Chapter 296: Chapter 284: Trap
A smiling Tianna Bloom led Flora Bloom and Cynthia Grant to a counter on the second floor of the Mission Hall.
The Mission Hall on the second floor had a layout similar to the first. A large electronic screen was mounted on the left wall, displaying a scrolling list of missions in yellow text.
Flora Bloom roughly estimated there were thirty to forty superpower users in the hall. She spotted some with Fire, Water, and Plant Element abilities. There were even some with the Metal Element. So far, no Thunder Ability Users other than Lex Cross had been discovered in the Morhaven safe zone, which just went to show how rare the Thunder Element was.
"Flora, this new Mission Hall we’ve set up has a lot of features that are different, especially concerning missions for superpower users. The missions here are open exclusively to them, and the rewards for each are quite lucrative. Look at this one—an S-rank mission with a reward of one thousand Second-Level Crystal Cores. All you have to do is bring back a truckload of rice and grain from the outside."
"And this one: the mission is to find fresh fruits or vegetables. The reward is three hundred Crystal Cores."
"Many factions and teams compete for missions like these. To avoid unnecessary disputes, we auction off the ones that attract a lot of competition. The winner is whoever bids the most Crystal Cores."
Flora Bloom and Cynthia Grant exchanged a look, their disbelief obvious. You even had to bid with Crystal Cores just to accept a mission now? The thought absolutely blew their minds.
Flora Bloom and Cynthia Grant watched the scrolling mission list for a while. They saw teams of all sizes, flushed and arguing, as they desperately vied for mission rights. In the end, a mission to collect clothing—with a reward of just one case of orange juice—cost the winning team a bid of twenty Crystal Cores. On top of that, fifteen percent of the orange juice had to be turned over to the base.
By that math, it wasn’t a good deal for any team that took a mission. The only real beneficiary was the base.
’I wonder which genius came up with this system,’ Flora Bloom thought. ’It’s absolutely brilliant. Utterly, unspeakably brilliant!’
If this kept up, the day the superpower teams finally realized what was happening would be the day trouble came knocking for the Mission Hall.
Finding it all rather dull, Flora Bloom was about to leave with Cynthia Grant.
"Hey, Flora, not going to take a mission before you leave? I can help you pick one." A smile played on Tianna Bloom’s face. You would never guess that just a short while ago, she and Flora had been sworn enemies and even love rivals.
"No, maybe next time," Flora said. "I have things to take care of at home. We’ll talk later!"
As Flora Bloom and Cynthia Grant turned to head downstairs, Tianna Bloom’s expression, behind them, suddenly twisted. Her nails dug into the flesh of her clenched fists. She screamed internally, ’Flora Bloom! Flora Bloom! I’ll make you join my father in the grave!’
Seeing Flora Bloom’s calm expression as she walked ahead, Cynthia Grant didn’t ask any questions. It wasn’t until they had entered the Villa 1 District that Flora suddenly frowned.
"Cynthia, don’t you think Tianna Bloom is acting really strange?"
Cynthia Grant nodded eagerly. "More than strange! Her father just died and her mother’s missing, yet she doesn’t seem sad at all. Is she heartless?"
Flora Bloom shook her head. "No, it’s impossible for her not to be sad. It’s her attitude toward me that’s strange. Normally, with Tianna Bloom’s personality, she’d be blaming me for her father’s death. But the way she acted when she saw me... she was nothing like her old self."
Cynthia Grant thought for a moment. "You’re right! For someone like her to be so quiet and peaceful—and even try to suck up to you—it just doesn’t feel right! You can’t go to the Mission Hall for a while!"
Flora Bloom’s lips curved as she patted Cynthia Grant’s head. "Not only am I going, I’m going to go often." Tianna Bloom right now was like a venomous snake hiding in a dark corner, coiled and ready to strike.
A snake will only reveal its true self when it believes its prey is already poisoned and certain to die. Otherwise, it will just keep watching from the shadows, never giving you a moment’s peace.
"We’re going back tomorrow. And we’re going to pick up a mission to earn some extra money on the side. Oh, and right, tomorrow morning, let’s start by discreetly following those fifty newcomers."
Cynthia Grant didn’t understand. "Why do we need to be so careful?"
"’The tiniest crack can bring down a dam,’" she said. "Even the smallest ant, if you don’t deal with it, can cause a catastrophe over time."
At that moment, a ripple of Hidden Ability energy stirred behind Flora Bloom. It circled her a few times without revealing its source, until a swift, precise, and ruthless kick from Flora sent it flying.
"Are you just itching for a beating?"
When Yuemao’s face appeared, Cynthia Grant jumped and shot him a fierce glare. "Can’t you make a sound when you show up? You want to give me a heart attack?"
Yuemao looked from Cynthia Grant to Flora Bloom, a wronged expression on his face. "Hey, Miss, could you kick a little lighter next time? I came bearing news, you know!"
"If you have news, spit it out," Flora said. "Did Lucia do something outrageous again?"
Cynthia Grant cut in. "Again? What else did she do that was so outrageous?"
"How about a secret three-hour meeting with Zane Locke in the middle of the night? She didn’t leave his room until it was over. Outrageous enough for you?"
"GASP! She... she cheated? What about your brother Joel?"
"Let’s not let my brother know for now," Flora said. "Go on. What’s this new information?"
"Tianna Bloom’s mother is back."
At this news, Flora Bloom’s frown deepened. On the surface, the return of Tianna Bloom’s mother wasn’t that surprising. But for some reason, Flora felt a nagging sense of unease, as if someone was always pulling strings in the shadows, with her as the target.
Annelise Locke’s capture, Jack Locke’s appearance, Tianna Bloom’s transformation, and now Sharon Caldwell’s return after having vanished... It all seemed like a series of coincidences, but Flora Bloom felt that something was deeply wrong. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.
"Oh, right. Lucia went to see Zane Locke again," Yuemao added. "But it’s weird. She’s been acting a little off ever since she got back. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, though!"
Flora Bloom listened to Yuemao’s news, her frown never leaving her face. ’That Lucia... restless even while pregnant!’ she thought. ’To be a woman, heavily pregnant, and still debasing herself by depending on and selling herself to another man... A woman like that has no shame, no bottom line.’
Flora Bloom rested a hand on her belly. ’I’m due in about six months,’ she thought. With people like Tianna Bloom and Lucia around the base, she always felt a sinister chill at her back. ’It looks like it’s time to settle things with them for good.’
’Of course, you have to eat a meal one bite at a time, and settle scores one by one,’ she mused. ’Tianna Bloom hasn’t shown any weaknesses yet, so I can’t make a move against her. But Lucia is a different story. At first, I was worried the baby might be one of ours, from the Bloom family, and it would be a shame if anything happened to it. But considering she’s willing to carry on with her sordid affairs even while heavily pregnant, the chances of the father being Joel Bloom are getting smaller and smaller.’
’Rather than waiting until who-knows-when for Joel Bloom to awaken his superpower and reach the Middle Level to expose her, it’s better to dig the pit now and let her jump in herself!’
"Cynthia, we’re going back to the Mission Hall tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that!"
"..."
"And Yuemao," she added, "you keep watching Lucia. I’ll handle the rest."
