Cave Refuge

Lifting the two garbage bags, Dong Tianyu first weighed their heft before tossing them directly over the railing.

Although it seemed like Dong Tianyu had thrown the garbage bags out carelessly, they eventually landed steadily into the coffins he had prodded open with a stick moments earlier.

Following the descent of the weighty garbage bags into the coffins, the coffin lids, which had already sunk underwater, closed over the coffins just like the one Little Five had fallen into, as if rewinding, and then slowly sank to the bottom of the water.

After observing Dong Tianyu's entire process, the others quickly understood his idea and mentally projected a calculation, realizing that this method of escape not only had a high success rate but also wouldn't cost much.

"Zachary, the way you've thought to leave is good, but although there are quite a few supplies stored in the warehouse, wouldn't it be too wasteful to use those supplies to fill the gaps?"

Jason Jefferson had this thought primarily because he was considering the supplies on the boat. Although Dong Tianyu had used garbage for the experiment, the boat could produce only a limited amount of garbage daily, barely enough to meet the needs of seven or eight coffins.

Yet at the moment, the coffins surrounding the boat numbered well over a hundred. Relying solely on the daily generated garbage, it was unclear how long it would take to leave this eerie area filled with coffins.

If they were in a hurry to leave, using up the remaining garbage would inevitably require utilizing the supplies stored in the warehouse to fill the gaps, which would feel like a wanton waste of resources.

Dong Tianyu guessed some of Jason Jefferson's thoughts. However, Dong Tianyu wouldn't kindly use his own supplies to help fill the gaps since, if necessary, he might just take his parents and leave by "Sword Control" through the air.

"Actually, I have another idea, but compared to the no-cost experiment just now, verifying another way to leave would involve some risks. I wonder if anyone is willing to volunteer for a trial."

When Dong Tianyu mentioned the risk, Jason Jefferson was not disappointed but rather keenly inquired, "Tell me about the other way to leave. Although the method we just verified is a viable option, the cost is too high. If there are options, it's better to avoid this one if possible."

Having already warned Jason Jefferson about the dangers of testing, if Jason still wanted to proceed, Dong Tianyu didn't need to dissuade further and directly voiced his speculation: "The other method is also quite simple. There should be quite a few people on your ship who possess Companion Spiritual Treasures. Just summon their Companion Spiritual Treasures and slam them down from the air."

"Although we've tested that the Companion Spiritual Treasures can't act where there are coffins, if possible, we can actually bypass this rule, like in the activity 'Three Bricks Forward.'"

(Three Bricks Forward: There are three bricks. One steps on two bricks and then places another brick in front, afterward moving the rear brick forward, switching feet and bricks, and thus proceeding.)

Hearing Dong Tianyu explain this, Jason Jefferson instantly grasped Dong Tianyu's idea. Nonetheless, while this method wouldn't waste any supplies, using it posed an unavoidable issue: would summoning the Companion Spiritual Treasures directly onto the coffins cause any issues?

Dong Tianyu had clarified the need for preliminary testing, and although the destruction of a Companion Spiritual Treasure wouldn't harm the owner, if a Companion Spiritual Treasure was completely destroyed and vanished, then the person would be unable to acquire a new Companion Spiritual Treasure by any means thereafter.

This was why many considered their Companion Spiritual Treasures their second life, especially during this era of widespread floods. Owning their own Companion Spiritual Treasure, regardless of its growth stage, at least ensured they wouldn't drown.

But testing according to Dong Tianyu's idea would necessarily require someone to make a sacrifice, using their Companion Spiritual Treasure for the actual experiments and also repeating the tests multiple times to ensure complete safety.

However, on the other hand, sacrificing one's sole Companion Spiritual Treasure for testing was a tough decision for lone individuals, but for a faction, it was relatively straightforward.

After all, once one had established a faction, there would always be some idle members in the faction. Since their lives were not affected and they normally stayed within the group, having a Companion Spiritual Treasure didn't make much difference to them.

After understanding Dong Tianyu's thoughts, the members of the Guard Squad arranged by Jason Jefferson quickly brought four people along; these people's Companion Spirits were at various stages of evolution.

There was one that had just been born with no growth, another that had only been fed the "Mysterious Core," resulting in increased size but no evolution, and of course, there was one whose Companion Spiritual Treasure had evolved into a wooden boat.

After Jason Jefferson explained the task, not a single person backed down or regretted their decision; the reason for this was simple—they had already been informed of the risks involved in the test before coming.