Chapter 304: Chapter 292: Not Mirefall?
After the business with Lucia was over, Joel Bloom suddenly ran up to Flora Bloom to ask about Shelly.
The Crown Prince and Civet had brought Shelly back to the villa when Joel Bloom wasn’t around, so he didn’t know that she was already back in the house next door.
"Joel, you’re so worried about Shelly. Do you... have feelings for her?"
Joel Bloom blushed under Flora Bloom’s intense gaze, then suddenly lowered his head and fell silent. "I... don’t. She saved my life, so it’s only right for me to be worried."
Flora Bloom nodded knowingly. ’That brother of mine... ever since he was a kid, his eyes would always dart around whenever he lied.’ So she casually spun a tale. "Shelly hasn’t been found yet. I think Chester Bell must have taken her."
Joel Bloom jerked his head up. "But wasn’t Chester Bell under Isla Preston’s control? How could he..."
Flora Bloom shrugged. "I don’t know when he recovered, but he seems to really like Shelly. If she’s with him, she’s probably not in any danger."
"No way! Sis, Chester Bell is a paranoid freak! We can’t let Shelly be with him! We have to go find him!"
Flora Bloom waved a dismissive hand and let out a yawn. "If you want to go, go by yourself. I’m pregnant, you know! Dealing with Lucia for so long has worn me out. I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep, so don’t you dare disturb me!"
With that, Flora Bloom left Joel Bloom standing there stunned, pacing back and forth, torn with anxiety. Before heading upstairs to her room, she instructed The Crown Prince and Civet to keep an eye on him, just in case he actually went to pick a fight with Chester Bell. For an ordinary person like Joel, an encounter with a spiritual power superpower—be it through mental destruction or control—would be fatal.
As for Flora, she locked her bedroom door and slipped into her personal space. Waiting for her were Tianna Bloom, Lucia, and the four Level 3 superpower users she had captured on the second floor of the mission hall: two Fire Element, one Gold Element, and one Plant Element.
When Flora Bloom appeared, the six of them stood respectfully before her, not daring to look up. They remembered clearly that they had been sent to ambush and kill her, but now they were the lambs waiting for the slaughter.
The brand from the space was seared into the very marrow of their souls; it was impossible to remove unless they died. The six of them were terrified that Flora Bloom would order them to die on the spot, knowing they would be powerless to resist her command.
But Flora Bloom had no intention of doing so. Five Level 3 superpower users were a respectable fighting force anywhere, especially since Tianna Bloom possessed a Level 3 Mutated Superpower of the Ice Element.
With enough Crystal Cores, five Level 3 superpower users could break through to Middle Level and continue to advance from there. Where else could she find such powerful and loyal fighters? However, the Energy Gemstones in her space were out of the question for them. Those gemstones were reserved for her future breakthrough from High-level to Cloud Level. Even she herself was reluctant to use them for a simple upgrade—it would be too much of a waste.
"Start talking. Where’s the laboratory? Where’s the Doctor?"
Tianna Bloom’s eyes were vacant. "Laboratory? The Doctor? What are those? I have no idea."
Those who had been branded could choose to keep their secrets, but only if she, their master, didn’t ask. Once she posed a question, they were incapable of lying to her.
So when Tianna Bloom claimed not to know, Flora Bloom frowned. "You don’t know? Then where did these other people come from?"
Flora Bloom looked at the four other Level 3 superpower users.
Tianna Bloom explained, "They’re the superpower users who escorted my mother back." At this, Flora Bloom paused. ’How could I have forgotten about Tianna’s mother, Sharon Caldwell?’ "After your mom got back, did she tell you anything? For instance, anything about a laboratory or the Doctor?"
Tianna Bloom shook her head again.
"What about the rest of you? Tell me, where is the laboratory located? And who exactly is this so-called Doctor of yours? Why did you come to the base with Jade? And why did you help Tianna Bloom ambush me?"
"The place we were at before is called the Laboratory. Our leader... is a very young scientist."
"He specializes in research, extracting superpower genes from us and zombie genes from zombies. He’s trying to find a way for superpower users to rapidly increase their Superpower Level. He’s even researching an antidote to the zombie virus. Unfortunately, it seems like he hasn’t made any progress yet."
After the two Level 3 Fire Ability Users finished speaking, the Gold Ability User also began to talk.
"Master. Our laboratory... it isn’t in a fixed location. It’s... it seems they move us frequently for security reasons. This time, I heard the leading superpower users say that the Doctor is planning to move the laboratory out of Morhaven. But I don’t know the exact timing."
"Leaving Morhaven? Do you know when?"
The Gold Ability User shook his head.
"Master, I’m not sure when the laboratory is moving, but I do know the Doctor wants to relocate it to one of two possible places."
"Which two places?"
"Argent and Valoria City."
Flora Bloom was stunned. "Impossible!"
Flora Bloom’s sharp, decisive denial startled everyone.
’In my previous life, the laboratory was established in Mirefall. How could it possibly be somewhere else this time? Both Argent and Valoria City are very close to Mirefall. Could it be that they are just preliminary options, and the final location will still be Mirefall?’
"But Master, that’s what the Doctor said."
"Then have any of you ever heard him mention a place called Mirefall?"
"Mirefall? No."
The few superpower users with connections to the laboratory ended up telling her everything they knew. They recounted casual conversations with the Doctor, and even told her what time he usually went to sleep.
As Flora Bloom pieced it all together, she realized the laboratory was gradually expanding its territory. It had already sent quite a few people to the base; besides the ones before her now, there had to be others. ’They must be testing the base’s strength and defensive capabilities. If it meets the Doctor’s requirements, he’ll make the base his primary target for conquest.’
’But Mirefall isn’t part of the Doctor’s plan. Why is that? Is it because of my rebirth? Has everything I’ve done since then altered the original course of events? Is this the butterfly effect? Does this mean that in this life, the laboratory won’t appear in Mirefall at all, but in Argent or Valoria City?’
’But I can’t rule out the possibility that the Doctor has only temporarily chosen Argent or Valoria City as the new location. Something might happen later that causes him to change his plans, and he might end up in Mirefall after all.’
Flora Bloom had no way of knowing for sure. All she knew was that she had to pinpoint the Doctor’s whereabouts as quickly as possible to rescue Annelise Locke. The image of Jack Locke, covered in blood, and the inhuman darkness he revealed while shedding his skin, swirled in her mind.
’Now that Annelise Locke is in the hands of the laboratory’s Doctor, there’s no telling what kind of horrors he’s putting her through. She’s not like Jack Locke. Annelise reached the Middle Level through normal means, making her genes more stable and powerful than his. If the laboratory uses her to create a gene-awakening serum, I fear it could kill a great many people.’
