Chapter 231: Chapter 231: Deserted Island Survival 9

Ronan swiftly pulled Evelyn to his left, shielding her in his arms, and fired a shot inside. A pained, muffled groan echoed from within. Ronan kicked open the cabin door, dragged the person out, and kicked the gun from their hand.

It was a blonde woman, about forty years old. She glared fiercely at Evelyn and Ronan, still spewing curses.

Evelyn took out her knife and placed it against the woman’s throat. The woman immediately fell silent.

"What’s the situation in Xylos now? Are you living on an island or in a base? How many of you are left? How many days did it take you to sail here?"

Evelyn asked the questions in a foreign language. The woman rolled her eyes, refusing to answer. Evelyn slowly pressed the knife deeper, and blood immediately trickled from the woman’s neck.

The pain in her neck filled her with terror. She immediately began to beg for mercy, telling Evelyn she had elders to care for and children to raise, and that she didn’t want to die.

Ronan went inside and checked everywhere. Aside from this woman, there was no one else alive on the boat.

"I’ll talk! As long as you let me go, I’ll tell you everything."

The woman had been shot in the abdomen and was no longer able to resist.

"The seawater surged inland and submerged several cities. There were volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in many places. We were trapped in a small city with about a hundred thousand people. It took us fifteen days to sail here. I’ve told you everything. Let me go, I’m begging you."

Evelyn looked into her eyes, trying to determine if she was lying.

’Over ten days to get here. It seems they took the long way around.’

But just then, the woman pulled a dagger from her sleeve and swung it at Evelyn’s wrist. Evelyn was faster, instantly slitting her throat. The woman’s eyes widened as blood spurted from the artery in her neck. She struggled for a few seconds, then died.

"There’s a lot of diesel on the boat, and two crates of weapons here. I picked up thirteen guns on the deck. The rest must have fallen into the water."

After kicking the woman’s body into the sea, the two of them began to take stock of the supplies.

The fishing boat was large, with an upper and lower deck. The lower deck was for storing the catch. The boat also had several cabins, and the galley even contained two generators and a washing machine.

After studying it for half an hour, Ronan piloted the fishing boat back to the small island. Evelyn hauled up their assault boat and moved all the weapons and diesel barrels into her storage space.

Back on the small island, Evelyn looked at the fishing boat, and it still felt a bit unreal.

Not long ago, she had been thinking how great it would be to have a large boat. She never imagined they would actually get one today.

Their catch was plentiful. There were king crabs even larger than the ones Ronan had caught, and more than fifty tuna.

The tuna had already been dressed and properly processed, ready to be stored directly in her space.

As for the clothes, bedding, and shoes on the boat, Evelyn decided to store them away. They might come in handy later.

What excited Evelyn the most were the fishing cages and nets on the boat. They were robust enough to catch not just small fish and shrimp, but potentially even a whale.

Once she had emptied the boat of its contents, Evelyn stored the vessel itself in her space. It wasn’t safe to leave it anchored at sea, after all. A single large wave could easily capsize it.

The fish and other seafood on the island still needed to be processed. Evelyn took out a pair of tongs and a wooden basket and got back to work.

They worked for several hours, skipping both breakfast and lunch. Ronan finished cleaning up the backyard, and after Evelyn stored everything in her space, her limbs felt frozen and numb.

Back in the log cabin, they quickly drank a bowl of ginger soup. They pulled some prepared food from the storage space for a simple lunch, after which Evelyn took out a pen and paper to list their haul.

"Ronan, I think we’ve drifted into another country’s territory."

Evelyn took out a world map and drew a circle on a specific spot.

"Xylos isn’t a neighboring country. When it’s night there, it’s day for us. It’s impossible to sail to our territory in half a month. Plus, the conditions at sea are treacherous, with constant wind and waves. After the earthquake in Aeridor, we drifted for a month, crossing three different ocean regions before finally landing here. That’s why I suspect we’ve reached Country A."

Ronan looked at the map in Evelyn’s hands. "If we want to go back, we have to head east."

Evelyn nodded. "Exactly. But the boat has a navigation system, so we should be able to find our way back. What I’m thinking now is to search the surrounding islands. Maybe we can find Wendy and the others. The chances are slim, but..."

Evelyn sighed. "I refuse to believe anything happened to them."

Ronan knew Evelyn had a deep bond with Wendy and the others. From Corinth to Wyrmrest Base, and then to Aeridor, they had weathered so many years and so many hardships together.

Ronan couldn’t fully understand that feeling, but he knew one thing when it came to Evelyn: whatever she wanted to do, he would do it with her, even if it meant going through hell and high water.

The temperature dropped to minus thirty degrees Celsius and held steady. For Evelyn, who was well-acclimated to the cold, there seemed to be little difference between minus thirty and minus five.

They sawed up all the trees on the island that had been uprooted by the storm and stored the wood in the space.

From that day on, however, the sea suddenly fell silent. There were no winds or waves; the surface of the water was without a single ripple, as if someone had hit a pause button.

Ronan tried to fish with the cages and nets, but caught nothing.

They took the assault boat out to sea, but even in the deep-water regions, there were no fish.

"Where have all the fish gone?"

Not only were the fish gone, but the blizzard stopped, the fog lifted, and the long-absent sun peeked out from behind the heavy, dark clouds.

The sunlight wasn’t strong, however; you couldn’t feel a trace of warmth even when holding out your hand.

It was too strange. So strange that Evelyn couldn’t help but be on high alert.

Evelyn had been clearing the accumulated snow from the yard into her space, but now that the blizzard had stopped, she no longer needed to.

Aside from patches of unmeltable snow, only the log cabin remained. The island that had been so full of life when they arrived was now a barren, desolate rock.

「The twentieth day of the second lunar month. Auspicious for travel.」

Evelyn stored the log cabin and the ice from the backyard pond in her space. Dressed in military greatcoats and with the four little ones in tow, they boarded the fishing boat.

Just as the fishing boat was about to move, a thunderous boom erupted behind them. The entire island began to sink. The once-silent sea was instantly whipped into a frenzy by a violent gale, the sun vanished behind the clouds, and a light drizzle began to patter on the deck.

The island vanished beneath the waves, replaced by a black whirlpool. A powerful suction tugged at the fishing boat. Ronan quickly gunned the engine. The ship’s horn blared, and they began to move.

Evelyn stared blankly in the direction of the island. If they had been just half a minute slower, they would have sunk along with it.

The boat’s cabins were already made up with clean bedding. Evelyn settled Mina and the other little ones, then joined Ronan at the helm.

Huge waves crashed against the stern, one after another. The boat moved slowly at first, its deck awash with seawater.

"Which direction do we head now?"

"North."

Evelyn took out her notebook and recorded their course.