Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse

"Okay, I’ll make the coveralls after I’m done here."

Wyatt Vaughn finished hanging the clothes and walked over with a basin. "Why isn’t Ronan Kendrick back yet? He’s not in danger, is he?"

"He won’t be. He’d tell me if he were in danger. I’m going to check on Annie, so you two carry on." Evelyn Ford did a quick sweep of the second floor before returning to the third.

The potent medicine was working very well. Annie was already able to make some sounds, though a full recovery would still take some time.

"Annie, you’ll be able to talk again in two or three days. Aren’t you happy about that?"

Annie had become much braver. Wendy and Zoe had been keeping him company all day. Children form friendships so easily, and with good friends by his side, he even had a smile on his face.

Seeing him nod, Evelyn Ford took a bottle out of her pocket. "Take this medicine, then get some sleep. You need to stay in bed for a while and rest up. You can’t get out of bed and move around until your body has fully recovered, understand?"

Annie was very well-behaved, nodding at everything Evelyn Ford said.

After taking the pill, Annie quickly fell asleep. Evelyn Ford took some toys and stuffed animals out of her space and placed them on his bed for him to see when he woke up.

The round trip to the small island to pick up Officer Graham and the others and bring them to Kestrel Villa had taken several hours. On top of that, she had just finished doing some work in her space. Evelyn Ford stretched her neck. Her spine and wrists were aching. ’I should go back to my room and take a hot bath first,’ she thought.

In the bathroom, Evelyn Ford was dozing off while soaking in the tub when she heard footsteps approaching the door. With a jolt, she was instantly wide awake.

"Ronan Kendrick?"

"It’s me."

Evelyn Ford patted her chest and realized the water had grown completely cold. She quickly climbed out of the tub.

"Did I scare you?" Ronan Kendrick opened the bathroom door, grabbed a nearby towel, and started to dry her hair for her.

"I knew it was you. Your footsteps sound different from anyone else’s."

"Did you see the Gold in the space?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "I saw it. There’s so much of it! And the raw jade, too. Did Rhys Chase give it all to you?"

Ronan Kendrick grunted in confirmation.

"Let’s try to unlock the fourth area in a bit. I got a jade cutter from Rhys Chase. That pile of raw jade should yield a good amount of high-quality jade."

Evelyn Ford grew excited. "I thought you meant maybe ten or twenty pounds of Gold at most. I never expected this much! Ronan Kendrick, we’ve struck it rich!"

"Yeah, we’ve struck it rich. Are you happy?"

"Uh-huh, I’m ecstatic! Alright, let’s go into the space and process the Gold. Don’t worry about my hair."

"No way. We have to dry your hair first, or you’ll get a headache."

Ronan Kendrick had become more and more of a nag these past few years, transforming from a doting "puppy-dog" boyfriend to a nagging "daddy" boyfriend. Evelyn Ford sat on the stool, enjoying having Ronan Kendrick dry her hair.

"Did Rhys Chase say when he’s going to start dealing with the refugee camp?"

Ronan Kendrick put down the hair dryer, combed her hair, and applied some essential oil. "He’s already given the order. The people at the refugee camp should have received the notice for the overhaul by now."

"So he’s a man of his word, at least."

Ronan Kendrick’s expression was conflicted. ’What Rhys Chase said wasn’t entirely unreasonable,’ he thought. ’If the sun doesn’t reappear in six months, humanity won’t be able to survive on the surface anymore.’

’His Undercity can hold a maximum of one hundred thousand people, but it doesn’t seem like Rhys Chase has any intention of taking in anyone else.’

’Of course, that was none of his business. When the crisis comes, who will have the energy to care if others live or die?’

’Still, that Undercity of Rhys Chase’s is genuinely impressive. It would probably be very safe to live there.’

"Is the swine flu problem solved?"

"I’ve told them about it; the base will handle it. Come on, let’s go process the Gold."

