Two days later, the group arrived at a small patch of woods twenty kilometers outside Norvane Base. Everyone stayed behind to set up camp while Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick took five sheep to trade for supplies.

"Maybe we shouldn’t go. What if the base is full of vicious outlaws?"

"Yeah, I’ve suddenly got a bad feeling about this."

"Why don’t we all go together? There’s safety in numbers."

Evelyn Ford raised her hand, silencing everyone.

"You all hide in the woods and don’t come out. Ronan Kendrick and I will be right back. Nothing will happen."

"Then you two be careful. Scout it out from a distance first. If something seems wrong, come back immediately."

"Got it."

The two of them climbed onto the horse-drawn carriage with the five argali sheep and left the group.

"My eye won’t stop twitching. I feel really uneasy. You don’t think something will happen, do you?" Wyatt Vaughn said, rubbing his eyes.

"Ronan Kendrick is a skilled fighter, and he has a gun. They should be fine. Every city has enough rations to last twenty years. Norvane has a small population, so even if people from several nearby cities came over, the reserves would still last ten years. They’re just trading for a little bit of food. It should be okay."

Meanwhile, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were already approaching Norvane Base. Evelyn took out her binoculars and could clearly see the buildings inside.

"There’s smoke. Someone’s definitely here."

There didn’t seem to be many people in the base, as only a few houses had smoke rising from them.

As they got closer to the base, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick dismounted. The main gate was locked with an iron chain. Beside it was a guard post, where an old man sat warming himself by a fire. When he saw the two of them, he panicked and grabbed a weapon, trying to scare them away.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We’re refugees from Rivenia, heading to Frelia to make a living. Sir, is this Norvane Base?"

The old man looked at the Mammoth behind Evelyn Ford and trembled in fear.

"Back off! I have a shotgun! If you don’t back off, I’ll shoot!"

Ronan Kendrick let out a whistle, and the Mammoth immediately turned and walked away.

The old man finally breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze was still filled with hostility and suspicion as he looked at them.

"Wait here." He picked up a stainless steel basin and began beating it frantically. The sound was deafening. A moment later, several men came running from the distance. When the old man saw them, he quickly explained what had happened.

"These two are refugees from Rivenia on their way to Frelia. But they have two terrifying animals with them! Look, over there."

The Mammoth shook its head, giving the men from the base quite a scare.

"Is that an elephant?"

"Elephants aren’t this terrifying. And it’s hairy... it looks like a Mammoth. Is that a Mammoth? No, that can’t be right. There are no Mammoths in Rivenia."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look. From the men’s reactions, it seemed this base was probably safe.

"Hey, you two! Are you carrying any weapons? Put your hands up! We’re going to search you."

Evelyn Ford raised an eyebrow but put her hands up. Ronan Kendrick was unwilling. Seeing the displeasure on his face, Evelyn gave him a reassuring look.

"Take off your hats and jackets."

The pair did as they were told. The men relaxed only after finding no weapons.

The men were somewhat surprised, noticing the pair’s striking appearances.

"What are you here for?"

"We’re heading to Frelia. We’ve run out of food and want to trade some sheep for grain."

"Look at the times we’re in. How could we possibly have food to spare?" one man said, rolling his eyes.

"Where did you get the sheep?"

"We caught them on the road. Gentlemen, could we see the base commander?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The man snorted. "What base commander? There isn’t one. Get lost, or don’t blame us for what happens next."

Evelyn’s mind raced. ’Looks like there’s something fishy going on here,’ she thought.

"We won’t come in. We just want to trade for a little food—corn, potatoes, or sweet potatoes are all fine."

Evelyn had already seen the desire in their eyes. The five sheep were large, strong, and plump; the thought of mutton was incredibly tempting to them, but the men still restrained themselves.

And they were only trying to drive them away. It seemed the people in this base still had some humanity left.

"How much are you looking to trade for? Just so you know, all we have are sweet potatoes and cassava," a tall, thin man said, only to be shot a glare by the person next to him.

"Six hundred jin of sweet potatoes and four hundred jin of cassava."

An argali sheep weighed about two hundred jin, making five of them a thousand jin. Evelyn wasn’t asking for much, just an equivalent exchange.

The man’s eyes widened. "That’s a total ripoff! The deal’s off. Go on, get out of here!"

Although they were shooing Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick away, their eyes never left the argali sheep.

"One jin of mutton for one jin of food is a fair deal. You can also use the sheepskin to make clothes. Gentlemen, one of them is a ewe. You can keep her for breeding."

The men were even more tempted.

"I’ll go ask Drake. You wait here. And don’t try anything funny. We have guns."

Evelyn nodded. "We wouldn’t dare. My boyfriend and I are honest people."

Seeing their demeanor, the men relaxed a little. One of them went inside to consult the so-called Drake, while the others kept them covered with their shotguns.

Evelyn observed their shotguns and noticed that only the old man’s was real; the rest were toy guns from a tourist attraction. A faint smile touched her lips, but she kept her head down and her shoulders hunched, waiting obediently.

After a while, the man returned, but he was followed by a large group of people. One of them, a man in a military greatcoat, had to be Drake.

"You’re the ones who want to trade for food?"

"Yes."

"Leo told me everything. We can trade for the food. Since you’ve come from Rivenia, you must have other things, right? Do you have any salt?"

"We have a little left. If you want some, I can trade half of it to you."

The man was pleasantly surprised. "How much?"

"Only five jin. I can trade you three."

The man nodded. "Alright. I can throw in another hundred jin of cassava. Do you have any medicine? Cold medicine, hemostatic powder?"

"No medicine. For the three jin of salt, I want three hundred jin of cassava. Salt is a scarce commodity."

The man narrowed his eyes, studying Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick for a long moment before nodding. "Fine."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick went back to the carriage to get the salt, followed by two of the men. The others stood in front of the base, whispering among themselves.

"Drake, we have guns. Why don’t we just take their sheep?"

Drake shot him a glare. "Did you see those two beasts? Do you think people who can tame beasts like that are pushovers? Since they just want to trade for food, we’ll trade them food. Why stir up trouble? Besides, those two don’t have a Rivenia accent at all. We have plenty of cassava, and I haven’t had meat in two years. If we don’t get some salt soon, my teeth are going to fall out."

The others also looked pale and sickly.

Two years ago, during the heatwave, the base had planted a lot of cassava. But after the little ice age began, all the vegetation died off, and animals rarely appeared on the plains. Everyone was now surviving on sweet potatoes and cassava. When someone suddenly showed up with plump sheep to trade for food, how could they not be tempted?

Besides, the sheep could breed, which meant an endless supply of meat in the future.

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick overheard their conversation. Evelyn entered the carriage, took out three jin of loose salt from her space, and wrapped it in a plastic sheet.