Cave Refuge

The government always kept a close eye on the outside temperature. As it steadily increased, everyone gradually noticed the change.

When the temperature reached around minus sixty degrees, the government began to arrange for steam cars to resume supplying resources to the refuge centers.

When the temperature reached around minus forty degrees, those moving resources outside of the shelters noticed this development.

When the temperature reached about minus twenty degrees, many civilians hiding in the shelters began venturing outside.

And when the outside temperature reached around minus five degrees, many had already left the shelters and returned to their homes.

By this time, more than three months had passed since the Lunar New Year.

"Brother, shall we leave now?"

Upon hearing his brother's query, Mr. Thompson remembered the plan Dong Tianyu laid out during Lunar New Year and nodded, "There isn't much food left in the warehouse. Notify everyone; we're leaving today."

Hearing this, Mr. Thompson's brother began assembling the other inhabitants, informing them of the decision to leave.

No one contested this decision, as they had all been informed of the plan when they heard from Haiyang that the outside temperature was rising. Mr. Thompson and the other two decision-makers were the ones who had let the others know.

While no one openly objected, someone did suggest that some people stay behind to prevent others from taking over this location after their departure.

In response to this proposal, Mr. Thompson simply suggested that the person making the suggestion should stay.

Upon hearing what Mr. Thompson said, the proposer immediately stopped talking. After all, he was just expressing an opinion and, having been underground for so long, he didn't want to stay there any longer given the rising temperatures outside.

Besides, ever since Dong Tianyu left after the New Year, food supply from the main shelter to the subway shelter they lived in started to decrease as the weather turned colder. Gradually, the Grand Dining Hall began to cut down on the food supply.

During this time, to keep everyone healthy, the Thompson family unanimously decided (via a three-person vote) to utilize their reserve food for additional meals, ensuring that everyone got enough to eat.

To prevent illnesses, Mr. Thompson proposed that everyone except Mr. Benjamin should exercise in the open area.

It was known that if others found out that the Thompson's not only had enough to eat but were also consuming more energy to exercise, the family would certainly face public criticism.

However, with the barrier of the shelter's gate, as long as they didn't make too much noise, other people wouldn't know what the Thompson family was doing behind the door.

Because the exercise accelerated their metabolism, the consumption of the reserve food in the Thompson family warehouse drastically increased. In just a few short months, the once abundant reserve food was now nearly depleted. Although there was still some left, it was not much.

If it weren't for the rising temperatures, and the government's resumption of food supply, the dissatisfaction stemming from overeating would have resurfaced.

Also, because at this time there weren't many stored food supplies in the warehouse, no one opposed Mr. Thompson's proposal to leave.

Just as the temperature had just risen to around minus ten degrees, all of the Thompson family's belongings had already been packed.

The so-called possessions weren't much, mostly clothes and quilts, and the remaining food from the warehouse was distributed. As for beds and other bulky furniture, Mr. Thompson suggested they should be left behind.

In the subway shelter, residents with an adventurous spirit had already left the refuge center when the temperature rose to about minus twenty degrees.

Since then, the visible decrease in the number of people in the shelter was notable. Many who were struggling started to gradually leave.

The Thompson family's departure from the shelter was normal. However, just after they left, the lock on the door to L District where they had been living got broken, and those who were disinclined to leave the shelter indiscriminately occupied the area.

When the temperature rose above freezing, the ice and snow covering the ground began to melt, turning the snow-filled surface into trickling streams.

Due to the extreme cold, the city's original drainage system was damaged, and the melting water flowed into the subway shelters in the absence of a proper outlet.

With the speed of the snowmelt increasing, the underground metro network was the first to become submerged. Given the rise in temperatures, the attention of the government was already on the surface, focused on restoring facilities. Therefore, despite being aware of the flooding issues in various shelters, they chose to ignore the issue for the moment.

Thanks to the diversion of the various underground shelters, when the snow on the surface completely melted there was no impact on the surface facilities. Although everyone looked a bit disheveled, it seemed as if life had returned to the way it was before the icy cold hit.

Steam cars, due to the massive amounts of heat they generated while operating, were directly modified. The modification was straightforward; the insulation pipe that used to wrap around the vehicle was simply removed, releasing the steam directly into the air.

Although this method increased the energy consumption several times, under such special circumstances, it was the only temporary solution. That said, the removal of the pipeline made steam cars seem much slimmer from the outside.

As everyone left the underground shelters to return home, many people couldn't wait for the government to distribute supplies and began "treasure hunting" on their own.

However, nearby convenience stores had already been visited by others when the extreme cold arrived, and the large supermarkets had been swept clean by the government.

Some clever folks targeted the various warehouses as their hunting grounds. However, whatever they could think of, so could the government. Before the majority of treasure hunters could react, soldiers were dispatched to seal off all warehousing areas.

Yet, even so, many of the warehouse areas were unable to avoid being claimed beforehand by some quick individuals. But most of them were individuals or small groups of three or five, unable to carry away too much of the supplies.

So the government turned a blind eye to this, choosing not to pursue the actions of those individuals who had acted before the government-imposed restrictions.

"Report, the Logistics Storage Area has been sealed off, but upon inspection, there are no items there. According to trace surveillance, the items were likely relocated by others before the snow fell."

"Report, the Food City Storage Area has been sealed off, but upon inspection, there are no items there. According to trace surveillance, the items were likely relocated by others before the snow fell."

"Report, the Pengville Port Storage area has been sealed off, but upon inspection, there are no items there. According to trace surveillance, the items were likely relocated by others before the snow fell."

"Report, ..."

Although the other warehouses in Pengcheng were still intact, a few larger storage areas had already been emptied beforehand. Upon hearing that news, the Pengcheng government's senior officials were outraged.