The boy didn’t come closer. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick didn’t step forward either. The others were stunned silent by the boy’s appearance; even Taylor Vance and Zion Lowell were visibly shocked.
"This person..."
Evelyn Ford glanced back at Quincy, signaling for him to be quiet. Quincy was so scared he immediately clapped a hand over his mouth.
The boy stared at the group for several minutes. Only when he sensed no malice from Evelyn Ford and the others did he slowly walk over.
"Who are you people?"
He looked at Ronan Kendrick and suddenly spoke. Perhaps because of his cleft lip and split tongue, his speech was garbled. His Mandarin wasn’t standard either, tinged with an Oakhaven dialect.
Evelyn Ford was surprised he could speak at all, and even more surprised that he seemed to be of sound mind.
"We’re refugees from the Southern Range. There was a sudden earthquake and volcanic eruption, so we have no choice but to pass through here." Ronan Kendrick took a step forward, his tone gentle—a complete departure from his usual cold and aloof demeanor.
The boy glanced at Evelyn Ford and the others. He didn’t seem to understand what Ronan meant by "earthquake" and "volcanic eruption," but he understood they were just passing through.
"You all... look strange." After a long moment, the boy mumbled.
Evelyn Ford caught a very important piece of information in that statement. ’He thinks we, these sudden strangers, look strange. That must mean he’s never seen anyone who doesn’t look like him.’
’He couldn’t possibly survive here alone. This forbidden zone... maybe there really is an unknown, hidden tribe here.’
’If so, do all the people in this tribe look like the boy?’
Just then, the boy pulled two pieces of Dried Meat from a wolf-pelt bag on his body. He took a few steps forward until he was in front of Wendy and Zoe, and offered the Dried Meat to them.
Quincy, who was holding Zoe, was so frightened his legs were trembling. The boy’s appearance was bizarre, and he gave off an indescribable odor. His forked hand held the Dried Meat, offering it to Zoe once more.
Zoe wasn’t afraid of him. She just stared at him curiously for a long time before taking the Dried Meat and saying sweetly, "Thank you."
"Can I eat it?"
The boy nodded, then handed the other piece of Dried Meat to Wendy. Although Wendy was a little scared, she still took it.
She said thank you, clutching the Dried Meat, a little at a loss.
"I have to go now."
He patted the Red Wolf’s head, then turned and left.
The Red Wolf swept an arrogant gaze over the group, then followed the boy and strode away.
The boy was gone, but the wolf pack and the Red Wolf still kept watch a kilometer away. They wouldn’t rest until they saw these outsiders leave their land with their own eyes.
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look. Neither of them understood the boy’s actions. He had actually shared his Dried Meat with the two children in their group.
"Zoe, don’t put that in your mouth! You don’t even know what kind of meat it is, and you’re about to eat it?"
Quincy took the Dried Meat from Zoe’s hand. It had been cooked over a charcoal fire and was blackened, with a faint burnt smell. The piece of Dried Meat wasn’t large, making it impossible to tell what kind of meat it was.
Zoe asked curiously, "Can’t I eat it?"
"Of course you can’t. Never mind that we don’t know what kind of meat it is. Look at that guy. Who knows what kind of germs he might be carrying?" As harsh as it sounded, it was a valid point.
It was best not to eat food given by strangers. Especially in these times, who knew what kind of meat it really was.
"Why did he suddenly leave? That was terrifying. I’ve never seen anyone who looked so strange."
Ethan Dawson frowned. "You know, in some places, in order to maintain a pure bloodline, they practice inbreeding. The children born from such unions are often disabled. In a place like this, the probability of inbreeding is very high."
"But why did he give the Dried Meat to Zoe and Wendy?" Quincy was still puzzled.
"Perhaps because they’re so young. The boy must have felt a bit of pity for them."
"What should we do with these two pieces of meat?"
Evelyn Ford took the Dried Meat. It was so thoroughly cooked that she couldn’t identify the meat either.
The moment she tossed the Dried Meat on the ground, several crows circling in the sky suddenly dove down, trying to snatch it.
Evelyn Ford led everyone back to the RV. Not far away, the crows fought madly over the two pieces of Dried Meat, biting and flapping at each other. They were oblivious to the Red Wolf, which had already left the pack and was lunging toward them at top speed.
The wind was strong that night. At 9:30 PM, a light snow began to fall from the sky.
Evelyn Ford watched from the window for a long time. The distant wolf pack showed no sign of approaching. The biting cold wind slammed against the bulletproof glass, making a WHOOO, WHOOO sound, much like a child crying out.
The Red Wolf returned to its pack with five crow carcasses and shared the meat with the three gray wolves that had been leading the way.
As for the other gray wolves, they remained where they were, their bellies empty.
"I’m going to bed. Can’t stay awake any longer." Quincy yawned, flopped onto the sofa, and a minute later, snores could be heard.
Evelyn Ford wanted to take off her military overcoat. It was very warm inside the vehicle, and she was starting to sweat.
"It’s safe. Go to sleep. I’m here," Ronan Kendrick came over, ruffled Evelyn Ford’s hair, and whispered.
"After that boy went back, do you think he’ll call others to come here? Right now, it’s best to avoid trouble if we can. The people living in this forbidden zone must have ways to protect themselves. Judging by the boy’s behavior today, the wolves obey their every command. If they order the pack to attack us, things will get difficult."
"Since the wolves are guiding us out of the forbidden zone, it must mean they’re under orders from those people not to harm anyone who enters. I’m guessing there’s a condition: that we humans don’t show any malice toward them or try to harm them first."
Evelyn Ford touched her ear. "I have a theory. What if those people are all like that boy—disabled, with strange features? Maybe they came here to live, to escape the judgment of the outside world."
Ronan Kendrick pondered for a moment. "There’s another possibility."
Evelyn Ford looked at him. "What is it?"
"There are many scientists who experiment on animals—creating things like hairless dogs, or strange-looking cows, monkeys, and sheep. To satisfy a morbid curiosity, or perhaps under the guise of science, these people have created many bizarre species. When these species deviate from the normal genome, they can become extremely ugly, or even deformed."
Evelyn Ford’s throat tightened. "You mean...?"
"Perhaps this so-called ’forbidden zone’ is just a cover to deceive the world. I suspect there’s an experimental facility here, and that boy we just saw... he’s one of the results."
Ronan Kendrick himself was a genetically edited human. He had a keen sense for things related to experiments.
Evelyn Ford patted her cheeks, trying to compose herself.
"But I remember... the previous experimental subjects didn’t have any physical deformities or defects."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Because they were high-end subjects."
"Ronan, even if there was an experimental facility here once, after so many years of the apocalypse, it’s probably been abandoned by now."