Chapter 662: Changes
Chapter 662: Chapter 662: Changes
After leaving Rhys Chase’s office, Ronan Kendrick and Liam Sterling went to the warehouse. Ronan stored the twenty blindfolded people from the corner in his space, then retrieved the sorted sweet potato vines, cassava stems, and potatoes from it.
Once the seed stock was put away, the two men left the warehouse. Liam Sterling headed for Sector Two to find Ryan Rowe, while Ronan Kendrick went toward the classrooms. It was almost three o’clock, just in time for him to pick Evelyn Ford up from work.
Evelyn Ford was teaching her class when a few of the students suddenly started looking outside frequently. Evelyn frowned, put down her chalk, and walked out of the classroom, only to see Ronan Kendrick standing in the distance.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was in the area, so I came to pick you up. You have five minutes left."
"Just a second. I need to assign the homework."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Okay."
Back in the classroom, the students all looked at Evelyn with faces full of gossip.
"Ms. Ford, is that gorgeous man your husband?" Although he was far away, the sharp-eyed students had still made out his features.
Evelyn Ford smiled and nodded. "Yes, he is."
"Wow, I can’t believe Ms. Ford’s husband is that handsome! He’s so tall, and his skin is so fair."
"No wonder Ms. Ford married young. He’s the best-looking man I’ve ever seen at the base—a hundred times more handsome than my older brother. I can’t believe how clueless I was; I actually wanted to introduce Ms. Ford to my brother."
"Well, Ms. Ford is beautiful, too. They’re a good-looking couple."
Evelyn Ford cleared her throat. "Settle down, everyone. Class is almost over. I’m going to assign the homework now. Memorize the key points from today’s lesson. I’ll be quizzing you on them tomorrow."
"Ms. Ford, is your husband a doctor too?"
"He’s not a doctor."
Just then, the three o’clock bell rang. Evelyn packed her books into her tote bag, said goodbye to her students, and left the classroom.
"Are you tired?" Ronan Kendrick asked, taking the tote bag from Evelyn’s hand.
"I’m not tired. Are you all done?"
"All done. Headed home?"
Evelyn Ford pointed toward the freshwater lake. "Let’s go for a walk. The breeze is nice and cool today."
Ronan Kendrick readily agreed. The two of them took a small path toward the lake. Ahead of them, two water trucks were at work, leaving puddles on the ground. When they reached the shore, they saw that the Four Seasons Green seeds they had given Rhys Chase had been sown along the bank and had already sprouted. The freshwater lake was enclosed by a wooden fence to prevent people from swimming or children from falling in. A number of chairs had been placed outside the fence, and a few soldiers with guns patrolled the shore. Some workers were digging holes near a pile of concrete utility poles.
They sat down on a long bench. A breeze swept past, causing the lake’s surface to ripple and glint with silver light. Evelyn closed her eyes, soaking in the sun and the gentle wind.
"This is so nice. If only we had time to come here and sit for a while after work every day."
"Then I’ll come pick you up every day from now on."
Evelyn hugged Ronan’s arm. "But there’s still so much to do in the space."
"I took in twenty people from Rhys Chase today. We can make them do the work, then we’ll have free time," Ronan Kendrick said, as if it were a matter of course. ’Besides, Rhys Chase said they’re all extremists, so there’s no need to show any mercy.’
"Okay." Evelyn Ford nodded with a smile. ’She had no qualms about putting them to work.’
"Spring is here," Evelyn murmured, gazing at the lake’s surface.
Evelyn Ford remembered when they first arrived in Eldoria. The place had been a desolate wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew. Fierce winds would sweep through, leaving the ground covered in yellow sand. Back then, she had to be completely bundled up whenever she went outside, walking with her head bowed to keep the blowing sand from getting in her mouth and eyes.
In just two short months, Eldoria was completely transformed. As far as the eye could see, several buildings now rose from the ground, the barren land had been converted into farmland, and lush green grass grew around the lake. Looking up, one could even see birds flying by in twos and threes.
The two of them sat by the lake for an hour and a half before heading back. The lakeshore grew a bit crowded in the afternoon, with elderly people out for a stroll, visibly pregnant women soaking up the sun, and children chasing each other playfully.
Back in the space, Ethan Dawson had already gotten the twenty new arrivals mostly under control. To Evelyn Ford’s surprise, among the twenty extremists brought in this time, there were six young women.
To make them easier to manage, Evelyn Ford did not have this batch of extremists live with the previous group. She separated the six women, and the remaining fourteen people were split into two teams: one to wash medicinal herbs and the other to tend to the seedlings. As for the six women, Evelyn did not plan on keeping them.
"I remember we have security cameras in the storage area. Go get them and install them in their living quarters. Ethan, have you given them the drug?"
Ethan Dawson nodded. "I have."
"This is enough. We won’t bring anyone else in. It gets too hard to manage if there are more. Ronan, take these six women back to Rhys Chase tomorrow."
Ronan Kendrick nodded. "Alright."
"Is there a problem with them?" Quincy asked, confused.
"I just took their pulses. Two of them are pregnant."
Evelyn Ford lowered her voice. "It’s better to send them back and let the base deal with them. Keeping them here would just be a hassle. These extremists are bad news, and if we keep women here, there’s no telling what kind of trouble they might cause. The base will probably be lenient with the two pregnant women, but that’s none of our concern."
Realization dawned on Quincy. "If that’s the case, then we definitely need to send them out."
"I’ll wipe their memories first." Before sending them out, Ronan Kendrick would hypnotize them and erase all their memories of today.
Evelyn Ford returned to the wooden cabin to rest for a bit, then went to the animal pens by herself. After finding Lola and Mina, she carried them to a grassy field. She casually spread out a blanket and lay down. Lola tilted her head, studying Evelyn, while Mina lay on her chest, gazing at her with devotion.
"I haven’t come to see you all in a while. How have you been?" Red Bird and another small squirrel also ran over and gathered around her.
’Mina didn’t seem as lively as before. She was getting old for an animal. She couldn’t run well anymore, and when she saw me, she no longer had the strength to leap onto my shoulder.’
Evelyn stroked its little head. "Come back to the cabin with me, okay? I won’t be as busy from now on, so I can play with you all every day."
Mina nuzzled her head against Evelyn’s chin, and the sweet gesture made Evelyn’s nose tingle.
Lola pecked Evelyn’s forehead, as if jealous that Evelyn wasn’t petting her.
Evelyn chuckled. "Lola, I think you’ve gotten chubbier. Look at your little belly, it’s so round."
When Ronan Kendrick came to find her, Evelyn was fast asleep in the grass, cuddling the four little creatures. The two Mammoths stood guard nearby. Upon seeing Ronan, they began to stomp their feet and swing their trunks in excitement.
Ronan Kendrick went over and patted their heads. Once soothed, the Mammoths let out a series of pleased rumbles.
"They really do like you. When I tried to pat their heads earlier, they turned away and wouldn’t let me," Evelyn, who had woken up at the sound of the rumbles, couldn’t help but grumble as she watched the Mammoths acting so docile for Ronan.