Chapter 4: Survive In The New Place
1142 Words
Although annoyed by Poppy's request to come with him, Evander still took Poppy with him to one of the survivor bases closest to their current location.
“So you mean there are no more towns or villages here?” Poppy stared in disbelief as she watched her step because the road they were walking on was covered with snow.
Evander glanced at Poppy in surprise, “You didn't know about this?”
Feeling that Evander was beginning to suspect her, Poppy forced an awkward laugh and nervously rubbed the back of her neck.
“Of course I know. It's just that there were still a few cities left before, weren't there?” Cold sweat the size of corn kernels began to appear on Poppy's forehead. She hoped her nonsense was plausible enough.
Evander stared at Poppy with a searching gaze for a long time. Poppy even swallowed nervously, hoping Evander wouldn't discover her lie.
“Unfortunately, the last city, Volibird, was destroyed two weeks ago.” Evander then sighed and looked away from Poppy.
Poppy quietly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that her question had not made Evander suspicious of her.
Not wanting to bring disaster upon herself, Poppy chose to keep her mouth shut to prevent her from uttering more nonsense and making Evander suspicious of her presence.
The longer they walked down the snowy road, the more Poppy realized that Evander was getting closer and closer to her. Now Poppy even realized that Evander's shoulder was touching hers.
“Hey, why are you getting so close to me again?” Poppy glared at Evander, warning him not to get too close to her.
Evander's eyes scanned Poppy from head to toe, doing so several times until Poppy frowned unhappily.
“I'm wondering how you can not be cold in such thin clothes?” While stepping between the piles of snow, Evander stared intently at Poppy.
A smirk appeared on Poppy's face as she walked closer to Evander, surprising him and causing him to stop in his tracks.
"Haven't you already felt the warmth of my body? Why are you still questioning it? Don't tell me...“ Poppy placed one hand on Evander's shoulder, then slowly moved it down to caress his chest.
Evander coughed softly when he heard Poppy's words, not expecting her to say it so bluntly. Evander quickly grabbed Poppy's hand that was on his chest.
”Stop playing with me. We have to get to the base before the next snowstorm hits,“ Evander replied, pulling Poppy's hand to follow him.
”Gosh, you're avoiding my question again!" Poppy rolled her eyes lazily at Evander's boring reaction.
Evander remained silent, choosing not to respond to Poppy, even though his ears were secretly red at the moment.
“Where is this base you're talking about? We've been walking for so long, but I don't see any sign of it.” Poppy wasn't cold, but that didn't mean she wasn't tired. She was walking with her head down, breathing heavily.
With thick snow piled up along their path, Poppy felt her legs were about to give out.
“Look, the base is in sight!” Evander pointed ahead.
Amidst the expanse of snow, a black building stood out in stark contrast to the white surroundings. Filled with hope, Poppy stood up straight again.
“Come on, hurry! I can't wait to stretch my legs!” With burning enthusiasm, Poppy pulled Evander's arm to quickly take her to the base.
It took Evander and Poppy about an hour to reach the towering steel gate of the base. Poppy did not expect the base to be this big, with the steel gate reaching a height of more than 5 meters.
Poppy forgot the pain in her legs when she arrived in front of the steel gate, and a feeling of overwhelm filled her chest right now.
“Where are your exchange items?” One of the guards standing in front of the steel gate began to demand payment.
Evander remained silent, but he took out a silver plaque the size of a credit card from his coat and gave it to the guard.
“She is my friend. We were caught in a snowstorm last night, so we lost our belongings,” Evander immediately explained their situation to the guards.
“Tsk! I will forgive you this time. But next time, even if you are members of the base, you will not be allowed to enter if you do not bring anything to exchange!” With a displeased look on his face, the guard warned Evander sternly.
Then, shortly after, a loud creaking sound of metal was heard. Slowly, the sturdy steel door opened, revealing a small gap that was just enough for Evander and Poppy to enter the base.
Evander immediately pulled Poppy's hand, rushing to enter the base. Poppy could only follow Evander's steps, considering that she still didn't know how this base worked.
Poppy's eyes immediately scanned her surroundings, observing the landscape of the base. From her observations, Poppy could be sure that this base was as big as a city, with many buildings scattered around it.
In fact, life inside the base was more crowded than Poppy had expected, with everyone inside the base wearing thick clothes. Seeing this, Poppy thought to immediately change her clothes to reduce other people's suspicion of her.
“Go to the Registration Office, they will give you an ID card to make it easier for you to enter the base.” Evander pointed to a building on the right side, not far from the base entrance gate.
“Okay.” Poppy nodded slowly, understanding what Evander meant.
As Poppy was about to walk towards the Registration Office, she realized that Evander was taking a different path from her.
Unprepared for this, Poppy turned around to hold Evander's hand. Evander's expression looked gloomy, very different from his usual expression.
“Aren't you coming with me?” Poppy blinked her eyes in confusion, not expecting Evander to leave her.
“I've taken you to the base, and with that, I've paid my debt. Whatever happens to you at this base is no longer my responsibility,” explained Evander as he shook off Poppy's hand.
Seeing her hand pushed away by Evander, Poppy's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect Evander to just abandon her like this.
“I hope you can adapt here. See you later.” Evander's broad shoulders turned away, leaving Poppy there alone.
Poppy stood frozen in her place, stunned. She hadn't thought Evander would leave her like this.
“It seems I'll have to get used to this kind of goodbye if I want to survive in this world.” Poppy's gaze was still vacant, not yet accustomed to the empty feeling of being left behind by someone.
- Writer
