Cave Refuge

So there is no need to pay attention to the casual advice given by elders during drinking or during normal conversations.

Of course, the current scenario where Mr. Thompson and Dong Tianyu sit opposite each other and talk is another situation. Although it is not a casual proposal, Mr. Thompson's purpose in suggesting this is not simply to wish his son to be successful, but rather to emulate Master Ye, who didn't handle any specific tasks in the camp but could still enjoy a special status by virtue of being the camp founder's father.

Frankly speaking, Mr. Thompson simply envies the special status Master Ye once displayed in the camp, like in the initial days of the camp when they worked in the Staff Department. After learning that the Staff Department had no real power, they found it very difficult to push forward any tasks, but whenever Master Ye intervened, even the most difficult tasks would become very simple and smooth.

Since Madeline is the actual controller of the camp, whatever Master Ye does there is taken seriously by all related personnel; not only does Mr. Thompson envy Master Ye's status in the camp, but other people in the Staff Department also feel envious.

However, unlike others who can only simply envy, Mr. Thompson is well aware that his son has both the capabilities and finances to establish his own forces. If it weren't for Dong Tianyu often being away, Mr. Thompson would have long prompted Dong Tianyu to establish his own camp.

The Thompson Family is not a Noble Clan or a literary family. Although their status gradually improved after the natural disaster, Mr. Thompson also began to cultivate himself, and his insights and views improved gradually, but ultimately, before the natural disaster, the Thompson Family was just an ordinary family among many, not lacking food or drink, and Mr. Thompson's initial perspective was naturally not very broad.

Additionally, Mr. Thompson has the personality of the older generation of men in Pengcheng, enjoying showing off and drinking. Whenever they have any ability or something else, they like to show it off during conversations.

Especially when drinking, they don't even need others to ask; they just like to take over as soon as a topic comes up.

Because Dong Tianyu knows his father's personality very well, he has never been honest with his parents about his Golden Finger, and for this reason, Dong Tianyu has also never let his parents live in the Cave.

After all, Dong Tianyu is not one to ruthlessly sever family ties, but he cannot bear the consequences of his father's boasting leading to the leaking of his own information.

At this time, once people know that Dong Tianyu owns a place like the Cave, a haven safe from natural disasters, Dong Tianyu would undoubtedly face countless malice.

Don't call Dong Tianyu unfilial, but he has already made up his mind that if an insurmountable disaster occurs, after sending his parents to the Cave, he will not let them out, just like the canaries that reside permanently in the Cave, seemingly living a peaceful life but essentially it's no different from imprisonment.

Dong Tianyu can now manage to keep those canaries like pets, but he inherently dislikes this seemingly stable life, and that's why he has been refusing to let his parents live in the Cave.

After all, if his parents stay outside, then they still have the right to choose, but once they are taken into the Cave, it would mean that they have lost the right to choose where they live.

No wonder transmigrators like to offer their parents to heaven after crossing over, as the Golden Finger obtained by most transmigrators is vital to their life. Don't even mention the survival difficulties faced without the Golden Finger, just letting other survivors know the function of the Golden Finger could endanger the transmigrator's safety.

And relationships with parents, the closest kin, are actually the hardest to handle. If it's a poor relationship like that between Li Jing and Nathan, it's okay since both sides loathe each other and can simply choose to not have any interactions until death. But it's difficult for someone like Dong Tianyu who has inseparable family ties.

Even if close relatives unintentionally make mistakes due to their personality that lead to tragic consequences, as the transmigrator in question, one cannot possibly adopt the approach of severing ties like Nathan.

So faced with an inquiry akin to Mr. Thompson's, the only action Zachary could take at the moment was to remain silent, which is also the reason why Zachary usually prefers not to live at home.

After all, having the Cave, Zachary is akin to the protagonist of a farming novel; by quietly staying in a corner, his strength would gradually grow immense over time.

However, just like most children living with their parents, the closer the people, the longer they live together, the easier it is for conflicts to arise. Although these conflicts are usually caused by trivial matters, they become troublesome if they cannot be resolved over a long period.

Although the space inside the carriage was fairly adequate, it was only this place that had tables and chairs. Seeing Mr. Thompson slightly angry and no longer speaking, Zachary did not continue sitting there but instead entered directly into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, Mrs. Thompson saw her son enter the cockpit and did not say much. Although she always sat in the co-pilot's position, with her accomplished cultivation, she naturally could hear the conversation between father and son in the carriage.

Although Mrs. Thompson seldom takes part in the conversations between father and son, she actually has a deep understanding of what both think. Just like the old saying goes, 'not blind, not deaf, does not interfere,' as long as it isn't excessive, she mostly adopts a non-interfering stance towards matters between father and son.

Seeing Zachary sitting somewhat silently in the pilot's seat, Mrs. Thompson did not say much. She then stood up and returned to the inside of the carriage, sitting beside Mr. Thompson and softly said, "Haven't you always said that our son has grown up?

After the Natural Disaster, he has experienced far more than us. As children grow up, they naturally have their own thoughts and judgments. Therefore, it's enough to remind him about some things, but ultimately, when it's time to make a decision, he must be the one to determine his course."

Regarding Mrs. Thompson's safety, Mr. Thompson didn't seem to completely absorb her words. After remaining silent for a long time, he seemed to come to a realization, sighed slowly, and said with some helplessness, "I'm old now, let him be."

Hearing Mr. Thompson say this, Mrs. Thompson understood that he had accepted her advice. As for their son, Mrs. Thompson knew she didn't need to go over and comfort him like how she did with Mr. Thompson now, because if judged by the scales of victory, Zachary had just been on the winning side, and winners do not need consolation.

As Mrs. Thompson thought, Zachary sitting in the pilot's seat wasn't dwelling on the previous conversation with his father. Regarding his father's idea of him establishing a power, Zachary simply put it out of his mind.

If it were before the Natural Disaster, perhaps establishing a power would be a way to secure one's privileges, but after the Natural Disaster, maintaining special privileges merely requires immense strength that common people cannot match.

This is why in some High Martial Fantasy or even Immortal Hero novels, any renowned Major Powers must have one or even several top-tier experts. And when these top-tier experts in those powers perish, those powers are either devoured by other forces or rapidly disintegrate due to internal strife.

Just like Zachary now, possessing the Cave, he could also emulate Madeline by leveraging abundant resources to establish a private territory, and even more so, due to Madeline having a stable food source, establish a stronghold with enhanced disaster resilience.