Chapter 233: Chapter 233: The Freshwater Lake

The fishing boat could cover about fifteen to twenty kilometers per hour, and that was in calm seas. Since it was a small to medium-sized vessel, its fuel consumption wasn’t too high.

Evelyn Ford had a bold idea, but pulling it off would be somewhat risky.

If they were truly in Country A, Evelyn Ford wasn’t in a hurry to return. If they could head north, they might reach Rovan—a nation that was probably still doing alright for itself. Given that they were archenemies, ’how could she pass up the chance to go and ’collect’ some supplies?’

Evelyn Ford took out a map and roughly calculated the distance.

However, Evelyn Ford also had to consider another possibility: nuclear fallout might have already permeated all of Rovan. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions could have long since razed the tiny island nation to the ground.

After all, this was the sixth year of the apocalypse.

This matter required careful deliberation. She couldn’t be reckless.

They sailed day and night without rest. In the days that followed, the dangers they faced escalated dramatically. Rainstorms, lightning, and hurricanes became commonplace.

Dense fog rolled in and out, and the temperature held steady at thirty degrees below zero. After they left the island, the sun never appeared again.

On the twelfth day of their voyage, the fishing boat entered a new body of water. There were finally signs of fish here. It wasn’t too deep, and the water was so clear that Evelyn Ford could even see the weeds and various fish swimming along the bottom.

Not far away, a patch of reeds on the water’s surface swayed in the wind. Ronan Kendrick stopped the fishing boat in front of them, then stepped out of the cockpit and onto the deck.

Evelyn Ford had already taken out a sickle, ready to harvest some reeds. The sight of the lush, green reeds was cheering. Not only were the hearts edible, but every part of the plant—from its leaves and flowers to its stems and roots—could be used in medicine to reduce fever, detoxify the body, stop bleeding, and quell nausea...

"The wind is light today. It looks like we’ve left the deep sea."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "I think so. Look, even the water is different."

Ronan Kendrick watched her with a smile. "Want to harvest the reeds? I’ll go down and get them. You can stay up here and take them from me."

"Okay. I let Mina and the others out too. The weather is nice today, so I figured they could get some fresh air."

Ronan Kendrick put on a raincoat and rain boots. Evelyn Ford got out the kayak for him to paddle into the reed bed. With a gentle tug, Ronan pulled the reeds out, roots and all. He rinsed the mud off the roots in the water and then stacked them neatly.

Evelyn Ford put on a pair of gloves. As Ronan Kendrick handed the reeds up to her, she extracted their inner cores to save for stir-fries, then used the sickle to cut off the roots, leaves, and flowers, setting each part aside separately.

After several hours of harvesting, the entire deck was piled high with reeds. Evelyn Ford hurriedly called for Ronan Kendrick to come back up.

"Ronan, that’s enough reeds! Come on up."

"Alright."

Evelyn Ford kept the reed roots, thinking she might be able to plant them later. She stored the other parts in her space for now; they would need to be dried in the sun and made into medicine later.

"Let’s rest here for a couple of days. This body of water doesn’t look like the sea. It seems more like a freshwater lake."

"I’ll go set the fishing nets, then." After pulling the kayak aboard, Ronan Kendrick took off his raincoat, grabbed a fishing net, and cast it into the water.

It was one in the afternoon. Evelyn Ford finished tidying up the reeds on deck and pulled Ronan Kendrick into the cabin.

"Let’s eat first, then you need to get some rest. Your eyes look bloodshot."

It wasn’t visible in his red eye, but it was obvious in his blue one.

"Alright. You rest too."

"I want to steam some buns. I’m not tired, you go rest first."

"No. If you don’t rest, I’m not resting either." Ronan Kendrick leaned his head on Evelyn Ford’s shoulder. "I can’t sleep if you’re not with me."

Evelyn Ford turned her head to look at him, their eyes meeting. Ronan Kendrick tugged at her clothes again.

"Stay with me."

"Alright." Evelyn Ford squeezed his cheek. "I’ll stay with you."

After eating, they went to haul in the fishing net they had cast earlier. The net on the fishing boat didn’t need to be pulled in by hand; there was a motorized pulley that did the work. Seeing the net brimming with all sorts of fish, Evelyn Ford hurried to grab a fish cage from the deck below.

"It really is a freshwater lake! Everything we’ve caught is a freshwater fish. Look! Silver carp, Grass Carp, crucian carp, black carp, trout..."

There were some species Evelyn Ford didn’t recognize, but they were probably edible.

The net also held waterweeds and crocodile eggs.

They sorted the fish, then immediately placed them in the freezer on the lower deck. Once frozen, the fish would be moved into her space.

Ronan Kendrick cast the net again, and then they both returned to the cabin, reeking of fish. Evelyn Ford used the generator to heat water while Ronan studied the world map she had given him.

"Ronan, the water’s hot. Go take a shower."

"You go first. A cold shower is fine for me."

Evelyn sighed in exasperation. "Don’t worry about the gasoline. If we run out of hot water, we can just run the generator again. What would we do if you got sick?"

A corner of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth lifted. "I don’t get sick that easily."

’He would have loved to feign sickness to make Evelyn feel sorry for him and take care of him, but the current situation was too precarious. They were still adrift in dangerous waters. He’d have to save that little trick for later.’

Nevertheless, he insisted that Evelyn go first. She knew his temperament; while Ronan Kendrick wasn’t a chauvinist, he was incredibly stubborn and overbearing when it came to her well-being.

After they had rested for seven or eight hours, Ronan Kendrick went up on deck to haul in the net. Once again, it was a huge catch.

Looking out at the water, Evelyn Ford was tempted to stay and stock up on more fish, but she couldn’t stop worrying about the others and wanted to find them as soon as possible.

They stayed on the freshwater lake for two days. During that time, Evelyn Ford washed all their accumulated dirty laundry and hung it to dry on the deck. She also filled all the empty water tanks and storage barrels with fresh water. Even if it wasn’t safe to drink directly, it could still be used for laundry.

The fishing boat continued on its journey. For the next few days, the weather on the water was excellent, with no high winds, rough waves, or rainstorms.

Evelyn Ford spent most of her time busy in the galley, where she had cleaned all the fish they had caught.

The only thing was, Evelyn Ford still wasn’t sure how to deal with the two crocodiles Ronan Kendrick had hauled in.

’Releasing them was out of the question. Once something fell into her hands, there was no letting it go.’

The freshwater lake was massive; it took them nearly five days to cross it and re-enter a deep-sea region.

As soon as they entered the deep sea, they were hit by a violent storm. The fishing boat nearly capsized, and Evelyn Ford was thrown to the deck several times, bruising her knees and forehead.

Fortunately, after the storm passed, Ronan Kendrick spotted a small island. Ignoring her injuries, Evelyn Ford immediately grabbed her binoculars to get a better look.

"It’s too far, I can’t see clearly. Ronan, let’s get over there, quickly."

"Alright. You need to treat your wounds. The seawater is filthy; be careful of infection."

The moment she heard the word "infection," Evelyn Ford promptly took out the first-aid kit and treated her wounds.

An hour later, the fishing boat slowly approached the island. Seeing it was overgrown with weeds and completely uninhabited, a flicker of disappointment crossed Evelyn’s eyes.

"There’s no one on the island."