Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Return Trip, Robbers

Ronan Kendrick understood. "Westeria hasn’t suffered a major catastrophe, but it’s been flooded with refugees from all over the world. The country is divided into different zones based on skin color and class. Patrolmen carry guns to maintain order, but they’re not good people. They bully the weak and commit all sorts of atrocities. Even without natural disasters, the place is bound to become a battlefield sooner or later."

This was the first time Ronan Kendrick had spoken so much with Officer Graham. The officer felt a sense of gratification at having earned his trust. He was also very worried about Evelyn Ford’s condition.

"Are you sure Evelyn Ford’s injuries aren’t serious? She looks terribly pale."

"We were discovered by patrolmen as we left the Earthen Cliff outside Zaltar. Evelyn Ford was shot twice."

"Two shots?" Officer Graham’s pupils contracted.

"Yes. In the shoulder."

The two of them talked for a long while before Ronan Kendrick returned to his room. Officer Graham, on the other hand, went to the storeroom to take inventory. The fishing boat had already traveled five or six kilometers. The waves were high, and the temperature continued to drop.

Evelyn Ford stayed in her room for four or five days, and Ronan Kendrick only allowed her to go out and move around once her wounds had completely healed.

For the past few days, everyone had been waiting on her hand and foot, treating her like a queen. The lavish spread of food alone was dazzling to Evelyn Ford.

Steamed leopard coral trout, steamed abalone, pan-fried ribbonfish, stir-fried Squid... Evelyn Ford was starting to get sick of the sight of seafood.

When she came up to the deck, everyone was busy processing the fish and shrimp they had caught. Evelyn Ford was just about to go over and help when Taylor Vance stopped her.

"Evelyn Ford, you should go back and rest. Leave this work to us."

"That’s right. You should be focusing on your recovery, not out here in the wind."

"Miss Ford, you should go play with Snow Rabbit for a bit."

Evelyn Ford didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "I’m almost all better. If I rest any longer, I’ll start growing mold."

After leaving Yarrow, the fishing boat entered a stretch of clean ocean. Not only were the waters calm here, but the fish and shrimp were big and plump. Everyone had been busy fishing for the past few days.

"Just let Evelyn Ford help out. She can’t sit still."

Officer Graham found a stool for Evelyn Ford. She put on a pair of gloves, sat down next to Wendy, and picked up a fish. She gutted it with swift, brutal efficiency. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Exactly. Any more time off and I’ll get lazy."

"Miss Ford, can you tell me about Westeria? Do they still have skyscrapers there?"

"They do. It’s just like the old Corinth. The people living in Lantir can take their cars out for recreational drives. They have no shortage of electricity, water, or food."

"It sounds so nice! Why don’t we move there, then?"

Evelyn Ford just smiled. "If we wanted to enter Westeria, we’d be assigned to work fifteen hours a day in the mines or the factories in Zaltar. The factories don’t serve a single meal with meat in a whole month. The food at the mines is a bit better, but working there means you might get black lung disease. Most importantly, people inside are separated into a rigid hierarchy based on the color of their skin."

When Evelyn Ford finished, Wendy’s brow was deeply furrowed.

"Then I don’t want to go. That doesn’t sound good at all."

"Evelyn Ford, did you see anyone from our country there?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "I did. Quite a few, and they seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves."

"It must be nice to be rich. Even in the apocalypse, they live better than ordinary people."

Miles Vaughn snorted. "I was a rich man myself, and I still ended up like this. For those people, it’s not as simple as just having money. As for us... we should just go back to our homeland. Even if we have to die, we should die on our own land."

Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell were deeply moved by Miles Vaughn’s words. When Taylor Vance had wanted to end his own life, Evelyn Ford had used that very sentiment to convince him to keep living.

Their people placed great importance on the idea of ’fallen leaves returning to their roots.’ One must return to their homeland to die. Otherwise, their soul would never find its way home and could never rest in peace.

——

Evelyn Ford went to check the supplies in the storeroom. The food piled up inside was enough to feed everyone for a year. ’A year,’ she thought. ’That should be enough time to make our way back to our homeland.’

"Evelyn Ford, there’s a forest up ahead that isn’t flooded," Ronan Kendrick said as he approached. Evelyn Ford was in the middle of counting bullets.

"We should have enough wood, so we don’t need to stop and cut more. Let’s keep moving."

"There are people in the forest. Probably survivors from one of the nearby countries."

Evelyn Ford was surprised. "I’ll go take a look."

The two of them went up to the deck, where Evelyn Ford took out a pair of binoculars. The sea was a vast expanse of sapphire blue under a clear sky, with no fog to obstruct the view. Visibility was perfect.

No wonder Ronan Kendrick had said there were people in the forest. A plume of thick smoke was rising into the sky, and the sound of chopping wood drifted from the trees.

"What are you two looking at?" Quincy squinted into the distance for a long time but saw nothing.

"There’s a forest seven or eight kilometers away. People are in there, chopping wood and making fires. Tell Miles Vaughn and Peter Owens to speed up and alter our course to port. We need to put more distance between us and that forest."

"Why?" Quincy took the binoculars for a look. He didn’t think the people in the forest had any way of getting over to them to steal their things.

"Do you think they’ve survived this long on pure luck? If they have guns and decide they want our boat, we’ll have a serious problem on our hands."

Quincy slapped his forehead. "Right, I was being naive. I’ll go tell them right now."

"Ronan Kendrick, can you help me make a target? I’m going to fashion a couple of simple bows and arrows. Everyone needs to practice their marksmanship."

’Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell are getting old, and Officer Graham has his bad leg. Quincy’s fighting skills are even worse than Wyatt Vaughn’s. Peter Owens is just a kid, and Wendy isn’t even ten. That only leaves Miles and Wyatt Vaughn to really hold their own.’

"Alright. Wendy is strong. She has potential."

Evelyn Ford agreed. "And she’s very tenacious."

Half an hour later, the fishing boat was about two kilometers from the forest. Ronan Kendrick could see quite a few people hiding among the trees.

Their course had already shifted to port, widening the distance between them and the shore.

"There are people swimming this way," Ronan Kendrick said. "They have assault boats, too. Looks like they’re coming to take the fishing boat."

Evelyn Ford loaded her rifle and raised the binoculars to her eyes, looking toward the forest. Sure enough, three assault boats were speeding toward them. The men on the boats were holding rifles and taking aim at the cabin.

The fishing boat was only moving at a third of the speed of the assault boats, and they were closing in fast. Before they could open fire, Evelyn Ford took the initiative, killing the three men on the lead boat. The remaining attackers immediately fell into a panic.

More than a dozen people were swimming toward them. It was difficult to aim at targets in the water, so she left them for Ronan Kendrick to handle.

The men on the two remaining assault boats started to return fire. Bullets slammed into the cabin with a series of loud THWACKS.

Evelyn Ford had already given her orders: besides Peter Owens and Miles Vaughn, who were steering, everyone else was to stay hidden inside the cabin and not come out.

Ronan Kendrick had already dealt with five of the men in the water; they were all excellent swimmers.

More people were rushing out from the forest, but the crews on the assault boats had been completely wiped out. Three of the cabin’s windows had been shattered. Thankfully, Evelyn hadn’t wasted a single bullet—every shot had been a fatal one.

Once Ronan Kendrick finished off the last of the swimmers, the two of them worked together to deal with the second wave of attackers rushing from the shore.

"They’re delivering assault boats and guns right to our doorstep. It would be a shame not to accept them."

Evelyn Ford pulled the trigger without hesitation.