manynovel Chapter 311: On the Road 4
Chapter 311: On the Road 4
"A massive earthquake struck Wexley a week ago."
Evelyn Ford was a little surprised. Wexley wasn’t far from the village they’d been in. If an earthquake had occurred, it was impossible they wouldn’t have felt any tremors.
"What was the magnitude?"
"Probably a 10. All the houses collapsed in an instant. We had a car, so we got out pretty fast." The man looked at Ronan Kendrick.
"Where are you guys headed, buddy?"
"Oakhaven."
The man was surprised. "Why not go to Frelia? I heard they’ve even got electricity there."
"It’s too far."
"Fair enough. Can we trade for a few of your deer and sheep?" After speaking, the man took off his backpack, showing Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick what was inside.
Seeing the several gold bars, the corner of Evelyn’s mouth twitched.
"Sorry, we can’t trade for that."
"Come on, gold bars will definitely be useful again. Each one is 300 grams, and they’re pure gold. I bet they’ll bring back currency trading soon."
Evelyn’s expression was impassive. "We can’t trade for them here. Why don’t you try trading them in Frelia?"
"Come on, lady, don’t be so heartless. I just asked, and your friend back there said you’re the leader of this group. That means you can call the shots. How about one gold bar for one sheep and one deer?"
"In your dreams."
The man’s voice grew heavy. "Two gold bars for one sheep and one deer."
Evelyn Ford just smiled. "No trade."
The man was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled a gun from the small of his back and aimed it at Evelyn. "I just want to trade for supplies, I don’t want to kill anyone. So just work with me here."
Evelyn was cursing him out in her head, but her expression remained perfectly calm.
"Ronan, get him."
At her word, before the man could even react, Ronan kicked the handgun out of his grasp. He hauled the man up, slammed him to the ground, and snatched the weapon, pressing it against the man’s temple.
The sudden turn of events startled the man’s companions, as well as the people from the other group.
"Don’t shoot! Let’s talk this out! I won’t trade, I won’t trade anymore!" The man spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Pinned under Ronan’s foot, he couldn’t get up no matter how much he struggled.
His companions finally bothered to get out of their car, running over in a state of panic and fury.
"Why did you attack him?"
"Are you blind? He pulled a gun on us, demanding we trade our sheep and deer, and we’re not supposed to fight back?" Evelyn hated it when people tried to play the victim.
Evelyn shot Officer Graham and the others a look. Understanding her meaning, Officer Graham took out his Crossbow and moved to keep the other people back, preventing anyone from causing more trouble.
"You have so many sheep, why can’t you trade some to us? A single gold bar is worth over a hundred thousand! It could buy your entire group!"
Evelyn looked at the woman who was speaking. "If gold bars are so valuable, why don’t you eat them? What do you need our sheep for?"
The woman was exasperated. "How can you have no compassion? We’re all fellow countrymen! At a time like this, people should be helping each other!"
"Shut up," the man on the ground grunted, shooting the woman a glare before turning to look pleadingly at Ronan Kendrick.
"You can have all the gold bars. We just want one sheep."
Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh. "I already told you, no trade. Your gold bars are worthless, no different from rocks. Got it?"
The man’s face turned grim. Of course, he knew the gold bars were worthless. If they had any value, he wouldn’t still have them.
At first, he had thought these people were friendly, answering all his questions. They seemed honest and unassuming. He never expected the man with his foot on his back to be so ruthless.
The man saw the killing intent in Evelyn’s eyes. He froze and hurriedly raised his hands in surrender.
"No more trading! Please, let me go! We were forced into this. We don’t have much food left... we were desperate."
Ronan had no intention of letting him go. He shot the man in the leg. The man howled in agony. That had been the only bullet in the gun. Ronan then kicked him toward his companions. Terrified by Ronan’s ruthlessness, the others dragged the wounded man and started to flee. Just then, a young man holding a steel pipe charged at Ronan.
Before he could even get close, a needle thrown by Ronan pierced his wrist, and the steel pipe clattered to the ground.
"AARGH..."
Evelyn blew her whistle. Hearing the command, the Mammoth started walking forward. The other group could only watch them leave, their eyes wide with a helpless fury.
There were many villages nearby; killing someone would have been troublesome. Besides, there was another group of refugees behind them.
Once they had left those people far behind, Evelyn’s clenched fist finally relaxed.
The other group continued to follow behind them. There weren’t many of them, only six people, and three pushcarts seemed to hold all their worldly possessions.
At eight in the evening, the sky was completely dark. Evelyn had the Mammoth stop, and Quincy and the others gathered around. The day’s events had served as another stark reminder. On top of villagers, patrols, bandits, and the elderly and children blocking the roads, they now also had to be on guard against refugees wanting to trade for supplies.
The group of refugees behind them also stopped and began to build a fire to cook. Evelyn gave out assignments, and everyone split up to do their jobs: feeding the animals, starting fires to boil water, gathering firewood...
"The vehicles are catching up."
Just as Ronan Kendrick spoke, Evelyn saw an RV and a truck approaching. They didn’t stop, instead speeding past them. Even through the vehicle windows, Evelyn could smell the faint stench of blood.
The truck seemed to be carrying a lot of things; a CLANGING and BANGING sound, probably from pots and pans, echoed from inside. There weren’t many of them—five people in the RV, three men and two women, and four young men in the truck.
"Do you think they’ll set a trap up ahead?" Quincy suddenly asked.
Evelyn thought it was a possibility. "They sped up to get ahead of us, so they might be doing just that. Everyone be extra careful tomorrow."
"I was actually happy at first, seeing so many people still alive. But now, I just feel like more people means more danger, and endless trouble. In a world like this, there are still people trying to use guilt-tripping to get food. It’s ridiculous," Wyatt Vaughn said, his spirits low.
"Life was better back in the mountains. Away from people, there wasn’t so much trouble."
"We should have slashed their tires back there."
"Alright, let’s eat first. We have to get back on the road tomorrow."
Dinner today was just a pot of steamed cassava. They heated some Dried Meat over the charcoal, shredded it into their bowls, and mixed it with the cassava. It was barely enough to fill their stomachs.
They tried to keep meals simple on the road. Ever since arriving in Varden, they had stopped cooking meat, afraid the smell would attract unwanted attention.
After she finished eating, Evelyn stood up. She was completely over her cold. Snow was still drifting from the sky. Returning to the carriage, she used some water to wash her face and brush her teeth, then checked on Sprout.
Later that night, Ronan’s movements woke Evelyn. He was holding a knife, about to head out. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"There are people outside."
Evelyn started to get up, but Ronan stopped her.
"I’ll handle it."
After he left, Evelyn heard the sound of a blade slicing through skin. A moment later, there was the faint sound of something being dragged. Then Ronan returned.
He closed the carriage door and set down a long knife and a hunting rifle. He casually grabbed a rag and began wiping the blood dripping from his dagger.
"Bandits, lying in ambush in the hills."