The confrontation lasted for ten minutes. Their attackers no longer dared to approach and began to flee back into the woods. Evelyn Ford emerged from the cabin and told Peter Owens and Miles Vaughn to stop the boat. She wanted to go back and collect the spoils.

There were five speedboats in total, though they were all quite old. Most of the firearms had already sunk into the sea. In the end, they only managed to retrieve two rifles.

The fierce skirmish left everyone on edge.

"This kind of thing will happen more often from now on. Our boat is too big of a target. Ronan Kendrick and I have discussed it, and we plan to make a few targets so everyone can practice shooting."

After they returned from Westeria, Officer Graham had told Evelyn Ford that during their two previous altercations, he had handed out guns, but the only ones who were decent shots were himself, Taylor Vance, and Zion Lowell.

Quincy was slightly better, but the rest could barely hit anything.

"Can I learn, too?" Wendy asked, looking at Evelyn Ford with a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

"Yes. Everyone has to learn. There are only ten of us on this boat right now. If we want to make it back to our homeland safely, every single one of us needs to get stronger. We’ll start by practicing with regular bows and arrows. After all, we don’t have many bullets, so we can’t waste them. You can also practice with throwing darts and slingshots."

They were a team now. If anyone couldn’t pull their weight, the entire group would suffer for it.

"That’s great! I’ll be sure to practice hard," Wendy declared, clutching a rabbit.

"Is everyone okay with that?"

"No problem."

"We’ll work hard at it, too," Taylor Vance added, his expression just as serious.

The shattered glass of the cabin had to be replaced with wooden planks. Once the boat was moving again, everyone dispersed to their duties. Evelyn Ford stowed the confiscated speedboats in the storage hold and put the firearms away securely.

Ronan Kendrick gathered some planks and tools to start making targets, while Evelyn Ford planned to craft some basic Crossbow Arrows. Everyone was busy: fishing, processing the catch, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry.

They were growing more and more in sync with each other. Having shared countless hardships, a strong sense of solidarity now bound them tightly together.

Once the targets and Crossbow Arrows were ready, everyone began their training in a focused and orderly fashion. Even Wendy was learning with surprising aptitude.

However, sailing on the open sea, it felt like eight out of every ten days were plagued by storms and massive waves. Safely navigating each crisis was, in itself, another form of training for them all.

During rare moments of calm, Peter Owens and Miles Vaughn would actually go for a swim. On one occasion, they ran into a narwhal and were nearly killed.

The sea was also home to sea snakes, seals, sea lions...

The longer their voyage continued, the more creatures they encountered. Evelyn Ford had already collected many boxes of beautiful seashells, as well as coral and pearls.

There were still plenty of places that hadn’t been submerged by the sea, but they had all become isolated islands. Every time their fishing boat passed one, survivors on the shore would wave their clothes and cry for help.

Others tried to rob the fishing boat. Though fraught with danger, the group managed to handle every crisis that arose.

「A month later.」 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The fishing boat entered the waters of Country E. They just had to cross this country to reach their homeland. Everyone was thrilled. Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell were so overcome with emotion that they shed tears.

But crossing Country E would be no easy task. Its territory was vast, with many forests and small towns that had not been submerged. Moreover, upon entering its borders, the temperature plummeted again, now reaching minus fifty-two degrees Celsius.

The people of Country E were renowned for their toughness; it was said that even black bears were no match for them. This made everyone anxious. In addition to worrying about storms and rough seas, they now had the even greater threat of human attack to guard against.

Lately, Evelyn Ford had been busy concocting poisons and Poison Powders, while the others continued to practice their shooting. What they hadn’t expected, however, was the heavy snowfall in Country E. The hidden reefs in the sea had become icebergs.

Areas that hadn’t been flooded were now blanketed in ice and snow. Evelyn Ford handed out goggles to everyone. To avoid snow blindness, they had to be worn at all times.

On the shore, a snow leopard lay in wait, its eyes fixed on an argali sheep. It pounced the instant its prey let its guard down. The reality of nature’s hunt was far more brutal and bloody than their own struggles. A flock of red birds took flight in terror, their shrill cries echoing in everyone’s ears.

"Ronan, I have a bad feeling about this."

She pulled Ronan Kendrick into a room, her expression grave. "The temperature is still dropping. If the sea freezes over, we won’t be able to move the boat."

"The sea is in constant motion. The chances of it freezing are very small."

But Evelyn Ford still felt a sense of dread. More and more icebergs appeared, some towering over thirty feet high in the water. The blizzard intensified, and her right eyelid began to twitch.

A fierce gust of wind swept across the water, carrying clouds of snow from the shore. Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell found Evelyn Ford, their faces etched with the same worry she felt. They voiced their concerns directly.

"Evelyn, Ronan, have you heard of the Little Ice Age?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Chinese history had a Little Ice Age that lasted about a hundred years."

Taylor Vance nodded. "Exactly. Ice ages are full of calamities, but the most terrifying of all is the extreme cold."

Evelyn Ford understood his implication immediately. "We speed up our return."

Evelyn Ford called a meeting with everyone. They would increase their speed and no longer waste time on fishing.

The fishing boat began traveling day and night without a moment’s rest. Along the way, they encountered another vessel from Country E. There were more than thirty people on board, and it looked like they were heading out to fish.

Both vessels were wary of each other, so neither made a hostile move. The group only breathed a sigh of relief once they were three kilometers away.

"Their fishing boat was three times the size of ours. I really thought they were going to start something."

Perhaps after encountering so many bandits on their journey, everyone was a little paranoid.

The situation in Country E was dire. Aside from the flooded regions, the rest of the land had become a glacial wasteland. Judging by the depth of the snow, it had probably started snowing here even before the floods hit.

Occasionally, a few red birds flew across the sky, but besides a few solitary snow leopards, no other living creatures could be seen.

Two days after entering Country E, there was nothing but the ocean and glaciers. Not a single tree was visible. The world was a vast expanse of shimmering white.

The temperature dropped yet again. Everyone on the boat was now wearing three coats. Each room was equipped with a stove, burning the very charcoal Evelyn Ford had collected back in Zaltar.

Worried they might run out of fresh water, Officer Graham and Quincy went out to gather large blocks of ice. On the fifth day, they saw numerous houses made of ice blocks—the survivors of Country E had adopted an Inuit lifestyle.

On the shore, they clutched their weapons, warily watching the fishing boat that had suddenly appeared in their territory. Evelyn Ford had everyone stay inside the cabins.

When the survivors on shore saw that the boat was just passing through with no intention of landing or robbing them, they finally lowered their guard.

"Are those houses really warm? They’re built from ice. If you light a fire inside, won’t they melt?"

"They won’t. That’s how the Inuit live."

Smoke billowed from the chimneys of the igloos, and the faint glow of fire could be seen from within.

"Humans really are the most resilient creatures. No matter how terrible the environment, we can adapt and find a way to survive."