Cave Refuge

When Dong Tianyu entered the city, others also saw him and cast envious glances at the pedal boat he was on. Many people shouted from a distance, trying to attract Dong Tianyu's attention.

Dong Tianyu was well aware of what these people were thinking. Everyone was eyeing his pedal boat because of its practicality.

The less greedy ones might just want a ride, hoping that Dong Tianyu could take them to their specified locations.

The more ambitious ones wanted to obtain Dong Tianyu's pedal boat by either pressure or persuasion.

Navigating on water is much different than on land. Without the proper rowing technique, even if one had oars, it would be hard for ordinary people to navigate freely.

However, the pedal boat, which operates similarly to a bicycle, is familiar to most people. Therefore, most people can navigate freely in water using a pedal boat.

After hearing their shouts, Dong Tianyu ignored them. Even when some claimed to be stranded due to exhaustion, Dong Tianyu had no intention of helping.

Those survivors floating on various makeshift waterborne objects were generally the ones who were unwilling to enter the official refuge center and chose to stay in private rooms instead.

Even though they were reluctant to enter the refuge center, if they had simply stayed at home, besides enduring hunger, they wouldn't be exhausted and adrift like they are now.

So, the dangers they are now facing are entirely self-inflicted.

In addition to those survivors venturing out independently for food, Dong Tianyu also saw rescue boats dispatched by the officials, which were loaded with survivors and had clearly defined rescue targets.

These rescue boats either had empty cargo holds and were heading for a specific area, or were fully loaded with survivors leaving a particular area. They had ignored survivors using various buoyant objects to float in the water.

Even when they saw a survivor calling for help after capsizing, they ignored them and sailed away.

At first, Dong Tianyu thought those rescue boats were a bit cold-blooded, but he understood their perspective. So, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to go to the rescue.

The distressed survivor, perhaps thinking the rescue boat had left, or no one was coming for a long time, suddenly changed her panicked demeanor and deftly climbed onto a floating platform nearby.

It was then that Dong Tianyu realized that the previous fall into the water was just a drama staged by the survivor.

After the woman climbed onto the floating platform and saw the astonishment in Dong Tianyu's eyes, she immediately regretted not acting more convincingly. She thought Dong Tianyu might have come to her 'rescue' if she had.

Dong Tianyu paid no attention to the changing expressions on the woman's face. He marched on his pedal boat, aiming directly for the office building where his parents were located.

The flood had submerged all the brightly lit buildings below. The rooftops protruding from the water resembled bamboo shoots casually stuck in a pond. Looking down on Pengcheng from the air, these buildings were scattered around at a considerable distance.

Fortunately, even as the water level rose and submerged the original streets, Dong Tianyu could still determine his location based on the appearance of the exposed buildings.

A journey that would have taken only ten minutes by car, even without traffic, now took Dong Tianyu, who had already reached the ninth energy level, a whole morning to reach his parents' office by boat.

Of course, this included the time Dong Tianyu spent observing the other survivors and the rescue boats when he first entered the city.

When Dong Tianyu arrived at the office building, he discovered several big ships that were usually rarely seen moored nearby. The glass on one side of the office building had been shattered, serving as an entrance and exit to the office building.

Many small boats were continuously shuttling between the office building and the big ships, apparently transporting something.

Although Dong Tianyu guessed that it should be the officials preparing to occupy the office building as an office area, he was very curious about their operation. They had a large ship that could unload directly next to the office building, so why use small boats for transportation?

Before Dong Tianyu could row over, the people on the big ship spotted him. A small boat with three people on board approached Dong Tianyu's position.

Seeing the small boat approach, Dong Tianyu paused and didn't continue to approach the office building.

Noting Dong Tianyu's tactful response, the crew on the boat relaxed and the youngest-looking one began to speak after their boat drew alongside Dong Tianyu's boat:

"Brother, I guess you made this contraption yourself, right? Although it looks a bit crude, it's quite useful for solo trips. If it's not too much trouble, could you make one for me?"

For the praise, Dong Tianyu just smiled and replied: "I don't think you came all the way here just for this. This thing is very simple. You could understand it by just taking a look. If you really want me to make one for you, that's fine. You provide the materials, and for the labor fee, just some good meals will do."

The pedal boat's operation is indeed straightforward, so the man felt Dong Tianyu's offer was quite reasonable. In these times, simply getting a full meal is the most crucial thing. Money is quite useless now.

"No problem, come with me later. With your skills, not only will we provide you with several full meals, but also ensure that you have enough to eat every day.

By the way, why are you going to the office building? Are you planning to move in?"

The young man made small talk and finally asked the reason for his visit.

"My parents live there. Isn't it normal for me to visit my parents at the office building?"

Dong Tianyu's answer surprised not only the young man but also the other two on the boat.

They knew that the leaders of West City District had argued over several rounds in yesterday's meeting before finally deciding to use Jade Dragon Mountain as a survivor settlement. The office staff were evacuated from Jade Dragon Mountain and relocated to the office building for work.

There were many office buildings nearby, and the one originally selected as the administrative area wasn't this one. But this was only recognized after a morning of relocation and a practical evaluation had led to an hurried move.

When they chose this office building, they had inspected it carefully. The exterior was intact, with no visible entrances or exits or any sign of windows being opened near the water surface.

But now Dong Tianyu claimed that his parents lived in the office building, which came as quite a surprise.