Chapter 743: Chapter 743: Conflict

"He’s probably telling the truth. We’ll take them and the salt ore back to the base for now. As for the others, we’ll let Rhys Chase decide whether or not to look for them."

The two tracking birds still came back with nothing. Evelyn Ford guessed that the group of over a hundred people had already left Mount Grol.

The next morning, when Evelyn Ford stepped out of her tent, several of the men were already up and moving around. However, many still hadn’t regained consciousness. Evelyn Ford gave them some food and checked on those who were still unresponsive. One man was in particularly bad shape. If he didn’t wake up today, he probably never would.

Evelyn Ford informed the others, and the atmosphere in the cave instantly grew heavy.

"Dr. Ford, you must have a way! Yesterday, I couldn’t move at all, but you gave me some medicine, and today I’m on my feet. Please, save him! He can’t die. His family is waiting for the base’s subsidy to get by, and he’s still so young."

Everyone began to plead with Evelyn Ford, but she motioned for them to be quiet.

"Whether he survives now depends on his own willpower. As long as he wakes up, any after-effects won’t be too severe. The reason you all passed out was a combination of prolonged starvation, the dampness of the cave, and the low temperature. You sealed the entrance and burned firewood for warmth, which led to poor air circulation and carbon monoxide poisoning. He isn’t waking up because the poisoning has damaged his brain, heart, and lungs. The same goes for the others who are still unconscious. Their conditions are stable for now, but if they don’t wake up within eight hours, they’ll end up just like him—brain-dead. They’ll become the living dead."

"Dr. Ford, could you give them some acupuncture? Stimulate their nerves, maybe that will wake them up."

Evelyn Ford shook her head. "I’m just a regular doctor, not a miracle worker." ’If the special medicine can’t save them, there’s nothing more I can do.’

All she could do now was use the special medicine to keep them alive and hope their own willpower would be enough to wake them.

At nine in the morning, another three men woke up. Although they were sluggish and their limbs were too stiff to move, it was still a good sign.

At one in the afternoon, Evelyn Ford took some red fruits from her space, juiced them, and had everyone drink the juice. The unconscious men were no exception. She had tried all sorts of methods to save them over the past two days. ’If the red fruit doesn’t work, my only option is to head back to the base and have Rhys Chase find someone to treat them.’

’It’s just that these men can barely walk now. I have no idea how they’re going to get down the mountain. If I’d known, I would have just carried them down before they woke up.’

After taking the special medicine and drinking the red fruit juice, a few of the men recovered remarkably fast. They could even jog a little, and their speech was much clearer. Everyone who had been unconscious was now awake, except for the one in the most critical condition, who remained completely still.

Evelyn Ford decided there was no point in waiting any longer. ’Since the others can move freely now, I’ll just take them down the mountain and fly back to the base. There are plenty of medical experts there; they should have a way to treat him.’

"Everyone, pack up your things in the cave. We’re heading down the mountain now. Those of you who’ve recovered well, you’ll take turns carrying him down. Ronan Kendrick and I will lead the way and clear a path."

Once everything was packed, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick took the lead. The descent proved more difficult than the climb up. Several men fell right after leaving the cave. What should have been an hour-long trek down the mountain path ended up taking them three and a half grueling hours.

"Dr. Ford, where is the plane parked?"

"It’s just up ahead. We’ll be there soon." Half an hour earlier, Ronan Kendrick had separated from the group to head down first. He had already parked the passenger plane on a flat clearing up ahead. If all went smoothly, they would be back at the base before dark.

When they reached the passenger plane, the men were too emotional to speak. Evelyn Ford had them board first, carefully carrying the still-unconscious man onto the aircraft. Once he was settled, Evelyn closed the cabin door and went to the cockpit to tell Ronan Kendrick it was time for takeoff.

"Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts. The wind has been very strong the past few days, so there will be turbulence. Please don’t panic."

"Dr. Ford, how long will it take to get back to the base?"

"Two and a half hours."

"That’s so fast! We can be back at the base in just two and a half hours. This is wonderful. I wonder how Captain Warren and his men are doing... If I’d known this would happen, I never would have argued with them. Sigh."

"Yeah, we’re all brothers. We were in the wrong, too. Dr. Ford, will the base still send people to look for them? The truth is, there were only one hundred and ninety of us to begin with. Ten men died in the mining area. That’s what caused the infighting... it’s why everything fell apart."

Evelyn Ford hadn’t expected this hidden backstory.

"How did those ten men die?"

"We were digging for salt ore when the ground caved in. They died in the collapse. We dug for two days straight but couldn’t get them out. To get the salt ore back to the base sooner, some of us wanted to give up. The pit was too deep, and even if we did manage to dig them out, their bodies wouldn’t have been intact. But others refused. We’d all been through hell and back together; they couldn’t just abandon their brothers for a few chunks of salt. That’s where the conflict started. We ended up digging for another two days—four days in total—but we still couldn’t recover them. On the way back, because of all that, we started to hate each other, blaming each other, even getting into fights. After we got trapped in that deep valley, the hatred reached its peak. We all thought it was our dead brothers getting revenge on us. Because we didn’t recover their bodies, because we couldn’t bring them home, they weren’t going to let us go home either."

After he finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the cabin. Some of the men were repenting, some were quietly weeping, and others just stared at the floor, lost in thought.

Evelyn Ford glanced at the men, simply reminded them that the plane was about to take off, and then headed for the cockpit.

"What happened? You look so serious."

Evelyn Ford told Ronan Kendrick what she had just learned.

Ronan Kendrick said nothing, simply patting Evelyn Ford on the shoulder.

"Those hundred men are probably heading toward the base," Ronan said. "Their families are there, so they’ll definitely try to get back. If they’re lucky, the squad that took off on their own to find them might run into them."

"Let’s just wish them luck."

The plane taxied for a short distance. The uneven ground made for a bumpy ride. Evelyn Ford’s eyelid twitched. She looked at Ronan Kendrick, a sudden wave of dizziness washing over her. For some reason, though he was right in front of her, he seemed to be miles and miles away.

"Ronan Kendrick."

"Hm?"

The plane began to ascend, and Evelyn Ford’s ears started to ring. Just then, the sky abruptly went black. A dense barrage of fireballs rained down from above. Evelyn Ford reached for Ronan Kendrick, but a violent wave of vertigo hit her, and the plane started to flip over. Fireballs slammed into the aircraft, sending sparks flying in every direction. The world in Evelyn Ford’s eyes was reduced to a single mass of flame. In the final second before she closed her eyes, she felt her body plummeting.

"Evelyn Ford."

She heard him, but she couldn’t respond. A sharp, pungent smell pierced her nostrils, and then Evelyn Ford lost consciousness completely.

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