Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Deserted Island Survival 3

After finding Ronan Kendrick, Evelyn Ford pulled him into a run toward the woods in the backyard. Lola and the Red Bird were still on a branch, being all lovey-dovey.

"Them..."

"Lola’s been lured away by this bird. And Mina, too! Last night, he was on a date with a black-brown squirrel in the cabin, and I caught them red-handed."

"When we first arrived, I didn’t see any sign of other animals on the island." Ronan Kendrick found it a little strange.

"We’ve been living here for so many days and I haven’t seen any other animals either. Where on earth did they pop up from?"

Evelyn Ford took out her whistle and blew it twice. Lola immediately flew over to her. Even Mina, who hadn’t come home last night, ran back, bringing his girlfriend with him.

"See? It’s this squirrel." The little squirrel hid behind Mina, peeking timidly at Evelyn Ford.

"It’s like they appeared out of thin air."

The island was very small. Evelyn Ford knew it like the back of her hand—how many trees, how many flowers. Forget birds and squirrels; there wasn’t even a single earthworm.

Evelyn Ford felt that something was wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

"Maybe we just didn’t notice them before. They were hidden too well. Anyway, never mind that. Ronan Kendrick, do you think we should let them be together?"

Ronan Kendrick’s brow furrowed. "It’s wrong to break up a happy couple."

Evelyn Ford agreed. "So, we’ll just leave them be? Let them date freely?"

"Mm." Ronan Kendrick glanced at Mina, who was wagging his tail and looking incredibly smug.

Evelyn Ford took out a handful of crushed rice and put it on the ground. Mina and Lola immediately ran over. The other two exchanged glances, and only after confirming Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick posed no threat did they slowly inch forward.

Evelyn Ford smiled, satisfied. ’On second thought, this fiery red little bird is quite pretty. And this little black-brown squirrel has red eyes and a big, fluffy tail. It’s actually very cute.’ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

—

A new day began with hauling in the fishing net. Inside, they found two enormous king crabs. Evelyn Ford weighed one and found it was around ten kilograms. However, the net had a hole in it that needed to be mended.

King crabs usually live in the most dangerous seas, and part of the reason they’re so expensive is because catching them is an extremely hazardous job.

Evelyn Ford gazed out at the turbulent sea. At that moment, a line of seagulls appeared over the water, and the distant sun had a reddish hue. Evelyn Ford guessed a storm was on its way.

"Ronan Kendrick, we might get strong winds and high waves in the next couple of days."

Ronan Kendrick glanced at the surface of the sea. "It might be here very soon."

Evelyn Ford took out the solar-powered water storage barrels she had salvaged earlier and temporarily placed the king crabs inside one.

The other small fish and shrimp had to be dealt with quickly.

Ronan Kendrick was intrigued by the king crabs. "Can you eat them?"

"Of course. And they’re very expensive. I’ve never had one, though, so I don’t know what they taste like."

"Do you have an iron cage?"

Evelyn Ford searched her dimensional space and, surprisingly, found a very large iron cage.

"Will this work?"

"It will." Ronan Kendrick tied two hemp ropes to the iron cage, then tossed it directly into the sea.

He tied the ropes to a coconut tree, and Evelyn Ford guessed he was planning to catch more king crabs.

This part of the ocean was deep sea. In addition to the massive predators they’d seen before, today’s catch included not just king crabs, but also snow crabs and tuna.

Just as the two of them finished processing the fish and shrimp, the weather on the island turned abruptly. Fat raindrops began to smack against their faces. Evelyn Ford checked the thermometer; the temperature, which had been twenty-six degrees a moment ago, had plummeted to the low teens. Rubbing her arms, she headed back to the cabin with Ronan Kendrick.

A fierce gale raged over the sea as a hurricane and torrential rain swept in from the distance.

Ronan Kendrick put the lightning rod on the roof. Mina and Lola also returned with their little companions to shelter from the rain.

Just thirty seconds later, a massive wave crashed over the island, slamming into the wooden cabin. Evelyn Ford could even see fish and shrimp being carried in by the surf.

This storm was even more terrifying than what they had experienced out on the open sea. A bolt of lightning struck, immediately followed by a clap of thunder. With a loud CRACKLE, the lightning rod on the cabin roof shot out sparks.

The temperature on the island kept dropping. Evelyn Ford put some firewood in the fireplace, and the room soon began to warm up.

The storage barrel holding the king crabs was moved inside the cabin. The two birds, Lola and the Red Bird, landed on top of it and began chirping excitedly.

The cabin rocked back and forth, battered by the waves. The once-blue sky over the sea had turned pitch-black. Outside, seagulls cried as they flew.

’The last few days were so calm. I thought this island would be safe, but I didn’t expect a crisis to hit so soon. Was that some kind of beginner’s grace period for new arrivals?’

Evelyn Ford poured herself a cup of hot water and quickly drank it to warm her stomach.

"The storm has subsided." Ronan Kendrick, who had been observing the conditions outside, suddenly opened the cabin door and left. A few minutes later, he returned carrying the iron cage, which was now filled with king crabs and other large fish.

"A good haul. Evelyn Ford, do they need to be separated?"

Evelyn Ford quickly put on an apron and a pair of latex gloves.

"Yes. But how did you know it was full?"

Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "Just a guess."

Just as Ronan Kendrick said, the storm at sea had receded. Though the sky remained dark and oppressive, the boundless ocean surface was gradually calming, leaving only gentle swells.

The island was littered with all kinds of fish and shrimp that had been washed ashore by the storm, and there was even a huge piece of kelp.

The temperature was still low, so Evelyn Ford hurried to gather the fish and shrimp and put them into the storage barrels. Just collecting the bounty on the island took three hours, filling over ten barrels. Evelyn Ford hadn’t realized one storm could yield such a massive harvest. ’No wonder people who live by the sea love to go beachcombing,’ she thought.

The iron cage held over thirty king crabs. The only downside was that both the vegetable patch and the flower garden had been ravaged by the storm.

However, starting from that day, the island abruptly plunged into winter. The trees in the backyard went bare overnight, and the temperature dropped to zero degrees Celsius.

’This weather is even more fickle than a player’s heart.’

「Three days later.」

A blizzard descended upon the island. The sea remained turbulent, but the waves no longer breached the shore.

Staring at the silver, snow-clad world outside her window, Evelyn Ford wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Ronan Kendrick, does this seem normal to you? When we first arrived on the island, it was lush and full of spring. In just one week, we’ve skipped two seasons and plunged straight into the dead of winter. The leaves on the trees disappeared overnight, and I woke up today to a blizzard outside."

"Maybe the weather in this part of the sea is just this volatile. A blizzard today, and tomorrow the sun could come out and it’ll be scorching hot."

Evelyn Ford gave Ronan Kendrick an exasperated look. "Are you serious?"

’Although she didn’t want to admit it, wasn’t every day since the apocalypse began just like this?’

Terrifying and bizarre.

Evelyn Ford added some more firewood to the heated brick bed and crawled back under the covers, hoping to sleep a little longer. It was too cold; she didn’t have the courage to get out of bed.