Inside the Morhaven Safe Zone.
Flora Bloom and a swarm of bees led two people back to the villa. The reason was simple: the Level 1 Gold Ability User had tried to escape. Now, covered in stings from the swarm and under Chester Sawyer’s watch, he was brought back to her villa.
Jade was still unconscious, and Shelly was still asleep, with Maeve Preston looking after them.
After drinking the water Flora Bloom gave them, Mark Sterling and Fakyou were completely healed. Ethan Monroe had carried Shauna Wallace to Flora’s villa, found a room for her, and was still there, watching over her.
Flora Bloom took out the satellite communicator from her storage space. Following the thod Lex Cross had taught her, she dialed a few numbers, and the call connected almost instantly.
After telling Lex Cross and his team to co over for dinner, Flora Bloom tossed the communicator, now useful only as a phone, back into her storage space.
Ethan Monroe only appeared before the others after Shauna Wallace woke up. Seeing Shauna peek out from behind Ethan with a sowhat shy expression on her face made Flora Bloom’s jaw drop.
’Looks like even if they aren’t together yet, they’ve reached a mutual understanding!’
’A classic Beauty and the Beast combo! The saying "to each their own" is really true. A pri example of how the ancients never lied!’
Lex Cross arrived, followed by ten special forces soldiers and a crestfallen Chelsea Todd. Flora Bloom shoved the person Chester Sawyer had been holding to the ground.
"These are Morgan Sterling’s n. They abandoned my father in Area 009 when a zombie horde suddenly appeared."
Sherman Lynch’s face paled as he asked, "A zombie horde? Your father..." As he spoke, he looked at the man on the ground, who was covered in bee stings and still wailing in pain.
Seeing everyone glaring at him like a pack of wolves, the man quickly shouted, "I-I only saw him go into the shopping mall with a few of his team mbers! We just ran back here. The horde chased them inside! I... I think... he’s probably... not dead yet!"
"My father won’t die that easily, of course!" Flora Bloom said, her face an emotionless mask, though inside, she was frantic.
"Where is the shopping mall in Area 009?" Saul Sterling suddenly asked.
"Southwest. Head southwest from the base, and you’ll get there. It’s at the intersection of Whistler Road and Third Ring Road."
Saul Sterling stepped to the side, a white light from his superpower enveloping his body. A mont later, he frowned and looked at Flora Bloom uneasily.
"It’s too far, beyond my detection range. We need to get closer."
Flora Bloom knew there was no ti to lose. With such a large zombie horde, every mont she delayed put her father in greater danger.
"Lex Cross, could I borrow Saul Sterling for a bit?" Flora Bloom asked. She knew that even if she didn’t ask, Lex would have sent Saul with her. This ti, however, she didn’t intend for Lex to co along.
"Don’t be so formal, Sister-in-law! We’ll all go with you to rescue Uncle Bloom!" Five stepped forward, thumping his chest. "Uncle Bloom’s a good man; heaven will look out for him. Let’s get going. He’ll definitely be fine!"
Flora Bloom shook her head.
"Saul Sterling, you bring him and co with . The rest of you stay here and wait for to get back!" As she spoke, she pointed at the Level 1 Gold Ability User.
"You’re going by yourself?" Lex Cross asked, an eyebrow twitching. He looked puzzled and concerned. "I’m going with you."
Flora Bloom considered it. Her little white tiger was still asleep and couldn’t help her fight. Lex Cross was also a Thunder Elent user, great for large-area attacks, so he wouldn’t be afraid of a zombie horde. After thinking it over, she nodded. "Alright, then. Just the three of us. The rest of you, stay in the villa area and don’t go out. Morgan Sterling is dead, and those who’ve heard the news might make a move tonight. As long as you all stay inside, you’ll be fine." She had already commanded Little Bee and the swarm to attack any strangers indiscriminately. No exceptions.
Additionally, when she had Five co out, she’d had him toss Lucia into the villa where Azure Leroy was staying and assigned a small part of the swarm to watch them both. If they dared to take a single step out of the villa, they’d be stung until they were covered in welts.
