Chapter 742: The Reason

The cave was large and very damp. Many people were lying inside, seemingly unconscious. Ronan Kendrick pushed all the stones aside and went in first. After checking and finding no danger, he signaled for Evelyn Ford to follow.

A flashlight illuminated the entire interior of the cave. Evelyn went forward to check on the people lying on the ground. Their pulses were very weak. Judging by the state of the campfire, they had likely been unconscious for a long time. Although the stones weren’t sealed tightly, there were too many people inside, and they had a fire going. Evelyn guessed they had passed out from carbon monoxide poisoning, but Ronan said they had collapsed from hunger and cold.

Everyone was still alive, but a few were on the brink of death. Evelyn and Ronan fed them a special medicine, then took out straw mats from her spatial storage and settled them together on top.

"They need glucose drips." Evelyn quickly took out several boxes of glucose. To brighten the cave, she also set up a storage battery, a power strip, and an incandescent bulb.

After setting up glucose drips for everyone, Evelyn was so tired her back was slick with sweat. Ronan did a headcount; there were only eighty people. Rhys Chase had said the team had two hundred members. ’Where had the other one hundred and twenty gone?’

"It looks like they won’t be waking up anytime soon. Ronan, should we put them in my space and take them straight back to the base, or should we go look for the other one hundred and twenty people?"

Ronan glanced at the people on the straw mats. "If the others are also on Mount Grol, their condition is probably similar to this. Let’s wait until the drips are finished, leave a few charcoal braziers, and then go check the other mountains."

’Might as well see the rescue through to the end. Besides, wasn’t saving them the whole reason they came here, aside from finding the salt mine?’

Three hours later, the glucose drips were finished. Evelyn and Ronan set up the heating braziers and left the cave. The entrance couldn’t be blocked with stones, so Evelyn took a few logs from her space and laid them across the opening. This would not only allow for air circulation but also prevent wild animals from getting in and harming the survivors.

The two of them went to another mountain but found no trace of the others. Evelyn was hungry and exhausted. She smacked a pine tree hard with her trekking pole. The tree swayed, shaking all its snow down on top of her. Evelyn was silent for two seconds, then lifted her foot and kicked the tree hard.

The megaphone was still playing the recording, but the mountains remained silent. Other than the sound of the wind, there were only their footsteps.

After venting her frustration, Evelyn sighed in defeat.

"Let’s go back for now," Ronan said. "We’ll let the two tracking birds search the mountains. For now, let’s return to the cave."

Evelyn nodded. "The others have probably woken up by now."

When they returned to the cave, one man had already opened his eyes. He froze when he saw Evelyn and Ronan, sizing them up warily. He must have been unconscious for too long; his vocal cords were damaged. After trying for a long while, he could only manage a few hoarse syllables.

"We were sent by the base to find you. My name is Evelyn Ford."

The man’s eyes widened. He was getting agitated, and Evelyn gestured for him to calm down.

"You’re too weak. Don’t get worked up. Whatever you want to say, wait until tomorrow. If you feel unwell, tell me right away. I’m a doctor."

The man’s gaze fell on Ronan. Ronan didn’t speak, so Evelyn introduced him.

Upon learning they were from the base, the man’s emotions churned, and it took him a long time to calm down.

"The base commander said there were two hundred of you. We did a headcount, and there are only eighty people here. Where did the others go?"

A forlorn look crossed the man’s face. He shook his head slightly, then raised a finger and pointed outside.

"Are you saying they left, and you don’t know where they went?"

The man nodded. Evelyn continued asking, "Do you remember which direction they went? How long have you been in the mountains?"

The man gestured for a long time, but his hand signals left Evelyn completely baffled. ’It seems he can’t accurately point out which way the others went. I’ll just have to wait for the others to wake up and ask them.’

Evelyn repeated her second question. The man raised both hands, making gestures for the numbers "2" and "5".

"Twenty-five days?"

He nodded.

Evelyn told him to rest. In a clearing nearby, Ronan had already set up a tent. They would be spending the night here, as they needed to monitor the survivors’ conditions.

After dinner, Evelyn went back to studying the map. Three more people had woken up. She and Ronan checked on them briefly but didn’t bother them further. The cave was seeping water, and the damp air was uncomfortable. Unable to sleep, Evelyn just held Ronan’s hand and stared blankly into space.

In the middle of the night, one person developed a high fever, but fortunately, no serious issues arose. The night passed with a few heart-stopping moments. Possibly due to the special medicine, several people had strong reactions, some even vomiting blood.

At ten the next morning, after breakfast, Evelyn asked the others about the direction the one hundred and twenty people had taken. One man, whose voice had recovered well, explained why they had left and which way they went.

"A month ago, there was a huge storm on Mount Grol. We had already left the valley, but the road ahead suddenly collapsed. We had to reverse quickly back into the valley, but then one of the rear vehicles broke down. The landslide was right in front of us. We had no choice but to grab all our supplies and run. We didn’t head into the mountains at first; we just ran along the road. But we ran into two black bears out foraging. If we hadn’t had guns, we never would have escaped that day, even with two hundred of us.

"To escape the wild animals, we had no choice but to enter the mountains. While we were searching for the salt mine, our food was stored improperly, and we lost two-thirds of it. We were thrilled when we found the dead black bears and brought them back to the cave. But the cave was too small to hold two hundred people. We started arguing and fighting over food and space. In the end, the ones who won the fights took the supplies and left. We were injured and could only stay behind in the cave. Luckily, they didn’t take our one telegraph machine. After talking it over, we decided to send a distress signal to the base. We never thought you’d actually come."

Evelyn and Ronan showed no reaction after hearing his story. ’With the other party not here to tell their side, who knows how much of that is true? In any case, our mission is complete. If the others left more than ten days ago, we probably wouldn’t find them now even if we scoured all of Mount Grol.’

"You all should get some rest. Once you’re able to travel, we’ll head back to the base."

"Dr. Ford, Mr. Kendrick, what about the salt mine? We have to bring the salt back, right? Otherwise, the residents at the base will have no salt to eat."

"Don’t worry about that. The salt has already been taken back. The two of us stayed behind specifically to find you."

Everyone was thrilled to hear that the salt had been taken back.

Back in the tent, Evelyn worried about how to get all these people back.

"Let’s take the plane. We can switch to a passenger aircraft. It’ll only take two and a half hours to get back to the base, anyway. If we go by horse or car, it could take forever. By the way, Ronan, do you think that man was telling the truth? Should we still look for the other hundred-plus people?"