Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 15: Rainstorm, Toxic Moths 11

"Then I’ll just have to chop off your filthy hand first." The moment Evelyn Ford opened the door, her blade fell in a swift motion. Robert Rhodes’s right hand, the one holding a knife, was severed cleanly at the wrist and fell to the ground.

A blood-curdling scream pierced the air. Several people, holding torches, opened their doors to see what the commotion was about. But when they saw the combat knife in Evelyn Ford’s hand, glinting coldly and dripping with blood, the onlookers were so terrified they nearly collapsed. They all quickly ducked back into their homes. Officer Graham didn’t move. Neither did the Rhodes Family, who had rushed over upon hearing the noise.

"Agh, it hurts! My hand! My hand’s been cut off! Evelyn Ford, you bitch! I’m going to kill you! I’ll make you pay with your life!"

Evelyn Ford thrust the tip of her combat knife toward Robert Rhodes’s face. He instantly fell silent, staring at her and trembling uncontrollably.

"Might as well take the left one, too."

"No! Evelyn Ford, please, don’t hurt my brother! I’m begging you! We just wanted to ask to stay here for a bit. Why did you have to cut off his hand? You’re committing a crime, Evelyn Ford! You’ll go to jail for this!" As she spoke, she turned to Officer Graham, sobbing her heart out.

"Mr. Graham, you’re a police officer! You have to save my brother! Arrest Evelyn Ford, now! She’s insane! She attacked someone with a knife!"

Officer Graham pressed his lips together and said nothing. As his gaze met Evelyn Ford’s expressionless face, he recalled what his wife had told him.

’Ford is very capable, but she has a bad temper. She’s easy enough to get along with as long as you don’t provoke her. But if you do, things could get very ugly.’

"I’m not a police officer anymore." With that one sentence, Officer Graham made it clear he had no intention of getting involved.

Luna Rhodes shot Officer Graham a venomous glare. She went to pick up Robert’s hand from the ground, but only then did she realize the poison moths had already devoured it completely. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she let out an involuntary scream. Seeing their son’s condition, Robert’s parents flew into a rage and charged at Evelyn Ford, ready to fight to the death. But the moment she raised her knife, they froze, too terrified to take another step.

Evelyn Ford listened to their wails, insults, and curses as she slowly walked over to Robert Rhodes. His face was pale with pain. Terrified of the knife in her hand, he immediately dodged behind his parents the moment he saw her approaching.

"I’m not taking anyone in. For those who can’t understand plain words, next time, it’ll be your ears I cut off." After saying her piece, Evelyn Ford glanced at them, returned to her apartment, and slammed the door shut.

Listening to the curses from outside her door, Evelyn Ford meticulously wiped her knife clean. After resting for a moment, she took out her assault boat. ’Since the storm has paused,’ she thought, ’I should go out. I want to gather some supplies. In a few more days, they’ll probably all be scavenged.’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Evelyn Ford stuck more than ten Warm Babies to her thermal underwear, not forgetting the soles of her feet. She put on a fleece-lined jacket, then pulled two protective suits over it. Mask and night-vision goggles on, she took a rope and cinched the loose protective suits tightly around her body for better mobility.

Strapping the combat knife to the small of her back, Evelyn Ford left her apartment, carrying the assault boat.

After locking the door, Evelyn Ford sprayed it with a poison she had concocted herself.

Reaching the fourth-floor stairwell, she placed the assault boat in the water. Evelyn climbed in, started the engine, and left Prosperity Gardens in the darkness.

The sound of poison moths beating their wings filled her ears. BUZZ... BUZZ... The water was filled with all sorts of things—not just trash thrown from the upper floors, but also the bodies of cats, dogs, rats, and humans. For those who died in the cataclysm, death meant not only the loss of life, but also the loss of their last shred of dignity.

Evelyn Ford steered the assault boat aimlessly. She had indeed come out to gather some supplies, but she also wanted to see what the situation outside was like.

After cruising around for half an hour, she still hadn’t seen another person.

Evelyn Ford arrived in front of a skyscraper. It was a landmark building in Corinth, but now, with the city flooded by the torrential rains, the building had no value beyond its towering height.

Evelyn wasn’t interested in this building, however. The one she wanted to go to was the pharmaceutical company building next to it. Finding a window she could climb through, she stored the assault boat in her space, climbed onto a small ledge on the third floor, and jumped inside. Only then did Evelyn realize she was in a men’s restroom.

The building had 58 floors. This pharmaceutical company was quite well-known in Corinth. Evelyn had even invested in one of their funds before and made a few thousand from it.

Quietly leaving the men’s restroom, Evelyn Ford unstrapped her combat knife and held it in her hand. The building was teeming with poison moths—in the offices, the breakrooms, even on top of the expensive computers. Their round, green eyes stared at Evelyn. Perhaps intimidated by the scent of insecticide on her, the moths didn’t dare get too close, at most just flying around her ears.

Clean desks and chairs, water dispensers, coffee machines, sofas, even the office tissues and hand soap—Evelyn Ford didn’t pass up any of it. Once the water level rose again, all these things would be ruined in the sewage anyway.

The lower floors housed the business departments, while the laboratories and production departments were on the upper floors. However, Evelyn planned to work her way up, clearing one floor at a time. She had plenty of time, so she was in no hurry.

Seeing the bookshelves in the office filled with a dazzling array of books, Evelyn’s eyes lit up. ’Internal books from a pharmaceutical company,’ she thought. ’These are treasures.’

After sweeping off the poison moths, Evelyn stored the bookshelves and all their contents in her space. The floor was covered in a dense carpet of moths. As Evelyn stepped on them, they burst instantly, splattering goo.

Arriving at an office on the eighth floor, she saw a Jade Cabbage and a Golden Horse on display. Evelyn mentally mocked the nouveau-riche taste of the office’s owner, but her hands moved quickly to store the items in her space. Inside the adjoining private room, besides a bed and a bathroom, there were two wardrobes. The clothes hanging inside included men’s suits as well as women’s dresses and high heels. Based on the different styles of the dresses and shoes, Evelyn guessed they belonged to different owners.

And underneath the men’s wardrobe, there was a safe. Evelyn pulled it out. Seeing that it required a fingerprint to unlock, she instantly lost interest. Still, she stored it away as a matter of course. ’Who knows,’ she thought, ’maybe it’s full of gold and jewels?’

The owner of the office on the thirteenth floor was an interesting person. Perhaps because they were superstitious about the number 13, their office was decorated with numerous Exorcism Talisman Papers and Five Emperors Coins.

On the windowsill, there were even nine money trees, though unfortunately, they were all dead.

Evelyn found nothing of value in this office.

Reaching the next office, Evelyn observed the unique decor and various trinkets. She guessed the owner of this office was probably a woman around thirty-five who was in a relationship.

Sure enough, in her small private room, Evelyn found three boxes of condoms in assorted styles and sizes, along with various toys and lingerie.

Evelyn clicked her tongue twice and collected the power bank from the nightstand.

Out in the main office, there was a purple clay tea set. Evelyn examined it for a moment but couldn’t discern its value. However, in a nearby storage cabinet, there was a full cupboard of various types of tea.

Evelyn had found a shared hobby with this complete stranger: drinking tea.

Time passed bit by bit as Evelyn methodically collected supplies. Little did she know that in an office on the top floor, a group of people were hiding in desperation.