Anyone stung by her bees’ stingers would be poisoned. Even if it didn’t kill them instantly, the venom would slowly seep into their internal organs. Over ti, the bee venom would consu their superpower or their very life force. Without an antidote, death was inevitable.
"Maeve, I’ll have to trouble you to keep looking after my mom."
"It’s no trouble, I’m not doing much anyway! Don’t you worry, I’ll take good care of Jade!"
Suddenly, Joel Bloom ran over, stopping in front of Flora Bloom with a look of pure guilt on his face.
"Sis, let co with you to find Dad!" ’It’s because of and Mom that Dad was forced to go out and hunt zombies with other people,’ he thought. ’I have to go bring him back. If sothing happens to him because of this, my conscience will tornt for the rest of my life.’
Flora Bloom looked at her brother and sighed.
"It’s not that I won’t let you go. But, Joel, have you ever thought about why any of this happened? From start to finish, you were captured by Morgan Sterling because of Lucia, and Mom was captured because of you. All of that led to Dad being trapped outside by a zombie horde, his fate unknown! Are you still going to let my words go in one ear and out the other?"
Joel Bloom’s gaze wavered, his eyes brimming with tears. His voice was barely a whisper when he spoke. "I didn’t an to."
"Can’t you think about the consequences before you do anything! You’re not alone in this world. You have a mother, a father, and , your sister! Have you ever considered what would happen to Mom and Dad if sothing happened to you?"
"I... have thought about it."
"No, you haven’t! If you had, none of this would have happened!"
Joel Bloom stood silently before Flora Bloom, his eyes a mix of self-bla, regret, and hurt. He tugged on her hand. "Sis, I’m sorry! I... I know I was wrong! Please, let go with you."
"No!"
The mont Flora Bloom’s voice fell, Joel Bloom’s eyes widened. He suddenly burst out, shouting at her, "No to this, no to that! Do you think you’re the only one who can save Dad? Am I completely useless to you?"
SLAP! "Joel Bloom, let that slap teach you how to stay calm when things get serious! Stop acting like a child and following your own whims!"
"I..."
"Are you going to leave Mom to lie unconscious in her room all alone? If you co with and sothing happens to us, are you planning on leaving Mom to live out the rest of her days by herself?"
Joel Bloom fought back the emotions welling in his eyes. His fists clenched, then unclenched, and finally relaxed.
"Sis... will it be dangerous for you?"
"In the apocalypse, no one can guarantee absolute safety. That’s true for everyone."
With that, Flora Bloom took Lex Cross’s hand and left, taking Saul Sterling and the welt-covered Level 1 Gold Ability User, Kane Warren, with them.
Sherman Lynch walked over and patted Joel Bloom on the shoulder. "Joel, your mother is unconscious right now; this is when she needs you most. Even though you can’t go with your sister to find your dad, isn’t it a good thing to stay here, take care of your mom, and give your sister one less thing to worry about?"
"Uncle Lynch, am... am I really that useless? Why is everything I do wrong? Was it wrong of to want to save Dad?"
Sherman Lynch sighed. "No, it’s good that you want to help. But let ask you: if you encountered a horde of more than ten thousand zombies, what would you do? Or, to put it another way, could you handle them and still press on to find your dad?"
"I..." Joel Bloom thought about it and imdiately shook his head. "I probably wouldn’t even be able to escape."
"But if it were your sister, she could take out ten thousand zombies all by herself. Do you believe that?"
Joel Bloom’s gaze flickered. He looked in the direction Flora Bloom had gone, astonished. "My sister... is she really that powerful now?"
Beside him, Five snorted smugly. "Hmph. See that crow-like bird in your sister’s hair? Once that bird is fully grown, forget ten thousand zombies. Even if all of Morhaven was filled with them, nothing could stop her."
He walked over to Joel Bloom and slung an arm around his shoulder. "Kid, you don’t know how good you have it! Your sister is making you stay here to protect you! Until you get stronger, can you just stop making trouble for her?"
Joel Bloom finally understood why so few people tried to stop Flora Bloom when she wanted to go off on her own. ’If I get stronger too,’ he wondered, ’can I beco a shield for everyone, just like my sister?’
’At least then, I could protect Mom, Dad, and my sister.’
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