Chapter 672: Chapter 672: Report

A week later, people from Central Base arrived in Eldoria. They came in ten vehicles with a hundred people.

In the telegram, they had originally said they only wanted to borrow three tons of grain seed, but this time they suddenly asked for ten tons, along with medical equipment, agricultural equipment, medicinal herbs, and weapons.

Rhys Chase called an emergency meeting with the base administrators that night. Eldoria was still rebuilding, so the medical equipment, agricultural equipment, and weapons would likely be a one-way loan. As for the grain seed, Central Base’s representative promised to return thirty tons after two years.

The two sides remained at a stalemate over the seeds for two days. Eldoria was also clearing new land for farming, and all the seeds in their warehouses combined didn’t even amount to thirty tons. If they lent out ten tons, they wouldn’t be able to meet this year’s planting goals. In the end, after several meetings, Central Base made some concessions. They would borrow six tons of wheat seed and three tons of corn seed, and in two years, they would return twenty tons of wheat seed and ten tons of cassava stalks.

After the vehicles from Central Base left with the borrowed supplies, Eldoria officially entered the sweltering summer.

It had been half a year since they arrived in Eldoria. The base’s reconstruction was nearing completion, and over a thousand acres of farmland had been reclaimed from the grasslands and desert. But as the temperature gradually rose with no sign of rain, the residents grew worried about a drought. Fortunately, the water level of the freshwater lake had not dropped, so there would be no water shortage even if a drought occurred.

Evelyn Ford and the others were also busy farming in their space. Once the paddy fields were ready, it would be time to transplant the rice seedlings. Since the laborers had all been sent to the mining district, the task of transplanting fell to them.

The classes were about to end, and the students had already begun their internships at the hospital. Evelyn Ford decided to work for one more month and then submit her resignation.

By the fourth lunar month, the temperature in Eldoria reached eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Base experts predicted it would continue to climb and possibly break one hundred and four degrees by June or July.

The bathroom in their courtyard home was finally finished. It was a spacious and clean all-in-one with a toilet and shower. When the neighbors found out they had built a private bathroom, some were envious, some were jealous, and some started making snide comments and spreading malicious slander behind their backs. Suddenly, rumors were flying, and their home became the target of public ire. At first, Evelyn Ford paid them no mind. ’People will talk,’ she figured, ’and I can’t stop them.’ Unfortunately, on her way back from work that day, she caught several people gossiping right outside the supermarket. Evelyn wasn’t one to tolerate such behavior, so she grabbed the gossips and started dragging them directly to the Courtyard Service Area.

"What are you doing? Let go of me! You’re from that family in Area A, aren’t you? So your family gets special privileges, and we’re not allowed to say anything about it? I’m telling you, my son is a leader in the Third District! I’ll have him kick your whole family out of this Courtyard!"

The old woman shrieked in pain as Evelyn Ford grabbed her arm and began to drag her away. Evelyn hauled one with each hand, while the rest were strung together with a hemp rope, dragged toward the service area like a line of captured grasshoppers.

"Agh, my back! It’s going to break!"

"I think my wrist is dislocated!"

These old men and women had nothing better to do all day than sit outside the supermarket and spread gossip. Many people in the Courtyard couldn’t stand them, but since they weren’t ordinary residents, no one dared to confront them head-on. No one expected Evelyn Ford to step in and completely disregard these old coots’ age and status, tying them up with a rope and just dragging them off.

Seeing the commotion, a crowd quickly gathered and followed them to watch the show.

One of the old women was still spewing curses, so Evelyn pulled out a whip and cracked it on the ground right next to her feet. The woman immediately started shaking in terror.

"This is outrageous! She’s trying to murder us! Where are the Courtyard security guards? Help! Murder!"

Evelyn Ford sneered. "Go on, shout louder. Best if you get everyone over here. I’m going to tear open the mouth and knock out the teeth of anyone who’s been talking trash behind my back today."

Evelyn Ford was not someone to be trifled with. Once provoked, she was capable of anything.

Even though she was living a peaceful life now, the lust for slaughter and madness in her bones had not diminished one bit.

The old men and women were terrified by her words. They stumbled and tripped as Evelyn Ford dragged them all the way to the Courtyard Service Area.

"Security! Help! Please, save us!" one old woman shrieked hoarsely upon entering the service area and seeing armed soldiers.

Evelyn Ford gave the rope a vicious tug. The old woman immediately fell to the ground, splitting her lip on the floor.

"What’s going on here? What is all this?" several soldiers asked as they approached. The old folks began to cry and shout their accusations, all talking over each other. A soldier motioned for them to be quiet, but one old woman suddenly plopped down on the ground, slapped her thighs, and began to wail.

"I can’t go on living! To be beaten and insulted at my age! My son works himself to the bone for this base, and this is how I’m treated! I’m too ashamed to face him! I don’t want to live anymore, just let me die!"

The others quickly followed her example, sitting on the ground and bawling. The hand Evelyn Ford used to hold the whip began to itch.

"Quiet! Anyone who keeps sniveling gets thrown out, right now!" a dark-faced man, who clearly couldn’t stand the noise, bellowed.

The old men and women stopped their wailing, but they all glared at Evelyn Ford with indignation.

"You. Explain yourself. Why did you drag them here? These folks aren’t young. Do you have any idea that dragging them so roughly could kill them?"

Evelyn Ford nodded. "I know. It was on purpose."

The dark-faced man was speechless.

"Why would you do that?"

"Officer, she did it on purpose! She wanted to beat us, too!" an old woman chimed in, only to be silenced by a glare from the dark-faced man.

"Shut your mouth. I was talking to her, not you."

Having been scolded so harshly, the old woman’s eyes welled up with tears. "My son is a leader at the base! You’re all bullying me! I’m going to have him kick every single one of you out of the Courtyard! Just you wait! I won’t let any of you off, especially you, you little bitch!" She shot a venomous glare at Evelyn Ford. In response, the whip in Evelyn’s hand cracked forward. The old woman shrieked, but the whip only struck the empty ground beside her. Nevertheless, she was so frightened that she wet herself.

The dark-faced man shot Evelyn Ford a warning glance before turning to the old woman. "Alright. What’s your son’s name, and what district is he a leader in? Tell me. I’ll go look for him myself. I’d love to see what kind of big-shot leader he is, to be able to kick residents out of here."

The woman was scared speechless. She sat on the ground, not daring to say another word. The others also realized the gravity of the situation and began to grow afraid.

"Go ahead and talk," he said to Evelyn. "Why exactly did you drag them here?"

Evelyn put her whip away, stepped forward, and stomped her foot down hard on the hand of an old man who was glaring at her.

"AGHH—"

"No assaulting people in the service area! If you don’t give me a straight answer right now, I’ll have you arrested and sent to the base’s brig!"

Evelyn Ford frowned. "Officer, I didn’t want to cause trouble. You saw it yourself—they were insulting me with filthy language and glaring at me. I’m young and hot-headed, and I couldn’t stand for it, so I fought back a little. But to get to the point, the reason I brought them here was to report them for gathering to stir up trouble and slandering innocent residents."

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