Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Zaltar District 1

"This forest is huge. They must have outposts. Ronan, let’s find their outpost first. If there’s a woman, we can get an ID."

Ronan Kendrick focused his keen hearing, then pointed.

"There are sounds to the north, and smoke." He pointed at the sky, and only then did Evelyn Ford see a plume of white smoke rising and blending into the gray, hazy sky.

"Great. Let’s go." Evelyn Ford leaned on her trekking pole. The frozen ground was slick with ice, making it easy to slip. She had tied two layers of knee pads around her knees.

After walking for about an hour, the two finally arrived behind an outpost. A highway ran in front of it, and a few vehicles were parked in the yard.

Inside a small hut nearby, two huskies were sleeping.

A woman’s cry came from inside the building. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick crept closer and peered through a back window of the outpost. A woman was being beaten and assaulted. She was crying and begging for mercy while the others roared with laughter, shouting unspeakably vile curses.

Ronan Kendrick didn’t want Evelyn Ford to see such a scene. His face cold, he pulled her into his embrace.

"I’ll take care of it. Wait for me here."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Be careful."

Ronan Kendrick moved quickly. To avoid wasting bullets, he snapped their necks with his bare hands.

When the woman saw Ronan Kendrick killing the men, she let out a scream and fainted.

Before the men could even react, all their necks had been broken.

Ronan Kendrick took care of everyone in the outpost, and Evelyn Ford came around from the back.

The two huskies wagged their tails when they saw Evelyn Ford, which almost made her laugh.

They collected all the guns, vehicles, food, and water from the outpost. Ronan Kendrick also found some alcohol and chocolate.

Within half an hour, only an empty building was left of the outpost. Ronan Kendrick wrapped the men’s bodies in bedsheets before letting Evelyn Ford store them in her space.

"This woman is dead. These men were vicious. When I came in, she was barely breathing. I think she might have been scared to death by me." Ronan Kendrick sounded a little helpless. He hadn’t wanted to kill the poor woman.

Evelyn Ford glanced at the woman and stored her in the space as well. Fortunately, she found the woman’s ID among the clothes scattered on the floor.

Before leaving, Evelyn Ford patted the two huskies on the head.

"These two have an IQ of zero."

The two sped off in the outpost’s patrol car. Along the way, Ronan Kendrick changed into the patrolman’s uniform they had scavenged. Evelyn Ford put on the woman’s overcoat and a yellow wig. Once it was on, it gave off a real edgy punk vibe.

’Something feels off.’

"Her eyes were blue-green," Ronan Kendrick reminded her.

Evelyn Ford quickly took out a box of colored contacts. "I never thought I’d have to do this kind of disguise one day. Now you only have to disguise one eye."

Ronan Kendrick smiled, pressing his lips together. "I’m already used to it."

Evelyn Ford then applied some makeup to her face. As long as her eyes looked right, it would be fine. After all, everyone here wore hats and masks, revealing almost nothing but their eyes.

When she was done, Evelyn Ford looked at Ronan Kendrick with a beaming smile.

"How do I look?"

"It’s as good as a professional disguise."

Evelyn Ford was very pleased with herself. After all, she had honed her makeup skills by practicing on Ronan Kendrick’s face.

"Let’s go."

The patrol car drove through the forest and emerged onto a plain an hour later. Both sides of the road were fenced off with barbed wire. Inside were black plastic greenhouses where various fruits and vegetables were being grown.

’This is what I imagined The Northwest would be like.’

As they approached the outside of Zaltar District One, they saw many patrolmen standing guard. Ronan Kendrick, who was in the driver’s seat, handed over the ID. The guard glanced at Evelyn Ford and immediately waved them through.

Entering Zaltar District One, Evelyn Ford saw residents of all different ethnicities.

There were even some Chinese faces, but Evelyn Ford had no interest in getting to know them or acknowledging them. She was here for a major haul, not for a vacation.

Women and children were picking through trash cans on the side of the street for food. While Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were in the car, a woman came up and clung to the window, trying to sell herself to Ronan.

Here, transactions could only be made with food or other supplies.

Ronan Kendrick was a fast learner. Evelyn Ford had been tutoring him in foreign languages recently, and he could already understand and hold simple conversations.

"Where would be a good place to park the car?"

Ronan Kendrick pointed to the left. "Look, there’s a hotel over there."

"Stay at a hotel?"

"Mhm." Ronan Kendrick nodded.

The two got out of the car with a confident swagger. Someone from the hotel immediately ran out to help them park.

Ronan Kendrick wrapped his arm around Evelyn Ford’s waist and walked straight into the hotel. The receptionist immediately stood up and greeted them respectfully. It seemed the uniform Ronan was wearing was quite useful in this city.

Ronan Kendrick presented the ID. The person took it, ran it over a scanner, and the file was saved. An attendant immediately came over to lead them upstairs.

Just then, the young man who had parked the car returned with the keys, handing them respectfully to Ronan Kendrick.

Zaltar had electricity. As they came in, Evelyn Ford had seen rows of wind turbines.

The hotel’s interior was on par with a basic, run-of-the-mill motel from a backwater city before the apocalypse.

After the attendant opened the door for them, he chattered on about something. Ronan Kendrick took the key card, gave a dismissive wave, and the attendant quickly left.

The room contained only a bed, a nightstand, a table lamp, and a bathroom.

Evelyn Ford bolted the door and walked to the window, where she looked through her binoculars for a long time. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"This Zaltar is interesting. It’s like we’ve gone back to Western society from over two hundred years ago."

Down below, several women scavenging in the trash were being driven away by patrolmen. They didn’t dare to resist and could only beg for mercy. The patrolmen would harass and grope the women, and a passing child was kicked for no reason.

’No wonder everyone here is so afraid of the patrolmen.’

Ronan Kendrick went to check the bathroom. It was reasonably clean but very cramped. At least there was hot water, so they could take a shower.

"Let’s shower, get some sleep, and go out after dark."

Evelyn Ford had no objections. "Okay. First, we need to get a clear lay of the land in Zaltar."

Evelyn Ford took off her wig and overcoat, then took some food out of her space and handed it to Ronan Kendrick.

"Let’s eat. I’m starving. Here’s my plan: we’ll prioritize diesel, gasoline, vehicles, ships, medical supplies, and coal mines. We’ll collect those first."

"Will Zaltar have ships?"

Evelyn Ford shrugged. "We’ll have to check. But since it’s divided into District One, District Two, District Three... it means the whole of Zaltar is huge. I have another theory, though. The so-called ’districts’ are actually class divisions. Did you notice? District One has a lot of women and children scavenging, and people of all different skin colors. This area was probably populated by people who moved from other countries. The good stuff probably isn’t in District One."

"There’s one more thing. The people from the outpost disappeared without a trace. If they’re discovered missing, they might search all of District One."

"We’ll have to get a new identity."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "That’s the only way."

After eating, the two quickly showered. Evelyn Ford had already taken out the colored contacts. She finally understood why Ronan Kendrick hated wearing them—they were so uncomfortable.

Looking at her heavily made-up face in the mirror, she had to admit, she really did look like one of those exotic beauties from a Western movie.