Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 97: God’s Left Hand

Just as Ronan Kendrick had said, the temperature plummeted to minus eighteen degrees Celsius the next day. Snow fell in a flurry, and overnight, the drifts outside the cabin had buried half the door.

Evelyn Ford woke up and, as usual, glanced out the window, only to find her view blocked by the snow.

After adding firewood to the heated brick bed, Evelyn opened her bedroom door and found that Ronan Kendrick was not in the cabin.

Evelyn quickly added more wood to the fireplace, then glanced outside. The footprints were only covered by a thin layer of snow; he must have just left.

’It’s freezing,’ Evelyn shivered. She looked into the distance and saw nothing but snow and fir trees, and even the firs were draped in icicles.

Just then, Ronan Kendrick returned from the distance, carrying two logs. Evelyn watched him approach, still dressed in nothing but a thin sweater. His hair was dusted with snow, and his already pale face was so frozen it was completely colorless. He carried a log on each shoulder, with his latest hunt hanging from them.

"Why do you sleep so much?" After entering the yard, he dropped the logs on the ground and set his catch on the wooden table nearby.

"Is that a lot? I only slept for ten hours last night."

Ronan Kendrick looked at her earnestly. "Healthy humans don’t need that much sleep. You must be sick."

The next second, the snowball in Evelyn Ford’s hand smacked him right in the face.

"You’re the one who’s sick! Did you get your head slammed in a door or something?" Evelyn kicked the cabin door open and stormed back inside.

Ronan glanced at the cabin, then at his catch, completely oblivious to the fact that he had angered Evelyn again. He didn’t give up and called after her, "Is it time to eat?"

"Go eat shit."

"I can’t do that," he replied, dead serious.

Ronan wiped the snow off his face, unfastened the knife at his side, and began to dress his catch.

Evelyn took out a tube of wasabi. She decided to teach Ronan a little lesson and make him pay for his careless words.

’At this moment, I feel just like a wicked villainess,’ Evelyn thought. ’Jealous of how capable he is, all I can do is resort to petty tricks behind his back.’

A wicked smile spread across her face. ’Oh well. I guess I’m just evil.’

Evelyn took out two cartons of milk and a canister of tea leaves. She was going to make two cups of milk tea. Of course, a certain someone’s cup was going to have a special ingredient.

Milk tea was opaque, so he wouldn’t see the added ingredient. ’Once he drinks this,’ Evelyn guaranteed herself, ’he won’t be able to speak for three days.’

She stir-fried the tea leaves and white sugar until they caramelized, then added a bowl of water and boiled it until it bubbled. Next, she poured in the two cartons of milk and added a small block of brown sugar to deepen the color.

Once the milk tea came to a boil, she strained out the tea leaves and poured the liquid into two cups. Into one of them, she squeezed half a tube of wasabi and stirred until it was completely mixed in.

Evelyn carried the milk tea outside. Seeing that Ronan had already finished skinning the entire animal, she handed him a cup.

"Here, for all your hard work."

Ronan... felt a chill run down his spine.

"What’s this?"

"Something to drink. Since you went out hunting again today, I made this specially for you."

He took the cup and, ignoring how scalding hot it was, took a large gulp. Evelyn watched his face, but his expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t even furrow his brow.

’Does he not have a sense of taste? No, that can’t be it. When he eats meat, he can tell how salty it is.’

Evelyn watched him finish the entire cup, his expression unchanged. She glanced at the milk tea in her own hands. ’Did I give him the wrong one?’

"Why aren’t you drinking yours?"

He looked at Evelyn with a placid gaze, as if all her schemes were laid bare before him. Evelyn’s lips twitched. She took a delicate sip. It was sweet, with no spiciness. Relieved, she finished her cup.

"It’s very sweet. Want another cup?"

Ronan gave her a long, hard look, then buried his head in his work and ignored her.

Evelyn snatched the cup he had set on a snowdrift and hurried back to the cabin. She gave it a light sniff. The spicy scent was so strong it stung her nose. ’He had absolutely no reaction? This guy is unreal.’

Outside, once Ronan saw Evelyn had gone, he slapped his stomach hard twice. Everything he had just drunk came spewing back out.

He ate a mouthful of snow to quell the burning taste in his mouth.

---

In the afternoon, Ronan grabbed his axe, ready to go out and chop more trees. Evelyn brought out the chainsaw for him. ’Since he loves working so much, I might as well let him work until he drops.’

"I don’t know how to use it."

Evelyn demonstrated how to use it, but Ronan just shook his head. Left with no other choice, she put on her heavy coat, bundled herself up tightly, and went out with him.

"Why are you so obsessed with working?"

Ronan turned to face her, his gaze profound.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong? You just can’t stay idle, can you?"

"You’re the one who said that if I live here, I can’t be idle. You said I have to work hard, clean up, chop trees, split firewood, and hunt. I’ve been doing all of those things."

Evelyn gave a sheepish laugh.

"Very good. Keep up the great work."

Ronan didn’t say anything and continued walking. Evelyn stepped in his footprints, struggling to keep up.

The two of them alternated between being butchers and lumberjacks. Their daily routine consisted of either hunting or chopping down trees.

Ever since Ronan Kendrick arrived, all the trees and animals on Broken Cloud Mountain had been trembling in fear.

"This spot should work," Ronan said, stopping in his tracks and looking back at Evelyn.

Just as Evelyn was about to pull out the chainsaw, a cold gust of wind blew her right over. The wind whipped snow over her head, knocking her hat askew. She was about to get up when Ronan walked over and hoisted her up with a single hand, like pulling a radish out of the ground.

Evelyn straightened her hat. Just as she was about to thank him, she sneezed, and a snot bubble formed at her nostril.

Social death comes in an instant. On the surface, Evelyn remained nonchalant, but inwardly she was furious with herself for not wearing a mask.

Ronan stared at her snot bubble and silently edged away. Evelyn felt her chest tighten in indignation. ’When this guy first showed up, he stank worse than a maggot fished out of a cesspool. How dare he act disgusted by me?’

Evelyn wiped her nose, silently started the chainsaw, walked over to a fir tree, and immediately began to cut.

BZZZZT... The sound of the chainsaw echoed through the mountain hollow. Just as the fir tree was about to snap, she turned and fled, leaving Ronan standing alone beneath it.

Ronan was at her side in an instant. Without a word of explanation, he lifted her up, intending to carry her farther away.

Evelyn kicked her legs, trying to strike him, but he just tossed her into a snowbank.

"Pah!" Evelyn spat out a mouthful of snow and glared at him viciously.

"Why are you angry?"

Evelyn was speechless. "If I threw you into the snow, would you be angry?"

He shook his head.

"Your balance was unsteady. It’s not my fault." With that, he walked over, picked up the chainsaw, and started cutting the fallen fir into logs.

Evelyn just huffed, deciding not to argue with him over it. She collected the cut logs into her space. His efficiency at chopping trees was far greater than hers; in a single day, he had practically devastated an entire mountainside.

The two of them had a clear division of labor. While Ronan was cutting down trees, Evelyn even found time to hunt a wild pheasant.

"What is this ability?"

On the way back, Ronan couldn’t contain his curiosity about Evelyn’s space. How could it never fill up, no matter how much she put inside it every day? It was like a bottomless pit.

"Ever heard of the Right Hand of God? Well, this is the Left Hand of God."

The corner of Ronan’s mouth twitched. Evelyn wondered if she’d imagined it.

Clearly, he didn’t believe her.