Cave Refuge-Chapter 223 - 222: Trickery_1

After dismantling the items collected from the recycling station, plus the dismantled items from Pengville Port, the upgrade progress of the Cave Mansion was now seventy percent.

With the experience from his last endeavor, Dong Tianyu knew that reaching a hundred percent would be difficult; the final twenty percent could not be achieved by simply dismantling ordinary items, it required items imbued with Spirit Energy in order to progress.

Although the Blue Star was slowly regaining Spirit Energy, it was extremely challenging to collect special items due to the disasters. Hence, survival points had to be used as a substitute for these items.

Survival points were relatively scarce but as Dong Tianyu seldom used them, over time, he had saved up a significant amount.

In reality, all Dong Tianyu needed to do was to dismantle around ten percent more ordinary materials, and he could upgrade the Cave Mansion again.

If Dong Tianyu urgently wanted to upgrade the Cave Mansion, he could simply start dismantling the materials he had stored in Shadow Space.

However, everyone understood the circumstances outside; using up resources was easy but obtaining them again was next to impossible. Therefore, despite having various materials in Shadow Space, Dong Tianyu rarely used them.

This could perhaps be framed as a hoarder’s mentality—just like when playing a solo game, even though the game had its own set of disposable progress-aiding items designed by its creators, many players tended to save these items and not use them until the end of the game.

The next day, Dong Tianyu delivered the saltpetre to the flower bed as promised. Robinson William, along with a few special forces team members, arrived at the hole in the flower bed exactly at five in the morning.

Looking at the black car parked outside the flower bed, a somewhat surprised Robinson said to Dong Tianyu, "Did you drive here?"

Upon hearing this, Dong Tianyu immediately rolled his eyes. The car was right next to them—how else would he have gotten there if not by driving?

Without responding, he opened the rear door of the black car and revealed the bagged saltpetre. He said to Robinson, "Each bag weighs fifty kilograms, you arrange for someone to move them."

After hearing what Dong Tianyu said, Robinson immediately commanded, "Move these things into the tunnel. Once you’re done, wait for me in the tunnel."

Upon hearing Robinson’s command, the special forces members said nothing. Two of them jumped onto the back of the truck while the others helped with the moving process.

Looking at the moving special forces members, Robinson beckoned Dong Tianyu over, insisting on having a peek inside the car. At this point, he was quite curious about a car that could still drive outdoors.

Seeing Robinson’s current expression, Dong Tianyu knew that there was no way for him to avoid showing him inside the car. Therefore, Dong Tianyu stealthily commanded the black car to materialize all the manual control devices in the driving cabin, giving the interior of the car a somewhat high-tech feel rather than being empty as before.

(To maintain secrecy, the previously transparent car interior was divided into two compartments by Dong Tianyu.)

Just as Dong Tianyu was leading Robinson into the black car, the view inside the front of the black car changed instantly. When the two got into the front compartment, what was originally empty was now filled with various electronic devices, giving off a strong sci-fi vibe.

The electronic devices in the front compartment were actually all illusions. They looked high-tech but, in fact, were of no practical use—they were just for show.

The moment Robinson stepped into the front compartment, he felt as though he had stepped into another world.

This feeling didn’t come from the sci-fi-like look of the electronic devices in the car, but the temperature inside the car—it was only slightly over twenty degrees.

Keep in mind, it was just past five in the morning, but the temperature outside had already soared above ninety degrees. Under such conditions, a person’s skin would definitely get burnt if exposed to the air.

Moreover, Robinson was well aware that when he was near the car door just now, he didn’t feel a breeze of cold air like when one opens a refrigerator door.

This was why Robinson initially thought the car could only drive in the external environment and there was no difference in temperature inside the car compared to the outside environment. He even speculated that the car’s internal and external conditions were not much different, just like a no-air-conditioning tank used to be, even though it could navigate the harsh environment.

However, after Robinson got into the car, he was absolutely stunned by the car’s internal temperature. He never expected that the temperature inside the car would only be slightly over twenty degrees.

At this moment, an astonished Robinson, feeling a surge of excitement, turned to Dong Tianyu, who was standing by his side.

Dong Tianyu, sensing Robinson’s upcoming question, directly replied, "This car might be the only one of its kind in Pengville. I got it from another place. Its purchase cost aside, the daily consumption alone is something most folks can’t afford."

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s response, Robinson’s initial excitement gradually subsided. With a hint of reluctance, he asked for more details, "Can you tell me the exact requirements?"

"Of course, there’s no need to keep this a secret. Given our relationship, I would also share some confidential information with you to some extent, as long as you ask.

This vehicle, as you might know, is a modified space landing rover. Even though it operates in extreme environments, the costs of production are extraordinarily high. It runs on highly specialized aviation fuel, which is not available at ordinary gas stations.

I can also inform you about where I sourced this car. Ye Liuyun knows I’ve been collecting metal ingots, and actually, I’m just the middleman, as I procure and resell the metal ingots to others."

Although Dong Tianyu’s explanation seemed unrelated, Robinson understood the implication.

Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, the message was clear from Dong Tianyu’s words—he had been in contact with other survivors outside of Pengville.

The metal ingots Dong Tianyu had been buying inside Pengville were most likely sold to this formidable faction. Judging by the fact that Dong Tianyu was able to purchase a space rover from them, it indicated that this faction was definitely not to be trifled with.

Seeing a silent Robinson, Dong Tianyu knew that his deception had convinced him.

The origin of the black car was indeed difficult to explain, but if Dong Tianyu didn’t have the black car, it would be even harder to explain how he managed to transport a tonne of saltpetre.

The simplest explanation would be to say that he had moved it a little at a time, but if so, Robinson and his team might then suspect whether Dong Tianyu was the only martial artist in the refuge center.

After all, the refuge centers inside the urban area were already controlled by the officials. The saltpetre that Dong Tianyu traded was certainly brought from outside the city.

Even if martial artists had formidable physical strength and endurance, they would believe that Dong Tianyu could only carry five or six bags of saltpetre at a time. Any more would either be too heavy for Dong Tianyu to carry or simply too cumbersome.

Therefore, after thorough consideration, Dong Tianyu decided to expose the existence of the black car, making it easier to use it in the future.