Chapter 256: Chapter 244: Falling into the Eye of Earth Fire Volcano
"The way these zombies are standing still... it’s just like the horde in Area 009, after they were controlled by the High-level zombie Isla Preston." Flora Bloom murmured, her gaze fixed on the zombie swarm in the terminal. ’This is so strange. Could there be a High-level zombie among them, too?’
Flora Bloom hadn’t returned to the base, but she could use their mental link to summon Isla Preston immediately.
Isla Preston was incredibly fast. Guided by the spiritual link between master and servant, she located Flora Bloom and reached the entrance of the airport runway in less than ten minutes.
"Isla, do you sense any High-level zombies in the airport?"
Isla Preston sniffed the air. "No. But there are a few zombie dogs—Middle Level, Second Level. I can handle them!"
"Do you need any help?" Flora Bloom asked.
Isla Preston suddenly laughed. "Master, we zombies have a strict hierarchy and system of suppression. Those zombie dogs are only Middle Level. Even if they advanced to High-level, they would still be no match for me."
Flora Bloom breathed a sigh of relief. "I’ll leave this to you, then." She turned to Shauna Wallace, Lex Cross, and the others. "Let’s get going. I’m having Isla Preston scout the terminal."
Shauna Wallace was completely shocked when she overheard the conversation between Flora Bloom and Isla Preston. "Flora... Isla Preston, she... she’s a zombie?"
Flora Bloom nodded. "Don’t overthink it. All you need to know is that she won’t harm us. Oh, and to avoid unnecessary panic, please keep the fact that Isla Preston is a High-level zombie a secret for me for the time being."
"Yes, ma’am!" Lex Cross’s men all nodded in agreement. Shauna Wallace added with a serious nod, "Don’t worry, Flora. I won’t tell a soul!"
The plane they boarded was the same one Lex Cross and his team had flown to find Flora Bloom. Saul Sterling and Five were once again in the cockpit. Nolan Jennings, The Crown Prince, and Tanuki sat quietly in their seats, motionless and silent.
The seven of them boarded the plane, and Saul Sterling and Five pushed the modified passenger jet to the speed of a fighter.
They were all superpower users, and their powerful constitutions prevented any major discomfort. Even pregnant, Flora Bloom only felt a slight dizziness.
Soon, the plane reached the airspace above the Bund.
Looking down from the air, the Eye of Subterranean Fire resembled a giant eyeball. The base of the volcano was a perfect circle, as was its peak. Together, they formed the image of a red demon’s eye with a tiny pupil. A layer of mist shrouded the sky above this demon’s eye. To pass over the Eye of Subterranean Fire, they would have to fly through the mist.
"Wait! Don’t fly into the mist! Let’s go around it!" Flora Bloom suddenly shouted. "If we enter that mist, we’ll likely get lost and be unable to find our way back." As a Water Ability User, Flora Bloom could sense all things composed of water.
Flora Bloom tried to manipulate the dense Water Energy in the air. Fog was just water, after all. If she could use her power to disperse it, she might be able to see what was below.
"Nolan Jennings’s vines can only reach two or three hundred meters. We have to pinpoint the yacht’s location before we can risk descending."
"Let me try!"
Flora Bloom sat on the floor of the plane, closed her eyes, and concentrated, trying to feel the Water Energy swirling around her.
However, perhaps due to the volcano’s influence, her control over Water Energy was severely limited, despite being over a vast expanse of sea. She could condense the energy into vapor, but she couldn’t make it dissipate. It was impossible to disperse the thick mist below with her own.
"This mist must be caused by the volcanic magnetic field from the Eye of Subterranean Fire! My Water Ability is useless here." Flora Bloom shook her head in frustration.
"Boss, we can’t descend any further. If we go lower, we’ll be enveloped by the mist too. Then we’ll really be in trouble!"
Flora Bloom was lost in thought, her brow deeply furrowed. Just as they were about to increase their altitude, a plume of thick black smoke suddenly erupted from the volcano’s peak, spreading rapidly and engulfing the plane.
The black smoke was like an irremovable shroud, clinging to the fuselage and instantly throwing the plane off course.
"Boss, the radar’s lost signal!"
"Boss, the black fog is penetrating the fuselage! It’s trying to drag us down!"
Saul Sterling and Five shouted in terror.
"Nose down. Head into the white mist. Watch out for the crater below; we’re looking for a place to land."
"Boss, we can’t land! Systems are failing one by one!"
Though his brow was furrowed, Lex Cross’s expression remained as calm and composed as ever.
"Prepare to jump. Flora, you’re with me."
"Shauna, you..." Flora Bloom was pulled into Lex Cross’s arms, her worried gaze turning to Shauna Wallace.
"Ma’am, Nolan Jennings will take care of Shauna," Saul Sterling said, emerging from the cockpit. He had already strapped on a parachute. He opened the hatch and was the first to jump.
As soon as the cabin door opened, a turbulent gust of wind flooded the plane, making Flora Bloom and Shauna Wallace stagger. The Crown Prince and Tanuki jumped out one after the other. Nolan Jennings, who had already donned his parachute, helped Shauna Wallace secure hers as well.
"Ready?" Nolan Jennings asked Shauna Wallace. The moment she nodded, he jumped from the plane, taking her with him.
Five forced the plane onto a stable flight path. While it only slightly delayed the black fog’s corrosive pull, it would at least postpone the inevitable crash.
"Boss, you and Ma’am should jump first!"
Flora Bloom shook her head. "It would be a shame to let the plane crash. We’ll jump last. I’m going to see if I can pull it into my space!"
The Golden Crow, perched behind Flora Bloom’s ear, had its black feathers ruffled into a mess by the wind.
"Hmph! If I were at full power, I’d take care of a small fry situation like this in a heartbeat!"
Five gave Lex Cross and Flora Bloom one last look, then leaped from the plane.
Lex Cross held onto Flora Bloom as she gripped the handle of the cabin door. Silently chanting the word ’Store,’ the plane vanished from the sky, and the floor beneath their feet disappeared with it.
Lex Cross gripped Flora Bloom’s hand tightly, preventing the turbulence from tearing them apart.
They plummeted through the air. After falling to a certain altitude, their parachutes opened with a sudden WHOOSH.
Strangely, after the parachutes deployed, it felt as if they were suspended motionless in the air. But the wisps of white mist rushing past them proved they were still falling.
After what seemed like an eternity of falling through layers of air currents, clouds, and that strange mist, their feet suddenly hit something solid. They had landed. As their parachute drifted down, it brushed against a small, nearby mound and, with a sharp SIZZLE, burst into flames, instantly incinerating the fabric.
"The temperature here isn’t as high as I expected." They were standing atop the very volcano known as the Eye of Subterranean Fire.
They weren’t far from the crater’s edge. Looking out, they had a clear view of the landscape below the mountainside. Looking up, they could see thick, black smoke billowing from the caldera.
Not only that, but they could also clearly hear the sound of magma churning and surging within the volcano. The sound was both magnificent and terrifying, making their palms sweat.
"This volcano could genuinely erupt at any moment!" Flora Bloom’s voice trembled. If it did, being so close, they would be instantly incinerated, leaving not even a trace behind.
