Cave Refuge-Chapter 198 - 197: Li Minghao Passing the Buck _1

Rather than living like animals in a zoo, desperate and alone in the cave mansion, it’s better to be free and at ease in the official Refuge Center.

Parents and children don’t really have endless topics to talk about. Plus, because of various events, Dong Tianyu can’t chat with his parents often. So rather than leaving his parents lonely in the cave mansion, it’s better for them to live carefree in the official Refuge Center.

The reason why Mr. and Mrs. Thompson can live so comfortably now is not just because Dong Tianyu consistently provides them with all kinds of resources, but also due to the order in Pengcheng which remains remarkably stable.

Although many novels depict natural disasters and the apocalypse as similar, the reality is vastly different.

The apocalypse signifies a breakdown of social order, where the entire social system disappears. At that time, survival becomes the top priority. No one considers future development; everyone lives in the present.

The biggest difference between a natural disaster and the apocalypse lies in whether the order has collapsed. Even though survivors have suffered greatly after the natural disaster, the royal court hasn’t fallen apart and all the cities are still under the control of officials.

While the order remains intact, survivors can unite and resist the continuous onslaught of natural disasters. Even though these survivors might have their own little tricks up their sleeves, on the whole, it’s manageable.

With the outdoor temperature reaching around 70 degrees and the nighttime temperature also rising to approximately 50 degrees, the surface has already become a no-go zone for ordinary people. Only martial artists who’d reached the Inner Breath Realm could briefly move freely on the surface.

But as the surface temperature continued to rise, the temperature inside the Refuge Center was also continuously increasing. The scorching heat was already unbearable for some survivors, and those with weaker physical condition had even developed heatstroke.

At this point, for the sake of survival, many people no longer gave a shit about much. The chunks of ice, which should have been distributed according to quotas to each refuge center, were directly robbed by some masked survivors on the underground network.

At first, these masked men were conservative, only stealing a few pieces while leaving some for the transport party. But as the temperature kept rising, these masked men became more demanding. Not satisfied with ice anymore, they eventually started stealing the transport vehicles too.

The so-called transport vehicle was actually a man-powered cart. Since the underground network channel wasn’t spacious, the most suitable means of transport was a unicycle which could adapt to any road conditions.

The unicycle was simple to manufacture, and most importantly, it required no electronic equipment, so it was widely used in small-scale transportation in the underground network.

The masked robbers’ act of stealing even vehicles directly infuriated Pengcheng Government, who promptly assigned Special Operations Team members to investigate.

The Special Operations Team members, after receiving their assignment, quickly mapped out the likely areas where the robbers could appear.

The principle was very simple. The robbers only stole a small amount of ice during their first heist, suggesting it was likely a crime of impulse.

Their refuge center is probably not too far from where the ice was stolen.

After stealing the ice and realizing they hadn’t been captured or wanted, their audacity grew, ultimately leading to the current situation where they steal even vehicles.

But had they not stolen the vehicle, things might’ve been better. After stealing the vehicle, finding out their location became much easier because unicycles are not small objects. They were bound to be noticed during transportation, and with eyewitness information, the culprits could easily be identified.

Just as the Special Operations Team guessed, witnesses were easily found, and the robbers’ refuge center was quickly located by tracing the path.

What they had not anticipated, was that even after presenting their credentials, the people in the underground refuge center did not allow them in for inspection. Instead, they simply and brutally declared that everyone in the refuge center was an honest civilian and there were no so-called robbers.

After hearing the reply from the person in charge of the refuge center, the captain of the Special Operations Team immediately guessed the reasoning, so he decided not to get further involved on-site and reported the matter directly to the person in charge of the Special Operations Team, Robinson William.

After learning about the background of this incident, Robinson William found it quite troublesome. The robbers had just stolen ice and a unicycle, the injured transport personnel were not severely hurt.

Although it’s clear now that the robbers are in that specific refuge center and many people inside know who the robbers are, at this point, stability is needed. The Special Operations Team couldn’t act without clear instructions.

However, Robinson William was very experienced in handling such troublesome matters. He reported the incident directly, passing the buck to the superiors.

But what Robinson William hadn’t anticipated was that the report would eventually land in the hands of Li Minghao after several passes.

At first, Li Minghao didn’t pay much attention to the report. Subconsciously, he was prepared to process it the usual way.

A matter as small as this would usually end with him. If it had to be reported upwards through him again, it would only signify his incompetence.

But just as he was about to process it, a thought suddenly struck him. He could use this opportunity to shift the pressure imposed on him by his subordinates onto someone else. If executed well, it could directly lift a huge burden off his shoulders.

Thinking of this, Li Minghao immediately issued a response to temporarily withhold action on the matter. At the same time, he began drafting another announcement meant for public release.

The content of the announcement was very straightforward. Due to the repeated robberies of ice during recent distribution— even the transport vehicles had been stolen— the West City District Command Post was temporarily suspending the distribution of ice to other refuge centers. The specific resumption time would be announced later.

Li Minghao’s intention in writing this announcement was quite simple. Initially, because two-thirds of the nitrate was handed over as tribute, the West City District Command Post had to reduce the amount of ice distributed to their subordinate refuge centers.

That is why those refuge centers sent people to protest. Their methods of protest were within the law and norms, so even though it was annoying, Li Minghao had no appropriate way to deal with it. He just had to put up with it.

Although the protesters’ actions were both reasonable and legal and didn’t affect the normal operation of the West City District Command Post, they worsened people’s perception of Li Minghao. It felt like a toad crawling on his feet - it didn’t bite, but it was utterly disgusting.

But this recent ice robbery gave him a chance to shift blame. Aren’t these people always complaining about receiving less ice from West City every day?

This time, with a perfect excuse of transport vehicles being stolen during ice transportation, he will not distribute any ice in the future due to such complaints. If they wanted ice, they would have to figure it out on their own and not burden the West City District Command Post with their complaints.

As for how many people would suffer from heatstroke due to the lack of ice in other refuge centers, that was none of his business.

If they get a heatstroke, it just shows their weak physique.