"But we can’t find any more gasoline in Aeridor. Maybe we should just go on foot, or load everything into the truck and abandon the other cars."

"If we can’t find any gasoline, that’s our only option."

Since Zion Lowell said the base had plenty of supplies, the group packed their things and drove toward it.

Back at the camp, Evelyn Ford’s eyelid wouldn’t stop twitching. She wasn’t superstitious, but she couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.

She let out a whistle, and Mina and Lola came running back from nearby.

"Evelyn, you guys really went to the coast?" Quincy couldn’t help but ask while they were in the car.

"We did." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I wanted to see the ocean, too. Do you think the people from the Aeridor base also fled? They can’t all be dead, right? Mr. Lowell said this base wasn’t small; it could hold half a million people."

"Who knows? I hope they all left. It’s heart-wrenching just to think about so many people dying in the disasters." Wyatt Vaughn’s eyes were red, his voice thick with emotion.

"Okay, okay, I’ll stop talking about it. I’m sure they fled. They probably made it to the Northwest ages ago."

Quincy quickly grabbed Wyatt Vaughn’s hand to apologize. Claudia Schultz stared silently out the window, her palm tightly clutching the Peace Red Rope her grandmother had made for her.

When they reached the outskirts of the Aeridor base, two cars had run out of fuel. Everyone had to enter the base on foot.

The blackened, crumbling walls and collapsed ruins silently testified to the devastating catastrophe that had occurred here.

The earthen houses Zion Lowell had spoken of were at the back of the base; they were storerooms for farming equipment. In front of the houses stretched an endless expanse of abandoned farmland.

"There are a lot of hoes here, all left behind by the base. I’ve looked around inside. Besides the farm tools, there isn’t much of value left. This row of earthen houses got lucky; it wasn’t hit by the meteorites. There are roads in front and behind, so the fires on the farmland and in the buildings behind were blocked off."

In addition to hoes, there were iron shovels, sickles, micro-tillers...

Unfortunately, the micro-tillers were also out of gasoline. Everyone picked out the undamaged tools they planned to take with them.

As they prepared to leave, Evelyn Ford decided to take some gasoline out of her dimensional space. After coming all this way, she couldn’t just let everyone abandon their cars.

’I’ll find a chance to put the tools we can’t carry, and the micro-tillers, into my space later. They look pretty new; they should still be usable.’

"Let’s rest here for a couple of days. Everyone’s been exhausted lately. The journey has been tough, and the road ahead is still long. We don’t need to rush."

After Taylor Vance spoke, the others started tidying up the earthen houses. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick didn’t plan to stay in them, so the two found a flat piece of ground nearby and pitched their tent.

Evelyn Ford took a walk around the base, but other than meteorites, she found nothing.

So-called acts of God were nothing more than inhumane massacres.

Evelyn Ford sat on a rock, dazed, for a long time. It was a while before she returned to the tent.

"My right eyelid has been twitching nonstop. I feel like something bad is going to happen."

Evelyn Ford sat down next to Ronan Kendrick. "Since leaving the safe zone, we’ve only met two survivors, Claudia Schultz and her grandmother. Do you think there are any others out there?"

"There definitely are, Evelyn. This world is vast, bigger than we can imagine. Maybe somewhere, the seasons are still gentle. As long as there’s sun, wind, air, and water, people have hope of survival."

"Ronan Kendrick, you never seem to get anxious."

Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "But you’re here, aren’t you? What do I have to be anxious about?"

He didn’t care about the so-called disaster, nor did he care about anyone else. He only cared about Evelyn Ford.

"Look over there. Are those insects back again?"

Ronan Kendrick followed Evelyn Ford’s gaze. A vast, dark swarm of insects was sweeping in from behind them.

"It’s the insects."

Evelyn Ford quickly pulled out the Poison Powder and spread it over their clothes and the tent, even dabbing a good amount onto Mina’s and Lola’s tails.

"I need to take some Poison Powder to Taylor Vance and the others."

"I’ll go. You rest here. I’ll be back soon."

Ronan Kendrick took the Poison Powder and hurried over to the earthen houses.

Evelyn Ford rested her chin on her hand and gazed outside. ’No wonder my right eyelid has been twitching all day. So it was because the insects came back.’

Ronan Kendrick returned quickly. By then, the insects had reached their tent. Evelyn Ford swiftly zipped it shut. The two of them lay on the straw mat, looking at each other with a sad and helpless expression.

"Ronan Kendrick, do you think we’ll spend our entire lives on the run? If I’m sixty and this disaster still hasn’t ended, I think I might choose to end my life."

Ronan Kendrick didn’t argue, simply watching Evelyn Ford in silence.

"We’re already in such a sorry state. When we’re old and can’t run anymore, it’ll be even more miserable."

Evelyn Ford suddenly grabbed Ronan Kendrick’s hand. "When we get to the Northwest, let’s leave the group. Let’s go live somewhere far away from everyone, a place with just the two of us."

"Okay." Ronan Kendrick was secretly delighted. This was exactly what he wanted most—just the two of them, with no need to consider anyone else.

"The seeds I brought are enough for us to create our own little paradise. Ronan Kendrick, do you think we should build a new house? Or would living in the log cabin be better?"

"The log cabin. I like that cabin."

Evelyn Ford pursed her lips into a smile. "Deal. Oh, and then we can find mates for Mina and Lola. Our family will have so many members then."

"Okay. Whatever you say."

Outside the tent, the insects droned on and on. BUZZZZZZ. Evelyn Ford took out her phone, powered it on, and opened the camera to look at herself.

"Haha, is that really me?"

Her face was smudged with soot, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were tattered. Only her eyes remained large and full of spirit.

Evelyn Ford aimed the phone’s camera at herself and Ronan Kendrick and snapped several pictures.

"If we ever get the chance, I’m definitely getting these photos printed."

They chatted for a little while longer before Evelyn Ford fell asleep. A few hours later, several people left the earthen houses. Ronan Kendrick opened the tent and glanced outside. The sun was still high and scorching, but the sky had turned orange-red again.

When Evelyn Ford woke up, she found that Ronan Kendrick wasn’t in the tent.

Mina and Lola were acting strangely. The two little ones seemed agitated, pacing restlessly inside the tent.

"What’s wrong with you two? Mina, are you sick?"

Evelyn Ford picked Mina up to examine her carefully but couldn’t find anything amiss.

"Are you hungry?"

Evelyn Ford took out a handful of crushed rice, but Mina only sniffed it, showing no interest in eating.

Evelyn Ford grew worried. "You two have to pull through. You absolutely cannot get sick, understand?"

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside. Ronan Kendrick had returned.

"Evelyn, something’s wrong."

Evelyn Ford’s eyelid suddenly twitched. "What is it?"

"Pack up everything, quickly. I just felt the ground shaking."

Hearing this, Evelyn Ford shot up from the straw mat. "Are you serious?"

Evelyn Ford’s expression turned grim. She grabbed Ronan Kendrick. "Quick, go warn Mr. Graham, Quincy, and the others! I’ll pack up our things."