Cave Refuge-Chapter 285 - 280: Gang of Four

Watching the person knocking incessantly on the car door from the outside, Dong Tianyu had no intention of paying any attention. After a long while, it was unclear whether she thought there was no one inside the car or had confirmed that Dong Tianyu wouldn’t open the door. Regardless, she stopped knocking and left the vicinity of the car door.

Dong Tianyu suddenly took an interest in this unexpected visitor, and it was not because she brought two hefty pomelos during her visit, nor because she somehow managed to maintain skin as pale and smooth as jade.

Divine Sense followed her into another carriage, and by the time she entered it, three people were already waiting inside.

The train car she boarded was positioned towards the rear of the convoy and was similarly a modified cargo truck serving as an RV.

Although the exterior alterations seemed minimal, the interior of the carriage was fitted out very comfortably. Not only did it have a complete dining and reception area, but Dong Tianyu even noticed the rest area had been partitioned to create private spaces.

Once the person had entered the carriage, her originally ever-present smile instantly turned into a complaint, "Spirit Dog, is the information you provided accurate? I knocked on that car door for quite some time, and nobody inside responded."

After venting her frustration, she casually pulled out a chair to sit down and naturally reached for the kettle to pour herself a glass of water.

Hearing the newcomer’s complaint, the man known as Spirit Dog did not show a trace of anger but instead pushed the laptop in front of him towards her:

"He’s had visitors all morning, always staying inside, never going out. I’ve got surveillance here. If you don’t believe it, look for yourself. I can ferret out even the hardest to find information; if I messed this up with surveillance in place, I might as well cut off my nose and give it to you, and never call myself Spirit Dog again."

Hearing what Spirit Dog said, and seeing the laptop pushed towards her, she snapped the laptop shut and continued to complain, "Didn’t you say he didn’t have much of a network? So why did so many people visit him in the morning? Are you sure you’ve chosen the right target this time?"

When she shifted the object of her complaint, Spirit Dog didn’t say anything more and stood up, brought the laptop closer to himself, and after reopening the now-closed laptop, stayed silent.

The individual seated at the lower end of the table responded to the complaint from the one dubbed Butterfly with a chuckle, "Don’t let these minor incidents affect you. Spider’s selections have never gone wrong; we need to trust his planning."

Upon hearing Thorn Snake, Butterfly decided not to say anything further.

Spider,

Butterfly,

Spirit Dog,

Thorn Snake.

The four of them congregated before the calamity struck, and although they had been involved in many significant events within the country, they remained relatively unknown.

Just like the old saying goes, "the best warriors do not have great renown." Their actions were highly clandestine; the victims mostly suffered in silence. When some victims who were unwilling to bear the loss thought about exposing them, Thorn Snake would intervene to tidy up; that’s why this small group stayed out of the limelight, with only rumors of them circulating in small circles.

After the disaster, they intensified their efforts; with Spirit Dog gathering data on targets, which Spider would then filter to confirm the target. Subsequently, Spirit Dog surveilled them to collect detailed data on the targets.

This data was passed on to Spider, who developed a detailed scam plan, followed by Butterfly being responsible for the implementation.

There were hardly any slip-ups under normal circumstances, and if there were any unforeseen changes in plan, Thorn Snake would step in to finalize matters.

If their operations were relatively mild before the disaster, they became ruthless and unscrupulous thereafter.

The targets they chose typically ended up with no survivors.

However, Spider was smart; each target they chose had ample resources but no significant status or background among the survivors.

They would rather take action against ordinary survivors multiple times than risk targeting those with status and backgrounds. Due to this, whether it was in Pengcheng or in West City District, people only saw them as a family of four with some goods, never paying them special attention.

Seeing the other three fall silent, the person seated at the head, Spider, finally spoke, "Actually, Spirit Dog provided information on six or seven potential targets. Among them, Dong Tianyu doesn’t have the most resources, nor the cleanest background."

The main reason Dong Tianyu was chosen as this time’s target is because of the vehicle he now resides in.

What’s most important right now isn’t supplies or firearms, but vehicles.

Across the entire convoy, aside from the armored personnel carrier Ye Liuyun acquired from Yutai, the only notable vehicle is the one Dong Tianyu is currently driving.

First of all, not to mention anything else, although we’re currently using a truck, its chassis clearance is not even as high as his vehicle. This indicates that his vehicle has strong off-road capabilities.

