The Last Realm of Rust and Dust

Chapter 6

Due to Anderson's presence, Evie hadn't been able to scavenge for scrap in the past few days. Fortunately, Anderson seemed to possess extraordinary resilience and recovered quickly, departing after a brief stay.

Instead of immediately venturing out with her large basket, Evie first went to Anderson's temporary dwelling to tidy it up. During their short time together, Evie had discovered Anderson to be a courteous man. The simple hut was spotless, the bedding neatly folded. The only discordant element was a flower branch placed on the windowsill.

A chipped vase held the branch adorned with white flowers, but the petals had mostly fallen, scattered on the windowsill with their edges tinged yellow. The bare branches appeared somewhat unsightly.

Evie walked over, took the vase outside, emptied the water, and carefully removed the wilted branch. She gently planted it in her medicinal herb garden.

Patting the soil down, she softly poked the bare branch and whispered, "I firmly believe nature will heal you."

...

Anderson remembered Evie telling him that this wasteland wasn't as desolate as he imagined. He could keep heading south and eventually reach a city-state.

Anderson was puzzled how Evie, living in the wasteland, knew this. Evie explained that she occasionally visited the nearest city-state to exchange for necessities.

"Do you have money?" Anderson asked, picturing Evie as a lone, impoverished girl, despite her kind heart.

"The wasteland holds countless treasures waiting to be unearthed and sought after. Their value cannot be measured by money."

Perhaps this young girl was referring to the piles of discarded human creations - the garbage scattered throughout the wasteland.

Anderson recalled this conversation now, a smile tugging at his lips... Why was he wasting time thinking about a stranger he would never meet again?

As he pondered, his foot suddenly caught on something. He looked down to see a square object, some unknown piece of trash.

He couldn't explain why, but he crouched down to pick it up. However, the square seemed to be buried deep, embedded in the soil.

"Waste of time," Anderson muttered, staring at the object with only a corner visible.

He spent precious travel time digging around the square, finally freeing it. Carefully opening it, he discovered a hand-cranked music box.

Anderson didn't bother winding it. He casually placed it next to a nearby rock, where a wild grass stubbornly poked its green head out between the stones.

After finishing this, Anderson adjusted his straw hat, pulling the brim lower to cover his eyes.

He hadn't walked far when he spotted two figures in the distance. A large sun umbrella was planted in the scorched earth, providing shade for the two individuals who looked as though they were on vacation.

One of them had a loud voice and was talking. Anderson recognized him as Ethan Williams. The other person was Noah Brown.

Ethan exclaimed, "If he's still alive, he'll definitely try to return to the southern survivor base. This is his only path. We're bound to catch him!"

Noah glanced at Ethan, thinking to himself that the real reason they were here was because Owen Thompson, their leader, found Ethan too impulsive and feared he might hinder the search. So, Owen sent Ethan here... and since they always operated in pairs, Noah was stuck here with him, waiting for Anderson to walk into their trap.

But deep down, Noah knew it was unlikely they would find Anderson, and even if they did... did they really stand a chance?

The pair didn't notice Anderson quietly standing nearby. He lifted his head slightly, his crimson eyes, hidden beneath the hat brim, reflecting the images of Ethan and Noah, brimming with undisguised, blatant murderous intent.

Anderson craved to see their hot blood staining the equally scorching, blackened earth. Perhaps this land needed their blood as an embellishment.

He licked his lips and started walking towards them.

Just then, he heard Ethan speak again.

"Who do you think will find him first? Us, or Owen and the others after they find that little girl?" Ethan mused, likely bored out of his mind.

Noah suddenly grabbed Ethan's arm, his gaze alertly shifting behind them. In the distance, a tall figure stood silently.

Ethan muttered, "What's that guy wearing? Looks weird..."

Anderson was still wearing the clothes Evie had patched together from rags, as his own were beyond repair.

Before Ethan could finish his sentence, he realized something. Almost instinctively, his hand reached for his waist, drawing his gun and aiming the dark muzzle at Anderson.

With two guns pointed at him, Anderson merely tilted his hat brim upwards, revealing his crimson eyes - a clear sign of his non-human nature.

"This isn't the survivor base anymore..." Anderson stared at the pair, his eyes cold.

...

