Chapter 756: Collecting Food
Chapter 756: Chapter 756: Collecting Food
Dozens of people were crammed into the dim underground warehouse. Although Rhys Chase wasn’t injured, he was scruffy with an unkempt beard, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were torn and filthy. He looked even more wretched than the survivors outside. Ryan Rowe and Liam Sterling were behind him. Ryan was limping on one leg, and while Liam wasn’t hurt, he was just as disheveled.
Upon seeing Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick, Liam Sterling started to cry.
"Mr. Kendrick, Joy Ford, I thought we were going to be buried here forever! If the warehouse hadn’t been so big, we would’ve suffocated to death long ago. I just knew you’d come save us." As Liam Sterling spoke, he threw his arms around Ronan Kendrick and burst into tears.
Ronan Kendrick expressionlessly pushed him away and then glanced inside.
"How many people are in here altogether?"
"Twenty-one," Rhys Chase said.
"Let’s get out of here first." Evelyn Ford shone her flashlight inside. It was incredibly stuffy, and the smell was foul.
"You should take the things from the warehouse. We’ve used some of the canned food and water, but we haven’t touched anything else. What’s it like outside?" Rhys Chase wanted Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick to take all the supplies below. He gestured for Liam Sterling and Ryan Rowe to lead the others out and wait. Once everyone had left, he took a ring of warehouse keys from his pocket.
"The situation outside is very bad. The base has been almost completely leveled. The air is full of soot and dust, and the sky is obscured by floating ash and thick fog, so you can’t see the sun at all. It’s no different from the polar night. Most importantly, the fireball explosions killed a lot of people at the base. The number of survivors is probably only one-twentieth of what it was. One more thing—the base’s freshwater lake has dried up. There’s a small pond downstream, but there’s barely any water left in it."
After hearing what Evelyn Ford said, Rhys Chase was silent for a few seconds before using the keys to open the warehouse where the grain was stored.
"This one’s full of sweet potatoes and potatoes, all packed in sacks. Luckily, I had everyone stockpile a lot of water in the warehouse over the past few years. There should be about thirty thousand barrels." Rhys Chase opened the other warehouse doors as well, and Evelyn Ford began collecting the items. He and Ronan Kendrick couldn’t help directly, so they gathered the loose items into sacks to make it easier for Evelyn to take them.
Evelyn Ford worked quickly, but it still took her over five hours to clear out the entire warehouse. By the time the three of them emerged from the underground warehouse, it was already 7:30 p.m. Liam Sterling and Ryan Rowe were still waiting outside. The others were squatting behind them, and they all stood up when they saw Rhys Chase.
"Let’s head downstream first. All the current survivors are living there."
With heavy hearts, the group followed Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick. When they reached the downstream area and saw survivors eating Famine Clay Soil, everyone froze in shock.
"We’re staying over there. Let’s go back first and talk then."
After leading the group through the survivors’ temporary settlement, they returned to their tents. There, Evelyn Ford saw Officer Graham and Quincy squatting outside with flashlights. Seeing them return, the two men hurried over.
"What took you so long? You had us worried sick! We thought you’d run into trouble." Quincy looked at them with concern. Just as he finished his complaint, Evelyn Ford stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder a couple of times.
"Sorry to make you worry, but we found Mr. Chase and the others."
Only then did Officer Graham and Quincy notice the other people behind them.
Quincy stepped forward and lightly thumped his chest. "Liam, you rascal... I knew you were too stubborn to die. Ryan, you too! It’s good to have you back. It’s so good to have you back."
On the way back, Evelyn Ford had already told them about Wyatt Vaughn’s and Taylor Vance’s deaths. Liam Sterling opened his arms and gave Quincy a hug. Quincy feigned annoyance and grumbled a bit but didn’t push him away.
"I’ll go get you some tents. Do you need to wash up?"
Everyone was well aware of how scarce water was now, so no one wanted to waste even a single drop.
"Just wiping our faces is enough, no need to wash properly. Ryan Rowe’s leg needs to be re-dressed and bandaged. There weren’t any medical supplies in the warehouse, so his leg has gotten infected and is festering." Rhys Chase also brought over the other injured people. Evelyn Ford glanced at their wounds; they were all quite serious. Without any treatment, all their wounds had begun to fester.
Just then, Ethan Dawson and the others also came out of their tents. Evelyn Ford handed the injured over to Wendy, then went back into her tent and took out two tents from her space for Rhys Chase and his group.
Once the tents were set up, Rhys Chase and his group had changed their clothes and washed their faces. Officer Graham came out carrying a large pot and ladled out a big bowl of lean pork congee for everyone.
Although they hadn’t lacked food or drink in the warehouse, they had grown sick of eating canned food and compressed biscuits every day. Now, smelling the fragrant aroma of the congee, they were like starving ghosts reincarnated, looking like they wanted to devour their bowls too.
After dinner, the others went to another tent to rest. The group briefly explained the situation at the base to Rhys Chase and his men, and Evelyn Ford also told everyone what had happened at Mount Grol.
"Those people... I’m afraid their chances of survival are slim. The plane was hit by a fireball in mid-air and exploded within seconds. Ronan and I were lucky to survive, but we were unconscious for a month before we woke up."
Rhys Chase was filled with self-reproach. "I shouldn’t have had you make that trip."
"Who could have known something like this would happen? The most important thing right now is what to do with these survivors."
Everyone turned to look at Rhys Chase. The base was gone, but he was still its leader, their backbone.
"The food and water from the warehouse will, of course, all be distributed to the survivors. Famine Clay Soil can stave off hunger for a while, but it’s not a long-term solution. There are many elderly, children, and disabled people among the survivors. If we just hand out the food, they might not be able to hold onto it. We need to come up with a good plan."
"I have a plan. Everyone should first focus on recovering and resting. In three days, everyone will come with me to the warehouse. The men will carry weapons and maintain order up top, while the women will distribute the food and water. We’ll give it to the able-bodied young adults first. The elderly and children without families will be gathered together to receive theirs."
"Evelyn, are you saying that we won’t be taking care of these survivors after this?"
Evelyn Ford gave a bitter smile. "Let’s just focus on surviving first."
"I agree with Evelyn’s plan." Rhys Chase sighed wearily. "From this day on, I’m no longer the base leader. I’m just a survivor of this disaster, same as everyone else."
With the matter settled, everyone went back to their tents to rest. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick still had to search for more people tomorrow. Owen Chapman and Roy Henderson hadn’t been found yet, and their hearts were still heavy with worry.
Ronan Kendrick didn’t want to live with a large group of men. It wasn’t just the smell of sweat; there was also the smell of stinky feet. So, Evelyn Ford had to take out the small tent for him.
"I’m staying in here alone?"
"Didn’t you want to stay by yourself?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. "I don’t. I want to stay with you."
Liam Sterling, Ryan Rowe, and Rhys Chase, who had just come out of their tent on their way to the latrine, heard Ronan Kendrick’s words and all whipped their heads around to look.
Evelyn Ford’s face flushed, and she pulled Ronan Kendrick into the small tent beside them.
"I was already feeling miserable all over. Getting their PDA shoved in my face just makes it more painful." Liam Sterling clutched his heart, his face a picture of exasperation.