"Someone like you should be thrown into the Desert Dust!" Ling Shaomei spat coldly, clearly having accumulated her disdain for Wu Hen over time.
"Heh," Wu Hen gave a false smile.
Such foul-mouthed insults!
Seeing as she had still opened the door for everyone, Wu Hen decided to let it slide for now.
"There are a lot of footsteps upstairs. Are there other people living here?" Wu Hen asked Ling Shaomei.
Ling Shaomei was dressed in slacks, standing tall. Her white shirt barely contained her outstanding figure, and the small suit jacket she wore couldn't button up.
She wore a pair of delicate glasses. It seemed that in this chaotic world, she had been relatively less affected. There was even a faint trace of makeup on her cheeks.
Ling Shaomei had studied landscape architecture abroad and was quite accomplished. She had originally planned to develop her career overseas, but her father, Old Man Ling, had tricked her into coming back. Helpless, she had to take a part-time job managing the Wu Family's estate and art gallery...
The reason for their irreconcilable relationship was that on her first day of work, she saw someone leap from the second-floor balcony like a free-flying bird, diving headfirst into the pool, only to see a white butt doing a butterfly stroke!
Similarly, Wu Hen discovered that the new female housekeeper was extremely arrogant, always looking at him through her silver-rimmed glasses with reluctance and frigidity. She looked at him as if he were a fool from a nouveau riche family. Wu Hen, who was no saint himself, naturally took every opportunity to mess with her, making their relationship deteriorate further, to the point that when Wu's family went bankrupt, Ling Shaomei had many more meals to eat.
"They're our relatives," Ling Shaomei answered Wu Hen's question.
"You have a lot of relatives. There are eight or nine of them," Wu Hen said.
"It's chaotic outside. If we don't stick together, we'll die even more miserably," Ling Shaomei said.
"More people are useless without weapons. I don't mind sheltering your family and your relatives, but from now on, you must guard this door well. It only opens when I say it opens, and it must stay locked when I say so." Wu Hen purposely twirled his handgun in front of Ling Shaomei, showing off its toughness.
"I don't need you to teach me what to do," Ling Shaomei snorted coldly.
The distinctions of rich and poor mattered no more. Ling Shaomei had no desire to take orders like a housekeeper from Wu Hen anymore.
"Listen to me, and at least you and your family will live a little better. Don't forget why this pavilion was built here." Wu Hen wasn't polite about it.
Ling Shaomei quickly understood what Wu Hen meant by this.
This pavilion was built as a refuge in the first place??
Wu Yingting had foresight??
Once a wealthy man in Li City, he certainly had access to more information than ordinary people like them.
Ling Shaomei thought of how this Tropical Pavilion could grow plants, had an underground well, and a very strong security barrier. She understood immediately.
"It's you who are borrowing our safe house. Even if you don't open the door, we can still get in, but we won't be as polite then." Wu Hen kept toying with his handgun.
But in a careless moment, the handgun fell to the ground.
Too lazy to pick it up, Wu Hen waved his hand, and the gun returned to his hand.
Seeing this, Ling Shaomei's cold expression showed a hint of surprise.
"Behave yourself. You don't want your old father to go out and fight those thugs, do you?" Wu Hen continued to press.
"Hmph, take care of yourself!" Ling Shaomei turned her head, ignoring Wu Hen.
...
"Old Ling, the area on the second floor belongs to our family. Your people shouldn't enter without permission; the rest of the place can be shared," Wu Yingting said, leading his family to the second floor.
Many parts of the second floor were reinforced with steel walls, and there was a heavy door that remained tightly shut, segregating the interior area from the rest of the pavilion.
When Wu Hen walked here with his father, he realized his father's thoughtful planning.
Good grief, he had built a refuge in advance!
On the surface, this was a useless exhibition hall, but the Tropical Pavilion had been modified with a self-sustaining system. Each floor could grow high-carb crops. Not to mention surviving a few months, they could live here for years without needing to venture outside.
"No problem, no problem, everyone can keep to themselves," Old Man Ling said.
"Hearing you say that..." Wu Yingting shook his head helplessly.
Upon entering the steel-walled chamber, Wu Hen discovered a hidden gem inside.
Though it was on the second floor, it had a three-tier structure, with stairs leading down to the first floor and up to the third floor planting area.
Furthermore, the doors were one-way. Without keys and fingerprints, outsiders couldn't possibly break in.
Most importantly, Wu Yingting had equipped monitoring systems to view most areas inside the pavilion, including the woods outside, all with crystal clarity.
"There are some weapons I've managed to collect inside. Not many, but enough to defend ourselves in critical moments." Wu Yingting said, walking deeper before opening a hidden door in the wall.
