Cave Refuge-Chapter 262 - 258 - Gained Nothing_1

At this point, even though Robinson William knew Dong Tianyu wouldn’t come to him for no reason, he still found it hard to believe in the existence of these bugs without seeing them in person, from Dong Tianyu’s description alone.

He would rather believe that the missing survivors were abducted by others than believe that these bugs have emerged in Pengcheng.

After all, the bugs described by Dong Tianyu seemed too exaggerated. Despite their small size, these bugs not only have color-changing abilities like chameleons, but also have paralyzing toxins similar to leeches to immobilize their prey.

Plus, these bugs always appear in groups. They could easily eliminate ordinary people or even a careless martial artist without a trace.

Seeing the expression on Robinson William’s face, Dong Tianyu guessed that he didn’t believe him. And to be honest, Dong Tianyu himself wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

Dong Tianyu isn’t denying the possibility of the bugs’ existence, after all, he’s started practicing immortality. The Inner Breath Realm Martial Artists, who are resilient to harsh weather conditions, have also appeared among other survivors. Furthermore, considering how Blue Star is currently in the early stages of Spirit Energy revival, the emergence of peculiar creatures is normal.

However, after Dong Tianyu confirmed that he was killed by these bugs in his previous life, he immediately opened the Data Layout to see if the number of daily survival points could confirm the arrival of the next disaster (bug disaster).

But the Data Layout remained the same, with the daily survival score still being ten. This confirmed for Dong Tianyu that the emergence of these bugs wasn’t recognized by the System as a new wave of disaster.

According to the System’s standards, the appearance of these bugs wouldn’t constitute a disaster for humans.

Compared with his own standards, Dong Tianyu actually had more faith in the System’s judgment.

While Dong Tianyu was still wondering why the System had such a low evaluation of these bugs,

Robinson William decided to take Dong Tianyu back to the scene to see if they could find traces of the bugs, as Dong Tianyu had suggested.

The location of the incident was very critical. Although Pengcheng had temporarily abandoned the areas outside the city during the prior waves of disasters,

(Including some special areas like University Town, which had been vacated earlier due to its vast land coverage)

But during the breaks between disasters, and after confirming that this round of disaster was eternal night, Pengcheng Government decided to reutilize University Town.

The reason was simple and inevitable. Despite being a rising second-tier city and a strategic military location since ancient times, Pengcheng was not typically chosen as a location for high-end research institutions.

However, there were still two well-equipped research bases in Pengcheng. One belonged to Pengcheng Heavy Industries, mainly researching military machinery and civil machinery. The other was the collection of independent laboratories established by various colleges within University Town.

These two research bases, due to their need for substantial space, were relocated to the outskirts of the city.

Pengcheng Heavy Industries needs no explanation. On account of its ability to manufacture firearms and industrial machinery, it has always been firmly controlled by the Officials.

While University Town is also a research base, many laboratories had been taken over by crafting masters due to being independently scattered among various colleges.

The original leaders of University Town, upon seeing how the crafting masters had managed to renovate semi-derelict laboratories, attempted to claim the moral high ground and drive these crafting masters away.

Who would have thought that these crafting masters wouldn’t take it lying down and swiftly drove away those fat-cat administrators who were now nothing but skin and bones?

Even though order hadn’t completely broken down yet, the university managers soon reported the matter to the Officials, hoping the crafting masters occupying the laboratories would be punished.

However, to the surprise of the university managers, the Officials not only did not punish the occupying crafting masters but also evicted the stubborn and foolish university managers.

As for where the Officials sent those university managers, no one knows for sure. But what could be confirmed was that these managers were never seen again in Pengcheng.

The reason why the Officials did this was simple. Remember when an electromagnetic pulse caused most electronic devices in Pengcheng to break down?

From then on, the Officials began to rely on these master craftsmen to try to repair various pieces of equipment.

And it is not only those who repair machinery that are called master craftsmen, but also those who specialize in chemistry and are adept at formulating experiments, are referred to as master craftsmen.

As for why these master craftsmen collectively occupy the laboratories of University Town, this is actually organized by the Officials. After all, although the various well-equipped laboratories previously in University Town have been laid waste by several rounds of disasters, the best-built laboratories have now become semi-derelict.

