Cave Refuge

Upon hearing this question from his elder sister's husband, both Mr. Thompson and Mr. Thompson's younger brother came to a realization. If the snow was melting, that indicated a rise in temperature, which meant they should be able to leave the shelter and go back to their own homes to continue their lives.

Seeing the hopeful glint in their eyes, it was difficult for Zachary to continue what he had to say. He dreaded breaking the grim news to them, but he knew it was inevitable at this point.

"By the looks of it, what we are dealing with is a natural disaster," he eventually uttered.

The trio agreed wholeheartedly with Zachary's statement. After all, the external temperatures had plummeted to an all-time low of negative eighty degrees. If this did not qualify as a catastrophe, they couldn't fathom what would.

"Given that it's a disaster, it represents an extreme. Heavy snowfall has begun outside, imagine if it transforms into a snowstorm, blocking all routes. You can imagine how thick the accumulated snow would be.

"Once the temperature increases and the snowstorm turns into a flood, have you ever thought about how high the water level could rise on the ground? It could quite possibly reach another extreme.

"The water level could rise by ten to twenty meters, not only submerging the underground refuge, but also swallowing the city entirely."

Upon hearing Zachary's analysis, the three men instantly pictured the grim scenario, their faces turning pale.

It took them a while to regain composure. Mr. Thompson eventually took a deep breath and asked Zachary directly, "What do you suggest we do?"

Upon hearing Mr. Thompson's question, the other two also focused their attention on Zachary.

Since all three in the room were his relatives, Zachary did not mince his words and spoke out his plan directly.

"If the external temperature rises, whether or not the underground refuge ends up submerged, everyone would move to the surface to live. It's likely that everyone would want to return to their own homes."

Upon hearing Zachary's hypothesis, the three nodded in agreement.

"When that time comes, all of our family should stick together. We should briefly return home, gather our things, and then move to the nearby office building. We should avoid the top three floors and occupy the fifth. We can settle there."

"Does it just need to be high up, Zachary? Why choose an office building then? Each of our families owns apartments in high-rise buildings."

Mr. Thompson's younger brother was right. Whether it was the families present, or those who weren't, each of them owned property on floors above the tenth.

Under normal circumstances, unless the water level surpasses twenty to thirty meters, their homes would not face the threat of being submerged.

Hearing his uncle's words, Zachary somewhat helpless. Why the Thompson's family could occupy this 'L' shaped sector in the subway station? Was it because they were the first ones to arrive? Or was it because Mr. Thompson happened to be one of the earliest temporary railway workers?

They had been stable for so long in this shelter, hadn't they ever wondered why they were able to maintain their spot for this long? It wasn't because of anything but strength in numbers.

Despite Mr. Thompson and his peers being older, their ages are close to the fifties or sixties. They all regularly exercised and their physical prowess wasn't necessarily less formidable than younger ones.

Their generation used to have real fights. Group fights happened frequently. Whereas the younger generation nowadays, despite having tattoos of dragons and tigers all over their bodies, haven't actually seen many fights.

More than anything else, once the time comes, their high-rise buildings would comparably be similar to the current shelters, while the office building Zachary had chosen would become a centralized office area for officials.

Not everyone resided above the tenth floor. Many people, when they bought houses, either chose villas or garden houses, which would all be submerged during the flood.

At that time, they could only move their families into the office buildings. By then, compared to the clear ownership of residential buildings, the ownership of office buildings would be less clear.

Even if the homeowners came, how many of them could possibly bring their property certificates when escaping? By then, whoever occupied the place first would be the owner. And if there happens to be a dispute, it will depend on who has more people on their side.

No matter how you look at it, the top floor of the office building will definitely be occupied by official personnel, and the few floors below would be for their families. Therefore, the fifth floor from the bottom seems to be a suitable choice.

"Sigh, I'm worried sick about this family." Thinking of this, Zachary couldn't help but share in detail.

Actually, the three people didn't necessarily understand everything, but they were all thoughtful people. They had been living peacefully for quite some time, so they had subconsciously overlooked some things.

After hearing Zachary's analysis, they instantly understood his thoughts.

However, at this time, Zachary's uncle pointed out the most significant flaw in the plan: "Everything else can be dealt with, but how are we supposed to solve the food issue?"

Honestly, there wasn't a good solution for this problem.

Did Zachary lack food?

Clearly not.

But after moving into a high-rise, could Zachary directly send the food into the office building?

Clearly not.

This wasn't like when the deadly winter had just begun. At this point, food had become regulated, and not much was stored at private homes. This is why Zachary asked his relatives to eat up the food stored in the 'L' shaped warehouse before moving.

Food had now become more conspicuous than gold or antiques.

Seeing Zachary's silence at this moment, the trio looked on with complex expressions.

They all knew very well that despite the harsh winter, under Zachary's prearranged plans, their family had been living better than 80% of the population.

Their current living standards, even if placed in a city like Kyoto, would be considered above average.

However, without detailed plans in place, their living conditions would only be slightly better than others, but not by much.

The room remained silent for a while, until finally, Zachary's uncle broke the silence: "It has only just started snowing and a snowstorm hasn't happened yet. Let's not worry about what could happen after the snowstorm ends.

"We still have time. Maybe one day we will find a suitable solution.

"Oh, and Zachary, you just pointed out that this snowstorm could possibly be severe. That means, once we leave this time around…"

Before his uncle could finish speaking, Zachary nodded, intensifying the heavy atmosphere: "After we leave for the New Year, if a snowstorm does occur, I might not be able to return in the short term."

Hearing Zachary's words, they all understood. Although the weather outside was extremely cold right now, as long as they took the necessary measures to stay warm, moving about was quite easy.

However, if a snowstorm truly occurred and the roads were blocked by snow, if the snow accumulated to more than a metre, they would have immense difficulty moving about then.