Chapter 149: Dense Fog 10

Evelyn Ford used every ounce of self-control she had to keep from bursting out laughing.

Quincy’s expression was a sight to behold, a veritable color palette. Evelyn grabbed Ronan Kendrick and ran, leaving Roy Henderson and Owen Chapman behind to face Quincy’s threats for quite some time.

Back home, Evelyn was so hungry her vision was blurring. She quickly took out some food, and the two of them devoured it like a pair of starving ghosts, finishing in a whirlwind.

"I think the safe zone needs a neighborhood committee. We could get some aunties to mediate all these things. Yesterday, someone’s eggs went missing; today, someone’s short on coal. And then you have guys like Mr. Graham, drowning in unwanted romance. The safe zone doesn’t have many people, but there’s certainly no shortage of drama."

"That Miles Vaughn... I know why he wanted to marry his sister off to Mr. Graham."

Evelyn’s eyes widened as she looked at Ronan. "You know? Why?"

"He thinks Mr. Graham is a man she can entrust her life to."

Evelyn... Huh?

"So he wasn’t just trying to stir up trouble?"

"Probably not. I saw him spit up blood. He probably thought he was dying, which is why he came up with that scheme."

"So is he really dying?" Evelyn hadn’t expected such a twist. Although it was a messed-up thing to do, from this perspective, Miles Vaughn didn’t seem like some irredeemably evil person.

"He shouldn’t be. I could see he had some stagnant blood; he’s probably better now after coughing it up." Ronan looked at Evelyn with a very serious expression. "Doesn’t Quincy want to find a woman? Why did he reject that woman just now?"

"He wants a pretty, rich woman. Obviously, that lady just now didn’t fit the bill."

Ronan nodded. "Quincy is too picky."

Evelyn suppressed a laugh. "So you’re saying he should have accepted that lady and become an instant dad?"

"He wouldn’t want that?"

"Judging by his reaction, he didn’t seem too keen on the idea. If it were you, would you be willing?"

Ronan’s eyes widened. "Of course I wouldn’t! I only want to live with you. You have food."

Evelyn burst out laughing. "You’re so pragmatic! So anyone with food could just take you away?"

Ronan didn’t say anything, just looked at her with a profound gaze.

—

The people who had moved into the safe zone a while ago had now settled in. On a rainy day, Crawford passed away.

Taylor Vance personally led a team to cremate the body, then scattered the ashes to the wind in the direction of Marris.

Every time Evelyn passed the house where the elderly man had lived, she would think of Crawford.

And there were many, many other elderly people like him in the safe zone.

What Evelyn didn’t expect, however, was for Miles Vaughn to actually come to her for a medical consultation.

Evelyn remembered what Ronan had said and studied his complexion carefully. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong.

"Dr. Ford, could you please check and see... how many days I have left."

After being "educated" by Zion Lowell last time, Miles Vaughn had been behaving himself.

"You mean, you’re dying?"

Miles Vaughn glared at Evelyn. "Do you have to be so blunt? Can’t you be a little more tactful?"

Evelyn was speechless.

"Well, what word do you prefer? ’Riding the crane to the west’? ’Kicking the bucket’? ’Breathing your last’?"

"STOP, STOP, STOP! Don’t say any more. Just hurry up and check if I’m about to die."

Evelyn coughed, then took his pulse. "You’re very healthy. Barring any accidents, you should live for a very long time."

Miles Vaughn didn’t believe her. "But I’ve been spitting up blood recently. I spit up blood every morning when I wake up."

"Your eyes are clear, there’s nothing wrong with your complexion, your blood vessels are normal, and your pulse is steady. If you don’t believe me, you can lie down, and I’ll dissect you. We can take out your organs and see if there are any problems."

It took Miles Vaughn a moment to process this. "So you’re saying... I’m not going to die?"

"I can’t guarantee that. If you walk out the door and trip and die, that has nothing to do with my diagnosis."

Miles Vaughn gritted his teeth. "Just as I thought. Anyone associated with Chester Graham is just as annoying as he is."

He turned to leave, but Evelyn called out to him. "What about my consultation fee?"

"Put it on my tab."

This was the first time someone had tried to run a tab with her. She found it rather novel. "I don’t do tabs here."

"Alright, alright, I’ll go get it. You’re a real debt collector."

Just then, Ronan came downstairs and gave Miles Vaughn a sinister look. Knowing Ronan was not someone to be trifled with, Miles Vaughn bolted.

"Ronan, let’s go collect the eggs."

Evelyn packed up her medical kit, but Ronan’s expression was still dark.

"Miles Vaughn doesn’t need to live anymore. I’ll kill him tonight."

’You’re a walking King of Hell,’ Evelyn thought.

"Let’s wait until he brings the consultation fee. Come on, let’s go get the eggs first."

Behind the villa where they lived, Ronan had built a shed specifically for raising chickens. The first floor of the villa was used for growing vegetables and medicinal herbs, while the second and third floors were living quarters. This was how most people in the safe zone lived.

The two of them hadn’t collected eggs in several days. Evelyn grabbed a basket, and Ronan set Lola down from his shoulder before they headed to the shed together.

"It looks like the shed is getting too crowded. Maybe we should slaughter half of these chickens to free up some space."

Unexpectedly, Ronan was quite the expert at animal husbandry. The chicks had multiplied from a few dozen to over a hundred.

"Okay. We can slaughter the older ones."

"Let’s gather the eggs first, then." Looking at basket after basket of eggs, Evelyn was beaming with joy.

"They’re amazing, laying two eggs a day."

Nowadays, almost everyone living in the safe zone was growing vegetables or raising livestock. After the dense fog, they had thought life would be difficult, but unexpectedly, things were gradually getting better.

The newcomers had also traded for eggs. Although things were a bit tough for them at the moment, given how fast the chicks were growing, they would be able to eat meat in about a month.

The biggest shortages in the safe zone right now were still water, clothes, and blankets.

Aside from Evelyn and Ronan, the clothes everyone else wore were basically scavenged.

When the apartment building collapsed earlier, many people had died. The clothes and blankets dug out from the rubble were snatched up by everyone.

Evelyn and Ronan also dressed poorly. After all, with everyone else in rags, wouldn’t they just be asking for trouble by wearing clean clothes?

The orphans had also been properly taken care of by Zion Lowell. Now, almost everyone in the safe zone could get enough to eat.

Evelyn and Ronan collected over a thousand eggs in total. Both the eggs and the chickens were multiplying rapidly. The shed was overflowing, so the two had no choice but to start boiling water to slaughter more chickens.

Miles Vaughn quickly returned. Evelyn saw him holding two heads of cabbage and accepted them without hesitation.

"Um, Dr. Ford, could you please tell Chester Graham for me to just let the past be the past? My sister doesn’t like him, so he shouldn’t feel burdened by it."

Evelyn nodded in agreement. "Okay, I’ll pass on the message."

"You’d better not change my words. You have to tell him exactly what I said, word for word."

Evelyn was exasperated. "Don’t worry, I have a good memory. I’ll relay it word for word. But if you don’t leave now, I suspect you really will die here."

A chill ran down Miles Vaughn’s spine. He turned his head and saw Ronan staring at him, expressionless.

"Wh-what do you want?"

"Can’t you tell? He wants to kill you." Evelyn was clearly enjoying the show, not minding stirring the pot.

Terrified, Miles Vaughn ran for his life. "Help! Ronan Kendrick is killing me!"