Chapter 498: Chapter 372: The Battle Has Not Yet Begun, But the Retreat Is Already Arranged_2
Although the factory building at the entrance was inconspicuous, this one had a very large interior. Yara parked the car in the designated area before gesturing for Dong Tianyu to get out.
Under Yara’s guidance, the two didn’t leave the factory building but instead climbed the stairs next to the parking spot, and directly entered a room on the second floor.
As soon as they entered the room, Dong Tianyu saw that it was surrounded by numerous monitors, which were displaying surveillance footage from different areas around the outskirts of Kyoto.
There were already quite a few people in the room, and although it was crowded, the noise level was low because everyone was whispering to the person next to them.
When Yara opened the door and led Dong Tianyu into the room, only a few people near the door looked up at the sound before promptly returning their gaze to the monitors on the wall.
Seeing this, Yara quietly explained to Dong Tianyu, "This surveillance room was established by a few of our families at a great cost. The dense array of monitors you see are displaying live footage from the outskirts of Kyoto.
Although the Officials broadcast across the city during combat, you understand the reliability of those broadcasts."
Seeing Dong Tianyu nod, Yara continued, "That’s why we spent some resources to set up this surveillance room."
Then Yara pointed to the monitors on the left wall, "These are monitoring the direction from which the Soldier Bugs are coming. Though our installed surveillance can’t cover every location, as long as there are no Soldier Bugs on the monitors, even if Kyoto is attacked, it can only be considered a small-scale attack."
Although they were speaking softly, Dong Tianyu found it difficult to ask certain questions out loud considering the number of people in the surveillance room.
Yara, noticing Dong Tianyu’s hesitant expression, guessed what he was thinking and decided to lead him out of the surveillance room for the time being.
Yara took Dong Tianyu to a quiet corner before asking, "You look troubled. If you have any questions, just ask directly."
Encouraged by Yara, Dong Tianyu didn’t hesitate any longer and voiced his doubt, "Rationally speaking, Kyoto’s strength in resisting the insect tide is very strong, but the impression you’re giving me doesn’t seem to match that."
Although Dong Tianyu didn’t specify, Yara understood the implication of his words, "Do you think I’m cowardly? Facing a situation, I think of running away before anything has even happened."
Hearing Yara’s self-deprecating words, Dong Tianyu silently agreed.
"Remember when we first met, I told you I also came from another place, so like you, I’m also an outsider.
Actually, even before the Cold Catastrophe, the locals of Kyoto and Magic City had some aversion to outsiders.
To be honest, I too wish Kyoto could safely get through each disaster, but if we don’t, consider the consequences.
Think about the first Cold Catastrophe; the Refuge Centers established in Pengcheng offered different treatment to locals and outsiders, right?
It’s not that Kyoto hasn’t prepared Refuge Centers for outsiders, but realistically, if a disaster strikes and we need to take shelter, given our status, would you be willing to be placed in a regular Refuge Center?
Frankly, I’m not someone who can’t endure hardship, but if you were really assigned to a regular Refuge Center, do you think you could adapt to the environment there?
Let’s not even talk about food and drink, but just in terms of mindset and initiative, you simply wouldn’t fit in at that Refuge Center."
Besides this reason, the main concern is that in the event of a worst-case scenario, the locals in Kyoto won’t take care of us outsiders when it comes to planning escape routes.
Now, unlike before the catastrophe, if we delay even a moment, it could very well threaten our lives. That’s why we outsiders have come together, paying a heavy price to establish a monitoring room – so that if it comes to that, we can be warned in advance and safely leave the danger zone.
I won’t hide it from you; we’ve made inquiries. The reason we chose this dockyard district to set up the monitoring room and safe house is because we learned that among the many evacuation routes arranged by the Imperial Court, one of them involves escape by water.
The designated evacuation points for members of the Imperial Court and their families are at another dock, which is on a different river that runs directly to the sea from Kyoto.
Although they are two rivers, these waterways actually merge into one at the outskirts of Kyoto and ultimately flow out to the sea."
Hearing Yara’s explanation, Dong Tianyu understood why they had established a safe house here –It was for escaping via water if land routes proved difficult.
Let’s be honest, relying on land vehicles for evacuation, not to mention whether the fuel in the tanks can last the distance, during a mass retreat there will definitely be traffic jams.
When that time comes, being stuck on the road due to unexpected delays can be incredibly awkward. Besides, despite the high speeds of vehicles, most of them don’t match boats in terms of carrying capacity and comfort.
Most importantly, when the time comes to evacuate, the waterways are likely to be unobstructed. After all, boats differ from cars. Now, the majority of survivors can drive, but even with small yachts, very few survivors can manoeuvre them.
So, if an evacuation is indeed necessary, river traffic jamming will essentially be a non-issue.
Despite Yara’s extensive explanation, he hadn’t actually revealed their real evacuation plans to Dong Tianyu in the event of danger.
Although Yara verbally assured that the river would not be congested, these people would not entrust their lives to mere chance.
They have set up a safe house here so that, in the face of danger, they can seemingly evacuate quickly onto ships from their proximity to the safe house and dock. But in reality, they have prepared three evacuation routes on the river.
If there is enough time, they will evacuate together on large vessels as Yara had initially described to Dong Tianyu. This method is most comfortable but slower, as even if the river is clear, ships do not move very fast in water.
If time is tight, they will board specially customized tugboats, with families evacuating directly on these boats. While tugs may allow for rapid evacuation, their capacity limitations mean they can’t carry much supplies, so this option is not the first choice when there are alternatives.
In the most urgent of circumstances, they will enter submersible speedboats hidden beneath the tugs, which are different from military submarines that slow down to remain stealthy underwater.
These submersible speedboats are incredibly fast underwater, and as they travel below the surface, any potential river congestion won’t affect their evacuation.
However, these submersibles are relatively small, and to enhance speed and endurance, a substantial portion of their space is taken up by fuel tanks.
As such, there isn’t much room left inside the submersible; beyond the passenger area, the vessel can’t carry many supplies.
Most crucially, these submarines are theoretically disposable; their design existed before the Cold Catastrophe and were operational along the coastlines of Uncle Sam’s territory.
Yara had a purpose in bringing Dong Tianyu today, even though he doesn’t yet know why Dong Tianyu came to Kyoto. By showing Dong Tianyu their capabilities, Yara ensures an advantage in any forthcoming discussions, no matter the subject.
