Magic Space: Struggling to Survive in the Apocalypse-Chapter 28: Torrential Rain, Toads, Cold Snap 3

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Torrential Rain, Toads, Cold Snap 3

Processing toads was actually quite simple: extract the venom, remove all the internal organs, then prop open the body cavity to dry in the sun. But with no sun, using the generator to dry them would be a waste of fuel and electricity. Evelyn Ford had to set the task aside for now.

Although the toads were edible, they had multiplied into a plague in just a few days. It was now impossible to find a clear spot to step outside.

Lauren Keller had already started burning her wardrobe and wooden bed for warmth. The decorative trees outside had all been chopped down, leaving people to haul wooden furniture from empty apartments for fuel. After the toads appeared, going outside became treacherous. Someone from the next building who had ventured out was swarmed by toads leaping from the water. He fell in and was swept away.

The flooding grew more severe. Officer Graham returned with bad news: Corinth’s cross-river bridge had collapsed after being washed out, and many residential complexes were now at risk of sinkholes.

The arrival of the toads was a mixed blessing. Although they caused a lot of trouble, they had largely solved the problem of starvation.

Evelyn Ford stopped holding back and began taking a bucket out to gather toads. The new mother in Building A had been pulled back from the brink of death. Evelyn Ford went for a follow-up check-up once. The woman’s husband was very good to her, and their two children were also being well cared for.

To Evelyn Ford’s surprise, there were quite a few pregnant women in the complex. Many had even conceived after the disasters started, but ended up miscarrying due to malnutrition, exposure to the cold, and other factors.

Amid the torrential rain and low temperatures, a cold wave swept in, making it impossible for anyone to go outside. Despite being bundled up from head to toe, Evelyn Ford could feel a piercing pain in her bones whenever the frigid air blew past.

The wind howled, "WOOOO." Evelyn Ford’s eyes ached. She had just returned from gathering toads when a blast of cold air hit her, instantly making her eyes water uncontrollably.

The plunging temperatures forced Evelyn Ford to turn on the heat early. Her fingers were already red, swollen, and starting to itch from the cold, and the skin on her toes had begun to fester and peel. She soaked her feet and rubbed in half a tube of ointment.

She applied a warm compress to her eyes, which eased the stinging pain. After half an hour of rest, her body slowly warmed up. Evelyn Ford carried the two buckets of toads to the balcony and quickly prepared them.

However, on the third day of the cold wave, many people began to develop sudden afflictions like allergic reactions to the cold, eczema, and rhinitis.

Evelyn Ford stopped going out altogether. ’My first priority is to protect myself. I can only afford to help others when I have the capacity and time.’

She ran the heat for five hours a day, relying on the residual warmth to get through the rest of the time. Evelyn Ford laid down three soundproofing panels in her living room and took out a jump rope to exercise and stay warm.

Two days later, the torrential rain abruptly stopped. A tear ripped through the gloomy gray sky, and a blinding light shone down. Seeing the sun suddenly appear, Evelyn Ford felt no excitement or thrill—only a sense of foreboding.

The sun was out for only three hours. During that time, the rain stopped, the lightning vanished, the cold air dissipated, and even the toads retreated back into the floodwaters.

Overcome with excitement, people shouted from their homes, balconies, and hallways. Some even ran outside, screaming with joy. They thought the disaster was finally over.

Many people seized the opportunity to search for supplies and firewood. But after only half an hour outside, they began to feel a burning sensation in their eyes and on their skin.

Three hours later, the sun vanished as if it had never been there. Everyone who had gone outside developed symptoms as if they had been severely poisoned: their lips turned purple, they began vomiting and suffering from diarrhea, their skin grew red and swollen, and their eyes streamed with tears.

Someone pounded violently on Evelyn Ford’s door. People in the hallway were crying and screaming, begging her to open up and treat the sick. After getting fully geared up, she opened the door, knife in one hand and toolbox in the other.

A flicker of shock crossed Evelyn Ford’s eyes as she saw the patient who was brought to her. After a quick examination, her preliminary diagnosis was sun poisoning.

Just then, several more people were brought by their families for treatment, and Evelyn Ford began to identify the characteristics of this sun poisoning.

The skin was severely burned, progressing from red and swollen to black before breaking out in widespread sores. Hair fell out in clumps, eyes were red and watery, and patients suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, an erratic heartbeat, and clouded consciousness.

Evelyn Ford had no cure. She had some burn ointment, but she couldn’t bring it out. Besides, she doubted ordinary burn cream could treat the damage from this sun poisoning.

To put it bluntly, those afflicted with sun poisoning could only wait for death.

Evelyn Ford told them plainly she couldn’t save them. Unable to bear the news, the family members collapsed in the hallway, wailing in grief. Most of the victims were young, able-bodied adults.

Someone on the eighth floor of Building D had also been afflicted. The onset was rapid; after foaming at the mouth, he began to vomit blood. He was dead within an hour.

Evelyn Ford watched them, wanting to slip away, but an old man grabbed her arm. He dropped to his knees with a thud and began kowtowing to her.

Hearing the "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP" of the man’s head hitting the floor, Evelyn Ford’s pupils constricted, and she instinctively took two steps back.

The old man clutched his son, his gaze fixed on Evelyn Ford in desperation.

"Please, save him! He’s my only child... How am I supposed to live without him? Doctor, I’m begging you, don’t give up on him. He’s still breathing! He can still be saved!"

Evelyn Ford took a deep breath and slowly shook her head.

"It’s all my fault... He only went out to find food for me... Zhe, Dad is begging you, don’t die. Please, open your eyes and look at me."

The young man started coughing up mouthfuls of blood. With his last ounce of strength, he raised a hand to wipe the tears from his father’s face. A moment later, his arm fell limp.

The old man stared blankly at his son, who was no longer breathing. He let out a devastated cry. Everyone there was engulfed in the agony of losing a loved one—a heart-wrenching pain born from being powerless to do anything but watch family die right before their eyes.

Some people surged forward to plead with her, others to strike her. Evelyn Ford brandished her knife and took another step back, pressing herself against her door as she stared blankly at the grieving crowd.

The old man carried his son away on his back. On the journey back, he held his son tight and jumped from their inflatable boat, vanishing instantly beneath the churning floodwaters.

Traumatized by the sun poisoning, everyone lived in fear of another sudden shift in the weather.

For several days straight, no one in the complex dared to go outside. They were all terrified the sun might suddenly return, or that some other calamity would strike.

Officer Graham’s father developed acute eczema on his hands from the cold air. After examining him, Evelyn Ford explained that it was an inflammatory, itchy skin disease that caused widespread blisters and red patches on the hands, accompanied by an irresistible urge to scratch.

Fortunately, Officer Graham had brought back a good amount of medicine from a previous supply run, which included Furnace Stone lotion.

Back home, Evelyn Ford sprayed herself with disinfectant. ’Eczema isn’t contagious,’ she thought, ’but I can’t take any chances.’

Over the next few days, the number of eczema cases surged. The rashes appeared on various parts of the body, and the disease seemed to affect women and the elderly most. If it was on the hands, it could be treated quickly with topical medication.

But for most of the afflicted women, it was genital eczema, and Evelyn Ford was at a loss for what to do.

The toads, which had vanished, reappeared the day after the sun’s brief visit, leaping out of the water in droves. But this time, they seemed... different.