Next is the size of that vehicle. Though I haven’t measured it specifically, judging from the fact that it takes up nearly one and a half lanes when it’s parked, the interior space of that vehicle must be significant.

And according to Spirit Dog’s observations, that vehicle hasn’t refueled since it appeared.

I won’t even mention distant places; within this convoy, although none of the vehicles lack fuel, most people have been refueling their vehicles from reserve fuel tanks they carried with them since arriving here.

But since Spirit Dog started monitoring Dong Tianyu, his vehicle hasn’t been refueled. Do you know what that means?

It means that vehicle is very likely not powered by electricity or conventional fuel; it’s highly possible that it’s nuclear-powered.

Don’t rush to object just yet, because I’ve specifically discussed this matter with Spirit Dog. Nuclear-powered vehicles do exist, and before the disaster, both domestically and internationally, nuclear-powered vehicles had been created. However, those disclosed by the laboratories were quite large in size.

Under normal circumstances, they aren’t suitable for private use, but those are the data released to the public. We all understand very well that laboratories possess things that are at least three to five versions more advanced than what is made public.

That’s why I suspect that the vehicle Dong Tianyu owns is nuclear-powered.

Although Dong Tianyu has some background, as long as we get our hands on this vehicle, we can completely leave Pengcheng and start a new life in other cities. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Don’t forget, we are not locals from Pengcheng either. Coming to Pengcheng was entirely for a break from Magic City. If it weren’t for the disaster, the four of us would have already left this small city of Pengcheng."

Hearing Spider’s words, Butterfly also hesitated, but in the end, she nodded.

Although she is the actual executor of the plan, in this four-person team, she has the least say.

Spider’s status as the leader goes without saying. Spirit Dog is Spider’s lackey, and even though he has excellent technical skills and superb craftsmanship, he outwardly follows Spider’s lead without question.

As for Thorn Snake, she’s Spider’s little fan. Despite her cold exterior and professional demeanor, who could have imagined that after being trained as an assassin from a young age, she would become love-struck? Under Spider’s PUA tactics, she now unconditionally follows any order from Spider.

Although Butterfly was also lured into the team by Spider, her background in psychology allowed her to quickly shed Spider’s brainwashing after joining the team, becoming clear-headed. However, by then, it was too late; unless she died, she could not leave the team.

Fortunately, even though Spider became aware of this, he assured her directly that as long as she stayed in the team, their relationship would remain strictly leader and teammate, unless she took the initiative otherwise.

Luckily, even though Spider is highly skilled in PUA, he did what he said. Apart from constantly using various PUA techniques, he indeed never targeted her with other methods, and Butterfly had no choice but to keep studying psychology to protect herself from succumbing to his PUA influence.

Because Spider arrogantly believed that Butterfly would eventually become obedient after his prolonged guidance, he treated their relationship like a little game for adding excitement and honing his skills.

That’s why Butterfly is now obediently staying in the team and continues to collaborate with others to apply various tactics to their targets.

However, both Butterfly and Spider are very clear that this situation is like the proverbial frog in slowly boiling water; Butterfly’s downfall is just a matter of time.

Perhaps before the disaster, Butterfly might have had a chance to escape, but once the disaster struck, she lost any opportunity to run, and she had to remain obediently within the team.

Not for any other reason, but because Butterfly, well-versed in psychology, understood that although remaining in the team does not bode well, at the very least, whether it’s team leader Spider or the other two members, they only want her compliance.

And Spider wouldn’t act upon lust towards her. At most, he would wait for her to take the initiative.

Even though Thorn Snake had become Spider’s adoring fan, lost in his PUA, no method Spider used could change Thorn Snake’s intense possessiveness.

In fact, the team once had more than four members. Others assisted Butterfly in her actions, but those individuals somehow became romantically involved with Spider and subsequently died in various accidents.

If it weren’t for the fact that the discord between Butterfly and Spider was already open, and Spirit Dog’s unrequited love was quite evident, plus Thorn Snake had the ability to kill but no talent in acting,

then Butterfly might have also met with an "accident," dying inexplicably after a mission’s completion.

Of course, all this happened before the disaster. After several iterations of the disaster, the four-member squad not only did not develop further divisions but instead became more harmoniously coordinated. Although they still complained about each other from time to time, they developed a kind of familial bond and trusted each other a bit more.