Cave Refuge

Although the pedalo had low value for Dong Tianyu, it was an indispensable item at this moment. Without a boat, they surely couldn't swim in the water.

Using his amazing memory, Dong Tianyu found one of the staff members on the first floor, from whom he had received assistance the other day.

"Hey, buddy, do you know where the pedal boat that used to be in a corner has been moved to?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu's question, the other person put down what they had been holding, looked up at Dong Tianyu, and then remembered who he was.

After all, they had met a few days prior, and Dong Tianyu had single-handedly pulled the boat up from the water. After Dong Tianyu left that day, a few of them had tried to do the same out of curiosity.

Although each of them could also lift the boat individually, it was very strenuous and didn't seem easy like when Dong Tianyu did it. Therefore, they still had quite an impression of Dong Tianyu.

"You mean the pedalo. It had to be moved to the water because we're transforming this place. But don't worry, when the pier is built, the boat will be moored there," he reassured Dong Tianyu.

Dong Tianyu looked in the direction the man pointed at. All the glass on this floor had been shattered, and in that direction were moored several small boats.

Dong Tianyu casually took a cigarette pack from his pocket, seeing that there were only three cigarettes left, and casually handed them all to the man.

The man, who originally did not want to accept anything, paused before accepting the cigarettes after seeing them. He wanted to take only one and return the rest, but seeing that there were only three left, he carefully put the cigarette box in his pocket.

"I'll accompany you. They have guards over there and they won't let you take the boat without proof," he said.

This reminder was out of kindness, not because of the cigarettes in his pocket. He believes in this, whether others do or not.

As they walked over, they introduced themselves. The other man had an extremely domineering name, the same surname as the Dragon Clan in mythology, but his given name was pretty common.

The person who gave him the name was very talented and understood the doctrine of moderation in Daxia's culture.

This was not only Dong Tianyu's opinion but what Dexter himself said.

Under Dexter's lead, they didn't directly retrieve the boat but went to a place to register first.

The pedalo was registered to Dong Tianyu under Dexter's proof.

They thought there would be some kind of boat tax, but there was none. They only needed to register.

Dong Tianyu finally understood why Dexter made him register first when the staff member led them to the boat.

Seeing the staff member about to untie the boat, Dong Tianyu quickly stopped them.

To the surprise of the staff member, Dong Tianyu directly pulled the pedalo up, took out gears and chains from his backpack, used a tool to secure them, and then pushed the pedalo into the water.

Watching Dong Tianyu's smooth movements, the staff member also truly believed that the pedalo was Dong Tianyu's.

Dong Tianyu, now seated in the pedalo, waved goodbye to the two men. Amid other people's envious gazes, he pedaled the boat away.

Compared to when he was coming, there were now fewer survivors floating on the water with lifeboats. Occasionally, a few looked as though they couldn't hold on any longer.

At this time, the rescue boats arranged by the officials no longer ignored the survivors on the water. When they saw very weak survivors, they would approach and provide aid.

This made Dong Tianyu feel that the flood was not a huge problem for Pengcheng.

Regardless of whether it was the virus or the electromagnetic pulse, or even the ice age, he didn't know about the situation in other cities of Daxia, but Pengcheng was always under the control of the officials.

Dong Tianyu's Private Sanctuary, which he thought was his own, sprang up rapidly like bamboo shoots after rain following the onset of the flood.

Ordinary people's Private Sanctuaries were typically transformed from their own high-rise buildings. These people had some status in the officialdom, and they could get supplies from official channels.

Instead of calling it a private sanctuary, it would be more accurate to call it an outer courtyard; everyone knows what it's actually used for.

Others, like Dong Tianyu, occupied a certain area and converted it into a sanctuary. These sanctuaries, whether located on a hilltop or in a skyscraper, all had their own survival methods and were not heavily reliant on the supplies distributed by the officials.

However, in return, these sanctuaries had a high degree of autonomy, similar to feudal times.

While the officials were aware, knowing they were not reliant on official supplies, they turned a blind eye and nothing more was talked about.

At this time, however, someone had set their sights on the Nameless Mountain, where Dong Tianyu's sanctuary was located.

There were only a few peaks in the Pengcheng urban area, which had been transformed into central sanctuaries by the officials. Those who wanted to establish independent sanctuaries were not left with many options.

To take over a building, they first had to drive out all the survivors inside.

At first, because the officials hadn't distributed supplies, they could coax the people to leave for the centralized sanctuaries built by officials on the mountain range with just a bit of food.

However, with the centralized sanctuaries also becoming overpopulated and the officials starting to distribute relief supplies to the survivors remaining in the high-rises, moving survivors became more difficult.

At the beginning, when there were only one or two households in a building unwilling to relocate, the situation was manageable. But when the officials began distributing relief supplies and sixty to seventy percent of a building's occupants were unwilling to move, it became troublesome.

Unable to take over the high-rises in the city, they turned their attention to the peaks outside the city.

The terrain in the east and south of Pengcheng was relatively flat, without any tall mountains. The northern area was originally hilly, but due to quarrying, it had mostly turned into plains.

Now in the whole Pengcheng, the only peaks within a hundred meters above sea level and nearest to the city center are the Nameless Mountain where Dong Tianyu is located, and the Swallow Mountain and Spring Mountain in the West District.

These three peaks are not far from the city center. Swallow Mountain already had residential buildings built at the foot of the mountain, and it also had transformed underground sanctuaries, so it was naturally designated as a central sanctuary by the officials during the flood.

Unlike the Nameless Mountain, which was seldom visited, development on Spring Mountain was high. It was home to the largest aviary park in Pengcheng, as well as the only ski resort near the urban area (for skiing in winter and grass sliding in summer).

Besides, many private restaurants were set up on the other side of the mountain, within the forest.

In fact, Dong Tianyu was interested in this area as well. Compared to the towering Spring Mountain, the Nameless Mountain where his sanctuary is located now was just a small hill.

However, precisely because the Spring Mountain was highly developed, Dong Tianyu decided to give it up in order to avoid trouble. He ultimately chose Nameless Mountain.