"The road ahead is flat. You should go rest in the carriage for a bit."

Evelyn Ford took out her binoculars. Sure enough, the road ahead was covered in snow, with no large rocks or frozen earth. She could finally rest in the carriage.

"That’s great."

But before getting in, she needed to use the restroom.

She called Wyatt Vaughn and Wendy, and the three of them went behind a large boulder nearby. Evelyn Ford even brought the brazier from the carriage, afraid of freezing her butt.

Wyatt Vaughn’s teeth were chattering from the cold. "If only we had diapers."

Evelyn Ford was exasperated. "Diapers would just freeze solid."

Wendy was also shivering uncontrollably. This was always the aftereffect of a bathroom break. ’Being alive is such a hassle,’ she thought. ’Eating, drinking, shitting, pissing—you have to deal with it all.’

"Come on, let’s get back to the carriage and rest. We have at least a few kilometers of flat road ahead."

Jogging back to the group, Evelyn Ford quickly climbed into the carriage. She took off her shoes as fast as she could and held her feet to the brazier. Once feeling slowly returned to her frozen toes, she pulled on three pairs of socks, curled up on the bed, and wrapped the quilt tightly around herself.

The storage battery was hidden under the bed. Evelyn Ford turned on the electric blanket, and the bed quickly warmed up.

Just then, Ronan Kendrick returned. He brought a gust of cold air in with him, and Evelyn Ford quickly pulled the quilt over her head. The wind in the canyon was so frigid it felt like her head would freeze off.

Ronan Kendrick took off his thick coat and hat and came over to the brazier to warm his hands. Evelyn Ford peeked out from under the quilt, squinting at him.

Then, Evelyn Ford took out two bowls of ginger soup from her space.

Ronan Kendrick wrinkled his nose at the smell of ginger but took the bowl and drank it anyway.

"You don’t even flinch when you drink poison, but drinking ginger soup looks like it’s killing you."

A corner of Ronan Kendrick’s mouth quirked up. "Ginger soup really is disgusting."

"If it wasn’t to warm up, I wouldn’t want to drink it either. After all, the more you drink, the more you need the restroom."

She said this with a straight face. Ronan Kendrick coughed and reached out to pat her head.

"You’ve had it rough. Next time, I’ll go with you. I can carry the brazier."

Evelyn Ford glared at him. "I’d rather hold it in until I burst."

Although they had eaten water-soaked naan, several hours had passed, and Evelyn Ford was hungry again. She took out some steamed buns and hot soup and asked Ronan Kendrick to bring over the small table.

Fortunately, this stretch of road was very flat, and the Mammoth’s gait was steady. The dinner plates didn’t even wobble on the table.

"We should put some ginger in the shipping container, and maybe some rice and flour."

"You can decide." Ronan Kendrick poured some water into Mina and the others’ bowls. Seeing them snoring in their nest, he gave Evelyn Ford a helpless look.

"You’ve spoiled them rotten."

"What else? Should I have Mina pull a cart?" The comical image of Mina pulling a cart flashed through her mind, and Evelyn Ford couldn’t help but laugh.

"They were always just freeloaders who only know how to eat and drink."

Ronan Kendrick protested, "So am I."

Evelyn Ford... was speechless.

They had barely slept the past two days, trying to make time. After eating, Evelyn Ford planned to catch up on some sleep.

Although this section of the road was flat, Ronan Kendrick didn’t rest, wanting to be prepared for any accidents.

The Mammoth was now leading the way. Ronan Kendrick put on his coat and hat and sat at the front of the carriage. He had to keep an eye on the road conditions ahead and warn the others if any problems arose.

Evelyn Ford wanted to take a shift, but he absolutely refused.

「Seven hours later.」

The caravan came to a halt. The animals were exhausted and had to rest for a few hours.

"Let’s boil a pot of ginger soup."

Using the shipping container for cover, Evelyn Ford took out two large pieces of ginger. The others had already started a fire. One iron pot was boiling snowmelt, while another was stewing meat.

"The road has finally flattened out a bit. But just now, a few rocks fell, nearly hitting the horses. The two of them bolted in terror, and Wyatt Vaughn and I both banged our heads inside the carriage."

"We really need to get out of this canyon as soon as possible. I just don’t feel safe here."

Once the ginger soup was ready, everyone downed a large bowl. Looking at the glistening fat in the pot, Evelyn Ford touched her face. ’Even though the journey is hard, we’ve been eating fatty meat every day. I’ve gained so much weight; my face is as round as a plate.’

As they were talking, the canyon behind them suddenly collapsed. A deafening RUMBLE made everyone think it was an earthquake, and they bolted.

"It’s not an earthquake! Don’t panic! Quickly, divide the meat in the pot and eat in the carriages. We can’t stay here. After the snow melts and the permafrost thaws, the loose soil on the mountains will collapse."

Hearing her, the others calmed down. They came over with their bowls to get some meat, packed everything into the shipping container, and got back in the vehicles to continue on.

More rocks tumbled down behind them, and an argali sheep was crushed to death. Ronan Kendrick jumped down, retrieved the sheep, and tossed it directly onto the wooden plank at the front of the carriage before ordering the Mammoth to speed up.

Ronan Kendrick taught Evelyn Ford how to use a whistle to command the flock of sheep behind them. Evelyn Ford opened the sliding window and began to blow a pattern of three short blasts and one long one.

The flock seemed to understand the command and immediately began to run faster.

The mountains behind them were still collapsing. Evelyn Ford glanced at the sun overhead, and her eyelid started twitching again.

Every second in the canyon was filled with danger. It was like a ticking time bomb, exploding intermittently and wearing down everyone’s nerves.

A few hours later, Ronan Kendrick blew his whistle, and the Mammoth gradually slowed down. The road ahead had become extremely narrow, and there was an uphill section. Though the carriages could pass, there were too many rocks, and the wheels would get stuck between them. Everyone had to get out and push.

They pushed the horse-drawn carts up one by one. After an hour of hard work, everyone was drenched in sweat. Once they finished the uphill climb, they were faced with a long downhill stretch. Worried about damaging the carriages on the bumpy descent, they could only guide them down slowly by hand. All this back and forth cost them three hours. By then, the sky was nearly dark, and they had only covered just over twenty kilometers for the day.

In search of a safer place to rest, they had no choice but to press on.

But aside from the dangerous sections, the canyon road was mostly rugged and rocky. The mountains on both sides were just as barren, without a single tree in sight.

At 10:30 PM, they finally reached a flat area. There were even a few crooked trees around. Their first priority was to feed the animals before they could think about their own dinner.

By the time they finished everything and returned to the carriage to rest, Evelyn Ford checked her pocket watch. It was already 2:30 in the morning.

The canyon wind remained bitterly cold. Evelyn Ford wiped her nose, changed into a fresh set of thermal underwear, and burrowed under the covers.

Thankfully, there were no signs of animal life in this part of the canyon, so they didn’t have to worry about being attacked in the middle of the night.

Evelyn Ford curled up and fell asleep. After Ronan Kendrick washed up, he walked to the bed, pulled the quilt down a little, and freed her head from underneath it.

「The next day.」

Sunlight refracted off the sliding window. Evelyn Ford opened her eyes. Hearing voices outside, she yawned and got out of bed.