Cave Refuge-Chapter 153 - 152: Human or Ghost_1

Despite its poor quality, the water of Dragon Lake was still drinkable after multiple filtrations, as it was, after all, a freshwater lake.

With the survivors constantly drawing water, the lake’s water level was rapidly declining. Aquatic creatures gradually surfaced, making it easier for the survivors to catch them.

The various fish in the lake were certainly the first to be caught. Now that all superficial creatures had been taken, only the clams living in the mud remained in the lake.

Due to the high outdoor temperature, prolonged skin exposure could cause sunburns. Therefore, the survivors in the lake, like wild boars in the wilderness, had thick layers of mud on their bodies to prevent sunburn when clamming.

Since Dragon Lake hadn’t been drained in a while, the clams in the lake’s mud were quite large. Dong Tianyu observed for a while and noticed that the largest clam had a diameter of more than half a meter.

However, despite being covered in wet mud, the intense heat still caused the survivors working in the lake to slightly dehydrate. They needed to keep drinking water to prevent heatstroke.

As noon approached and the temperature kept rising, the survivors working in the lake stopped their tasks and began to drag their heavy sacks towards the shore.

Some might question why they didn’t go clamming at night when the temperatures were more comfortable.

However, they didn’t take into account that due to the electromagnetic pulse, all external electronic devices were damaged, including the machine that controlled the light-switching. The current power station hadn’t completely recovered yet, and the Refuge Center was still relying on biogas for power.

Although the night was cool, working in the mud without illumination was very dangerous. Therefore, the survivors could only go clamming early in the morning when the sky was slightly bright.

Dong Tianyu had initially thought that the survivors at the bottom of the lake would come straight ashore, but surprisingly, they disappeared when they approached the shore.

Driven by curiosity, Dong Tianyu went to the shore and after a detailed search, he discovered a tunnel on the side of the lake. The survivors who worked in the lake entered the Refuge Center through this tunnel.

Just as Dong Tianyu was about to leave, he suddenly heard a voice calling out to him, "Hey buddy, what are you thinking? Come inside quickly, don’t get sunstroke."

He scanned with Divine Sense and found the source of the voice was from the entrance of the tunnel. Someone was watching him from the bank using something similar to a periscope.

Upon being called, Dong Tianyu didn’t want to cause trouble and planned to leave directly. However, seeing him stand unmoved, the person in the tunnel thought Dong Tianyu might have suffered heatstroke and hence, had no reaction.

Therefore, he hastily darted out of the tunnel, pulled Dong Tianyu away from the lakeshore, and quickly brought him into the tunnel.

Once they entered the tunnel, the man immediately took out an ice bag from a Styrofoam box inside the tunnel and placed it directly on Dong Tianyu’s head.

"You might have heatstroke. Cool down with this ice pack first. We don’t have any medicine, I hope it’s not serious."

After finishing, he held up Dong Tianyu’s hand to allow him to hold the ice bag on his head himself. Then, he helped Dong Tianyu further into the tunnel.

Picking up on the man’s good intentions, Dong Tianyu allowed himself to be led, waiting to see what would happen next.

The tunnel was very long and after a while, Dong Tianyu was led into a room.

"Rest here, while I’m going to get the doctor to check on you." The man didn’t wait for Dong Tianyu’s response and left the room.

Seeing the man’s anxiousness, Dong Tianyu felt his sincerity and started contemplating to leave him some supplies when he left. Meanwhile, he turned off the thermal regulation effect of his Magic Artifact, so he wouldn’t give himself away when examined later.

Not long after, the man returned with a middle-aged man of Mongoloid ethnicity, "Doctor Zuo, could you please check him out? He was standing motionless outside, I’m not sure if it’s heatstroke."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Zuo immediately started taking Dong Tianyu’s pulse, however, as time went by, Doctor Zuo’s expression became increasingly puzzled.

"Hugo, are you trying to prank me? He’s healthier than you are. His pulse indicates no signs of heatstroke. In fact, he’s in excellent health."

Upon hearing Doctor Zuo’s words, Hugo immediately retorted, "That’s impossible! You know it’s my turn to keep watch today and I saw him standing still on the shore through the periscope. I called out to him several times, but he didn’t respond.

That’s why I thought he had heatstroke and rushed out to pull him inside. I then applied an ice pack to him and brought him here for you to examine. Just look, my arms are sunburned from when I went outside to pull him in!"

Saying this, Hugo stretched out his arms, the skin on his forearms being so red that it looked as if it had been scalded.

However, as Hugo stretched out his arms, both he and Doctor Zuo felt something was amiss. They couldn’t put their finger on what was wrong until they looked at the arm Doctor Zuo was examining.

Subconsciously, Hugo brought out his sunburnt arm for comparison. One arm was red, while the other was abnormally fair and smooth.

Given the prolonged period of disaster, most people couldn’t afford to think about skincare. Even cleaning products were a luxury to them.

Most people’s skin had become extremely rough. Although some people naturally had nice skin, in these harsh conditions, neglecting care or cleanliness would make even the best skin deteriorate.

Considering Dong Tianyu’s skin, even before the disaster, it would have been considered abnormally perfect.

Both Doctor Zuo and Hugo shuddered as they noticed Dong Tianyu’s skin, so smooth and fair it was practically baby-like. The shivers were an unusual sensation, considering they hadn’t felt cold since the temperature had risen.

Observing their drastic change in demeanor, Dong Tianyu pulled his arm away from Doctor Zuo.

"I....."

Before he could finish, both Hugo and Doctor Zuo, as if coordinated, jumped away from Dong Tianyu, looking at him with apprehension.

Gathering his courage, Hugo asked Dong Tianyu, "Are you human or a ghost?"

Upon hearing Hugo’s question, Dong Tianyu couldn’t help but feel helpless. When Hugo and Doctor Zuo jumped away from him, Dong Tianyu had considered several possible reactions, but Hugo’s current response was not one of them.

Seeing their reactions, Dong Tianyu wondered if they thought he was a ghost?