Chapter 663: Chapter 663: Small Courtyard

Ronan Kendrick smiled and lay down on the grass beside her.

"What’s wrong with Mina? Why does she seem so listless?"

A flash of sadness crossed Evelyn Ford’s eyes. "Mina’s getting old."

Ronan Kendrick froze for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked Mina.

"Don’t worry, I can extend her life."

"Does it work on animals too?"

"I don’t know for sure. I’ve given them my blood before, and they’ve always been very healthy and never gotten sick, so it should be effective."

Evelyn Ford hugged Ronan Kendrick. "Ronan, thank you."

Ronan Kendrick ruffled her hair. "I don’t want anything to happen to Mina and the others either."

Mina let out a couple of SQUEAKS, her fluffy tail wagging back and forth. Then she hopped onto Ronan Kendrick and nuzzled her head against his chin.

When they returned to the cabin, they brought Mina and the others with them. Ronan Kendrick drew two vials of fresh blood and had Evelyn Ford feed it to the four little creatures. After drinking the blood, they quickly fell into a deep sleep. When they woke up the next day, Evelyn could clearly see that Mina’s energy and spirits had improved significantly.

Evelyn Ford set up a room for the little ones in the cabin. When Quincy saw Mina and the others, he was immediately reminded of his Pallas’s cat. He took Zoe to the breeding area to find it, but to his surprise, they couldn’t find it after searching for several hours.

"Evelyn, you don’t think my Pallas’s cat was eaten by White Wolf, do you?"

"No way. White Wolf only eats processed pork."

Unconvinced, Quincy grabbed a homemade rake, planning to conduct a thorough search for the Pallas’s cat. Evelyn had no choice but to have everyone help him look. They finally found the sleeping cat in the chicken coop.

The Pallas’s cat lazily opened its eyes only when Evelyn Ford picked it up. It must have weighed about twelve pounds, its grayish-brown fur incredibly fluffy. It was the first time Zoe realized Quincy had a pet. Her mouth fell open as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Dad, is this little bunny really your pet? Just yours?"

"This is a Pallas’s cat, not a rabbit. It’s a feline, a completely different species from rabbits. Besides, those rabbits aren’t ordinary rabbits either. They’re Snow Rabbits that your Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Ronan brought back from far away."

Quincy looked at the Pallas’s cat, his brow furrowing. "Evelyn, why is this cat so dazed and sluggish? You don’t think it’s depressed, do you? It’s my fault for not coming to see it for so long. I’m not a very responsible pet owner."

"It’s clearly just being lazy, and you’re calling it dazed and sluggish."

"Well, if I take it back to the cabin now, do you think it’ll be happy?"

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "How would I know? But it seems to like Zoe a lot."

The Pallas’s cat nibbled on Zoe’s finger, its eyes darting around at everyone. When it saw Quincy about to touch it, it leaped straight into Zoe’s arms. But Zoe was too small; her little frame couldn’t handle the impact of the pouncing cat, and she staggered back a couple of steps before falling to the ground. The Pallas’s cat looked at the fallen Zoe, its face a picture of frustration.

"Bunny, are you hurt? I’m sorry, I wasn’t strong enough to catch you." The first thing Zoe did after scrambling up was to check if the cat was injured.

"Zoe, are you okay?" Everyone was startled when Zoe fell.

"I’m fine. It’s because I’m not strong enough that Bunny fell. I hurt it."

"Pallas’s cats are very agile. It won’t get hurt," Evelyn Ford said, picking a piece of dry grass from Zoe’s hair.

"Really?"

"Really."

"That’s great! Auntie, can I take Bunny back to sleep with me? I love it."

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Of course. But if it doesn’t get used to living in the cabin, you have to bring it back to the breeding area, okay?"

Zoe nodded. "I know. I’ll take good care of Bunny. If it doesn’t like my room, I’ll bring it back."

Zoe stroked the Pallas’s cat’s head. When it shook its head, she covered her mouth, giggling with delight.

"Bunny looked at me! It must really, really like me."

And just like that, the Pallas’s cat’s owner changed from the irresponsible Quincy to Zoe.

* * *

The next morning, Ronan Kendrick went to Rhys Chase’s office and, while he was at it, had the six women packed up and sent back to the warehouse.

The livestock farm was completed. At eleven o’clock that night, Ronan Kendrick, Evelyn Ford, and Liam Sterling made a trip to the farm. They took all the base’s livestock that had been stored in the pocket dimension and released them into the various farming areas.

Rhys Chase would arrange a cover story for the livestock’s origin, so Evelyn Ford wasn’t worried about arousing suspicion.

As of today, all the supplies and livestock belonging to the base that were stored in the pocket dimension—minus the twenty percent for the transaction—had been returned to the base.

"Ronan, you won’t have to go to the base to deliver supplies every day anymore."

"Mm, now I’ll have time to pick you up from work."

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the third lunar month, and Eldoria Base had undergone a major transformation. The main base building, the hospital, residential buildings, and a commercial street were all completed one after another. The base assigned Evelyn Ford and her group a small courtyard house on the border between Eldoria and the plains. As soon as Evelyn heard the news, she immediately led everyone to their new home.

Many small courtyard houses had already been built in this area, where all the base’s leaders were assigned to live. Evelyn’s group received a larger courtyard, likely a special arrangement made by Rhys Chase. On their first day in the new house, neighbors from all sides came over to say hello. They were curious to see so many people in one household, as everyone—including Officer Graham and Taylor Vance—was there with Evelyn and Ronan.

After the introductions, the neighbors left, and Evelyn Ford led everyone on a tour of their new home.

With a new house, they could finally move out of the pocket dimension. Besides, there were already people assigned to handle the work inside it.

"So many rooms! It’s a single-story courtyard house. We can plant vegetables and flowers in the front yard, and every house has running water, so we won’t have a shortage. This is great!" Wyatt Vaughn said, excited despite the basic conditions. "But the power lines haven’t been connected yet, so electricity will be a hassle."

Evelyn Ford took a look around the kitchen. "The base provides water and power, but we have to use coal for cooking. The base isn’t providing induction cooktops for everyone. Coal, appliances, bedding, and daily necessities all have to be bought with ration tickets. Only the residents in these courtyard houses can afford coal. People in the residential buildings all use meal tickets to eat at the cafeteria."

Evelyn Ford assigned everyone their rooms, then took out various daily necessities from the pocket dimension.

"We don’t need to worry about coal; we still have plenty of wood in the pocket dimension. But the rooms haven’t been plastered. The house is built with red bricks, so it might get damp."

Just then, Quincy walked in from outside. "I have something to tell you all. The courtyard house doesn’t have a toilet. We have to use the public restroom outside."

"You’re kidding, right? Is the public restroom a flushing toilet or a pit latrine? Is it separated for men and women?"

"It’s a flushing toilet, and it’s separated for men and women. I went to check, and it’s pretty clean."

It’s always hard to go from a life of comfort to one of austerity. Everyone’s expression turned a little strange.

Quincy tutted. "You’re all being so picky. We should be glad there’s a toilet at all. I didn’t see you complaining when we had to go outdoors in the wild."

"I’m going to go see."

"Me too."

Everyone rushed out to see the restroom, leaving only Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick behind in the courtyard.

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