Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse

Chapter 294: Extreme Cold, Tass Desert 4

"No wonder they’re called ’silly roe deer.’ I was taking a leak, and they were just standing not far away. I shouted, and they fell over." Wyatt Vaughn was very pleased with himself.

"See, Evelyn? You don’t need a slingshot to hunt."

Evelyn Ford conceded defeat. To be able to hunt while on a bathroom break, Wyatt Vaughn was truly something else.

"But I didn’t catch anything," Wendy said, a little dejected.

Evelyn Ford smiled. "I didn’t catch anything either. Looks like our luck wasn’t great tonight. We can try again tomorrow night."

Wendy nodded. "Okay."

Back at the camp, everyone was a little surprised to see the two roe deer Wyatt Vaughn had brought back alive. Catching prey just by going to the bathroom... what kind of insane luck was that?

Any animals brought back alive were kept with the group. However, the two roe deer had injured their hooves when they fell, so they had to be kept in a carriage to recover for a few days.

The desert night sky was clear, with a bright moon and few stars. The aroma of roasting meat drifted through the camp, but Evelyn Ford noticed the compasses were starting to go haywire. All of them were doing the same thing.

She told everyone about it, and they all figured there must be an iron deposit or some other metal ore nearby.

"I read a report once that said the Tass Desert has gold and copper mines. After they were depleted, the mines were sealed off. I don’t know the exact locations, though. But if the magnetic field is disrupted, it means there’s still unmined ore. Should we go look for it?"

Zion Lowell looked at the others after he finished speaking. Everyone grew a little excited. A gold mine! Even though they didn’t know if gold was still useful, the allure of a gold mine was still powerful.

"The Tass Desert is huge. If we can’t find the mine, we’ll waste several days and could run into sandstorms or other unknown dangers. I suggest we just focus on getting out of the desert. In our current situation, even if we found ore, we couldn’t carry it with us," Officer Graham said, speaking up to object for once.

"I think we should look. We’re already here, after all."

"But the compasses are already messed up. We can’t get out of the desert right now anyway."

Evelyn Ford massaged her temples. She actually agreed with Officer Graham. It was better to get out of the desert quickly than to go looking for ore.

"We can get out of the desert without a compass. We can use the wind speed and the position of the sun to determine our direction."

"Evelyn, you don’t want to look for ore either?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "There are too many variables in the desert. We should leave as soon as possible. It’s only a few more days to Crystell City. We can stop there and rest for a few days. The weather hasn’t been good lately. I think we need to be more cautious."

"Still feels like we’re losing out on a whole mine," Quincy sighed.

"If I gave you a mine, could you carry it away?"

Quincy chuckled. "Definitely not."

"All right, everyone. Once you’re done eating, head back to your carriages and rest. Evelyn’s right, the most important thing is to get out of this desert. The branches won’t hold out much longer." After speaking, Taylor Vance went back to his carriage. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick got up and left as well.

"Do you really think there’s a mine nearby?" Evelyn Ford asked Ronan Kendrick in a low voice, leaning in close.

Ronan Kendrick smiled. "Don’t you already have a lot of gold and silver in your space?"

"I’m not talking about a gold mine. I mean iron ore, coal, that sort of thing."

"Probably. But I don’t smell anything unusual."

By the time she finished processing the venomous scorpions they had gathered that evening, it was already eleven o’clock. When Evelyn Ford lay down, her whole body ached.

"I’m so exhausted today. That sandstorm was terrifying."

For a moment there, Evelyn Ford really thought the carriage was going to be swept away. Even the usually docile mammoths had been restless and agitated.

Ronan Kendrick gently patted Evelyn Ford’s back. "Close your eyes and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a smooth day, I promise."

Evelyn Ford’s lips curved into a small smile. "Good night."

"Good night."

The next day, the compasses were still haywire, so everyone had to rely on the sun to navigate. At eight-thirty, the group set off once more.

"The moment we get to Crystell City, I’m boiling water for a bath."

"Me too. I feel like I could scrub ten pounds of dirt off myself."

"I stink. Ugh, don’t get too close to me. If the smell gets to you, it’s not my fault."

Before getting into the carriages, everyone gathered to chat, all of them complaining about how bad they smelled.

The bathtubs they had made back at the small courtyard were still in the shipping container. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to reaching Crystell County, where they could finally rest for a couple of days and wash away their exhaustion and grime.

Traveling on the road was a miserable affair. Everyone was covered in dust and grime, including Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick.

The desert wind was kicking up too much sand, and there was quicksand on their path today. Worried they might sink, Evelyn Ford not only checked the wind direction but also tested the path ahead with rocks.

But no matter how cautious they were, miscalculations could still happen. After a sudden lurch, the two mammoths sank into quicksand. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick exchanged a look and immediately threw open the carriage doors and jumped out.

Ronan Kendrick blew his whistle, and the herd of horses behind them immediately halted, not following any closer.

"What’s going on?"

"Quicksand! Nobody move, or you’ll all sink."

As Evelyn Ford spoke, she untied the hemp rope in her hands. The mammoths had only sunk about forty centimeters; it should be easy to pull them out.

"Get the carriage off them. The sand on the left is loose, we have to pull them to the right."

Ronan Kendrick secured the mammoths with the hemp rope. The others wanted to come help, but Evelyn Ford refused.

"This whole area is a quicksand pit. Don’t move."

Quicksand forms because of active water sources beneath the sand. When something gets stuck, it mustn’t struggle, as that will only make it sink faster.

After pushing the carriage off, the two of them focused on rescuing the mammoth on the right first. The animals seemed relatively calm; soothed by Ronan Kendrick, neither of them struggled.

The hemp rope was tied securely. Ronan Kendrick directed the mammoth to bend its front knees, then began to pull. Evelyn Ford also threw all her strength into hauling on the rope.

Luckily, the mammoth hadn’t sunk too deep, and the two of them quickly dragged it out. However, eighty percent of the effort had come from Ronan Kendrick.

The mammoth on the left was in more danger. Seeing its companion get free, it grew agitated and began to struggle, causing it to sink another twenty centimeters.

Ronan Kendrick stroked its head, continuously soothing it. Once it had calmed down, the pair began the second rescue.

They still had to pull it to the right. The quicksand on the left began to shift. The mammoth let out a low roar; it knew Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick were saving it, and it did its best to cooperate. Twenty minutes later, they finally dragged it out of the quicksand pit. Evelyn’s gloves were worn through, and the rope had left a bleeding cut across her palm.

"I’ll scout ahead. Everyone, follow my footprints."

After calming the mammoths and reattaching the carriage, Ronan Kendrick announced his decision to scout the path ahead.

"It’s too dangerous. No."

"Yeah, Ronan, you can’t go! Let the argali sheep go first. We can’t let anything happen to you."

Everyone was anxious, loudly trying to talk Ronan Kendrick out of scouting ahead.

A different kind of light flickered in Ronan Kendrick’s eyes. He smiled and looked at Evelyn Ford.

"I’ll be safe. Trust me."