Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 66: Leaving 1

After resting for three or four days, the groups of refugees began to leave one after another, but the main convoy showed no signs of moving. Officer Graham and Quincy went out to investigate again, but they didn’t learn anything.

Evelyn Ford had already stored everything in her apartment that needed taking into her space, including the bedroom and bathroom doors.

In early October, the temperature plummeted overnight, dropping from fifty-five degrees to around forty and giving people the false hope that the apocalypse was ending.

But Evelyn Ford knew. ’Anything this abnormal can only mean a greater disaster is coming.’

After the temperature dropped, the number of refugees heading for Wyrmrest Base suddenly increased. Everyone’s luggage was already packed into their vehicles, with most of it tied directly to the roofs. Their vehicle was a nine-seater. Without luggage, it would have been fairly spacious for the six of them, but with all their things packed inside, they had to double up on seats. Three spare tires were also hanging from the rear, and Evelyn Ford worried about how much weight the vehicle could handle.

"What a shame," Quincy lamented, watching the distant inferno from the rooftop. "Decades, generations of hard work... all gone, just like that."

All the burned-out buildings were nothing more than blackened husks.

The glow of the fire reached for the heavens, dyeing half of Corinth’s sky red. It was the first time they had seen the blaze so clearly, as if they were finally witnessing the full scale of the cataclysm.

"When I was a kid, Corinth was all low-rise buildings. The streets were full of bicycles, there were hardly any trees, and everything was covered in dust. My parents’ combined monthly salary was only two hundred. Thirty years later, Corinth had become a top-tier city. The landscaping was beautiful, and skyscrapers shot up from the ground. Their combined retirement pension was twenty thousand a month. Tens of millions of people worked hard for thirty years, and in a single disaster, it all vanished. The people are gone, and the skyscrapers are gone."

Officer Graham braced his hands on the railing, murmuring to himself as he gazed into the distance.

"The old nine-to-five grind was actually pretty good. My annoying boss doesn’t seem so bad anymore. If I got another chance, I definitely wouldn’t turn down a sugar mama."

Everyone turned to look at Quincy. He just shrugged. "Living off your looks is a skill in itself. My only regret is realizing it too late."

"What about you?" Quincy asked, looking at Evelyn Ford with curious eyes. "Any regrets? Not falling in love, or doing something wild and rebellious?"

"No."

Quincy clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. What a boring life."

"All right, let’s each make a wish. I’ll go first. I wish these goddamn days would just end already."

"I wish for Wendy to have a long, healthy, and peaceful life."

"I hope I can find my mom and dad."

"I hope we don’t run into any more danger."

"Will we ever come back here?"

"We will. As long as we’re all still alive, we’ll definitely come back."

—

「October 10th. An auspicious day, suitable for travel.」

On the third straight day of cooling temperatures, the group conferred and decided to leave on October 10th.

The vehicle had been maintained and inspected several times; it was in perfect working order.

The few survivors in the neighboring Building C had already left. Only the people in Building E showed no signs of movement.

Evelyn Ford stuffed a few items of clothing into her backpack and buckled the straps tightly across her waist. She stored her crossbow and combat knife in her space to avoid attracting trouble.

The group gathered on the ground floor. With Officer Graham at the wheel, everyone squeezed into the vehicle and got settled. He gave the word—"Let’s move out"—and the car slowly pulled out of Prosperity Gardens.

Seeing them leave, the people in Building E hastily packed their things and followed.

"What’s the convoy’s position?"

"Over by the Trade City. The good cars are all at the front. Following behind are just motorcycles and three-wheelers." Quincy had already snuck over to check on it several times.

"In a bit, we’ll blend in with them. If we get spotted, we need to have our story straight. We’ll say we’re refugees from Stonelight City, not locals from Corinth."

"Oh, and everyone, get your faces a bit dirtier. Especially you, Evelyn."

Evelyn Ford pulled out a mirror to check. Her face was already filthy, and she’d even camouflaged her neck and ears with grime. Her hair was impossibly greasy. She looked more like a beggar than someone who’d been living on the streets for over a decade.

"Remember, all six of us are men. That includes you, Wendy, and you, Evelyn." It was clear Officer Graham had a lot on his mind; he kept muttering instructions as he drove.

An hour later, their vehicle reached the Trade City. One of its streets was packed with all sorts of vehicles and bedraggled refugees. Evelyn Ford took out her binoculars and scanned the nice-looking cars at the very front of the line.

Just then, a few men approached their vehicle. The one in the lead knocked on the window, gesturing for them all to get out.

Evelyn Ford wrapped her head in a filthy, foul-smelling scarf and hunched over slightly, doing her best to look malnourished and utterly exhausted.

"How many of you?"

"Six."

The man held a notebook, jotting down their license plate number and headcount. His gaze swept over Evelyn’s group before finally landing on Officer Graham.

"If you want to follow our convoy, you have to pay a protection fee. It’s not much. Half a pound of grain per person. We also accept cigarettes or liquor—one pack or one bottle."

Officer Graham had anticipated this. He didn’t hand over the goods right away. Instead, he stalled, feigning reluctance until the man grew impatient. Only then did he start to haggle. But the man was in no mood to bargain; the guys behind him were holding steel pipes, looking ready to start swinging at any moment.

"Look, man, we don’t have enough grain. Can you cut us some slack?"

"Those are the rules. Everyone else paid. What makes you so special? If you can’t pay, then don’t follow us. It’s only three pounds of grain for the six of you. That’s not much. Hurry it up. If you don’t hand it over in the next minute, get lost."

Officer Graham had no choice but to reluctantly pull a bag down from the car. The man craned his neck for a look and saw it was full of ragged clothes with a small sack of grain hidden underneath. He snatched the sack, hefted it, and tossed it to the man behind him.

"What’s all that on the roof?"

"Just some hoes and shovels."

The man opened one of the bags to check. Seeing that it was, in fact, filled with hoes and shovels, he didn’t bother searching any further.

"You all men?"

"That’s right. All men." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Open your backpack." The man walked up to Evelyn Ford and prodded her shoulder with his pen. Evelyn silently took a step back and lowered her head a fraction more.

She opened her backpack. Seeing the filthy clothes inside, the man grunted and moved on to the next vehicle with his notebook.

Everyone got back in the car. No one said a word.

At twelve noon, the convoy began to stir. The engines of the first few vehicles at the front rumbled to life.

"Are we really going to be safe following a bunch of bandits like them?" Quincy asked, his face etched with worry.

"Three pounds of grain for them to clear the path for us? I’d say that’s a bargain." Officer Graham, on the other hand, seemed much more at ease.

The vehicles set off one by one, with a crowd of people on foot trailing at the very end.

They didn’t know if this departure would lead to fortune or disaster, but at that moment, everyone felt the same way.

Lost, afraid, and uncertain...