Chapter 722: Chapter 722: The Woman

A hemp rope was strung across the stone house, with a few pieces of clothing hanging from it, along with some dried rat meat. The dried rat meat looked like it had been hanging there for several years, covered in a thick layer of dust. On either side of the door hung numerous animal pelts and eagle feathers.

The stone house was about twenty square meters. To the left of the entrance was a stove built from stacked stones, with a warped iron pot sitting on top.

Next to the stove was a table, also piled together from stones, holding some miscellaneous items and a few broken bowls. Whatever was inside the bowls had already gone moldy. It was clear the owner of the stone house hadn’t cooked in a long time.

After walking for a whole day in Devil’s City, Evelyn Ford hadn’t seen a single tree or river. ’How did this person survive here? What did they live on?’

’The air-dried rat meat hanging on the rope?’

’Then what did they drink?’

After a thorough examination, Evelyn Ford looked at the dying woman on the straw mat, a sense of shock rising within her.

That’s right, the Eagle’s owner was a woman. Evelyn had checked her entire body and estimated her age to be around thirty.

Judging by her appearance, Evelyn had initially thought she was at least fifty.

"Ronan Kendrick, she’s probably been poisoned. We need to take her into the lab for a full-body examination, and it’s best if we draw blood for testing."

"I’ll have Zoe communicate with it." Ronan Kendrick glanced at the Eagle beside them and turned to leave.

A moment later, he returned with Zoe and Quincy. Zoe communicated with the Eagle for a few minutes. Although the Eagle seemed agitated at first, it was eventually persuaded by Zoe. It lowered its head, nuzzled the woman’s face, and let out a low cry before walking out of the stone house, looking back every few steps.

Taking the woman and everyone else back to the space, Evelyn Ford went straight to the lab and called Wendy over.

"Wendy, draw two vials of blood from her. Let’s start by testing her vitals." But the woman’s limbs were swollen and festering with pus. Wendy held the syringe, not knowing where to even begin.

"Draw from the neck. If you can’t draw from the neck, draw from the groin."

The two of them struggled for half an hour before they finally managed to draw the blood.

After running all the tests, Wendy was stunned as she looked at the report on the woman’s vitals.

"Evelyn, she has so many different toxins in her system! It’s a miracle she’s even alive. On top of that, she’s severely malnourished—deficient in iron, calcium, and zinc. Her teeth and hair have almost all fallen out. I just measured her height; she’s only four-foot-eight. And look, the spot where we drew blood is still oozing. She has a coagulation disorder."

And that wasn’t all the report showed. Her heart, stomach, liver, and kidneys were all failing. Most importantly, her pupils were a pale, bluish-white; she was already blind.

The two of them looked at each other and, after a moment of silence, decided to treat her festering limbs first. To make the treatment easier, Wendy shaved off her matted, tangled hair, and Evelyn Ford gave her three high-potency pills.

Five hours later, the two of them dragged their exhausted bodies out of the lab.

Ronan Kendrick was waiting outside. Evelyn Ford pointed inside. "Go talk to those two Eagles. Tell them their owner is okay."

Those two Eagles were the woman’s only family. They should be notified.

A few minutes later, Ronan Kendrick brought both Eagles directly into the space. He gave a helpless smile. "I can’t communicate with them. They get too agitated when they see me. It’s better to let Zoe talk to them."

’Is there anything in this world Ronan Kendrick can’t handle?’

Evelyn Ford found the thought rather novel.

After Zoe came over and informed the two Eagles of the woman’s condition, they finally calmed down. Evelyn Ford had Quincy feed them some meat. The two Eagles didn’t look young, and they weren’t in much better shape than their owner. Despite their large frames, they were terrifyingly thin.

What surprised Evelyn Ford was that last time, they had only scratched Flynn Hansen and the others, but hadn’t dragged them back to be eaten.

"Let’s go back and rest for a couple of hours first. I’m starving, and we still have to continue with the surgery later."

The two Eagles looked at the meat in the large iron basin, lowered their heads to sniff it, but didn’t open their beaks to eat. They paced back and forth on the spot, then looked toward the lab door. It seemed they wanted to save the meat for their owner.

Zoe told them that their owner couldn’t eat for the time being and that there was plenty more meat. Only then did the two Eagles begin to eat, cautiously.

"They say all living things have a spirit, but I never thought Eagles could be so loyal and devoted. We’ve seen vultures before, and we’ve encountered plenty of eagles on the road while we were fleeing, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen eagles that seem so human, so concerned about their owner. It’s incredible." Quincy brought over two buckets of water, and the two Eagles immediately dropped the meat in their mouths and went to drink. It was obvious they had been thirsty for a very long time.

Miles Vaughn clicked his tongue in admiration. "Just look at Mina and Lola. They just can’t talk, that’s all. Their intelligence is no different from a six- or seven-year-old kid. Last time, all I said was that Evelyn’s appetite was getting bigger, and Mina ambushed me. It’s so protective. I’m actually scared of it now."

Back at the wooden cabin, Evelyn Ford was greeted by waves of fragrant aromas. Looking at the feast of fish and meat on the table, however, Wendy had completely lost her appetite. After all, while she was treating the woman’s festering limbs, pus had splattered onto her gloves. It wasn’t just disgusting; the stench was overpowering, and she had vomited right then and there. Now, the sight of meat only filled her mind with images of the woman’s purulent thighs.

"I can’t eat. I’ll just have some water. You guys go ahead." Wendy had worked at the base’s hospital for so long and had treated severed limbs before. She thought her psychological fortitude was strong, but today, she finally broke.

Evelyn Ford completely understood how Wendy felt; after all, she had almost thrown up herself. "Then have some fruit and make a cup of tea. Ronan Kendrick and I will handle the surgery later. You should take a break."

"It’s fine, I can handle it."

"If you really feel awful, be sure to tell me. Don’t force yourself."

Wendy nodded. "Thanks, Evelyn."

After dinner, Evelyn Ford took a shower, then brought Wendy back to the lab to continue the woman’s surgery.

"Her limbs are cleaned up. Now let’s deal with the pus and blood in her ears, and the other ulcerated areas on her body."

"Evelyn, what about the poison in her system?"

"There must be radioactive minerals in this area. The poison in her system is from long-term exposure here; the radiation from the minerals has seeped into her bones. Even if she left Devil’s City now, she wouldn’t live for long."

Furthermore, the test results showed the woman’s age was actually between twenty and twenty-three, not the thirty years Evelyn Ford had initially estimated.

"Evelyn, when will she wake up?"

"She should wake up tomorrow morning. Let’s get back to work."

By the time they finished treating the ulcerations on the woman’s body and her festering, bleeding ears, it was already past ten at night. Her condition was relatively stable—no fever or inflammation, and her heart rate and pulse were steady. After giving her half a bag of nutrient solution via IV, Evelyn Ford and Wendy decided to head back to sleep.

"Flynn Hansen is awake."

Evelyn Ford heard the good news the moment she got back to the cabin.

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