Chapter 286: Chapter 193: A Letter
Claire Chapman and Paige Summers’s discussion concluded in a very friendly atmosphere. Regarding the future, the two declared that with an ace up their sleeve like the Planting Space, they could definitely conquer the world—and even the entire universe!
Huh? That doesn’t sound quite right.
Alright, the two of them were just fantasizing about the future.
They decided they had to establish their own base as soon as possible and stop fighting on someone else’s turf.
And of course, they decided on The Foundry as the location.
However, completely clearing out the Zombies inside would take time. The team couldn’t afford to fight while exhausted. For now, they would stick to the original plan: head to Stoneridge Base to rest, resupply, and check in on Zephyr Mercer.
There was another important matter.
Regarding the team, their current numbers were still too low.
Although they had killed a considerable number of Zombies at The Foundry, there were still many areas they hadn’t explored. No one knew if more Zombies were hiding inside.
To carry out a full-scale cleanup, they would need a team of at least two hundred people.
When it came to this, Paige Summers wasn’t too worried.
After May Joyce’s team disbanded, some of its members would surely want to join them. Vincent Vaughn, for instance, was already making his intentions very clear, and he certainly wasn’t the only one.
They could pick some from that group and find more once they reached Stoneridge Base.
Failing that, if they still couldn’t find enough people, they would just head straight for Southreach. A cleanup crew didn’t need loyalty, just a sense of professional ethics during the mission.
Once the base was cleared, it wouldn’t be too late to start recruiting permanent members to garrison it.
By then, the other team members stationed back in Central City could also come over.
A base’s development had to get on the right track gradually; being too hasty wouldn’t do.
And so, with the two leaders in harmonious agreement and full of hope, and the rest of the team in high spirits, they arrived at Stoneridge Base.
Sweetie returned just as they were preparing to enter the base, causing quite a commotion at the gate. The people at the base thought it was a surprise attack by a wild, mutated bird and were about to go on high alert for battle.
But when they saw the creature acting as docile as a chick next to Paige Summers, constantly nuzzling its large head against her for pets and comfort, they were finally convinced it was tamed.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Once inside the base, the entire Bloodfall team settled down in the same place they had stayed last time.
May Joyce, naturally, led her people into the same inn.
It was just past noon. After a short rest, everyone got busy with their own tasks.
Paige Summers never had to worry about the team’s affairs, so she went straight back to her room with the small pouch that had been tied to Sweetie. Inside were not only seeds, but they had also been thoughtfully placed in special protective bags labeled "Wheat," "Corn," "Sweet Potatoes," "Cabbage," "Cotton," "Soybeans..." and so on.
The variety of seeds far exceeded Paige Summers’s expectations; she had thought two or three types would have been a lot.
After all, seeds weren’t so easy to come by these days.
"I wonder how many Crystal Cores this cost him," Paige Summers chuckled softly, then pulled the letter from the pouch.
Marcus Monroe felt Paige Summers’s letter had been too brief, but in truth, he was hardly any different.
To put it bluntly, neither of them was the type for sweet talk.
If a letter was filled from top to bottom with tender affection, they would probably wonder if the other person had even written it.
Marcus Monroe clearly missed Paige Summers dearly, but all that made it onto the paper were a few dry pleasantries.
Yet Paige Summers read it with great relish—until she got to the second half of the letter.
"...I’ve been thinking, Bloodfall’s numbers are ultimately too low. Even with Lennie and his group, that’s only about fifty people. And Superpower Users you recruit from outside are too untrustworthy. You should try to make time for a trip to Southreach. I still have some of my people there. They’re strong and should be easy to work with. Once you’re in the city, have Lennie contact them... If there are any you feel are unsuitable, just kick them out without a second thought. After all, I’ve been away for a while. It’s hard to say if people’s loyalties have changed. You can’t be too careful."
’Excellent! Talk about perfect timing. I was just saying we’re short on people.’
’If Marcus Monroe said these people were strong, then they had to be. They were certainly better than anyone she could recruit on the spot.’
Paige Summers put the letter away and rummaged through the pouch again. Inside, she found a dozen or so Crystal Cores—some Seventh Rank, some Eighth Rank.
’He even considered that I might need to Promote,’ Paige Summers thought, her heart filled with joy. It wasn’t because of the Crystal Cores, but because someone was thinking of her with such meticulous care.
She put everything away carefully before sending the seeds into The Evo-Space.
The wheat in there was growing like crazy and had nearly filled the entire space. She had to use her spiritual power to pull some of it out to make enough room before planting the new seeds.
’This wheat is so strange,’ she thought. ’It’s probably because it’s a Spirit Plant. These new seeds are all ordinary, not even as good as the ones from before the apocalypse. The crops I harvest should be normal... Hmm, well, I’ll find out soon enough anyway!’
After finishing all this, she headed out, preparing to go to Rhonda Rhodes’s residence.
Besides Ben and the newly-returned Sweetie, this time someone else was blocking her doorway.
"Mind if I join you?" Sean Raines stood there, grinning.
In fact, the reason he hadn’t left immediately after coming out of The Foundry wasn’t because Claire Chapman had asked him to stay, but because he had been waiting for this day.
Paige Summers blinked. "What did you figure out this time?"
"What do you think? Those wheat grains you brought out were clearly no ordinary wheat."
"So?"
"Based on the timing, you must have gotten it from the planting expert at this base. So, I’d like to tag along and meet them."
Sensing the urgency he was trying to suppress, Paige Summers suddenly had a thought. ’Last time, I brought Zephyr Mercer, and he ended up staying. This time I’m bringing another one—a proactive one, at that. There’s no guarantee he won’t be kept behind too...’
’Am I some kind of headhunter for Rhonda Rhodes’s bodyguards?!’
’So awkward.’
’But whatever. We’re all adults; he can do what he wants. Besides, it’s not like we’re that close!’
The three people and one bird set off, and they soon arrived at Rhonda Rhodes’s residence.
Paige Summers called out at the gate as before. At first, everything went smoothly. Rhonda Rhodes answered and told them to come in. But just as they were halfway down the path in the courtyard, something strange happened.
Rhonda Rhodes’s figure flashed, and he appeared before the two of them. He didn’t even glance at Paige Summers, his eyes fixed on Sean Raines like daggers.
After a long moment, he suddenly let out a cold laugh and lunged for Sean Raines. "And here I thought there were no Evil Cultivators," he said as he moved. "It seems I’ve been careless!"
His speed was incredible and his intentions malicious. Even with Sean Raines’s skills, he couldn’t dodge in time and was caught. Somehow, in just a few moves, Sean was bound tightly and thrown to the ground.
Paige Summers was completely stunned.
’An Evil Cultivator? Is he planning to uphold justice or something?!’
