Evelyn Ford went to take a look. Seeing that the two of them looked well, she didn’t say anything. Raymond Shepherd and Penelope Parker were extremely nervous, and their faces turned pale with fear when they saw her.
Raymond Shepherd struggled to get up and apologize to Evelyn Ford, but he was too badly injured to move at all. "Joy Ford, thank you for saving us. We know we were wrong, and we’ll never be so reckless again."
"Joy Ford, it’s all my fault. It has nothing to do with Raymond Shepherd," Penelope Parker said hurriedly. She was worried Evelyn Ford would take her anger out on Raymond, and her eyes started welling up with tears in her anxiety.
Evelyn Ford was silent for a moment, then glanced at the two of them and still said nothing. Her silence was precisely what terrified them and left them at a loss.
Since their lives weren’t in danger, Evelyn Ford felt she had done all she could and wouldn’t involve herself further. After returning to the cabin, she focused on developing the special medicine while Ronan Kendrick harvested rice in the space. Aside from the original team members, Ethan Dawson, and Ian Yates, Evelyn barely interacted with anyone else.
Ian Yates had previously beaten up Patrick Pence for her sake. While Evelyn Ford hadn’t said anything, her opinion of him had improved somewhat.
As for Ethan Dawson, he was a special case within the group. After spending the past few months together, she’d found he was actually a fairly reliable person.
The others were unnerved and anxious because of Evelyn Ford’s attitude. They came to the outside of the cabin to plead on their behalf, but the door remained shut tight. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick wouldn’t come out, so everyone could only turn to Officer Graham and Taylor Vance for help.
Evelyn Ford paid no mind to the situation outside. She spent five days in the space and successfully developed the finished special medicine. She couldn’t wait to tell Ronan Kendrick the news, but the moment she left the space, she collapsed from exhaustion.
She only woke up after sleeping for a full day and night.
"You’re awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Evelyn Ford just felt weak all over. "I’m hungry, thirsty, and have no energy."
Ronan Kendrick stared at her for several seconds. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry with her and could only reach out to pinch her cheek.
"Oh, you."
Taking out a boxed meal and water from the space, Evelyn Ford struggled to get out of bed. When she saw the food, she was ravenous.
Ronan Kendrick wasn’t hungry, so he just sat beside her and helped her eat.
"Oh, right. There’s something I have to tell you."
Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "Let’s hear it."
"I made the special medicine." Evelyn Ford took the medicine out to show Ronan Kendrick. It was an exact replica, without the slightest difference in appearance. Even the medicinal fragrance was the same.
"Impressive."
Evelyn Ford chuckled. "The effect is the same, too. But developing the special medicine uses up way too many medicinal herbs. I wasted so many when I was experimenting before. Once the crops in the black soil are harvested, I plan to plant only herbs. I have no choice, the warehouse supplies are critically low."
"Okay. I’ll hurry up and harvest the crops in the fields. You should rest well for the next few days and don’t go into the space. Mr. Graham and the others were a bit worried about you. They thought you were sick again. I just told them you weren’t feeling well and needed to rest."
"My Kendrick knows how to lie now."
"And who am I lying for?"
Evelyn Ford pointed to the tip of her own nose. "For me, of course."
After eating and drinking her fill, color immediately returned to Evelyn Ford’s face. Ronan Kendrick bustled about, helping her clear the dishes and even boiling water for her bath.
"Have you been outside at all these past few days?"
"I went out once. Why?"
"What’s it like out there? Are there still flying insects in the dense fog?"
Evelyn Ford grabbed her pajamas and toiletries, preparing to enter the space to bathe.
That rascal Ronan Kendrick actually followed her in without batting an eye.
"The insects seem to be increasing. No one else has gone out these past few days. But the buckets are out of water, so someone will have to go out tomorrow or the day after."
Evelyn Ford said, "Oh," and then, as a thought struck her, she glanced at Ronan Kendrick.
"How have Mr. Graham, Quincy, and the others been eating?"
"They set up their own stove. The three wild wolves were shared out, so there’s no shortage of food outside right now."
Evelyn Ford crooked a finger at him. Ronan Kendrick’s ears were a little red. As soon as he got close, she tickled his chin.
"Report complete. Kendrick, you may leave for now. I’ll be flipping your card later."
Ronan Kendrick didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he obediently left the space.
"Finally, I can have a nice, comfortable bath."
In the cabin, Ronan Kendrick waited hour after hour. He waited so long it was pointless, but Evelyn Ford still hadn’t come out. He had no choice but to enter the space to check, only to find that she had actually fallen asleep in the bathtub.
Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, Ronan Kendrick didn’t wake her. He lifted her out of the water, dried her hair, and then carried her out of the space.
"Good night."
—
The next day, the others had no choice but to go out and get ice. However, the fog outside was very thick, and several people got flying insects in their eyes.
The flying insects were transparent; no one could see them except for Ronan Kendrick.
They could only come and ask Ronan Kendrick for help to get the flying insects out of their eyes.
Although Evelyn Ford had decided to part ways with them, she couldn’t just stand by and watch them suffer in an emergency, so she still let Ronan Kendrick go out and help.
"You can’t see the road at all now. It’s no different from nighttime. You can’t even see the face of the person standing right in front of you."
"I don’t dare open my eyes at all, but if I don’t, I can’t walk."
"I used to hope for the sun to come out, but now all I want is for the fog to clear. This fog is terrifying. I’ve never seen a fog so thick, so dark and murky."
Listening to the voices outside, Evelyn Ford lay on the bed, lost in thought.
A while later, Ronan Kendrick returned.
"Are they okay?"
"They’re fine. They got insects in their eyes, and I took them out. Chet Lawrence was just unlucky; he got them in both eyes. They’ll probably get inflamed."
Evelyn Ford stroked her chin. "What’s the deal with this dense fog? I remember back at the safe zone, the fog lasted for a very long time. And whenever there was fog, crops and animals grew extremely quickly."
Ronan Kendrick had naturally noticed this as well.
"Natural disasters don’t just stop and never appear again. Just like earthquakes and torrential rains, they always repeat. The dense fog must follow the same principle."
Evelyn Ford sighed. "The dense fog itself isn’t scary. On the contrary, it promotes plant growth. It’s just that the insects that come with it are a bit of a problem."
Evelyn Ford suddenly slapped her forehead. "I’ve figured it out."
"What is it?"
"Before, the cold air arrived, and large numbers of animals and plants died. But then the dense fog appeared right after. Once the fog came, the cold wind was gone. The fog promotes the growth of plants and animals, giving a new lease on life to the flora and fauna that were on the verge of death."
"Ronan Kendrick, have you noticed? The rule of these natural disasters is an intertwining of life and death. It unleashes one kind of disaster, but then it also causes a derivative phenomenon to appear, allowing the natural world to regain its balance."
"For example, at the very beginning of the apocalypse, there were torrential rains and poisonous moths. We thought we were all going to die, but then toads suddenly appeared. The toads’ glands were toxic, but their meat was edible. Just when everyone thought they were saved, snakes appeared."
Evelyn Ford propped her chin on her hand and looked at Ronan Kendrick. "Isn’t it amazing?"
Ronan Kendrick sat down next to her. "Amazing."
Evelyn Ford rolled her eyes. "I’m starting to seriously suspect that God is just messing with humanity."