Cave Refuge

True to form as father and son, Mr. Thompson's ideas were almost identical to those of Zachary. Otherwise, the villa they resided in would not have retained its Syrian style décor since it had been assigned to them.

It was precisely because of the Syrian style décor that the Thompson Family did not suffer much damage when the floodwaters submerged the camp.

Zachary carefully scanned the camp from above and, upon confirming that most of the little black snakes had burrowed into the ground and entered a dormant state, Zachary ceased his surveillance and returned directly to the villa area.

Upon seeing Zachary return so quickly, Madeline initially thought there was a problem in some area of the camp that required seeking help, but seeing Zachary's indifferent expression, she discarded her initial suspicions.

"Those black snakes that took advantage of the floodwaters to enter the camp have mysteriously vanished now that the waters have receded. I searched the skies for a long time but eventually found no trace of those creatures.

Although I cannot understand the specific ground conditions from the sky, nothing unusual was detectable from above.

Although the floodwaters in the camp have now receded, most of the survivors are still resting on their Companion Spiritual Treasures."

Hearing Zachary's words, Madeline immediately bowed her head and fell into thought.

Watching Madeline enter a contemplative state, Zachary did not disturb her but instead greeted the guards around him before heading home.

During his journey home, Zachary suddenly felt the outside temperature rise slightly. It was quite normal for temperatures to rise a few degrees after a flood had ended, but in such times, even minor changes could lead to dire consequences.

When Zachary arrived at his parents' villa, as expected, Mr. Thompson had already retracted his Companion Spiritual Treasure into his Sea of Consciousness. He and Mrs. Thompson were both inside the villa, cleaning the messy room.

Although the villa's décor was the very simplistic Syrian style, the room now contained not only wind-shattered glass and mud brought in by the flood, but also rubble that had fallen from the collapsed second-floor roof to the first floor.

Noticing Zachary standing at the door, Mr. Thompson spoke irritably, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and come in to help clean up the room, or you might not have a place to sleep tonight."

Hearing Mr. Thompson's words, Zachary immediately felt a headache coming on. Perhaps because his elderly parents had always lived in the villa, and were in Zachary's fully enclosed Companion Spiritual Treasure during the flood, plus they had returned directly to the house to tidy up after the waters receded, they were unaware of the dangers faced in other areas of the camp and thus did not understand the present situation.

Zachary knew his parents well. If he didn't join them in cleaning up the room now, he would face their sharp criticism immediately. However, according to Zachary's guess, even if the room were tidied immediately,

it was very possible that the three of them would not continue to live inside the room, and in the coming period, their villa might suffer secondary damages.

Seeing that Zachary was still standing motionless at the door, Mr. Thompson's voice grew louder instantly, "Why are you still standing there like a utility pole at the door, unmoving? Hurry up and come help clean."

Zachary understood Mr. Thompson's mindset very well; much like many older generation folks, they feel inherently superior over the younger ones, believing their spoken words should always be considered wise.

Although the old saying goes, "the student surpasses the master," for most elders, if their descendants overwhelmingly surpass them in certain areas, they will sincerely bless them. However, if their descendants only slightly surpass them, they can't help but feel somewhat unsettled and have the urge to impart some experienced knowledge to their younger kin.

In many aspects, Zachary had greatly surpassed Mr. Thompson, so Mr. Thompson was able to treat Zachary with equanimity most of the time, discussing matters with him and gradually reaching an equal standing in their relationship.

Yet people are complex. Sometimes, Mr. Thompson missed his pre-disaster status as the head of the family. Although Zachary was already economically independent, whenever he came home, Mr. Thompson would find some way to assert his seniority and satisfy his inexplicable vanity.

However, the pace at which Zachary grew after the Natural Disaster was extremely fast; whether it was stockpiling resources or devising survival plans for the future, he took a definitive lead.

At that time, Mr. Thompson's mindset had already started to falter, but seeing his son do better and better and far outstrip him in every aspect, he stopped overthinking and his attitude stabilized.

Who would have thought that Mr. Thompson, in his middle age, would enter the political arena and even join the decision-making class after helping establish Saxon County Camp with Zachary's support?

His mindset began to swell around that time. Then, after the floods, when they had to flee and Mr. Thompson found himself without official position again.

But once Mr. Thompson had adjusted his mindset again, Zachary, fearing his dad would make trouble out of boredom, gave him some money to invest in a small business.

Just when Mr. Thompson's small business started to look promising, he shut it down at Zachary's persuasion.

Mr. Thompson went back and forth, and Zachary was involved more or less every time. Although Mr. Thompson knew that his son meant well, like most elders, he believed all his actions were for the betterment of his descendants.

But the person involved didn't see it that way.

However, unlike simple-minded and impulsive young people, Mr. Thompson could truly understand his son's goodwill at heart.

Understanding is one thing, but Mr. Thompson couldn't let go, especially since he considered himself still in his prime. Seeing the younger Ye Liuyun begin to build her own camp while Zachary still behaved erratically, Mr. Thompson's dissatisfaction grew intense.

He always had these feelings, but since Zachary was often away and rarely at home, whenever Zachary came home, Mr. Thompson would bury these thoughts deep inside.

That's just the nature of most elders, or else how would the famous phrase arise: "A rare visit makes a dear child, but being always at home makes one a weed."

But understanding aside, Zachary didn't want to be a dumping ground for someone else's emotions. So, to change the subject, he immediately interrupted Mr. Thompson, "Mom and Dad, stop tidying up. This Natural Disaster isn't over yet. Even if you tidy up now, the next disaster will just mess everything up again. Don't waste your effort."

Just as Mr. Thompson was about to say more, hearing Zachary mention the next Natural Disaster, he immediately asked, "Are you saying another Natural Disaster is about to strike? How do you know?"

Seeing that he successfully diverted his father's attention and to keep his dad from losing his temper further, Zachary slowly guided him, "Dad, think about the natural disasters we have experienced before and which types have not occurred yet."

Hearing Zachary say this, Mr. Thompson didn't think about other things anymore; he followed Zachary's lead and thought, "The Natural Disasters that have occurred include gale, lightning, torrential rain, hail, frost, and then..."