Cave Refuge

Acting as a temporary sanctuary for rest and recuperation, the water base was quite simple. So by this time, unless one was foolish, most people had used the Black Devil Core to summon their own Companion Spiritual Treasure.

Hence, even though the water base had sunk, for all the survivors, life persisted albeit with some impact; however, their lives were not endangered.

As the water base, along with aircraft carriers and other large vessels, had been destroyed and sunk due to the natural disaster, Zachary didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Son, do you still have enough food? Do you want me to get you some?"

While carefully reading messages on his tablet, Zachary heard his mother's voice of concern and replied with a smile, "Mom, don't worry about me; I'm not short on ingredients at all.

Mom, I have some things to take care of here. Why don't you chat with Aunt Jefferson? I need to understand the impacts after this disaster ends, and I guess I won't be able to keep you company for a while."

Upon hearing Zachary's response, Mrs. Thompson was about to say something when she felt someone tug at her. Turning her head, she saw Aunt Jefferson placing her index finger to her lips and then pointing towards Mr. Thompson and Old Jefferson.

After that, Aunt Jefferson and Mrs. Thompson left the cockpit, leaving the other three men inside.

Seeing his mother leave, Zachary settled down and continued to search for useful information in the Imperial Court announcements.

At this time, the Imperial Court had already declared that the water bases they had overseen before the natural disaster had all succumbed, none surviving the catastrophe.

However, according to the Imperial Court's announcement, perhaps due to the rusting plague spreading too quickly, even submerged metals tainted with the rusting winds did not stop deteriorating and continued to corrode underwater.

So although the residents living in the bases didn't react in time and sank along with the bases, as long as they endured for a minute underwater, the bases binding them would corrode to nothing.

The survivors trapped in the bases, who had no chance to escape, could take this opportunity to break free from the base and find a sliver of a chance to survive.

That's why it seemed like a massive disaster with many in trouble, but the actual number of people who died was not significant.

Although not many died on the spot, because of the sudden onset of the natural disaster, not everyone had storage equipment.

Thus, many people who escaped from the base had not prepared to bring any supplies with them, which meant that while many survived the sinking base, they had no supplies with them.

At that moment, the majority of the survivors were in worse straits than when the Cold Catastrophe had first struck, as at least then, although the outdoor temperature dropped rapidly, there was a buffering period of a dozen or twenty hours.

The occurrence of this natural disaster not only happened in the dead of night but also, from what could be seen in the announcements, from the time the rusting winds touched the exterior metals of the bases to when the bases began to tilt and sink, the entire process took no more than three to five hours.

The disaster's sudden arrival coupled with its rapid spread meant many people hadn't reacted in time. By the time they desperately fled the base and reached safety, they realized that in their haste to escape, they had not brought much supplies.

As everyone's minds settled, they suddenly discovered that although they seemed to have escaped a deadly threat, they had entered another dire situation.

After the initial flood disaster, ninety percent of man-made objects were destroyed, although Rabbit predicted the flood coming and built many water bases in advance.

It was because of these water bases that Rabbit didn't suffer much loss after the flood disaster.

But this time, the arrival of the rusting plague caused all the previously constructed water bases, aircraft carriers, and large ships to corrode and sink.

By this time, ninety-nine percent of man-made artifacts in the outside world had vanished. Humanity's only hope for continued survival lay in their Companion Spiritual Treasures.

It was precisely because of this natural disaster that the previously strong Rabbit had rapidly fallen into decay, while the Korean, who had staked all his hopes in that one decision, not only safely weathered the Cold Catastrophe but also emerged without a scratch.

The Rusting Winds did not target East Asia alone but swept across the entire Blue Star. When the winds dissipated, the only things left afloat were the Companion Spiritual Treasures and a few scattered inflatable life rafts.

There were still a few metal ships scattered about, but these were not the ordinary ships built before the disaster; they were Companion Spiritual Treasures that had altered their hulls using the Blood-Colored Mysterious Core.

In addition to these, the only ships that remained intact were those submarines that had long been lurking beneath the water.

However, due to the Water Base's influence, the price of other Mysterious Cores, aside from the Blood-Colored ones, had been stable before the coming of the Rusting Winds. They weren't cheap, but many people could still afford them if they gritted their teeth.

Because of this, even though many lived within the base daily, they activated and summoned their Companion Spiritual Treasures using Mysterious Cores. As a result, the Rabbit's survival rate remained high after the disaster had ended.

After carefully reading the announcement, Dong Tianyu saw Mr. Thompson and Old Jefferson whispering together. When they looked up and saw Dong Tianyu had finished reading, Mr. Thompson spoke up:

"Zachary, let's wait here. Brother Jefferson is coming to pick up Uncle Jefferson. You two are about the same age and can get to know each other."

Dong Tianyu didn't say much in response to Mr. Thompson's words; he just smiled and nodded.

Old Jefferson, seeing the smug look on Mr. Thompson's face, sighed resignedly and rubbed his forehead.

Mr. Thompson knew when to quit while he was ahead, and instead of pursuing the topic further, he changed the subject and continued, "Do you feel like this sudden natural disaster was a bit too targeted?"

Neither Old Jefferson nor Dong Tianyu responded to Mr. Thompson's suspicion.

This natural disaster was indeed a bit strange; although past natural disasters were powerful, they always struck in a broad way, and even the appearances of Otherworldly Creatures were bold and overt, clearly aiming to take lives.

But the purpose of this Rusting Wind was very clear; it did not want the survivors' lives, but rather aimed to directly destroy the comfortable living environment survivors had created.

To use a gaming analogy, at the onset of a flood, survivors should have a tough time obtaining Companion Spiritual Treasures, then gradually improve their living conditions by upgrading them in the usual order.

However, the Water Bases built by the Imperial Court, along with the aircraft carriers and large ocean-going vessels left from before the disaster, were like the Krypton Gold Items that players directly bought with money.

The mere presence of these Krypton Gold Items turned what should've been an extremely difficult nightmare mode into an easily manageable simple mode.

When the Game Planners noticed such a drastic change, they immediately came up with a response plan.

Perhaps because the game could not directly modify data once it had started running, this Game Designer came up with using a natural disaster to directly destroy these game-balance-impacting Krypton Gold Items.

Thus, a disaster round that should have still been a test for survivors turned into one that aimed to eliminate Water Bases, destroy aircraft carriers, and bring havoc to various ships.

This sudden need to "think" alerted many clever people to the possibility that natural disasters might not be entirely random, but instead could be controlled by some hidden forces.

Moreover, one could roughly determine that the rules were set, and even the hidden hands behind the scenes could not change them at will; if they wanted to target something, they could only act obliquely.