Inside the hidden door was a small storage room, the size of a cloakroom, with guns and magazines on display. There were also compound bows, protective gear, electric batons, and gas masks.
A room was fitted with survival supplies, including nutrients, thermal clothing, and oxygen packs...
Not a treasure trove, but enough for their family to survive for a year or more in this turbulent world, providing a real sense of security.
"Dear, you prepared so much," Yu Yi cried with joy.
All those hardships were for securing the family's future.
"This isn't a long-term solution, but it'll get us through this chaotic phase. However, it lacks one thing..." Wu Yingting said.
"Medicine," Wu Hen immediately identified the missing crucial supply.
"Yes, medication is strictly controlled by the authorities, forbidden from private stockpiling. Pharmacies distribute it as needed," Wu Yingting said, his mouth twitching involuntarily.
Wu Hen looked at Wu Yingting's hand and saw it had severe burns, still festering.
Similarly, his sister Yu Yu and mother Yu Yi had burn marks and badly needed medical treatment.
With the climate turning harsh, bacteria were pervasive. Untreated wounds would undoubtedly get infected.
"Didn't you say there's a passage to the outside air-raid shelter? Shangxia has a private hospital we invested in; they must have medicine. I will fetch some," Wu Hen said.
With the medicine restocked, the family would be somewhat safer.
This way, Wu Hen could freely explore the Otherworldly Dust.
"Bacteria are everywhere. As long as we have medicine, we can hold out here for a while, but the outside is too chaotic now..." Wu Yingting said.
"Dad, don't worry. I'm incredibly strong now!" Wu Hen laughed, patting his right hand.
With Little Yi around, even if a meteor crashed into Earth, Wu Hen could slice it in two with his sword!
Feeling proud, Wu Hen sensed someone tugging at his sleeve.
Turning around, he saw his sister Yu Yu. Although just fifteen, she had developed well for her age, still with a childish tenderness in her cheeks. Unable to speak, she always looked pitiful.
"Bro, do you know those medicines?" Yu Yu signed.
"Uh... I admit, chemistry is my weak point." Wu Hen scratched his head awkwardly.
"And you have a poor sense of direction. Do you even know where that hospital is?" Sister Yu Yu delivered another merciless blow.
"Alright, what are you trying to say?" Wu Hen glared at his sister.
"I should go with you," Yu Yu signed.
"Well..."
"Let her go with you. Yu Yu is familiar with that area and knows where the medicines are," Wu Yingting said.
With his father's words, Wu Hen suddenly realized something.
It seemed that in recent years, Wu Yingting had deliberately had his sister learn pharmacology and healthcare.
Aside from that, the siblings had trained in hand-to-hand combat, swimming, fencing, shooting, archery, outdoor survival, and even attended professional military summer camps... Their schedule had been packed.
Wu Hen and his sister had complained about why they had to study so hard despite their family's wealth. Now, Wu Hen understood his father's good intentions!
Perhaps, it was a good thing the apocalypse came, or all that training would have gone to waste!
"Alright then, stick close to me. This heavy bow is for you." Wu Hen said, handing Yu Yu a black heavyweight compound bow.
Yu Yu stood still, not reaching to accept it. Instead, she signed, "I'm a girl, you know!"
"Right," Wu Hen nodded, picking another heavy compound bow. "This pink bow is for you."
Fuming, Yu Yu grabbed Wu Hen's arm and bit down without mercy, leaving a mark like a wild kitten!
...
Wu Hen selected a protective vest and a compound bow.
Guns were excellent.
But firing the gun made too much noise, attracting every thug in a four-mile radius.
In this chaos, guns were the most crucial items, and some would risk everything to steal them, especially those also armed with weapons.
At such times, a compound bow served as a substitute. It had a certain deterrent effect without being too high-profile, and the arrows could be reused. Bullets were indeed scarce.
"Hey, Hen, didn't I see you take a bow earlier?" Yu Yi asked, puzzled.
"Oh, the bow got eaten by my hand," Wu Hen said, as if it were the most natural thing.
Yu Yi: "???"
Such an obscure remark. Before Yu Yi could question further, Wu Hen had already dragged his sister into the secret passage.
In the dimly lit passage, with a few night lights, Wu Hen thought as he walked.
"If I could find an automatic rifle, Gatling gun, rocket launcher, or missile cannon... Could Little Yi eat those too and then give them back to me for use?"
"If that's true, should I raid the Wei Fang armory, bet everything and turn this bicycle into a battleship!"
"Unfortunately, the soul flower would wither. I can stay here for only a day or two before being dragged back to the otherworld reality. Otherwise, I'd build an indestructible apocalypse fortress for my family with fully automated defenses!"