Cave Refuge

Upon hearing that the Alliance had seized the western side of Nameless Mountain without causing conflict with Dong Tianyu, the other two forces also began sending people for probing.

After several days of probing, they found no traces of activity on the mountain in the directions chosen by their climbers.

Even when they ascended to the mountaintop, they encountered no one besides the survivors who had reclaimed and planted corn, according to the rumor about a gun-wielding survivor who had occupied Nameless Mountain.

But considering the intelligence they got from Ward, that the survivor might have only established the Refuge Center on the north side of the mountain, they figured as long as they didn't approach the north side, conflicts should be temporarily avoidable.

The plans of the other two groups initially consisted of merely constructing accommodations within their delineated areas at that time. There was no intention to contact Dong Tianyu on the north side.

Truth be told, the accommodations built on the mountain at this time were certainly not as comfortable as the original rooms in residential buildings.

That was an inevitable situation. Makeshift dwellings built in the wild could hardly offer the comfort of a well-furnished house.

Although the Cold Catastrophe had eradicated the pests and reptiles, living conditions remained poor. Despite their best efforts, the constructed houses barely met the standards of sheltering from the wind and rain.

At this point, all the construction materials they had used before were drowned by the flood. Even when constructing houses, they had to rely on mortise and tenon structures, using nearby felled timber as materials.

Houses built with such material that did not leak rainwater were already worth praising the craftsmanship.

Constructing houses with this unseasoned timber did not provide a large interior space, and these houses had a short lifespan.

However, that wasn't a big issue. Except for the group that eagerly ascended the mountain to plant crops on the west side, the other groups seized Nameless Mountain to secure a backup plan.

After all, having experienced the Cold Catastrophe and the city being submerged by floodwaters, who knew what might happen next.

Despite the comfort of living in residential buildings, they were indeed drifters without roots. Living in such buildings was not secure, be it rises in the water level or potential earthquakes.

Moreover, everyone had a grasp of the current quality of residential buildings. If the floodwaters remained and flooded areas for extended durations, causing issues, they would have to seek an alternative path.

Thus, they decided to occupy Nameless Mountain before others took notice.

They were not greedy, not expecting one group to fully occupy Nameless Mountain. Instead, they united several forces to seize Nameless Mountain together.

Although Ward's group gave up the north side due to Dong Tianyu, they viewed it as Dong Tianyu occupying it. Hence, the other three groups, though they hadn't made contact with Dong Tianyu, divided Nameless Mountain into four parts as initially agreed, each occupying a piece.

Just like that, without Dong Tianyu noticing, he gained three new neighbors.

The three neighbors were friendly at the moment. One was engrossed in farming while the other two built some structures near the mountaintop and left some people behind but didn't pay too much attention to this place.

Sometimes, when lone men tried to climb the mountain, they would be restrained by people from the three forces patrolling at the foot of the mountain.

Initially, they only patrolled within their respective areas, but some survivors would try to ascend the mountain from the north side. Though some were lucky enough to reach the platform and arrive at the entrance of the cave mansion, they couldn't open the solid gate of the mansion and had to leave reluctantly.

After leaving the mansion, most chose to continue climbing the mountain, typically encountering members of the other three forces and being detained by the ferocious people staying here as laborers, or being robbed clean before being driven away.

The members of the three forces learned the location of Dong Tianyu's mansion through descriptions from some survivors and also sent people to the gate to investigate the situation.

However, Dong Tianyu only left the mansion once every few days for relaxation, and he never spent much time outside due to the constant rainy weather, hence, he never encountered anyone else.

Those three force leaders, after being updated by their subordinates and understanding that the survivor equipped with weapons as described by Ward was rather solitary and hardly left the house, directly ordered their subordinates to be in charge of patrolling the north side as well to prevent others from ascension.

Dong Tianyu, who was staying in the Refuge Center, was unaware of all these.

Actually, those three forces also wanted to communicate with Dong Tianyu, but the thick gate of the mansion separated it from the outside world.

Based on the current situation, human force should be unable to open the solid gate at the entrance of the Refuge Center.

Dong Tianyu, who stayed in the Refuge Center, hadn't gone out for quite a long time.

So, what exactly was Dong Tianyu, who had been staying in the mansion without going out, doing?

The truth was, after encountering Ward at the entrance of the mansion, he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep a low profile much longer. Outsiders would definitely enter the mansion eventually. How was he going to explain all the things inside the mansion?

The houses inside the mansion needed no explanation, it was merely a residence. The craftsmanship was good because he was affluent.

The same goes for the automated planting machines and small livestock breeding equipment. It proved his wealth, and the electricity could be explained by a generator.

The bamboo-built Hall of Longevity didn't need to be explained to others.

The explanation for the Spiritual Spring was also acceptable – there were underground water sources in the mountain, and the spring water gushed out.

But how to explain the hundred fruits to outsiders? Grafted? Don't you see among the four fruits, only apples grow on trees, the other three kinds don't grow on books?

Thus, Dong Tianyu was brainstorming about how to host people if they were to come. He couldn't possibly reject everyone at the door, right?

If he did that, it would definitely arouse suspicion. Once others' curiosity was piqued, it would become more troublesome.

But Dong Tianyu was only at the ninth stage of Qi training, and though he had some Spirit Power, it was not much. Considering he had only practised the method and had not learned any spells, he didn't need to worry about the mystical aspect.

Discarding the mystical aspect, there were not many options left.

After much hesitation, he finally came up with a method that wasn't exactly a method.

If other people were to come in, he couldn't hide the things in the Refuge Center. Then it's simple, just don't let them in.

As for hospitality, he would just build a house outside and claim that the mountain cave was his storage warehouse.

If anyone insisted on entering, there was no need for courtesy, as those who wanted to forcefully enter definitely did not harbor good intentions.