Although they had returned to their homeland, they still had to cross a long border region.

After experiencing a series of natural disasters—heavy rains, earthquakes, and high temperatures—the cities here had likely been reduced to ruins as well.

"It seems the seawater didn’t flood the northeast. Even though it’s a world of ice and snow, there are no vast glaciers. That’s good news."

"Then there should still be people in the cities here! Let’s hurry into the city and take a look."

Evelyn Ford adjusted her hat. Her thick, insulated winter cap and goggles were covered in snow, blurring her vision. Ronan Kendrick held the reins behind her, and she leaned her entire body back into his embrace.

The Mammoth and the packhorses walked together, with the two reindeer bringing up the rear. The border region was all mountains. It took them a full two days of traveling along a small forest path before they entered Yuan City.

Just as everyone had expected, Yuan City was in ruins. Thick snow piled on top of the broken walls and rubble. Beneath the gloomy gray sky, the entire city was devoid of any sign of human life.

"I used to see Yuan City in all sorts of short videos. It was called the ’City of Snow.’ I thought it was beautiful back then, but now... now I don’t find it beautiful at all." Wyatt Vaughn’s voice was a little hoarse. She sniffled and continued.

"There are probably no survivors left in all of Yuan City."

"Let’s go."

Taylor Vance also shook his head in disappointment, cracked the whip, and the group continued on their way.

After leaving Yuan City, the group stopped to spend the night in a forest.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick went to cut branches, while Miles Vaughn took Peter Owens to go hunting.

There were many animals in the forest that had frozen to death. This mountain range was covered in pine forests. Evelyn Ford decided to chop down extra trees and put them into her space. Pine trees had resin, making them easy to burn, but they produced a lot of thick, choking smoke.

Taking out an axe and a saw, Ronan Kendrick was in charge of felling the trees, while Evelyn Ford used the saw to cut them into logs before storing them in her space.

"Ronan, I noticed the snow stopped after we left Yuan City."

"You’re right, it hasn’t snowed for the past two days." Ronan Kendrick helped her adjust her scarf.

"But the temperature hasn’t risen. It’s still negative sixty-three degrees." Evelyn Ford took out her thermometer to check, then shrank her neck into her collar.

The biting wind was like a knife.

The two of them chopped down dozens of pine trees, then dragged the branches and split firewood back to camp.

Miles Vaughn and Peter Owens had also returned. Their luck was bad today; they hadn’t caught any prey, but they did bring back a large bundle of branches.

"Not even a shadow of a rabbit. They’ve probably all frozen to death. Why does it feel even colder here than in Country E? We’re all bundled up like bears, and I’m still cold."

"It’s because the wind is stronger here, so it feels colder. The actual temperature hasn’t changed much." Evelyn Ford placed the firewood next to the campfire. Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell were already cooking.

Officer Graham and Quincy took the branches from their hands and dragged them over to feed the horses and the Mammoth.

The wind in the mountains wasn’t as fierce as it had been on the open road. After a simple dinner, everyone gathered around the fire to sleep. The fire burned brightly, and steam began to rise from their clothes.

Four hours later, Taylor Vance woke everyone up to get back on the road. However, after returning to their own country, everyone seemed to have caught a cold. Unsure if it was because they weren’t acclimated to the new environment, Evelyn Ford brewed a large pot of medicinal soup, and everyone drank two big bowls.

Quincy had found a bell somewhere and hung it on a reindeer’s antler. It jingled all along the way, adding a bit of cheer to their journey.

A few days later, they arrived at a county town. It had suffered a massive earthquake, and they couldn’t even enter the urban area. The scene of utter devastation was a shocking sight for everyone.

In Country E, they could at least see igloos and log cabins, but in the ten-plus days since returning here, they hadn’t seen a single sign of human life.

"Maybe they evacuated a long time ago. It’s pretty close to the Northwest from here."

"That’s possible. How many days would it take us to get to the Northwest from here?"

"That depends on which province or city in the Northwest you’re aiming for."

"Evelyn, where do you think we should go? I trust your judgment," Quincy asked loudly.

Evelyn Ford mulled it over for a moment. "Frelia has grasslands and lakes, but also snow-capped mountains. The Southward has deserts and sand dunes."

"Do we have to go that far? That must be several thousand kilometers. Our legs will break before we get there."

"It’s probably about six thousand kilometers. But it is indeed a good place."

"Mr. Vance, you think it’s a good idea too?"

Taylor Vance nodded. "I also trust Evelyn Ford’s judgment."

Evelyn Ford gave a helpless smile. "Let’s just see where the road takes us. To be honest, I don’t have a clue right now. I don’t know where there might be a place suitable for living."

"Evelyn’s right. We’ll figure it out as we go. But I think the provinces in the Northwest are all pretty good. The geography is favorable, so they’re probably suitable for living."

The journey was arduous and tedious. Falling off their horses was a common occurrence. They had all gotten tough; they’d fall, pat the snow off their clothes, and climb right back on to continue the journey.

But the hardest work fell on the horses, the Mammoth, and the reindeer. Because of this, the group frequently stopped to rest, and their travel speed was slow. To ensure the animals were well-fed and hydrated, they had to cut fresh branches every day, melt snow and ice over a large fire, and add salt to the water for them to drink their fill.

Occasionally, they would come across some abandoned houses where they could take shelter for a night. On the endless plains, fertile land now lay barren. For a people who loved to farm, seeing such a scene was inevitably heartbreaking and dispiriting.

Transmission towers dozens of meters tall had toppled over from earthquakes, and village after village was left with nothing but empty houses.

"Dad, look! There’s a tree over there with fruit on it!" Wendy pointed to a tree not far away, her voice full of surprise.

"You’re right." Officer Graham was also surprised. To think there was still fruit in this extreme cold. He rode his horse over to check, plucked one, and handed it to Evelyn Ford.

"Evelyn, do you recognize this?"

Evelyn Ford stared at it for a few seconds, also uncertain. "This might be a blueberry. They say blueberries can grow and bear fruit in extreme weather of negative fifty or sixty degrees."

Evelyn Ford sniffed it. It did have a fresh, fragrant scent, but because blueberries were expensive, she hadn’t really eaten them much and had forgotten what they tasted like.

Evelyn Ford wiped the white frost off its skin and popped it into her mouth.

A sweet and sour taste spread through her mouth. She furrowed her brow—the fruit was so cold it made her teeth ache.

"It should be a blueberry."

After Evelyn Ford confirmed it, the others all rode their horses over.

"It really is a blueberry! And there are so many of them." Wyatt Vaughn’s eyes were filled with delight. She jumped down from her horse, picked one, and put it in her mouth.

"It’s sweet and sour, it’s definitely a blueberry! Quincy, bring a basin over! We’re picking blueberries." Ordered around, Quincy resignedly went to find a basin on the shipping container.

"Miss Ford, there are a lot more over there, look!" 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Wendy pointed to their right. Behind a snowdrift, there was indeed a small grove of blueberry bushes.

"Let’s go pick some too."

This was fruit—fruit that had been nearly extinct since the apocalypse.