Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Deserted Island Survival 5

To welcome the New Year, Evelyn Ford took out a calligraphy brush and red paper to write celebratory couplets and characters for good fortune.

The rain continued for the next few days, never letting up for a moment.

Although Ronan Kendrick wasn’t going out on the open sea, he still went to haul in the fishing nets and iron traps every day. After it started raining, the catch of fish, shrimp, and crabs grew even larger.

On New Year’s Eve, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick woke up early to clean the house. The year was ending, and it was important to see it through properly and not be lazy.

As the old saying goes, those who work hard on New Year’s Eve will have more than enough to eat for the entire year to come.

Evelyn Ford steamed two king crabs according to a recipe. She also took out a block of processed tuna, slicing it into strips to be eaten raw with soy sauce.

Even though it was just the two of them, Evelyn Ford still prepared an eight-course meal. The little guys were all dressed in new clothes she had made for them.

It was a shame there were no firecrackers, no glow from the lights of a thousand homes.

Evelyn Ford had changed into a special red outfit. Her hair had grown quite long, long enough to be tied back.

The new sweater she had crocheted for Ronan Kendrick was finished, and they looked like they were wearing matching outfits.

With the New Year’s Eve dinner laid out, she took out a bottle of liquor and poured two glasses. Evelyn Ford then found a video of the Spring Festival Gala that she had downloaded before.

The hosts on screen wished everyone a happy new year, and Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a smile.

"Happy New Year."

"To a healthy and peaceful year."

Comedy skits that she wouldn’t have laughed at in the past felt completely different watching them now.

When the New Year’s Eve dinner was over, Evelyn Ford rested her head on Ronan Kendrick’s shoulder.

"Ronan, let’s stay up to see the new year in tonight."

"Alright."

She had just had two glasses of liquor and was already feeling a little tipsy.

There was no moon over the sea, only gale-force winds and torrential rain.

The clock struck twelve, heralding the new year.

Evelyn Ford made a single wish for the new year: that everyone could be safe and well.

By the time the waves began crashing against the wooden house, Evelyn Ford was already asleep. Ronan Kendrick carried her to the heated brick bed in the bedroom and added more firewood to the stove beneath it.

Ronan Kendrick watched the waves outside and thought to himself, ’I hope all of Evelyn’s wishes come true.’

He reached out to tuck the blanket snugly around her, then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Good night."

On the first day of the new year, Evelyn Ford was full of energy. The waves had washed over the island again last night, which meant she could go out and collect more fish and shrimp in the morning. Dressed in a military greatcoat, she stood in the yard holding a pair of fire tongs and a plastic bucket.

Ronan Kendrick had already hauled in the iron traps and fishing nets. Today’s catch consisted entirely of bighead carp—a bountiful harvest. He cast the traps and nets back into the sea.

When she woke up, Evelyn Ford checked the temperature. It was nine degrees below zero.

The seawater in this region had a very high salt content, so it hadn’t frozen even at nine degrees below zero. It was also possible that the atmospheric pressure was preventing it from icing over.

In any case, as long as they could keep fishing, it didn’t matter. Evelyn Ford couldn’t be bothered to analyze the weather patterns any further.

A lot of fish and seafood had been washed ashore by the waves last night, all of a considerable size. There were lancelets, sea turtles, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, eels...

Most of it, however, was large sheets of kelp. The kelp here was wide and thick, its green fronds strongly resembling palm leaves. But the fishy smell was overpowering, and it would have to be processed before it was edible.

Evelyn Ford wore goggles to prevent snow blindness. Her eyes might have been damaged back on Broken Cloud Mountain, because now they would get red, swollen, and teary if she looked at anything too bright for an extended period.

After gathering all the seafood, Evelyn Ford went to find Ronan Kendrick by the coconut palms. He had caught another giant tuna. Judging by its size, it had to be over 400 kilograms. The fish was still in the water, and Ronan was just about to haul it ashore.

Evelyn Ford hurried over to help. A layer of snow dusted Ronan Kendrick’s hair and clothes. The iron traps and fishing nets had already been hauled ashore, and they were brimming with fish, shrimp, and crabs.

By the time they dragged the tuna ashore, Evelyn Ford was panting from the effort.

"So heavy! These things are delicious, but they’re a real pain to catch. Alright, let’s head home. Today’s haul is more than enough."

’So exhausting, and it’s only the first day of the year,’ she thought. ’Looks like it’s going to be another year of hard work.’

"There were two of them, but the smaller one got away," Ronan Kendrick said as he began to butcher the freshly killed tuna. Evelyn Ford quickly stored the meat in her space.

"Why didn’t you call me? What would you have done if it had dragged you into the sea?"

Ronan Kendrick smiled, his lips pressed together. "I can swim, and the cold doesn’t bother me. I would have been fine."

Evelyn Ford flicked him on the forehead. "There are so many ferocious creatures in the sea. If they smelled blood and swarmed you, do you really think you could get away safely?"

"I was wrong. I’ll never do it again."

Evelyn Ford huffed. "You’re always quick to apologize, but you’re completely unrepentant. Fine. Let’s get this stuff back to the house. It’s time for lunch."

They had only eaten a bowl of sweet rice balls for breakfast. For lunch, Evelyn Ford had a bear paw stew simmering, which should be ready by now.

’You have to eat well on the first day of the new year.’

Back in the wooden house, Evelyn Ford warmed herself by the fire. Once she felt warm again, she went into the kitchen to start cooking. Ronan Kendrick was still in the yard, cleaning their catch. Fortunately, Evelyn was more resistant to the cold now; despite working outside in the snow all morning, she hadn’t gotten any frostbite.

The temperature dropped to eleven degrees below zero. Evelyn Ford had already taken out a space heater. Although the main room of the cabin was warm, the kitchen and bathroom were very cold and needed to be heated.

’It’s the sixth year of the apocalypse,’ she mused. ’And not only have the supplies in my space not dwindled, they’ve actually increased.’

Evelyn Ford took out a pumpkin and made a sweet pumpkin soup and some pumpkin pancakes.

She also made a stir-fry of green peppers and meat, and blanched some pea shoots. Lunch was ready.

Neither of them went out that afternoon; they just stayed in the bedroom watching movies.

On an island in another part of the sea, Wendy watched over the still-unconscious Officer Graham, feeling both anxious and afraid. The island was covered in thorny trees that grew small, red berries. She had tried them herself and found they weren’t poisonous, so she squeezed their juice into Officer Graham’s mouth. But even after more than twenty days in a coma, he showed no signs of waking.

After the great flood, they had found a kayak. Officer Graham had led their escape across the sea, and after narrowly escaping death time and again, they finally found this island.

Thankfully, Officer Graham had kept his backpack, which was filled with food, on him at all times. They had survived their escape thanks to the Dried Meat and canned goods inside. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

But Officer Graham had been severely injured during the earthquake. He had collapsed the moment they reached the island and hadn’t woken up since.

Wendy didn’t notice that a thorn had pricked her finger. Her blood mixed with the berry juice and trickled into Officer Graham’s mouth.

Meanwhile, on an island in yet another part of the sea, Quincy and his companions had been captured. Their captors, a group of wild people over two meters tall and covered in long hair, had snatched them from the water. The creatures chattered away in some incomprehensible gibberish. Finally, a female one walked up to Quincy and patted his chest in satisfaction.

"What does she want?"

"I think she wants to eat you."

Quincy burst into tears, but the female wildling simply scooped him up with one arm, took his hand, and gave it a kiss.

His companions stared in horror. "She doesn’t want to eat you! She wants to make little wildlings with you!"

Quincy...

"In that case, I’d rather she just ate me."