Cave Refuge

However, now that Mr. Thompson had proactively brought up the idea, Zachary no longer needed to go to great lengths to get his parents to follow his arrangements, so he didn't hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement to the proposal.

Seeing the father and son both planning according to her thoughts, Mrs. Thompson didn't need to make the suggestion herself. At this moment, all she needed to do was nod her head in approval.

Since all three of them agreed to Mr. Thompson's proposal, the next thing to discuss was when to move away from the camp and whether they needed to contact Madeline again to inform her of their decision before leaving.

In Mr. Thompson's view, choosing to move away from the camp to settle in a base established by the Imperial Court was akin to indirectly admitting that the camp they had built was far inferior to the base established by the Imperial Court.

This actually meant betraying the friendship between men. Mr. Thompson was very clear in his heart that although he was sent to the Staff Department, the retirement department, by Madeline, leveraging the relationship between the two families, if his son Zachary stayed in the camp without going out and causing trouble as before,

then, in fact, Zachary would become one of the top management of the camp, just as he was when the Saxon County Camp was first established.

In fact, Mr. Thompson was also aware that the current top management in the camp was mostly peers not much older than Zachary and Madeline.

If he entered the management, due to the relationship and age factor between the two families, no matter what position Madeline arranged for him, Mr. Thompson could actually become someone who commands without being commanded. That's why Madeline decisively sent the older generation straight to the very important Staff Department ahead of the Natural Disaster.

It was because Mr. Thompson had thought through these things that when leaving, he wanted to say farewell to Master Ye and did not wish to disappear suddenly without saying goodbye.

But Mrs. Thompson's thoughts were entirely opposite of Mr. Thompson's because although Mr. Thompson was sent directly to the retirement department, the Staff Department, when the camp was established, at the beginning, Mr. Thompson and the other peers did not understand the actual significance of the Staff Department.

So, the predecessors with rich camp establishment experience really did work their hearts out under the leadership of Master Ye to lay a solid foundation for the camp.

But after the camp was initially built and began to move on the right track, after a series of events, the elders in the Staff Department gradually realized that their status was greatly different from what they had understood.

After experiencing some events, they began to understand that the Staff Department they were in actually held no power and was, in fact, just a retirement department.

Once Mr. Thompson realized this, he initially questioned it as they had indeed put in a lot of effort when the camp was first established, but a succession of events after the camp's successful establishment told them that the green light during their work was not because of their status as advisers, but because it was overseen by Master Ye, the camp owner's father.

When the camp's initial establishment was completed and Master Ye gradually began to retire, the work process of the Staff Department, which used to be smooth sailing, now also had to queue up and go through the approval process.

Because of such a disparity, most of the people in the Staff Department, where Mr. Thompson was, ended up resigning in disappointment.

Also, due to the camp giving out such a 'kill the donkey once it leaves the millstone' treatment, Mrs. Thompson felt that if they really chose to leave, it would be best for them to leave quietly without informing anyone. At worst, they could notify by phone once they were settled in the base established by the Imperial Court.

Mr. Thompson's choice was actually to fully trust his friend; even if they chose to separate, everyone would part on good terms without hard feelings.

Mrs. Thompson's choice was even safer, although it might hurt some feelings, it wouldn't really lead to a complete fallout. Therefore, if they went with Mrs. Thompson's plan, the safety aspect would be highly secured, but due to their unannounced departure, some estrangement between both parties was certainly possible.

The two plans could, in a simpler comparison, be seen like this: Mr. Thompson's method prioritized maintaining relationships but introduced some unnecessary risks.

The Thompson Family was only three people strong, and such a grand departure would lead to many superficially warm farewells, yet behind the scenes, some would certainly view them as Treasure Delivery Boys, ripe for the picking. Once the news of their leaving the Saxon County Camp spread, it's likely that many scavengers would see them as easy targets.

While Dong Tianyu did not have to worry about such problems, it was still best to avoid unnecessary conflicts and reduce troubles where possible.

The plan proposed by Mrs. Thompson had already reached the limit concerning safety, especially since the Thompson Family was small, and they had carefully stored any valuables in the Storage Space. At any time and place, the Thompson Family of three could confidently declare, "We can leave whenever we wish."

It was precisely because of this ability to disappear at any moment that they could effectively move to a safe area before others could react, settling into some urban district by the time anyone noticed their absence.

Both felt their own ideas were correct, but this time, Dong Tianyu supported his mother's suggestion, much like the principle of life stating you never "test the limits of others."

Or, like the philosophy circulated on the internet, when you test the sturdiness of a table, it suggests that no matter how solid it may be, it's ultimately destined to fall apart.

For this reason, Dong Tianyu did not wish to entrust the safety and wellbeing of his small family to others, not even to friends like Madeline with whom he shared a bond close to life and death.

Once the vote ended and Mr. Thompson saw that Dong Tianyu chose Mrs. Thompson's plan, Mr. Thompson said no more. Although Mrs. Thompson's plan didn't quite fit his personality, at this time, everything needed to prioritize their own survival. Only by living long enough could one reap the fruits they desired.

The most famous case was undoubtedly Simon Smith, who outlasted three generations of the Carson family, and eventually, well into his seventies, completely devoured the Carter empire.

Simon Smith's accomplishment of a snake swallowing an elephant was not because of his exceptional talent or the backing of Gate Valve Force, but because he outlived everyone.

This was similar to the Mountain of Mind and Heart in "Journey to the West," where the Monkey King learned his skills. Before Monkey King became his disciple, the Mountain of Mind and Heart had existed for an untold time. The master Bodhi, who could teach all the skills of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, made one wonder why the other disciples there fell into obscurity.

The answer was simple: during the transmission of the Cultivation Technique, Bodhi did not actively teach the Immortal Technique. When initially asking Monkey King which Divine Abilities he wished to learn, Bodhi listed various Techniques from all three traditions, but the taught Cultivation Technique did not grant the actual trial of immortality.

Continuing this logic, the reason why the Mountain of Mind and Heart fell into obscurity during the Journey to the West, aside from all external factors, was probably that:

Those disciples at the Mountain of Mind and Heart did not possess the ability of eternal life through their cultivation, so when Monkey King was trapped under Five-Finger Mountain for five hundred years, leading to Bodhi's departure upon completing his mission, and since those disciples didn't learn the way of immortality,

By the time Monkey King was freed from Five-Finger Mountain, all of his fellow disciples who trained with him at the Mountain of Mind and Heart had died of old age due to not practicing the Immortal Technique. That's why, when Dong Tianyu returned to the Mountain of Mind and Heart, he found the once thriving institution now desolate.