After cleaning up all traces of Anderson's stay, Evie was finally able to head out. As usual, she equipped herself with her basket, hoe, and water before leaving her dwelling.

She intended to continue north, as the more distant areas held countless remnants of discarded waste. If left scattered, the wounds of the earth would never heal.

This was Evie's first journey towards the far north. The path ahead was unknown, but she remained calm and composed. However, the increasingly scorching sun made her regret giving her only straw hat to Anderson.

The heat made Evie's vision slightly blurry. As she took a sip of water, she caught a glimpse of two figures approaching her in the distance.

Evie's brows furrowed slightly. She wasn't foolish. The wasteland was rarely visited, so these two must be the people who had been looking for Anderson a few days ago.

Now that Anderson was gone, she could confront them directly. However, at that moment, two thoughts struck Evie: firstly, they had trampled on the wild grass of the wasteland a few days ago, and if they reached her home, they might harm her plants. Secondly, Anderson had easily subdued her that morning. If these people were as strong as him...

Seeing the two figures aggressively approaching, Evie decided to run. After all, these two weren't injured like Anderson and there were two of them. She couldn't knock out both with one swing of her hoe.

Liam Davis and Michael Wilson had been wandering the wasteland for days without encountering a single soul, and were growing increasingly frustrated. So, when they saw Evie, their pace quickened involuntarily. They were caught off guard when Evie suddenly bolted.

"Hey! Don't run!" they shouted in unison, their bodies already in pursuit.

Evie, facing such a situation for the first time, was terrified. She abandoned her basket and ran with all her might, clutching her hoe tightly.

"Please stop! We mean no harm! Our leader, Owen, wants to find you. You two should know each other!"

The wasteland was practically devoid of people, so Evie knew no one. She dismissed their words as a ploy, her guard heightened by Anderson's earlier actions.

Liam and Michael were surprised by Evie's speed and had to shout from behind, trying to get her to stop. This place was vast beyond imagination, and if they lost her, finding her again would be nearly impossible.

Liam suddenly seemed to remember something and urgently said to his companion, "Lower your voice! The wasteland isn't just scorched earth, there are wandering zombies too!"

Right, this was the twentieth year of the apocalypse. Except for within the bases, zombies could be found anywhere.

Zombies were practically omnipresent in this post-apocalyptic world.

As if on cue, just as Liam finished speaking, they saw a few scattered zombies wandering in the direction Evie was running towards.

The zombies weren't particularly ragged, even appearing somewhat clean. However, the occasional exposed skin was entirely rotten flesh, emitting a foul odor under the blazing sun. Their faces were pale and decaying, their cloudy eyes devoid of any emotion. The fangs protruding from their mouths gleamed with a cold, white sharpness under the bright sunlight.

Even though they were used to the grotesque appearance of zombies, Liam and Michael still felt a deep-seated fear towards these creatures, wanting nothing more than to stay far away. But in the next moment, they witnessed the seemingly fragile girl, who only seemed to excel at running, sprint towards the zombies as if they were long-lost relatives.

Liam and Michael expected to see Evie torn to shreds by the ferocious zombies, but instead, she simply turned her head slightly, met the gaze of the zombies for a second, and then passed through them. As her figure disappeared behind the zombies, they all turned and charged towards the two men in unison.

"Run! Run!" Fighting zombies in the wilderness was never a good idea, as they never knew if it would attract more.

In the opposite direction, Evie stopped and collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

She was exhausted. How could those two run so fast... If she hadn't spent her free time racing with zombies, she wouldn't have been able to outrun them.

After today's incident, Evie had lost the mood for scavenging. She decided to return home and wait for those people to leave before venturing out again.

Anderson had certainly brought her no small amount of trouble.

As Evie thought this, she intended to head back the way she came, but upon looking around, she realized that the footprints had been erased by the flying dust, and she was in an unfamiliar area. In other words, she was lost.

Evie didn't panic. This wasn't her first time getting lost. She believed that as long as she kept walking, she would eventually find the right direction. So, Evie continued forward without stopping.

It was already afternoon, and the sun was exceptionally scorching, making people feel dizzy. This particular area was even hotter than what Evie was used to.

Evie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear her head, but in the next moment, her foot gave way as she stepped into a large pit within the dry, cracked earth.