Chapter 766: Chapter 766: Self-Rescue

The burly men delivering the beating were still cursing. After listening for a few moments, Evelyn Ford had pieced together the situation. The couple on the ground had waited until the guards by the lake dozed off, then rushed in to get water. Unfortunately, they were discovered almost immediately. The thugs, of course, wouldn’t let them go. They dragged the pair back to the survivor settlement and began beating them senseless. Beyond punishing them, they had another goal: to make an example of them.

The couple on the ground was beaten to a pulp. The man was on the verge of death, and the woman’s cries for help grew fainter. Just as Evelyn was about to ask Ronan Kendrick and Rhys Chase if they should intervene, Ronan had already drawn his pistol. He fired five quick shots at the attackers. All five were hit in the head, killed almost instantly. Snapping to action, Evelyn and Rhys quickly attacked the other thugs who had been watching from the sidelines.

At the sound of gunfire, the survivors scattered in terror.

"Don’t be afraid! We won’t harm ordinary residents. Everyone, move to the side and stay put! We’re only here to deal with the thugs hoarding the water and Famine Clay Soil."

Evelyn’s words instantly calmed the survivors. She and Ronan Kendrick moved with perfect coordination, charging straight for the building where the thugs lived. The two of them cut a bloody path forward while Rhys Chase followed with his gun, cleaning up any stragglers. When they reached the thugs’ residential building, they decided against indiscriminate fire to avoid harming any abducted survivors. Instead, they used gas grenades to incapacitate everyone inside.

Evelyn understood the principle of eradicating evil completely. Any thug who had participated in oppressing the survivors was to be executed. Not one would be spared.

The areas by the lake and the Famine Clay Soil dig site had been left for Rhys Chase to handle. By the time he returned, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick had already wiped out all the thugs in the building. They had also rescued all the women and children who had been abducted.

Her clothes were so soaked they could be wrung out with blood. Fighting back nausea, Evelyn tallied the number of thugs they had eliminated.

"Thirty-five in total. We didn’t miss any."

When the two of them came down from the building, they were immediately surrounded by the survivors.

"Thank you for saving my daughter! If it weren’t for you, I might never have seen her again." A woman was clutching a girl with disheveled hair who trembled with her head bowed.

Many other survivors nearby were also expressing their thanks. One person holding a child dropped directly to their knees.

Evelyn switched on a megaphone and gestured for the crowd to be quiet. "Everyone, get up and listen to me. All the thugs are dead. You can now go get water and dig for Famine Clay Soil without fear."

"That’s wonderful! They deserved to die, they really did! We lived in constant fear that they would come and snatch our children. All the kids they took before are gone... Those monsters, they’re worse than animals!"

"What good does their death do? One group of thugs is gone, but countless more will appear. The Famine Clay Soil is almost gone, and the lake is nearly dry. There’s no way out. It’s only a matter of time before we all turn on each other." The words hung in the air, and the atmosphere instantly froze. Evelyn looked at the speaker, a thin man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties.

"You’re right. This kind of situation can never be completely prevented or stopped. But I can offer you a path to survival. I can guarantee you’ll have food to eat and water to drink."

"What path? Benefactor, please tell us! What is it?"

Evelyn scanned the crowd. With her and Ronan at the center, the entire downstream area was packed with people. Even the children were looking up at her, their eyes filled with expectation and hope.

"The fireball explosions didn’t just affect Eldoria; it was likely the entire planet of Azure. Now, Azure has become a wasteland. You might not know what a wasteland is, so let me explain. A wasteland, as the name implies, is land that has lost its value. There are no plants or animals. Water sources have dried up, the soil has lost its nutrients, the air is polluted, and the entire sky is covered in a toxic fog. You can’t even see the sun. Plants can no longer grow in this wasteland, which means there’s no way to clean the polluted smog from the air. Azure is on the verge of becoming a derelict, garbage planet."

After Evelyn finished, everyone’s face turned pale with fright. They relentlessly questioned her: What should they do? Would Azure be destroyed? Would humanity go extinct?

Evelyn’s answer was affirmative.

"If we let things continue like this, humanity will slowly die out in just a year or so."

"Then what should we do?"

"Benefactor, please, save us! We don’t want to die!"

With a great RUSTLE, a vast swath of people fell to their knees. Evelyn told them to get up, but it was as if they couldn’t hear her. They began to kowtow, begging her to save them.

"I can’t save you. But you can save yourselves. Anyone who wants to live, who is willing to follow orders and direction, form a line and walk to the open space on the left. I will take you away from here. As long as you follow my arrangements, every single one of you will have food to eat."

’I kind of feel like the leader of a pyramid scheme right now,’ Evelyn thought.

Many people scrambled to their feet and ran toward the open space on the left, afraid of losing this chance if they were a step too slow. Of course, some remained skeptical. They couldn’t believe that in such a harsh environment, Evelyn could actually provide food and water. What if she led them away, and instead of a path to survival, they ended up in another den of thugs?

"I won’t force anyone who doesn’t want to leave. For those who decide to stay, you can clean out the building back there and move in. But I must remind you, as that man just said, this place has become a barren land. The water and Famine Clay Soil are finite. Once you can’t find anything else to eat, can any of you guarantee that you won’t become a savage beast, drinking blood and eating raw flesh?"

That’s right. Who among them could guarantee they would rather starve to death than harm another person?

"Benefactor, first tell us, where are you taking us? What will we do? How much water and Famine Clay Soil will we be allotted when we get there? How are we supposed to save ourselves? Are you saying we have to leave Azure and go into outer space?"

"We’re going to the great plains fifty kilometers away. Our method of salvation is to plant trees. We will plant trees across the entire Rovan Wastes, and even the entire country, to purify the polluted fog. You don’t need to worry about seedlings; I’ll handle that. Planting trees isn’t simple. The standard is for the saplings to survive. As long as you complete your tasks, you can have as much water as you want. As for food, I don’t have any Famine Clay Soil, but I can provide corn buns and large steamed buns. Enough to fill your stomachs."

"We’ll go! In any case, no outcome could be worse than our current situation. Benefactor, I’m willing to believe you."

Evelyn nodded with a faint smile. "My surname is Ford. I used to be a doctor, so you can call me Dr. Ford. I’ll give you two hours to go pack your belongings."

The crowd dispersed, and everyone hurried back to their dwellings to pack.

"With so many people, will we have enough food?" Rhys Chase was still worried about their provisions.

"Food is the one thing I don’t lack. Don’t worry, I have more than enough to support them. Saving Azure is more important than anything. We can always grow more food later. If everyone dies and Azure really becomes a derelict planet, what’s the point of me holding onto a food supply that could last for several lifetimes?"

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