Chapter 726: Chapter 726: Toxic Fungus

Although Ronan Kendrick had refused to help Rhys Chase interrogate the poisoners who had come from outside the territory, he went over on the third day anyway. Rhys Chase’s team still hadn’t been able to get anything of value out of them, and Ronan Kendrick, disgusted by their incompetence, decided to lend a hand.

Under hypnosis, the men quickly revealed everything about where they came from.

They confessed that two years ago, several regions and countries outside the territory had been destroyed by nuclear explosions. The survivors were forced to flee for their lives, wandering aimlessly. When they arrived, they were carrying a large amount of Poison Powder and toxic fungi. After sneaking into the base, they observed for a few days before deciding to poison the drinking water. Their goal was to kill everyone in the base. The poison was so potent that even if it didn’t kill, it would leave people permanently disabled. Then, they could seize control of the entire base and enslave the crippled residents.

The interrogation team was left speechless after hearing their confession.

To think that these few people, just to survive, would try to poison over ten million residents and turn this place into a slave camp... It was utterly inhumane, worse than animals.

"While no one died from the poisoning, over a hundred people have suffered kidney damage, and dozens more have brain damage," Rhys Chase said, seething. "The base must provide them with special care and compensation. It’s our fault for letting our guard down these past few months. We never imagined someone would sneak in to poison us. And the crucial thing is, these people look completely different from us, yet no one noticed!" He immediately ordered the men to be executed. Their bodies were to be hung in the main square, put on public display for the residents to vent their fury.

This incident also served as a stark reminder to the base. With the environment outside the territory destroyed, more and more refugees would be trying to enter Khoros. Rhys Chase issued another order: immediately assemble thirty thousand young laborers to build an electric fence along the border. Anyone who dared to cross it would be met with lethal force, ensuring a one-way trip.

This was a matter of survival and safety for all the residents. Since Evelyn Ford had no use for the ore in her space’s mining area anyway, she gifted several ore deposits to the base, free of charge, for the construction of the electric fence.

Just as the poisoners at Eldoria Base were dealt with, Rhys Chase received a telegram from the administrators of the Central Base. A group of refugees from outside the territory had infiltrated their base as well. To drive these outsiders out of Khoros, the two bases decided to join forces and build the electric fence together to defend against the external threat.

——

After returning to work at the hospital, Wendy moved into the staff dormitories. The various fruits and vegetables in the space’s garden were ready for harvest. Evelyn had barely had time to rest since returning before she had to get to work in the fields. Zoe and Annie were back in school. Everyone had their own duties, and life became busy for them all.

Evelyn Ford had Quincy take all the scrap fabric and cloth strips from her space for a massive clearance sale. The road between Eldoria Base and the Central Base was now fully open. Although the two bases were a hundred or two hundred kilometers apart, Rhys Chase announced that they would soon establish trade relations. After all, their combined population was over twenty million. He even encouraged residents to start their own businesses. More importantly, the base currency had shifted from food coupons and vouchers to gold and silver. This was excellent news; the circulation of precious metals meant that life was stabilizing.

Evelyn Ford had also been very busy. After harvesting the vegetables, she had to till the soil and plant a second crop. While having a good supply of food brought her peace of mind, she had grown accustomed to hoarding. She wouldn’t feel truly secure until the entire storage area was filled to the brim.

The base’s own farmland was also planted to capacity with crops. In the three months since that huge downpour, the weather in Eldoria had been excellent. Everything planted in the soil thrived, and even the water hyacinths in the lake grew with exceptional vigor.

「Three months flew by.」

Leo Denton and his team had already harvested their fourth crop of wheat. By rights, it was time for them to leave the space. But since the base was still facing a food shortage and they were a great help with the farm work, Evelyn Ford extended their lease for another year.

Rhys Chase even made a special trip with several truckloads of supplies to thank her. Looking at the dark circles under his eyes, as pronounced as a panda’s, Evelyn had to admit that while "Base Leader" was an impressive title, it wasn’t an easy seat to fill.

If not for Ronan Kendrick’s blood keeping him alive, Rhys Chase, a workaholic who only slept four or five hours a night, would have likely died from overwork long ago.

Leo Denton and his teammates were actually quite happy to learn they could continue farming for another year. Over the past few months, everyone had grown familiar with one another, so Evelyn had lifted the restriction that barred them from other areas of the space. Many hands make light work, after all. After finishing their own tasks, they would come over every day to help Evelyn and the others, so everyone’s productivity had been incredibly high.

Wendy came back to visit once a week. For the past three months, she had been caring for the patients poisoned by the contaminated water. She said that while their lives weren’t in danger, several had been left paralyzed. The base hadn’t given up on them, though. The hospital dedicated two entire floors to their care, assigning numerous doctors and nurses to treat them. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, the base would provide full support, no matter the cost in medical supplies.

"Eighty percent of them are seniors over fifty," Wendy explained. "The elderly have weaker immune systems, so their bodies expel the toxins much more slowly, making their cases more severe than others."

Having seen so much of life and death, Wendy had developed a strong mental fortitude. Still, she couldn’t help but feel distressed when talking about the poor souls who had been poisoned.

"A few of them were already disabled, and now they’ve been poisoned on top of that. I really don’t know how they’ll manage in the future. It’s just so tragic. Their families go to whip the corpses of the poisoners every day. Every time I walk past, I have to resist the urge to go over and spit on them myself. It’s just infuriating."

"The antidotes aren’t working?"

Wendy shook her head. "The base has provided the best medicine and the most skilled doctors. But even many of those with minor poisoning are still suffering from various side effects after all this time. Even though it was a mild case, it’s still affecting their quality of life and even their lifespan. I heard from the department head that people with minor poisoning experience daily dizziness and nosebleeds. Many of the men have become infertile, and women are suffering from hair loss, abdominal pain, and other side effects. How can this toxic fungus be so horrific?"

Evelyn Ford’s brow furrowed. "The people from outside the territory specialize in developing these inhumane toxins. If even the best antidotes can’t help, there’s likely no cure."

"Joy Ford, do you remember Jonas Lucas?" Wendy asked. "The injured patient we ran into downstairs when you and my dad were dropping me off at the hospital dorms? He was supposed to go to the desert training camp as an instructor, but the base reassigned him. He and his team were sent to the border to build the electric fence. I saw him in the hospital yesterday—he was injured again. I asked what happened, and it turns out that while they were working on the fence, they caught a dozen more outsiders trying to sneak in. A fight broke out, and even though they managed to subdue them, he and his teammates were all injured."

Of course Evelyn Ford remembered Jonas Lucas.

"Rhys Chase is certainly far-sighted," she said. "But I’m afraid even more refugees from outside the territory will try to flee here in the future."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.