Cave Refuge

Old Jefferson, just like Mr. Thompson, had only one son. Unlike Dong Tianyu, who spent a long time wandering outside, Xiao Li never went away; since the natural disaster struck, their family had always been together.

However, unlike Mr. Thompson, Old Jefferson not only had a high social status before the disaster but also had a wide network of connections. Therefore, even after the disaster hit, the Family Li's living standards had declined, but they had not fallen into poverty.

Moreover, right when the disaster struck, Old Jefferson was in a high position, meaning Family Li's circumstances were quite different from the Thompson Family. Unlike Dong Tianyu, who had to venture out on his own, Xiao Li's career development under Old Jefferson's arrangement soared rapidly with the help of the disaster relief period.

It wasn't until the floods came that Old Jefferson stepped down to make way for his son, thus he had time to pick up his old hobby and occasionally go out fishing.

It was only after Old Jefferson fully retired that he met Mr. Thompson and they became good fishing buddies.

If Old Jefferson had still been in office, let alone at the peak of his career, even during the time he had stepped back, if the two had met then, their relationship certainly wouldn't be as harmonious as it is now.

Nevertheless, when the two were fishing, they got along very well. However, when they had a drink and chatted, they naturally began to compete with each other, from the day's catch in quantity and weight to a bunch of other miscellaneous things.

In the end, as time went on, they naturally began to talk about their own next generation. Perhaps because both families had only sons, they frequently became topics of comparison.

But compared to Old Jefferson's son, who was often visible, no matter how much Mr. Thompson bragged about Dong Tianyu, who was often away from home, Old Jefferson always responded with an agreeable "Yes, yes, I believe you," but his facial expression was very perfunctory.

Actually, when Old Jefferson inadvertently learned about the Thompson Family's situation through conversations with Mr. Thompson, he realized that the Thompson Family's comfortable life after the disaster was entirely due to Dong Tianyu's silent support in the background.

If one were to really compare Xiao Li to Dong Tianyu, Dong Tianyu naturally far surpassed Xiao Li.

But who doesn't love their own child? Although Old Jefferson would use Dong Tianyu's experiences to spur on his own son every time he went back, in front of Mr. Thompson, Old Jefferson would never admit that his son was inferior to Dong Tianyu.

Thus, every time the two had drinks together, no matter how much Mr. Thompson praised Dong Tianyu, Old Jefferson always showed that "You're right, but I just don't believe it" expression.

The moment Mr. Thompson said Dong Tianyu was better than Xiao Li, Old Jefferson would retort with "Anyway, Dong Tianyu isn't back yet, and whatever you boast about, I can't debunk," and throw it back.

When their arguments became intense, both Mrs. Thompson and Old Jefferson's wife used to intervene and try to mediate.

One might have expected a cold war after their disputes, suspecting the two wouldn't contact each other anymore. Mrs. Thompson and Old Jefferson's wife planned to let them cool off for a while before finding an opportunity to get together and clear the air.

But who could have expected that these two would be just fine? They might be red-faced and nearly coming to blows while drinking the night before, yet by the next morning, they'd be all set to go out fishing together as if nothing had happened.

After a few instances, Mrs. Thompson and Old Jefferson's wife, when again confronted with arguments at the dinner table, simply ignored them, deciding instead to go out for a walk and chat, leaving the two to argue at home at their leisure.

After so many occurrences, both women knew that whether things got ugly at the table with Mr. Thompson and Old Jefferson, it was just verbal and would never escalate into physical fighting, so they left them to it.

Mr. Thompson had been at a disadvantage because Dong Tianyu hadn't come back, but today not only was Dong Tianyu back, he had also proven with action that despite often not being at home, he had not wasted away idly; instead, he was doing quite well on his own.

Now that Mr. Thompson could finally have the upper hand, naturally, he wanted to show off to Old Jefferson.

As for Mr. Thompson's rather childish behavior of insisting on one-upmanship, Old Jefferson was not upset; instead, he gave in and conceded graciously.

Seeing Old Jefferson concede, Mr. Thompson naturally had no intention of pressing his advantage. So, he turned to Dong Tianyu with some curiosity and asked, "Now that we're in the submarine, would you mind taking us down to have a look and enjoy the underwater scenery?"

Hearing Mr. Thompson ask that, how could Zachary respond otherwise? After all, it was his own father. Could Zachary really say it was inconvenient?

Zachary playfully replied, "Inconvenient? How could it be inconvenient? Here you're the boss, and what you say goes." Then he led the four into the cockpit.

At that moment, the cockpit looked much like an underwater observation deck. Besides where it connected with the rest of the ship, every other part including above and below remained fully transparent. In the cockpit, apart from a lonely recliner, there were no instruments or equipment.

Since the Companion Spiritual Treasure was floating on the surface, it felt as if they were standing in a shallow creek with only their feet submerged while the rest of their bodies were above water.

Seeing the very sparse cockpit, Mr. Thompson curiously asked Zachary, "There's nothing here, how do you control your Companion Spiritual Treasure?"

Hearing Mr. Thompson's question, Zachary kindly reminded him, "Just like you control your own Companion Spiritual Treasure."

Upon Zachary's reminder, Mr. Thompson remembered that when he piloted his small fishing boat, he didn't use paddles but controlled it with his mentality.

Realizing this, and although Mr. Thompson caught the amused look in Old Jefferson's eyes, he immediately shifted the topic, "Aren't you going to take us for a swim?"

Hearing his father's command, Zachary hurriedly controlled his Companion Spiritual Treasure to start descending.

Zachary had not seen if submarines could vertically submerge before the natural disaster, but his Companion Spiritual Treasure could easily do so.

As the Companion Spiritual Treasure continued to sink, the underwater light grew dimmer. Despite the vastness of the cockpit, as the external light faded away, the inside of the cockpit gradually brightened.

Noticing the growing brightness within the cockpit, Old Jefferson subconsciously looked around for the light source, but after a complete search, he couldn't find where it was.

They felt as if they were standing outside in broad daylight, with no nearby light source, yet they could still see everything around them clearly.

The brightness of the day was due to sunlight scattered from the sun overhead, but now, submerged in the dark waters, what was illuminating this place like the sunlight above?

After contemplating for a while, Old Jefferson could only give up helplessly, as after the natural disaster, the flag of materialism had fallen, and a series of fantastical events had unfolded one after the other.

Not to mention anything else, just the Companion Spiritual Treasures themselves, the power required for their movement did not depend on any energy sources. Although not fast, they could move perpetually like machines without any need for energy.

Though uncertain of the reality, so far, at least no one had heard rumors about needing to replenish energy for movement of the Companion Spiritual Treasures.

"Son…"

Before Mr. Thompson could finish speaking, the Companion Spiritual Treasure lit up like a bulb, directly illuminating the water around it. The vicinity of about two hundred meters around the Companion Spiritual Treasure instantly revealed itself to everyone.

Only then could the others clearly appreciate the scenery surrounding the cockpit.

The sudden burst of light from the Companion Spiritual Treasure immediately attracted many underwater creatures to gather around it.

Those aquatic creatures that lived in the dim waters, despite their highly degenerated visual nerves, still had not lost them completely, and were naturally drawn to the sudden brightness.