Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 103: Colored Contacts, Leaving

Considering who he was, Evelyn Ford wisely shook her head.

Ronan Kendrick was silent for a moment before continuing, "This lab is several decades old. They used human subjects to test certain wonder drugs and poisons. Many years ago, a magnitude-ten earthquake struck this area. The lab was destroyed, the main entrance collapsed, and everyone inside—test subjects and researchers alike—died."

Evelyn Ford suspected his reason for coming to Broken Cloud Mountain wasn’t hunger at all, but rather to find this laboratory. It was highly likely he had spotted her inside the karst cave and had followed her out.

He had only fainted in the snow because he was experiencing some kind of physical problem.

As for why he was searching for this laboratory, Evelyn Ford wasn’t curious. Everyone has their secrets.

「 」

Three days passed. Evelyn Ford’s eyes had mostly recovered, and Ronan Kendrick went out again to scout the area.

"All the trees have been burned to the ground. The fire isn’t out yet, but we can leave."

Evelyn Ford packed her things and bundled up tightly once more. She put Mina and Lola back into the cloth bag slung over her shoulder. Just as she was about to head out, Ronan Kendrick stopped her.

"This way."

He activated a mechanism, opening a door in the stone wall of the hidden room. Evelyn Ford watched his retreating figure, her eyes full of suspicion.

Beyond the hidden room was a long, narrow secret passage. Evelyn Ford was suddenly struck by a strange sense of familiarity. ’Isn’t this the tomb I was in before?’

Ronan Kendrick was obviously very familiar with the place. He skillfully led her past several hidden chambers until they reached a long, steep flight of stairs leading upward. At the top was another secret room. When he opened the door, Evelyn Ford saw it was filled with chests.

"Take them."

Evelyn Ford opened one and took a look. It was filled with gold, silver, and jewels—ten whole chests of it.

"Ronan Kendrick, you..."

"Actually, I was already here the day you entered the tomb. I was following you the entire time. I thought you would discover this room, but I didn’t expect you to just stumble into the room next door and take a few worthless bowls. Not that this gold and silver is worth much these days. If you like it, take it."

Just as she’d thought. Evelyn Ford had guessed right again.

"That night you went out... you brought back that piece of Gold. Was that to deliberately let me know there was more here?"

Ronan Kendrick gave a slight nod. "You said you wanted rent. This is the rent."

If that was the case, she wasn’t going to refuse.

"Is this all there is?"

Ronan Kendrick turned to look back at her, a strange expression on his face. "Are you some kind of gold-devouring beast?"

Evelyn Ford smiled faintly and nodded. Ronan Kendrick ignored her and kept walking.

After traversing another long, secret passage, Ronan Kendrick brought her to a stone door. "Put on a mask."

Evelyn Ford didn’t hesitate, immediately pulling out a mask and putting it on. Ronan Kendrick opened the stone door, and they stepped through. The sight that greeted Evelyn caused her expression to freeze instantly.

Mummified corpses lay scattered amongst the ruins. The ground was littered with glass test tubes and dust-covered medical instruments. The equipment was clearly decades old. This place was, indeed, a laboratory for human experimentation. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"To think a place like this existed, separated from the tomb by only a single wall."

Ronan Kendrick let out a short, harsh laugh. "Decades ago, they were still afraid of being discovered, so they had to sneak out to a desolate place like this to do their experiments. Now, they build their labs right in the middle of cities. No one ever knows that beneath all that prosperity and civilization, some people are exploiting others in the name of ’science’ and ’technology’."

Evelyn Ford produced a gas canister and handed it to him. "Let’s blow it up."

"Is that your solution for everything? Just blow it up?"

’He’s actually in the mood to joke?’ Evelyn Ford rolled her eyes at him. "If you’re too scared to light it, then stand back. Where’s the exit? I’ll light the fuse once we’re out."

The corners of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth curved upward, but the movement was so slight that Evelyn Ford didn’t notice.

"I’d better do it. With those short legs of yours, you wouldn’t even have time to run before it explodes."

’Short legs? For his information, my legs are plenty long!’

Ronan Kendrick took the gas canister and set it on the ground. "One won’t be enough. We’ll need at least three to take this whole place out."

The abandoned laboratory was massive, and mummified corpses were everywhere. By the time they reached the exit, they had planted three gas canisters at various points inside.

"You go first."

Evelyn Ford had barely stepped outside—with no time to adjust to the temperature shifts or even register her surprise at seeing the sun—when Ronan Kendrick urged her to get moving.

She ran for some distance before looking back. He was still standing at the exit, which was located deep within the mountain, on the opposite side from the entrance to the karst cave.

On a sudden impulse, Evelyn Ford shouted his name. Ronan Kendrick turned back to look at her.

"You’re not planning on going down with it, are you?"

Ronan Kendrick was speechless.

A series of loud explosions—BANG! BANG! BANG!—erupted behind her. Evelyn Ford took off, her feet flying as she leaped over smoldering patches of fire. At that moment, she could have given an Olympic sprinter a run for their money.

Broken Cloud Mountain was now a scorched ruin. The fir trees were charred black, their branches still smoldering. The snow on the ground hadn’t fully melted, its white surface blanketed in ash and splinters. Evelyn Ford’s ears began to ring again, her mind going blank. A single voice screamed in her head: ’Run! Run faster!’

Evelyn Ford had seen explosions from oil tankers and gas canisters on the news before. They were devastating, capable of annihilating everything for miles around.

Evelyn Ford’s legs suddenly gave out, and she nearly collapsed, but a hand gripped her arm firmly and hauled her back to her feet.

Evelyn Ford looked at the soot-stained Ronan Kendrick and quickly looked him over. Thankfully, he was all in one piece.

He had once again proven to Evelyn Ford just how hardcore he was.

"Are you okay?"

Evelyn Ford nodded, then shook her head. He gave her a puzzled look.

"My legs feel like jelly, but I can still walk."

Ronan Kendrick shot her legs a disdainful look. Without another word, he hoisted her up and slung her over his back. "You’re pathetic."

Despite his complaints, he took off at an incredible speed, as if he had rockets strapped to his feet.

Draped over his back, Evelyn Ford glanced toward the pillar of black smoke. She couldn’t shake the feeling that after destroying the lab, something about Ronan Kendrick had changed.

Ronan Kendrick ran with Evelyn Ford on his back for ten minutes before she asked him to put her down. The ride was so jarring it was making her sick, like being carsick. Once he set her down, she was so dizzy she couldn’t even stand, and promptly fell into the snow.

"We can walk slowly now. We’re in a safe zone."

Evelyn Ford lay in the snow for two minutes to recover before slowly getting to her feet.

She opened her cloth bag and saw that Mina and Lola had been knocked out by the jostling as well. Once they had recovered, Evelyn Ford surveyed the landscape and couldn’t help but sigh.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but barren wasteland.

She remembered when she had first arrived at Broken Cloud Mountain. Though many trees were dead, the forest had still been dense, wild vegetables had started to sprout, and there were signs of nature reviving.

An earthquake, a blizzard, and a meteor shower.

All that progress toward recovery had been wiped out once more.

"Here, for you." She produced a box of black cosmetic contact lenses from her storage space.

"What is this?" Ronan Kendrick opened the box and stared in confusion at the two thin, round objects inside.