Chapter 718: Chapter 718: Devil’s City

"There might be some side effects, but it’s nothing serious."

Ryan Rowe returned to the resting area with the bottle and gave the water to Marcus Scott and the others. Less than two minutes later, they passed out. Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick moved them into the space and left them in Officer Graham’s care. As for Flynn Hansen, to prevent the poison in his body from spreading, Evelyn placed him in stasis in the storage area. Wendy still hadn’t identified the toxin carried by the green-headed flies, and his condition was dire. Evelyn worried that if the poison spread throughout his body, multiple organs would begin to fail.

After settling the five of them, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick quickly left the space. Outside, Ryan Rowe was feeding the horses. They kept the three fastest bay horses, and Ronan Kendrick moved the rest into the space.

"Let’s go. We need to make good time."

The markers they had left along the route two months ago were still there. Having traveled this way once before, all three of them knew the path and weren’t worried about losing their way on the return trip.

This time, Ronan Kendrick took the lead, with Evelyn Ford in the middle and Ryan Rowe bringing up the rear. The afternoon wind picked up, whipping up dust and bits of grass. Evelyn leaned forward, pressing her body close to the horse’s back. They crossed one small embankment after another and traversed rolling loess hills. As night fell, they entered an unfamiliar region.

The central part of Serena Province was an arid region, and it was also home to a dreaded Devil’s City. Due to the perennial lack of water and raging winds, nature had carved a one-of-a-kind landscape here. Several provinces in the country’s Northwest had their own Devil’s Cities, and there were countless more abroad. All Devil’s Cities shared a few characteristics: nothing grew there, and they were shrouded in mystery.

After thousands of years of being blasted by wind and sand, the loess and rock had been polished into all sorts of shapes. The three of them sat on horseback, falling silent as they gazed at the natural formations before them, which resembled castles, pagodas, palaces, temples, stone tablets, human figures, and all manner of birds and beasts.

On the bizarrely shaped stone tablets, there were even fine imprints of leaves, snakes, and insects. The place looked more like the ruins of a lost ancient kingdom. After they entered, the wind died down. The sky grew dark, and it felt as if they had stepped into a strange, unsettling painting. Evelyn Ford made a gesture to retreat. Just then, the horses suddenly bucked. They let out sharp cries, their tails whipping frantically. The three horses spun in place with their riders, snorting heavily.

Suddenly, the wind began to howl. "Look out!" Evelyn Ford shouted. She didn’t even have time to escape into the space. The surrounding landscape began to shake. Amid the raging gale, rocks were swept up by the wind and hurled toward them. Evelyn felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and instantly lost consciousness.

An unknown amount of time passed before Evelyn Ford’s fingers twitched, and she slowly regained consciousness. As she was about to open her eyes, she realized her face was covered in sand. She tried wiping it away with her hand, but it didn’t do much good. So, she took a towel from the space and cleaned the sand off her face and neck.

Evelyn Ford staggered to her feet and saw Ronan Kendrick and Ryan Rowe lying nearby, both covered in a thick layer of sand. Evelyn patted Ronan’s face and poured some water into his mouth, and he slowly came to.

The three horses lay sprawled nearby, also unconscious, their beautiful coats completely filled with sand. Ronan Kendrick dragged Ryan Rowe up while Evelyn Ford went over to grab the three horses. They had no time to think about their situation; this place was too dangerous. After a shared glance, they both vanished into the space.

"How did you end up like this?"

The three of them appeared in a wretched state, frightening everyone in the wooden cabin. Evelyn Ford’s head was covered in blood, and Ryan Rowe was still unconscious.

"I don’t know what happened. We entered Devil’s City. We were about to leave when a strong wind suddenly kicked up. The rocks in Devil’s City came flying at us as if they had eyes. I was knocked out."

"I was engulfed by the sandstorm and passed out in less than two seconds. Ryan Rowe probably experienced the same thing," Ronan Kendrick said, examining the back of Evelyn Ford’s still-bleeding head. His expression was so grave that it scared Evelyn into thinking a hole had been smashed in her skull.

"The cut is a bit big."

Evelyn Ford reached up to touch it but was stopped by Ronan Kendrick. "Don’t touch it. It could get infected."

"Is Ryan Rowe okay?" Quincy stepped forward to check on him. Seeing he was still unconscious, Quincy patted his cheeks.

"He should be fine. Give him two high-potency pills. Wendy, have you analyzed the green-headed fly yet?"

Wendy nodded. "I have. The fly’s body contains not only toxins but also a lot of bacteria and viruses. They might be transmissible."

Evelyn Ford frowned. "Looks like we’ll have to keep giving Flynn Hansen the high-potency pills and Detoxification Pills."

"Stop worrying about Flynn Hansen and take care of that head wound. Your neck is covered in blood."

"It’ll stop bleeding in a bit, don’t worry. Ronan Kendrick and I are going to the bedroom to wash up first. You all look after Ryan Rowe."

Back in the bedroom, Ronan Kendrick washed his hands, and without another word, he slit open his wrist and squeezed half a bowl of blood for Evelyn Ford.

"Drink it."

Evelyn Ford was silent. She grabbed a cotton cloth and pressed it firmly against Ronan Kendrick’s still-bleeding wrist. "Do you have any other injuries? Weren’t you hit by the rocks?"

"No."

"Then why did you, Ryan Rowe, and the three horses pass out?"

Ronan Kendrick lifted the bowl to Evelyn Ford’s lips. "I’ll tell you after you drink."

Evelyn Ford obediently drank it.

"So, talk."

"It was probably because of the magnetic field and energy. I just felt really dizzy, like I’d been injected with an anesthetic, and then I lost consciousness instantly. Don’t worry. Flynn Hansen and the others made it out of Devil’s City last time, so we can too."

It wasn’t that Evelyn Ford was worried they couldn’t get out of Devil’s City; she just had too many questions. They had clearly been heading in the right direction, so how did they suddenly end up in Devil’s City? It was unbelievable. She even had the absurd feeling that they had been led astray by some supernatural force.

Ronan Kendrick’s explanation made sense. She also thought that some kind of interference from a magnetic field and energy had caused them to stumble into Devil’s City by mistake.

It was just one damn thing after another. A sharp pain shot through the back of her head, though the wound was already starting to heal. Evelyn Ford sighed.

’I wonder if we can still make it back to the base in five days like I’d planned.’

Ronan Kendrick patted Evelyn Ford’s shoulder. "Once we get out of Devil’s City, we can take a shortcut back to the base."

"Let’s go wash up first. I’m hungry."

When the two of them came out after washing up, Taylor Vance had already finished making dinner. Ryan Rowe had just woken up as well, but to everyone’s surprise, he had forgotten everything that happened after they entered Devil’s City.

"You really don’t remember anything?"

Ryan Rowe pressed his temples. "I just remember it getting dark, and then... my mind is a mess. There’s a buzzing sound in my ears. I really can’t remember."

"Then don’t try to think about it. By the way, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Are you injured?"

"No, but my head hurts a little, and my chest feels tight."

Evelyn Ford gave him a check-up and found that Ryan Rowe’s heart rate was too fast, his temperature was over 36°C, and even his pulse was abnormal.

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