed that, in most novels, he would be considered a genius.