Chapter 71: On the Road of Flight 2

"Why didn’t they tell everyone this when we were just leaving Corinth? Instead, they wait until we’re halfway there to inform us with this mix of half-enticement, half-threat?"

"The refugees who’ve made it this far are exhausted, whether they came by car or on foot. Now that they’ve told us, everyone is stuck between a rock and a hard place. But we’ll still have to compromise and follow them to Wyrmrest Base. It’s not like we can turn back to Corinth, which has probably been burned to the ground by now. And by revealing this now, they can exploit us more effectively for the rest of the trip."

"Isn’t this a form of psychological abuse and oppression? It’s like emotional blackmail; you want to break free, but you have no choice but to rely on them."

You might think he’s just a good-for-nothing, spoiled rich kid. But you’d never guess that people like him have already sealed your fate.

Sure enough, over the next two days, the convoy’s management became stricter than ever. That Mr. Holloway was clearly treating these thousands of people as his personal slaves. With a wave of his hand, everyone had to go clear a roadblock. With another wave, they had to help lift his car. The gun in his hand seemed completely unnecessary.

The convoy had already caught up to the people who had left on foot earlier. Their faces were numb, but their eyes greedily stared at the vehicles.

The only animals they encountered on the road were giant rats and that one gray rabbit. There wasn’t even the shadow of a bird in the sky.

After the temperature dropped, the days began to shorten, and the nights stretched to fifteen hours.

"We’ll be at Broken Cloud Mountain in a few more hours," Quincy said, spreading out a map and outlining the area. "Broken Cloud Mountain used to be a wildlife preserve. It’s a chain of eighteen large mountains all connected. Before the apocalypse, an adventure streamer went in there to do a livestream and disappeared deep in the mountains. The police sent out a large search party, but they couldn’t find him after several days. There were all sorts of rumors online. Some people guessed he was eaten by a black bear."

"The black bears are probably all dead by now," Roy Henderson chimed in from the side.

"Those things are way tougher than humans. People haven’t all died out, so how could the black bears be gone?" Quincy folded the map and glanced worriedly at the passing scenery outside the window.

"Do you guys feel how cold it is? It was so hot just a few days ago, and now it’s suddenly freezing. This damned weather is all over the place, it’s going to be the death of me."

He rummaged through his bag, pulled out a black jacket, and put it on. Seeing Evelyn Ford still bundled up tightly from head to toe, he couldn’t help but tease her.

"Evelyn, you should take off that scarf. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get lice in your hair?"

Evelyn paused. To be honest, her scalp really was a little itchy.

"I don’t have any."

"You’d better check. If it’s really bad, I can shave your head for you."

"I said I don’t, so I don’t."

Quincy threw his hands up in surrender. "My mistake. You don’t, you don’t. I’m the one with lice. So could I trouble Dr. Ford to shave my head for me?"

Evelyn refused coldly, "No time."

Officer Graham watched them with amusement, took a dagger from his pocket, and flicked it open in front of Quincy.

"I’ll shave it for you."

Quincy quickly backed away. "I was wrong! I was just kidding! I need my hair to stay warm!"

Wendy, in Officer Graham’s arms, giggled into her hand. After a half-hour break, the convoy set off again. The big guy who passed on messages said they had to reach Broken Cloud Mountain before dark.

Evelyn suddenly had a bad feeling.

At six in the evening, the sky went dark. The convoy stopped at the foot of the first peak of Broken Cloud Mountain. Evelyn took out her binoculars and stared at the dark, imposing forest for a long time.

"This is the first peak of Broken Cloud Mountain! It’s an ecological park, rich in vegetation and full of all kinds of animals! Mr. Holloway says everyone is free to move about. You can even go into the mountains to hunt. But one thing: the convoy leaves at five o’clock sharp tomorrow morning!" The messenger bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"What do you think this Mr. Holloway is really up to?"

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "He’s putting out bait."

"Bait?"

"If there really are bears, he’s throwing out bait. The first group of people will become bear food, and he can just sit back and reap the rewards."

Evelyn continued, "And if there are any skilled people among them, he can take the opportunity to recruit them."

"That’s sick. Is this just some game for rich people?" Quincy asked, annoyed.

"Who knows? I’ve never been rich, anyway," Evelyn shrugged.

"Neither have I. I only made a few thousand a month," Officer Graham sighed.

"Me neither. I haven’t even started earning money yet," Roy Henderson grunted.

"I only got ten bucks a day for my allowance. I’m a poor person too," Owen Chapman said, pursing his lips.

Even Wendy shook her head sadly.

"You all make it sound like *I’m* the rich one. I don’t even have a car or a house." Quincy’s face screamed ’yeah, right’.

Just then, many people started opening their car doors, ready to try their luck in the mountains. They weren’t necessarily expecting to hunt a black bear, a muntjac, or an elk... but at the very least, they hoped to catch a rabbit for a decent meal.

"Should we get out?"

Evelyn nodded. "Everyone else is getting out, so we should too. Never be the one who sticks out. You guys build a fire by the car. I’m going to take a look around the mountain."

Quincy was speechless.

"Didn’t you just say we shouldn’t be the ones who stick out?"

"I can guarantee I’ll make it back alive. Can you?" Evelyn looked at him quietly.

"I’ll go with you."

"You’d just be a liability."

"Then let Mr. Graham go with you." Quincy still thought it was too dangerous for Evelyn to go alone, especially since she was a woman.

"Mr. Graham has to look after Wendy and watch the car. Me leaving alone won’t be too conspicuous. Just wait here for some roast rabbit." Evelyn grabbed her backpack, strapped it on tightly, gripped her dagger, and opened the car door to leave.

"Be careful. Come back soon." Quincy finally relented.

"I know. I’ll be back in two hours at most."

Dressed all in black, Evelyn entered the forest and immediately blended into the night. She put on her night-vision goggles, and figures a hundred meters away became clearly visible.

The roots of dead trees in the mountain were sprouting anew. There were tracks of animals on the ground. Deeper in the mountains, she could see animal droppings.

Evelyn crouched down to carefully study the small, black, spherical droppings on the ground. To be honest, she couldn’t tell if they were from a goat, a rabbit, or a muntjac. She just wanted to use their hardness to guess how long ago the animal had passed by.

The sound of voices came from not far away. Evelyn dropped the rock-hard pellet, wiped her hands with a handful of dirt, and immediately scouted a new path away through the nearby bushes.

Based on how hard the droppings were, the animal must have passed through four or five days ago.

This meant there really were wild animals still living in these mountains. Hopefully, they were just harmless rabbits.

If it was a black bear, however, there was probably going to be blood.