Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 27: Rainstorm, Toads 2

Three hours later, with no adverse reactions, Evelyn Ford put her protective suit back on and went to Lauren Keller’s and Officer Graham’s homes to tell them the news.

Afterward, Evelyn Ford returned home, grabbed a bucket, and went out to start collecting toads. She was after the venom in their glands.

Lauren Keller and Officer Graham’s family believed Evelyn Ford implicitly and immediately joined in. When others in the building saw them gathering toads and asked Officer Graham, they learned that the creatures were actually edible.

"These toads came from the water. Can they really be eaten? That water is disgusting—it’s full of dead bodies."

"Yeah, did you forget about that bloater that exploded a few days ago? My god, my balcony was covered in rotten flesh. It stank to high heaven, and there were maggots."

"But Evelyn Ford said they’re edible, which means she must have eaten one already. If she’s not afraid, what do we have to be afraid of?"

"She studied medicine. Of course she’s brave."

"If you won’t eat them, I will. It’s meat, after all. Staying fed and staying alive is the only thing that matters."

Some were disgusted, while others quickly joined the toad-gathering group.

In a rare act of charity, Evelyn Ford offered a reminder that the toads were poisonous. Their heads and outer skin had to be removed. Although it wasn’t fatal, she couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be other side effects.

Evelyn Ford went home after collecting a bucketful. She wanted to try processing them first, to see if she could successfully prepare them as a medicinal ingredient.

Most people were enthusiastic, but the toads reproduced quickly. It was like cutting leeks; once you cleared a batch, another dense swarm would appear in the hallway a short while later.

That night, just as Evelyn Ford lay down in bed, the croaking of the toads outside became an ear-splitting racket, loud enough to drown out the torrential rain and thunder.

The next day, the toad-gathering teams grew larger. People even started scooping them out of the water. The same ones who had called it disgusting yesterday were particularly enthusiastic today.

News that the toads were edible spread. Throughout Prosperity Gardens and even on the streets outside, people were out on assault boats with fishing nets, scooping them up. Of course, they sometimes hauled in a few unpleasant surprises, like the corpses of rats, cats, or dogs.

In the afternoon, a family in the building next door was poisoned, sending a wave of panic through the residents. However, it was an isolated incident. That family hadn’t cleaned the toad glands properly. Luckily, they only suffered a day of vomiting and diarrhea, and no one died.

Due to the water shortage, most people had built simple filters. They used charcoal to give the rainwater a basic filtering before boiling it to drink or cook with.

However, many people began experiencing diarrhea or passing roundworms. It wasn’t just neighbors from Building D; patients from all over Prosperity Gardens started coming to see Evelyn Ford.

Normally, roundworms required a course of medication to kill and expel them. But Evelyn Ford couldn’t possibly give away her medicine, so she could only use her silver needles to give them a few acupuncture treatments.

One day, a resident from Building A came looking for Evelyn Ford. His wife was in labor, and he wanted her to come and help deliver the baby.

Evelyn Ford didn’t want to go, but the man promised to pay her with water and rice. The refusal on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back down.

She followed the man to the tenth floor of Building A. The moment he opened the door, Evelyn was hit by the smell of blood. The apartment was damp, with standing water on the floor. The pregnant woman was lying in the bedroom, crying out in pain. Seeing her large, round belly, Evelyn’s eyelid twitched.

"Honey, the doctor’s here. Just hang on," the man said, rushing to his wife’s side and grasping her hand, trying to soothe her.

Evelyn Ford pressed on the woman’s abdomen. ’Twins.’

"Dr. Ford, please, you have to save my wife. You have to save her life."

Evelyn Ford looked at the plain-looking man, a little surprised. It was twins, yet the man was begging her to save his wife above all else.

The fetal position was wrong, a cephalopelvic disproportion. The woman was emaciated and had a narrow pelvis.

At that moment, Evelyn Ford had already forgotten all about the payment. She opened her case and took out her surgical tools.

"I’ll try for a natural delivery first. If that’s not possible, she might need a C-section. But I’ve never been trained for that, and this is my first time delivering a baby. If there are any complications..."

"Dr. Ford, everyone says you’re amazing. I’m begging you, please save my wife. Just save her life, that’s all that matters."

Seeing the man was on the verge of a breakdown, Evelyn Ford had no choice but to shoo him out. The couple lived there alone. In the bedroom, Evelyn saw piles of baby clothes, diapers, and milk powder.

Evelyn Ford found that the woman’s cervical contractions were weak. A natural birth would be extremely difficult. She told herself over and over to stay calm. ’These are three lives on the line. This has nothing to do with some supplies.’

"I need to perform a C-section. There’s no anesthesia. Can you endure it?"

The woman was already losing strength. Hearing Evelyn’s words, she gave a weak nod. Then, she grabbed Evelyn Ford’s arm.

"Save the babies, Doctor. Please, I’m begging you, save them."

Evelyn Ford met her gaze for a few seconds, then squeezed her hand in return.

"Trust me, and trust yourself. Okay, just relax now. Don’t be nervous, don’t be scared. You can talk to me. Talk about anything you want."

Evelyn Ford laid out her surgical tools, flexed her fingers, and, after nodding to the woman, began the most dangerous surgery of her life.

When Evelyn Ford delivered the first baby—blue and purple, with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck—her feelings were indescribable.

The two babies’ cries went from weak to strong. Evelyn Ford had the man come in to clean them. The new mother had a wad of cloth stuffed in her mouth; she had fainted from the pain, woken up, and fainted again, over and over.

Evelyn Ford sutured the incision. The woman wasn’t hemorrhaging, which was the best possible outcome.

The two babies were a boy and a girl. After a simple cleaning, the man wrapped them up and huddled by the bedside, his eyes fixed on his wife.

"Is she okay now?"

"She needs to be observed for a while. She fainted from the pain because there was no anesthesia. You need to take good care of her postpartum."

After the hour-long surgery, Evelyn Ford’s hands were trembling. All she wanted was to take a shower and sleep, but the new mother wasn’t out of danger yet. She couldn’t leave.

After observing for two more hours, the mother’s condition seemed stable. Evelyn Ford took the supplies the man gave her and left.

On the way back, she kept asking herself, ’If I had failed today, could I have shouldered that responsibility?’

’To have gone and delivered a baby on a whim, all for a few supplies...’ Evelyn Ford cursed herself countless times in her head.

’Getting involved in other people’s business always ends badly.’ But after successfully delivering the two babies, she gave herself a mental thumbs-up.

Human nature truly has two sides, and she was no exception. While she regretted getting involved, she was also genuinely happy about the birth of the two children.

Her neighbors from Building D were outside gathering toads. When they saw her and learned she’d gone to Building A for a delivery, they eagerly asked how the babies were.

"A boy and a girl. Both healthy."

The neighbors couldn’t help but break into happy smiles.

"That’s wonderful! As long as the babies are healthy."

"What great news! A new birth means this disaster will be over soon."

"Hahahaha, that’s fantastic!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Babies are hope."