After entering the space, Evelyn Ford went to the laboratory to get a syringe.

"Aren’t we idiots? We’ve had syringes this whole time, but we always used to cut our fingers open with a knife."

Ronan Kendrick chuckled. "Yeah, pretty idiotic. This is all unprocessed Gold ore. I wonder if the space can absorb it directly."

Evelyn Ford began to draw her own blood. "We’ll know in a minute when we try. I have a feeling we’ll definitely be able to unlock the fourth area this time."

"Ronan Kendrick, you draw a vial, too. Both of our blood can expand the space. If we mix them together, maybe the power will be even greater."

The idea had come to Evelyn Ford on a whim. She urged Ronan Kendrick to hurry up and draw his blood. Seeing her excitement, Ronan Kendrick couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

They mixed the two vials of blood in a bowl, and Evelyn Ford even stirred the mixture with a pair of chopsticks.

"Ronan Kendrick, do you think our blood would taste good if we made it into a soup?"

Ronan Kendrick was speechless. ’That idea is a bit twisted,’ he thought, but he didn’t dare say it out loud.

Evelyn Ford swallowed hard. "Your blood smells so fragrant. I think I’m having some lingering aftereffects. The scent of your blood makes me want to bite you."

Evelyn Ford was a little scared. "I’m not turning into a vampire, am I?"

"You’re not. Don’t be afraid. I promise, you are absolutely not turning into a vampire."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "But your blood smells too good. You go apply it; I’ll stay far away. I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist taking a sip."

’So she really is having aftereffects,’ he thought. ’And they don’t seem mild, either.’

Holding back a laugh, Ronan Kendrick dabbed the mixed blood onto the Gold ore. The instant the blood touched it, the ore vanished. Evelyn Ford stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the space. ’It’s a bust,’ she thought. The fourth area was still unchanged, the black soil hadn’t expanded, and there were no abnormalities in the livestock area for the time being.

’Did it fail?’

’No, impossible. It’s probably just delayed. There’s been a delay before, after all.’

After all the Gold ore was absorbed by the space, Evelyn Ford walked up to Ronan Kendrick with a serious expression.

"Nothing’s changed. What do we do?"

"Don’t be anxious. There was a huge amount of Gold ore this time. The space needs a little time to digest it all."

Just then, Evelyn Ford heard a "CRACK... CRACKLE..." sound. The two of them rushed toward the fourth area and saw cracks appearing on the hazy gray barrier. Cold sweat broke out on Evelyn Ford’s palms.

’I hope it opens up a huge expanse of the black soil,’ she prayed. No matter what, arable land was paramount; food was the very basis of survival.

More and more cracks appeared, making it look as if it might explode at any moment. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick took a few steps back. If the barrier were to explode, they would surely be caught in the blast. It was safer to keep their distance.

Just then, a plume of white smoke billowed out from the cracks. Ronan Kendrick reacted in a flash, grabbing Evelyn Ford’s hand and pulling them out of the space. After a loud "BANG!", the space was filled with acrid smoke. Evelyn Ford tried to check on it with her consciousness, but the smoke hadn’t dispersed. The fourth area was still a hazy gray, but Evelyn Ford was certain that it had finally been unlocked.

"With all this smoke, it must be a mountain of ore."

Ronan Kendrick agreed.

After waiting two hours, the smoke in the space had mostly dissipated, and the two of them entered it again.

"What is all this?"

The previous farming and livestock areas had expanded dozens of times over. The well had become a river. Many bare mountains now stood in the fourth area, which was as barren as the surface of the Moon, the air thick with all sorts of foul odors.

"Evelyn, they’re mountains of ore."

Evelyn Ford’s eyes lit up. "Don’t tell me it’s more Gold ore?"

"Look up there. What’s that?"

A red rectangular frame had appeared in the sky above the space, displaying [100%].

"I think it means the development of the space is complete."

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