Chapter 770: Underground Passage
Chapter 770: Chapter 770: Underground Passage
The underground tunnels were essentially another Undercity, just a cruder version. But as long as people hid inside, they could be shielded from a certain amount of pollution. Once the trees on the surface grew, the ecosystem would reactivate, and the dense, polluted fog would one day slowly dissipate. Everyone would see the light of day again.
Evelyn Ford was busy in her pocket dimension for a whole month. She had planted trees all the way to the last region of Varden, with only about ten thousand acres left to go.
She went to check on the progress of the underground tunnels. With the help of mechanical equipment, the digging was proceeding very quickly. The soil in the central region was thick, so it took more time to excavate, but that same thickness also made it less prone to collapse. This was precisely why Evelyn Ford had chosen this location for the tunnels.
As the project neared completion, Evelyn Ford found five people and decided to send them back to check on the growth of the trees. If any saplings died, they could be promptly replanted.
The land in her pocket dimension had been fully cultivated. All that was left was to finish the underground tunnels so everyone could move in.
Evelyn Ford came out of her pocket dimension and immediately went to The Undercity. She opened the entrance to the warehouse, took out the empty water tanks, and replaced them with full ones.
On the last water tank, she saw a letter from Rhys Chase. Inside were only three words.
"All is well."
Seeing the letter, Evelyn Ford’s worries subsided. She took it back to show Ronan Kendrick and Quincy. Quincy, in turn, passed the letter around, sharing it with everyone. Some of the people who had remained outside had children who were sent into The Undercity, and many fought so desperately for the sole purpose of giving their children a chance to survive.
The remaining ten thousand-plus acres were planted in just a few days. Everyone’s energy was now completely focused on the underground tunnels. Quincy joked self-deprecatingly that they had all transitioned from farmers to miners.
"The underground passage is divided into three main tunnels, each holding over ten thousand people," Evelyn said. "Never mind the conditions inside for now. Once they’re fully excavated, we’ll do a thorough cleaning, lay down hay, and then people can move in." She had already taken hundreds of tons of hay out of her pocket dimension and distributed it. The men dug the tunnels while the women wove grass mats. With everyone working together, their progress was even faster than Evelyn had estimated.
"Are we going to live in there too?"
Evelyn Ford shook her head. "Ronan and I will stay on the surface to monitor the situation. I have some gas masks here. Quincy, you go into the tunnels. Your constitution is average."
Quincy knew his own limits, so he didn’t object to Evelyn Ford’s arrangement.
Once the underground tunnels were fully excavated, Evelyn Ford had people install ventilation filters and simple toilets that drained to the outside. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning from people burning firewood inside, Evelyn brought out a wind turbine and placed it on the surface. Electrical wiring and lights were also installed in the tunnels. With all preparations complete, people began to move in one after another.
Quincy was given a private room in one of the tunnels, and Ronan Kendrick even installed a door for him. Each tunnel had its own mess hall, and everyone ate and lived together. To conserve food, meals were rationed. Evelyn Ford left several boxes of canned food and water for Quincy.
"I’m leaving this walkie-talkie with you. If anything happens, call us immediately."
The doors to the underground tunnels had to be closed. Evelyn would deliver water and food to them once every three months. ’If only my pocket dimension could hold people, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble,’ she thought. ’I just hope everyone can make it through these trying times, no matter how hard it gets.’
The pollution on the surface had become extremely severe, no different from a toxic miasma combined with radioactive fallout. If it weren’t for the fact that Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were ridiculously resilient and blessed with special abilities, staying on the surface would be a death wish.
After closing the main doors to the three underground tunnels, Evelyn Ford opened the filtration valves. Once all that was done, the two supported each other as they walked back to the campsite. With a wave of her hand, Evelyn collected all the tents into her pocket dimension.
"Let’s go inside too," Ronan said.
Evelyn Ford surveyed her surroundings. Even with night-vision goggles, she couldn’t see more than a meter through the dense, polluted fog. ’It’s a good thing the tunnels were finished in time, and everyone moved in.’
The two of them vanished into the pocket dimension. Evelyn Ford’s body went slack, and she collapsed straight into Ronan Kendrick’s arms.
When she woke up again, three days had passed. Ronan Kendrick told her she had inhaled too many toxins from the polluted fog. Fortunately, her constitution was strong, and while she was unconscious, the toxins had been expelled on their own through her pores.
Upon waking, Evelyn Ford caught a whiff of a foul stench coming from her own body and wondered if she had sleepwalked into a latrine.
"I’m going to take a shower."
Ronan Kendrick held back a laugh. "I just gave you a bath."
Evelyn Ford looked completely dejected. "Have I been pickled in this stench? Do I stink all over?"
"It’s not that bad. Once all the toxins are expelled, you won’t stink anymore."
"And how long will that take?" She didn’t want to walk around reeking like this. The sensation was like walking into a fly-infested outhouse on a hundred-degree summer day and accidentally taking a deep breath. The feeling shot straight to her brain; it was pure agony.
"It’ll be quick. It’ll probably all be flushed out in a few more days. This just proves how good your body’s constitution is. If you couldn’t expel it naturally, we’d have to use medicine. Wouldn’t that be even more painful?"
Ronan Kendrick’s attempt at consolation only made Evelyn Ford feel worse.
"I want to live separately. Starting today, you’re moving out. I don’t care where you go, you just can’t live with me."
Ronan Kendrick... The smile vanished from his lips. He stared at Evelyn Ford in disbelief.
"You’re kicking me out?"
"What do you mean, ’kicking you out’? Look at the state I’m in! How can we live together? The whole cabin is just the two of us anyway. It’s huge. Just find another room to sleep in."
Ronan Kendrick still looked utterly incredulous.
"Why can’t we live together? We’ve never lived apart. Now you want to separate. Don’t you like me anymore?"
Evelyn Ford was speechless. ’What on earth is he talking about?’
"I’m expelling toxins. It’s not a good idea for us to live together right now."
"Why isn’t it a good idea? We’ve been living together for over ten years, and you never said it was a bad idea before! Are you disgusted with me now?"
"No! How could I possibly be disgusted with you? I’m the one who stinks! I don’t want to live with you because I’m afraid the smell will make you uncomfortable." Evelyn Ford couldn’t believe how he was twisting this into a major issue.
"But I won’t. I don’t feel uncomfortable at all. Who do you think was giving you baths for the past three days?"
Evelyn Ford’s face flushed red, and she shot him a glare.
"You’re the one who refuses to move out. So don’t blame me if my stench gets to you." A shower was urgently needed. Evelyn Ford grabbed a nightgown and dashed to the bathroom.
Less than two hours after she got out of the shower, black filth was already seeping out of her pores again. Evelyn Ford took a sniff.
BLECH...
’So disgusting.’
"I wonder how things are outside. Have you been out at all these past three days?"
Ronan Kendrick shook his head. With Evelyn Ford unconscious, he hadn’t been in the mood to care whether anyone else lived or died.
"You should still go out and check on things. It’s just a shame Quincy can’t enter the pocket dimension. He’s all alone in the underground tunnels. I wonder if he’s adjusting well."
Ronan Kendrick scoffed. "With his personality, he can get along with anyone—man, woman, or child. You just focus on getting some rest. I’ll go out and take a look in a bit."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Remember to wear your gas mask and protective suit."