Chapter 709: Chapter 709: Water Celery

After finishing her canned food, Evelyn Ford drank a large bottle of water to wash away the salty taste. The mountain paths were treacherous, and her pants were caked with mud from her falls.

Once he was full, Marcus Scott let out a satisfied burp. Then, he pulled a vine from a nearby tree, stripped its bark, and twisted it into a cord to tie around his tattered shoes.

He had several bleeding cuts on his feet, but he acted as if he couldn’t feel a thing. He found some medicinal herbs, chewed them up, and applied the poultice to his wounds to stop the bleeding.

"Captain, did you all walk here, or drive?" Marcus Scott asked curiously after patching up his shoes and the cuts on his feet.

"On horseback. Oh, right, I brought clothes and shoes for you all. They’re at the foot of the mountain. I’ll give them to you when we get down." Flynn Hansen’s backpack was indeed full of supplies for his teammates, but since there was too much to carry, Evelyn Ford had helped store it in her space.

Marcus Scott grinned. "Thanks, Captain. Let’s hurry and meet up with Sonny Sawyer and the others so we can get down the mountain sooner. Captain, did you have a smooth trip taking the other guys back to the base last time?"

"It wasn’t exactly smooth, but nothing major happened. Everyone made it back to the base safe and sound."

"That’s good to hear. How is the base now?"

Flynn Hansen smiled. "The base is coming along really well. You’ll see when you get back. We’ve even cleared a lot of land for farming. It’s just that it rained for several days recently and the temperature suddenly dropped, which caused a lot of delays."

"The weather on Demon’s Ridge changes from one day to the next. The day before yesterday, the sun was out for a few hours, but yesterday it was all wind and rain," Marcus Scott sighed.

"It’s a good thing you all came. If you hadn’t shown up soon, I would’ve turned into a wild man. Let’s go this way. That way is full of thorn bushes."

The five of them trekked through the mountain forest for an hour before they finally found Sonny Sawyer on a hilltop, being chased by two wild boars.

Flynn Hansen and Marcus Scott were the first to run over and help. However, the boars were several times faster than them. The two managed to lure the animals away, but the unlucky Flynn Hansen was still rammed by one of them.

Just as the boar was about to open its massive jaws and bite down on Flynn Hansen’s arm, in the nick of time, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick both raised their rifles and fired a shot each at its head.

The boar collapsed, twitched twice, and then lay still. The other one, which was chasing Marcus Scott, was also taken down by a headshot from Ronan Kendrick. As the gunshots echoed through the forest, the group stood shaken from the ordeal.

"That boar was vicious! I almost ended up as its dinner," Flynn Hansen said, climbing to his feet and brushing the leaves off his clothes, still shaken.

Just then, Marcus Scott pointed at Sonny Sawyer, who was up in a tree, and burst out laughing.

"Sonny Sawyer! It’s only been half a month! How did you end up looking even more pathetic than me? HAHA..."

The clothes on Sonny Sawyer could no longer be described as merely "tattered." He jumped down from the tree in embarrassment, carefully trying to arrange the strips of cloth that were left of his outfit.

That’s right. Sonny Sawyer’s clothes had been torn to shreds, barely covering his navel and chest.

His pants had been ripped into shorts, and his long legs were covered in mud and bloody scratches. He’d lost a shoe while dodging the boar, and the remaining straw sandal hanging from his ankle was a miserable sight.

Sonny Sawyer shot a glare at Marcus Scott. "Captain, you came back for us? And who are these people?"

Flynn Hansen explained to Sonny Sawyer who Evelyn Ford and the others were.

After the introductions, everyone’s gaze fell, as if by unspoken agreement, upon the two dead boars.

"I think it’s an hour or two hike down from here. The few of us should be able to drag them."

"No need to go to all that trouble. Just leave the boars here. We’ll handle them," Ryan Rowe said, giving Flynn Hansen a meaningful look. Flynn understood instantly. He pulled Sonny Sawyer and Marcus Scott aside to whisper a few things to them. When they returned, both of their faces were alight with excitement and anticipation.

"Then let’s hurry and find Gavin Gable and Wayne Xavier! They’re on the mountain just ahead. I saw them the day before yesterday." Sonny Sawyer offered to lead the way. While the others were distracted, Evelyn Ford discreetly pulled two pairs of canvas shoes from her backpack for them.

’Their current shoes probably wouldn’t even last the hike off this mountain.’ Evelyn Ford had a mountain of shoes piled up in her space; she had always been generous with such small things.

"Are these for us?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "Change into them. We need to find your other two teammates quickly, and your current shoes aren’t great for the journey."

The two men looked a little embarrassed but didn’t refuse. They thanked Evelyn Ford, took the shoes, and put them on.

"They fit perfectly. Thank you, Joy Ford."

Evelyn Ford chuckled. "Let’s go."

Led by Sonny Sawyer, they soon found the other two teammates, Gavin Gable and Wayne Xavier. Evelyn Ford also put two small birds into her space. As for the two wild boars they had killed earlier, Ronan Kendrick had already stored them away.

With everyone gathered, they could finally head down the mountain.

They were heading to set up camp beside the swamp, which was still a good distance away—a two-hour walk.

Along the way, they encountered a herd of wild buffalo. Fortunately, they managed to hide in time, and the herd passed by without attacking them.

At 5:30 in the afternoon, the group finally emerged from the mountains. Evelyn Ford’s spirits lifted as she gazed at the lush Water Celery growing in the swamp. This trip had not been in vain. The swamp was even larger than she had imagined—practically boundless. With this much Water Celery, there had to be not just hundreds, but tens of thousands of tons.

After Flynn Hansen came up with a cover story for Evelyn, she no longer had to be secretive about taking things from her backpack. They set up tents beside the swamp, and Evelyn pulled out Flynn Hansen’s duffel bag for him. After changing clothes, putting on new shoes, and washing up, Marcus Scott and the other three men finally looked much more presentable.

Flynn Hansen borrowed a sharp folding knife from Evelyn Ford to shave the beards of Gavin Gable and Wayne Xavier. They were all young men in their twenties, and once cleaned up and properly dressed, they looked quite handsome.

"Gavin, Sonny, you two take a knife and go chop some firewood. Marcus, Wayne, you two find some rocks. We’re going to build a stove."

Flynn Hansen assigned the tasks methodically. Looking out at the vast expanse of Water Celery, he knew they would be staying here for a long time. The thatched hut his men had built earlier had been blown down by the wind; thankfully, Evelyn Ford had plenty of tents.

While the men were busy with their tasks, Evelyn Ford took out some supplies and stacked them in a nearby empty tent.

"Captain Hansen, I’ve put the supplies in this tent. Just let the others know they can go in and get whatever they need. No need to ask me."

"Okay, got it. By the way, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Should we hunt boars on the mountain first, or start harvesting the Water Celery?"

"How about this: you take your teammates to harvest the Water Celery, while Ronan Kendrick, Ryan Rowe, and I go hunt boars. We’ll split up."

Flynn Hansen was worried they might be short-handed, but then he remembered that both Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick had guns, so he didn’t object.

When Marcus Scott and the other three returned, Flynn Hansen relayed Evelyn’s plan to them. Naturally, none of them had any objections.

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