Everything was pretty much packed. Ronan Kendrick made a special trip to the outskirts for a look. Just as Quincy had said, the road past West Mountain Park was flat, with no signs of collapse.

After staying in Danver for over two months, it was time to leave again. Evelyn Ford took out a watch for Wendy and taught her how to tell time.

The four vehicles had been completely modified. At twelve o’clock sharp, the convoy set off. Quincy’s driving skills were average, and Ronan Kendrick and Wyatt Vaughn didn’t know how to drive, so Evelyn Ford became the driver. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The people who stayed behind still went out with their faces covered to fetch water and catch rats. Seeing the convoy leave, they just glanced up for a moment before going back to their own business.

"Evelyn, your driving skills haven’t gotten rusty at all! You’re making this junker feel like a Ferrari."

The car windows rattled nonstop. Quincy had been excited since the moment he got in, and his mouth hadn’t stopped moving.

"What I’m most worried about now is gasoline. Even though we’ve found a decent amount this past month, the truck uses up so much. I hope we can scrounge up some more in the next city or town."

"Where’s the next stop?"

Quincy flipped open a notebook. "The next stop is a small town called Peach Bamboo Town, just thirty kilometers away."

Evelyn Ford nodded. She was still a little worried about the roads. To her surprise, once they left Danver, it was as if no earthquake had ever struck. There were no collapses at all. The road surface had many gullies, but it didn’t affect their driving.

An hour later, they arrived at Peach Bamboo Town. Everyone got out to rest before heading into town to search for supplies.

Evelyn Ford placed Mina and Lola on the driver’s seat, then pulled open the car door and joined the others.

Peach Bamboo Town was very small, with only a single street lined with two- and three-story buildings. Perhaps the townspeople had evacuated quickly, as not a single body was found. Although there were traces of torrential rains and floods, none of the houses had collapsed.

However, the supplies had all been taken. They didn’t find much—only some rusty farm tools, knives, and pots and pans...

Curtains, clothes, shoes—as long as it wasn’t ruined, they scavenged it all. A few yards still had piles of wood, and Evelyn Ford, when no one was looking, collected it all into her space.

"Mr. Vance, this house has a motorcycle!"

"This one has a van, too!"

The vehicles were stuck in the sand and had to be dug out with hoes. In Peach Bamboo Town, the group also managed to find dozens of pounds of gasoline.

After they finished scavenging, the convoy hit the road again. Evelyn Ford was still driving, with Ronan Kendrick learning by her side. He was a quick study; by the next stop, he would be able to drive on his own.

"If only we had a camera. This whole journey of ours could be made into a road movie."

Quincy found a comfortable position and started getting ready for sleep. Wyatt Vaughn was already asleep. Mina and Lola were in Ronan Kendrick’s arms, both watching Evelyn Ford intently.

Evelyn Ford smiled, pressing her lips together. ’Thankfully, the mosquitos have thinned out a lot. I can see the road clearly without needing the headlights.’

The truck moved slowly. After all, its various parts had been rebuilt and pieced together, so it needed some time to break in. Besides, the road conditions were unknown, and they feared there might be collapses or large potholes ahead.

Driving was certainly much more comfortable than walking. Evelyn Ford suddenly remembered how back in Corinth, she had collected a million-dollar motorcycle from a high-end residential complex. ’If I ever get the chance,’ she thought, ’I have to take that bike out and really let it fly.’

After leaving Peach Bamboo Town, they entered The Serpentis Range. The truck suddenly stopped, and Taylor Vance came over to ask for everyone’s opinion: should they go into the mountains to hunt?

Even Evelyn Ford was tempted. The Serpentis Range stretched on for hundreds of kilometers. Looking at the deep mountains and dense forests on both sides of the road, the group didn’t hesitate. Everyone except the children got out of the vehicles, preparing to enter the mountains.

Unfortunately, all the trees were dead. Seeing the withered maples covering the mountainsides, Evelyn Ford could just imagine how beautiful this place must have been in the autumn.

Evelyn Ford took out her Crossbow and handed a long-bladed knife to Ronan Kendrick.

"No one go off alone. It’s best to be in groups of seven or eight. We’ll make camp here and rest for today. If there’s game, we can stay a few more days."

Since the mosquitos hadn’t been wiped out yet, everyone had to be fully geared up, which made moving around very inconvenient.

"There’s a bear." Ronan Kendrick’s ears twitched as he looked to the right.

"There’s a bear over there." Everyone knew about his sharp hearing. At the news of a bear, they were both excited and scared, but there was strength in numbers, and their fear was quickly replaced by excitement.

Serena Lynch, Taylor Vance, and Secretary Hawthorne stayed behind to look after the children and guard the vehicles. The others began to head into the mountains.

On their way into the mountains, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick split off from the group and went into the woods to the side.

"It’s only one bear. With so many of them, they can handle it."

Evelyn Ford looked at Ronan Kendrick. "So you’re taking me to hunt other prey?"

"Mhm, I heard some other sounds too."

Treading on the soft leaves, Evelyn Ford waved a hand to swat away the mosquitos in front of her glasses.

"Ronan, look at the seeds on the ground."

Although she didn’t know if they could still be grown, Evelyn Ford decided to pick some up anyway. "These are maple seeds, Ronan. Let’s gather some. We can plant them later."

"Okay."

Ronan Kendrick stuck his knife into a tree trunk and crouched down to pick up seeds with Evelyn Ford.

After they had gathered about three bags’ worth, Evelyn Ford felt it was enough.

"Let’s go. We should hunt first. If we end up staying here for a few days, we can always come back and get more."

Eighty percent of the trees in The Serpentis Range were maples. Evelyn Ford’s mood brightened at the thought of being able to plant a maple forest in the future.

After walking uphill for a few minutes, Evelyn Ford suddenly dropped to the ground, staring at a clump of wild grass under some leaves.

"Ronan, quick, look! There’s wild grass growing here!"

"There’s a clump over here, too."

Evelyn Ford’s heart pounded. ’Green plants are growing again!’

"I’ll dig up a clump to take back and study. It seems that now that the temperature has dropped, plants are starting to grow back one after another."

Evelyn Ford took out a hoe and dug up the clump of wild grass. At its roots were many tubers that looked like sweet potatoes. Unsure if they were edible, Evelyn put them in her space for now.

Seeing the wild grass excited Evelyn Ford so much that she even quickened her pace up the mountain.

"Hog-badgers."

Evelyn Ford immediately pulled Ronan Kendrick behind a tree. Hog-badgers were social animals, usually appearing in groups of seven or eight, sometimes more than ten.

They came in two colors, brown and black, with pointed heads, white fur between their ears and face, and long tails.

Although hog-badgers were small, they were quite ferocious.

Without hesitation, Evelyn Ford fired the first bolt.

"There are six of them. Too bad they’re not wild boars. Hog-badgers are too small."

A single hog-badger was only about ten kilograms, with thick fur and not much meat.

Evelyn Ford killed the first one and left the rest to Ronan Kendrick.

Just then, the roar of a bear echoed through the mountain forest. It seemed the others had found it.

’With more than fifty people, subduing one bear shouldn’t be a problem.’

After storing the hog-badgers in her space, the two of them continued deeper into the mountains.

The farther they went into the mountains, the more wild grass they saw.

Evelyn Ford handed the Crossbow to Ronan Kendrick and took out her hoe to dig up the wild grass.