Cave Refuge

Only after the figures of Ward and his companions had completely disappeared did Dong Tianyu return to the Refuge Center, contemplating his next course of action.

The officials had now taken residence in an office building, so his parents' security was not a concern. The Command Center was upstairs, so even if some people harbored malicious intentions, their actions would be limited.

Thus, Dong Tianyu didn't have to worry about his parents for now. The main issue now was that his Refuge Center had been exposed.

In his past life, Dong Tianyu had always hidden in residential buildings with his parents until the floodwaters receded. Hence, he did not have much information about the outside world and had no idea which power had taken control of the Nameless Mountain.

However, now that he had shown his force with firearms, he hoped the enemy would think twice before courting disaster.

After returning, Ward reported his experiences in detail to his leader. Upon hearing Ward's account, the latter tapped his fingers on the table anxiously, like galloping horses.

"The opposing party actually carries handguns, and not just one, but two at that. From what I gather, there are even more formidable weapons inside the cave."

"Yes, boss."

"The iron door at the entrance of the cave is quite thick. You suspect it is solid iron?"

"Yes, the three of us tried for a long time but failed to open it."

"Tap-tap-tap."

"Tap-tap-tap."

The tapping resumed, and Ward's boss fell silent for a good while: "Don't worry about the rest of it. According to you, the Refuge must have been built prior to the onset of the flood, perhaps even before the Cold Catastrophe.

I remember there seems to be a penetrating cave in Nameless Mountain. The Refuge Center was likely built by modifying that cave.

It's a good location, but…

Maybe I'm getting old. Ward, forget about that place. Arrange for our men to find a suitable residential building instead."

Upon hearing his leader's decision, Ward totally agreed. Although the disaster had arrived, aside from the decline in food quality, his overall lifestyle was more carefree than before.

Once Ward had left, the elderly man at the head of the table, his right hand forming a fist, knocked the table lightly a few times.

"Enough is enough. We should stay low-key during these times."

Inside the Refuge Center, Dong Tianyu had no idea he had successfully intimidated a group with his dual pistols.

Now secluded inside his Cave mansion, he was considering combat strategies for the first time.

However, after long thought, aside from having greater strength and the ability to use Spirit Power to wield Magic Artifacts, a person in the Qi Training stage doesn't surpass ordinary people much in terms of overall physical aptitude.

Although a cultivator at the Qi Training stage could possibly disregard bullets from small caliber guns, they would still get injured or die if hit by large caliber firearms.

At this stage, using firearms is still the most convenient way. And now for the source of Dong Tianyu's firearms, that brings us to the Harbor guard's weapon arsenal.

They do have rifles, but only five in a cabinet. Speaking of bullets, there aren't many either—just a few boxes. After one battle, they could very well be all gone. But as a means to intimidate, they can still be used multiple times.

Actually, Dong Tianyu always had a secret weapon: a growing power. Although this ability requires a specific range for release, it can still be used freely in the Pengcheng region.

This ability involves discharging objects from the Shadow Space in mid-air—a direct application of the crushing force of a mountain.

The power of this ability depends on the weight of the objects taken out, and the cooldown time is very short, hence it can be used indefinitely.

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The flood had ravaged the area for more than half a month, and the majority of survivors had run out of food. However, once more, the officials began distributing food.

The situation was dire. When the flood hit Pengcheng, the officials had not been prepared, leading to the granary that stored food getting swamped by the waters.

Although the granary was effectively sealed, it had been soaked in water for a long time, and the seal gradually gave way as it had been designed to withstand rain, not flooding.

It was for this reason that the officials decided to send men under the water to open the grain stores and remove all the food.

The whole recovery process was tedious. The food that was recovered was completely soaked, and given the rainy weather, it was difficult to dry, so the majority of it could not be stored for long.

Because of this, the officials decided to distribute the spoilt grain, allowing the survivors to have a full meal in the short-term.

The Mountain Range growing plan was proposed yet again, but to implement this plan meant relocating survivors who had finally settled on the mountain once again.

Never mind whether the survivors would agree, let's say that they do agree: the resettlement plan still could not be finalized.

The only places where one could live now were high-rise buildings such as residential and office towers that have avoided the water, and mountains near Pengcheng.

If the growing plan was restarted, it would no doubt encroach on the remaining living space of the survivors, forcing them back into the residential buildings.

Furthermore, before they migrated to the mountains, these survivors lived as individual households. After returning, they might have to reside with others, which would be a hard pill to swallow.

After all, they followed your guidance, abandoned their homes, and moved to the mountains, and after settling down, you now want them to move back. Furthermore, their original independent residential spaces, after all the hassle, would now have to be shared with others.

Should such a thing happen, the credibility of the officials would hit rock bottom.

So, the option of repatriation, which seemed the most cost-effective on the surface, was not even brought up by the policymakers in the Command Center.

Since the Cold Catastrophe, agricultural production in Da Xia, let alone Pengcheng, has essentially halted. Although mushroom cultivation techniques were gradually becoming sophisticated, mushrooms could never replace grains as the staple food.

While the flood damage was less lethal than the Cold Catastrophe, its destructive power was far greater.

With each bundle of grain retrieved and brought to the surface by professional divers.

Transport ships on the water surface had been prepared for a long time, and the boatmen aboard skillfully loaded the grain. Once a boat reached its carrying capacity, it would be sent to the Command Centers in various large districts of Pengcheng.

The remaining distribution tasks were then handed over to the respective Command Centers.

The officials' timing was impeccable; the majority of survivors were running out of food. If it were any later, a large number of survivors would have died of starvation.

Had the grain been delivered a few days earlier, although the survivors would have started to starve, their strength was still relatively abundant. Seeing a boatload of grain could have prompted them to seize the ship and steal the grain.

Because of the issue of spoilage due to soaking, the officials had distributed a substantial amount of food. People could survive for more than a month with prudent consumption.

However, because the grain had been soaked in water, if it wasn't processed quickly, it would spoil within a few days.

The officials' actions were actually justified, as mass processing of the grain would be difficult without the aid of machinery.

But for the survivors, apart from the tedious work, there were not many other restrictions on the processing and distribution of the grain given by the officials.