Cave Refuge

Fortunately, although the external temperature was high, the interior of the Companion Spiritual Treasure seemed isolated from the external heat and remained as comfortable as usual.

If things continued this way, for most of the survivors, it would only mean being confined within their own Companion Spiritual Treasure, without much other impact. After all, due to the recurrent Natural Disasters, everyone had developed the habit of stocking up on food. It's hard to say for a longer duration, but a famine wouldn't occur within ten to fifteen days.

However, the situation where internal and external temperatures were cut off did not last long. When someone inadvertently discovered that the stone buildings outside were beginning to crystallize, even the originally suitable temperature inside the Companion Spiritual Treasure began to rise gradually.

As everyone noticed that the indoor temperature kept increasing, some speculated that the indoor and outdoor temperatures might gradually balance out, and thus, instead of staying in the cramped Companion Spiritual Treasure, hiding in spacious villas might be better.

But they weren't foolish because of their past experiences. So, this time, before preparing to go out, they still used a wooden stick to test.

However, the moment they stretched the wooden stick outside the cabin door, the front end of the stick that extended outside instantly carbonized and then turned to ash in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this situation, the people standing by the door were startled, only then realizing the terrifying and dangerous scenario outside.

Compared to the somewhat hot indoor temperature at the time, the terrifying scenario outside indeed gave them a chill, instantly extinguishing the thought of leaving the Companion Spiritual Treasure.

Yet, as time passed, the temperature inside the Companion Spiritual Treasure continued to rise. Even though most people had become Martial Artists, possessing the capability to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, the gradually increasing temperature still made them sweat profusely.

At that time, the situation of adults who had attained Cultivation Levels and become Martial Artists was still manageable, given they not only had superior physical fitness, but also because continuously operating Inner Strength could alleviate the negative effects of high temperature on themselves.

But aside from these adults, there were also many children in the camp who hadn't started their cultivation yet. Although these children, born after inheriting much stronger physical qualities than those born before the Natural Disasters, had inherent benefits, they were still just ordinary children, their physical fitness not even comparable to an average untrained adult.

Therefore, without external help, these children would definitely suffer heatstroke or even fall unconscious and die if they stayed in this high-temperature environment for long.

Fortunately, Inner Strength could relieve or even eliminate the external impact for them, but it required their parents to continuously input their own Inner Strength into their bodies.

However, for most people, if they input their Inner Strength into their own children's bodies, then they wouldn't be able to operate Inner Strength to disperse their own heat as without exception apart from a few talents capable of multitasking, most ordinary people could only choose to protect one at the expense of the other.

If this situation were in a foreign country, most people would probably choose to protect themselves first, as purely based on cost-effectiveness, prioritizing personal safety would definitely offer the highest return.

After all, if they prioritized protecting children, unless they were exhausted, they wouldn't stop meditating to restore Inner Strength, and during this process, they'd lack any personal safety net. If an accident occurred, they and the children they protected would both risk falling into danger.

But if they just used Inner Strength to protect themselves, firstly, because they used their own Inner Strength, the consumption would definitely be much lower than protecting others, and secondly, since they used Inner Strength to protect themselves, they could directly resist through meditation practices.

If they only ensured their own safety, with no external forces intervening, the likelihood of an accident occurring would be minimized.

But this was China, and currently, most adults with children had been taught before the Natural Disasters, thus they highly valued kinship and blood relations.

Like the story once told in books where, faced with severe cold in the wilderness, nomadic tribes would give all the warm clothing to the young and able-bodied adults in the group, then have them hide in the center of the group, with women and children in the middle, and the elderly on the outer edge.

Thus, even if casualties occurred, it would most likely be the seniors, who contributed the least, maximizing the safety of the young and able-bodied adults in the group.

Although this approach might seem somewhat unethical in Chinese eyes, if looked at purely from a benefit perspective, it indeed maximized benefits, as compared to the elderly, who could neither lift nor carry, young adults surviving would contribute much more, whether in hunting or in warfare.

And, if casualties occurred during the Natural Disaster, they would also strip the dead of their clothes and all usable items from the bodies, as, to them, the dead couldn't be brought back to life; the living were the most important.

And for the Chinese trained in traditional education, if confronted with such situations, most would instinctively choose to protect the elderly and the children in the center, and the young adults would position themselves on the outside, as since ancient times, traditional education had taught everyone what righteousness, propriety, integrity, and honor meant.