Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 119: Messenger of Justice
Miss Holloway’s death was like a gust of wind that blew through the base and quickly faded away.
Compared to gossip, people were more concerned with having full bellies, warm clothes, and personal safety.
When the ground grew warm again, Evelyn Ford washed all her dirty clothes and hung them out to dry.
Ronan Kendrick said the nearby game had been completely hunted, so he would have to go farther out. Besides, the base now had requirements for hunting—they wanted prey captured alive if possible, and the reward for a live catch had increased to nine hundred points.
When Ronan went out on these trips, he would sometimes be gone for three or four days, sometimes five or six.
The teams tilling the land grew larger by the day, and some of the wasteland outside the base was reclaimed for farming.
Evelyn brought Mina and Lola back home and, while she was at it, gave Quincy some life-saving medicine. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
The work in the medical department was now running smoothly, and Evelyn was considered one of its pillars.
Serena Lynch had taken Evelyn to The Undercity before. It wasn’t much different from the surface, just meticulously planned out with designated planting zones, livestock areas, production centers, and so on.
The medicinal herbs from the planting zones were harvested and sent to the base’s factory to be made into medicine. The base’s medicine was very expensive. Unless they had a broken arm or leg, most people would rather endure the pain than come in for treatment.
To Evelyn’s surprise, she saw Jill Lynch and Rachel Xavier in the medicinal herb planting zone. Evelyn had no intention of acknowledging them. She was bundled up tightly and walked right past them, but neither of them looked up.
Ronan had been gone for three days now. As Evelyn watched the temperature jump from zero to eight degrees Celsius, her sense of unease grew stronger.
She always felt as if the heavens were brewing something nasty, letting desperate humans see a glimmer of hope only to drop a fatal bomb right when they were filled with expectations for life and the future, plunging them back into a bottomless abyss.
The first wave of wheat seeds had already been sown in the tilled fields. A couple walking past Evelyn chatted about how many points they had earned that day and how they could afford a bag of snacks for their child next month.
Residents in the collective housing were also dreaming of moving into a single room or, even better, one of the apartment buildings.
The next day, when Evelyn arrived at the surgical department, Dr. Miller told her that Nurse Reid had been murdered.
Nurse Reid was also from Corinth. She had been separated from her parents and younger sister. After arriving at the base, she went to the collective housing area every day to look for them.
She was usually very frugal, saving up her points and reluctant to spend them, all so she could improve her family’s life once she found them again.
"Ms. Reid told me just yesterday that her birthday is this month. She was about to turn twenty-six. I was up all night trying to think of what gift to get her..." Serena Lynch couldn’t accept the reality of the situation and collapsed onto her desk, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Where did it happen? Did they find the culprit? Where is her body?"
"In a restroom at the base’s shopping center. They haven’t found the culprit. The body was taken away to be cremated. The base has a crematorium. After the dead are cremated, they’re buried together in the cemetery out back. They call it a cemetery, but it’s really just a giant pit where they toss the urns."
Dr. Miller sighed. Nurse Reid had worked here for four months, and everyone had gotten to know her quite well.
"Were the previous female victims also killed in a restroom on the first floor of the base shopping center? The men’s room or the women’s room?"
"The women’s room. That restroom had already been sealed off, but something happened again last night. This morning, a shopping center employee saw blood on the floor and followed the trail, only to find the restroom door had been opened. Nurse Reid was lying on the ground inside."
Evelyn hadn’t interacted much with Nurse Reid, but from what she’d observed, the nurse was introverted and kind to others. She didn’t have any enemies, which meant the culprit this time was likely the same person who had murdered the other women.
"The base is issuing a can of pepper spray to all female staff. Everyone needs to sign and leave a thumbprint." Dr. Miller took out two cans of pepper spray and distributed them to Evelyn and Serena Lynch.
On the way home from work, Serena Lynch still hadn’t recovered from the shock of Nurse Reid’s death. Any man who walked past her looked like the killer in her eyes. Seeing how jumpy she was, Evelyn suggested she take a couple of days off, but Serena was reluctant to give up the points.
"Evelyn, let’s start commuting to and from work together. I’m so scared. The base has shown no intention of launching a formal investigation. A living, breathing person is dead, and the killer is getting away with it."
Evelyn had no objection. Serena was a good person, and Evelyn also felt it would be dangerous for her to commute alone. She was too fragile.
Evelyn didn’t expect to see Ronan Kendrick as soon as she got back to the sixth floor. After this trip, the deadly aura around him had grown much heavier. He was standing at the door of 601, waiting for Evelyn as usual. Seeing him, Serena couldn’t help but joke around.
"Evelyn, why do you and your boyfriend rent two separate apartments? It’s such a waste. Look at him, waiting at your door for you every time he comes back. He’s like a loyal little puppy."
’Loyal little puppy? What a joke,’ Evelyn rolled her eyes internally. ’He’s clearly just waiting for me to feed him, that’s all.’
Evelyn didn’t know how to respond other than with a smile. Serena skipped back to 603, and Evelyn walked over to open her door. Ronan followed her inside and shut it behind them.
"I had a good haul this time. We can buy a lot of things. Let’s go shopping tomorrow. I have the day off."
Evelyn watched as he spoke, prying out his colored contacts.
"It seems you guys went pretty far this time."
Ronan nodded. "I haven’t eaten well these past few days. Evelyn, let’s make some food."
Evelyn took out the ingredients, and Ronan got to work.
"The temperature is rising. I’m worried a bigger disaster is on the way. You should decide for yourself if you want to change jobs."
"I doubt The Hunting Squad will let me leave. After all, I bring in half of their game by myself."
Evelyn shot him a look. "Show-off."
"A nurse in my department was murdered. She was only twenty-five, young and hardworking, but she was assaulted and killed."
Evelyn’s tone grew heavy. "Every place has its dark corners that hide filth. It’s disgusting."
"Where was she killed?"
"In the women’s restroom on the first floor of the base shopping center."
Ronan nodded thoughtfully.
After they ate, Ronan went back to his own apartment. Even though he had the next day off, Evelyn still had to work. She fed Mina and Lola, then went to bed early.
When she woke up the next day, her face was a little pale. Evelyn checked the calendar; her period was due soon.
"Evelyn, Serena! Big news!"
As soon as they arrived at the surgical department, Dr. Miller rushed over to stop them.
"Dr. Miller, what happened?" Serena’s expression was grim. Worried that another girl had been murdered, her eyes were already turning red with anxiety.
"This morning, three bodies appeared in front of the base administration building! Words were carved into their faces, they were stripped naked, and they were castrated. Each one had a confession placard hanging on them with a message in red ink. It said these three were the fiends who assaulted those girls, that a ’bringer of justice’ found them, killed them, and dumped them at the administration building. This is a huge slap in the face for the base! I bet anyone with sinister ideas is quaking in their boots right now."