Restoring these laboratories is very difficult even for those with strong practical abilities, let alone relying on individuals alone. So now, the reason why so many laboratories in University Town are operational is simply impossible without the assistance of the Officials.

So now, University Town is one of the only two research and repair centers in Pengcheng, its importance to Pengcheng speaks for itself. Otherwise, why would a case usually assigned to the Patrol Office have to be assisted by the special combat team?

As per the saying from the past, when the Patrol Office takes the stage, they’re in search of evidence, whereas when the special combat team shows up, they only require names.

Although Robinson William was somewhat skeptical about the information Dong Tianyu had provided, he still brought a small team with him to the location, and also contacted the Patrol Office to send a team to investigate the scene once again.

The special combat team was willing to assist, as in West City District, even if Robinson William chose their members to help with moving houses, they would comply without a second thought.

Upon receiving Robinson William’s notification, the Patrol Office, despite already having investigated the scene numerous times, would not simply assign someone to handle the matter carelessly, even if they were somewhat unwilling to go again.

After all, this case primarily falls under their responsibility. Even though they have roped in the special combat team to share the pressure, they are the main responsible party. They also hope they might find useful clues at the scene this time.

As both departments have their own vehicles, and considering the few cars on the roads, they didn’t stop to greet each other when they happened to meet midway, but just flashed their headlights and continued onwards to the scene together.

Due to the high pressure nature of the case, the two parties often met due to new leads obtained, so they are all very familiar with each other’s members.

When the Patrol Office saw the new recruit, Dong Tianyu, their hearts were immediately filled with hope, believing that Robinson William wouldn’t bring a new person to this place without reason.

Just as Robinson William was exchanging pleasantries with the other party’s leader, Dong Tianyu’s Divine Sense had begun to scan the scene. Given that he suspected the involvement of the Bugs Clan, his scanning was done with a clear target in mind.

As expected, Dong Tianyu found traces of bugs scattered throughout many rooms in the various buildings.

Once this was confirmed, Robinson William had just finished his courtesies with the other party, and turned his attention to Dong Tianyu. He introduced him to the members of the Patrol Office, saying: "We’ve had quite frequent contact recently, so you should be quite familiar with the members of my team, so I won’t go into too much introduction.

"Old Zhao, this is not a member of the special combat team, but a friend of mine, Dong Tianyu. You can call him Tianyu just like me. He encountered something elsewhere, and after he told me about it, I thought it might be related to this case, so I brought him here to have a look."

"I know that you guys are having a hard time now, so I asked you to come out for a breath of fresh air, to avoid staying cramped in the office all day."

Robinson William explained the reason for calling them over this time, but didn’t mention specifically what Dong Tianyu had told him.

This wasn’t because he feared that the other party might steal his credit if they knew the information, but rather he wanted to make it clear that he was not certain whether what Dong Tianyu had told him was related to the case. If it turned out not to be linked, then they would all consider it as simply another site inspection, and not blame Dong Tianyu for a wasted trip.

Having served in the Patrol Office for so many years, Old Zhao was able to understand the hidden message in Robinson William’s words, and promptly responded: "Regardless of whether we can find useful information this time, I will thank you for making this trip for the Patrol Office."

Although it was Robinson William who had notified Old Zhao from the Patrol Office to come, Old Zhao’s statement made both Robinson William and Dong Tianyu feel more at ease.

After exchanging a few more words, the three men proceeded to head towards the residential area.

Along the way, while Dong Tianyu was casually chatting with the other two, he was simultaneously observing the bugs remaining in the rooms with his Divine Sense.

Dong Tianyu found it peculiar that no matter how close they got to a room, the bugs inside seemed to sense their approach and quickly fled into the cracks in the nearby ground.

As a result, no matter how many rooms they inspected, they found no clues.

Because neither Robinson William nor Old Zhao voiced any complaints, the members of the special combat team and the Patrol Office, despite having inspected the area countless times already, and despite not knowing what they were looking for, proceeded to thoroughly inspect the area again.

After they had once again inspected all the rooms, Old Zhao looked towards Dong Tianyu with a hopeful glance.