Cave Refuge-Chapter 279 - 274: Stay or Leave (4000 words)_2

Regarding this situation, Zachary had no solution either, after all, he was not holding any official position at the Command Post, and this area was not a private zone; he definitely couldn’t prevent other people from seeking refuge here.

However, the more people that came to this side, the greater the risk became, for when the Bugs Clan ate humans, they didn’t care about the person’s status; to them, all beings were equal unless they were Martial Artists.

And if there were experienced Insect Nest Hunters present, they would definitely understand that the more survivors there were in a location, the more likely a new Bug Nest would appear.

By common sense, in a gathering area of over a hundred people with more than twenty Martial Artists taking turns to patrol, the level of security was already very high.

However, speaking of the survivors in this congregation, they all had their own identities and, unlike the Martial Artists in ordinary gathering areas who became so through hard training, many here had become Martial Artists through the use of drugs.

They possessed the vital energy of Martial Artists but had almost zero real combat ability; in essence, they were all show and no substance.

Besides, apart from the two special forces members with Old Ye, there were also two or three Martial Artist Bodyguards within the gathering area.

Apart from these few Martial Artist guards, the identities of the other Martial Artists in the camp were actually quite high, making it impossible for them to partake in patrolling duties.

Moreover, aside from Old Ye, who stayed with Father Dong and Mother Dong and was relatively safe, the others guarded by Martial Artist Bodyguards were all ordinary people; it was nearly impossible for them to abandon their own safety and arrange for their bodyguards to patrol within the camp.

So, even though the number of people in the camp was continually increasing, the safety was in fact constantly diminishing.

Because of the threat of the Bugs Clan, if there were no uninterrupted patrols by Martial Artists, the more ordinary people gathered, the more dangerous it would become.

But somehow, more and more survivors were finding out about this place, and the number of survivors on the lawn kept increasing.

In fact, for Zachary, the bugs didn’t pose much of a danger; although he hadn’t learned many techniques by now, Zachary had mastered his Telekinesis to perfection, coupled with the items in his Storage space.

To say that Zachary was almost invincible might be an exaggeration, but he could easily solve most problems that came his way.

Compared to others who were either in tents or lying openly on the ground, Zachary’s shelter was quite conspicuous, but since most of the people present knew each other and knew who lived inside, no one dared to cause trouble.

For some reason, Madeline, who should have arrived by noon, had not yet come.

Although they had already left City Center, the drive from Moon Bay to City Center was not far, a round trip at most taking just over an hour; under normal circumstances, Madeline should have already sought them out.

But now, despite many survivors coming here continuously, both Madeline and Robinson William had not shown up, leaving one to wonder what they were busy with.

By the afternoon, not only had the number of survivors coming here not diminished, it had actually increased.

However, upon observing these survivors with Divine Sense, it was discovered that most of them were ordinary people, with only a few being Martial Artists.

Faced with this situation, Zachary was somewhat speechless; if the number of Martial Artists was too low, then the danger level of the camp would become very high, and it was possible that even before an earthquake struck, the survivors in the camp could be devoured by the Bugs Clan overnight.

Don’t think such a situation is impossible. Just think of the residential area opposite University Town, where the survivors were all devoured by the Bugs Clan overnight. So, at this time, having more people is not necessarily a good thing.

Just as Dong Tianyu was preparing to leave with his parents and invite Old Ye’s entire family to join them, Madeline and Robinson William arrived.

With the arrival of Robinson William, he also brought all the special forces team members he could control, as well as the families of those team members, to this place.

The first thing upon their arrival was to arrange for the special forces team members to check the camp’s security because Bug Nests are of great value. Although they are hidden underground, Pengcheng has specially made equipment to detect the location of Bug Nests.

When the special forces used the equipment for a detailed inspection of the camp, everyone gasped at the information they gathered: the camp was surrounded by Bug Nests. Without realizing it, the camp had been encircled by them.

Although no Bugs Clan members had appeared in the camp yet, it’s very possible that, just as with the previous incident with the survivors, all the survivors in the camp could disappear overnight if Robinson William hadn’t brought so many Martial Artists.

Perhaps a few families could survive, and those who would survive are all families with Martial Artists.

However, although Bug Nests are dangerous for ordinary people, they are quite simple to eliminate for Martial Artists. With the presence of Insect Nest Hunters, a standard method for dealing with Bug Nests has now been established.

With the addition of the special forces team members, Dong Tianyu did not concern himself with the issue of the Bug Nests anymore. Instead, he pulled Madeline aside to ask when they were planning to leave for Saxon County.

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s inquiry, Madeline was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Isn’t it good to live here? Our place is not only close to the City Center but also has open terrain. Plus, with farmland opposite us and my brother’s special forces team patrolling, we don’t have to worry about safety. It’s nice to stay here; there’s no need to run to Saxon County."

After listening to Madeline’s analysis, Dong Tianyu was somewhat tempted, but after a brief consideration, he still said, "I think it’s not suitable. Regardless of the fact that the Bugs Clan currently fears Martial Artists and only attacks ordinary people, since the threshold to become a Martial Artist has greatly lowered with the nutrient supplements, what if the Bugs Clan figure out that Martial Artists are not that fearsome and stop fearing them?

Hearing Dong Tianyu’s speculation, Madeline rolled her eyes, "Big brother, Bugs Clan are just bugs. Don’t make them out to be so scary, okay? They can’t possibly have that level of intelligence. Besides, the Bugs Clan actually aren’t as dangerous as you think; if they don’t launch sneak attacks or their numbers aren’t immense, ordinary people can easily crush those bugs."

"So you’re basing your safety on the Bugs Clan not launching attacks on their own initiative?"

"You might have become a Martial Artist, but you’re just a rookie who has just stepped into that realm. If the Bugs Clan really weren’t afraid of Martial Artists and swarmed you in an attack, how long do you think you could last against their assault?"

With Dong Tianyu’s retort echoing in her mind, images flashed through Madeline’s thoughts. No matter what countermeasures she conjured up, the end result was always death in the wave of bugs, sending a shiver through her.

The plan she had abandoned re-emerged in her mind. Right, she had better stick to the plan of leaving Pengcheng and moving to Saxon County for repairs.

Watching Madeline leave somewhat disheartened, if it weren’t for the lack of connections in Saxon County, Dong Tianyu would not have taken the trouble to persuade her but would have left directly with his parents.

Although there had been no precedent for the Bugs Clan to initiate an attack on Martial Artists, Dong Tianyu certainly did not want himself or his parents to become a case study mentioned by others.

As the saying goes, caution is the parent of safety. One cannot trust one’s life to the hands of others.

For some reason, after hearing Madeline’s decision to leave Pengcheng, Dong Tianyu always had an ominous feeling, which is why he agreed with Madeline’s idea and decided to leave Pengcheng as soon as possible.

Without the experience of having been reborn, Dong Tianyu was always careful, more careful, and even more careful when facing the unknown.