Chapter 308: Chapter 296: Going to Argent
"Captain Sepherdine, the plants and flowers around here generally have a bad temper. You’d best be careful not to touch them in the future."
Flora Bloom spoke lightly, but Sepherdine was on the verge of tears. ’A bad temper? Is this something that can be brushed off as just a "bad temper"? They just fed me a piece of honey to cure the paralysis and called it a day?’
Wait... No, that wasn’t right. The cube of honey he had just eaten was slowly seeping a thread of sweetness across his taste buds. Moreover, he suddenly felt refreshed and clear-headed, and his spiritual power had increased significantly!
His eyes lit up. ’This honey can actually help superpower users increase their spiritual power!’
But just as he was about to say something more, the ground suddenly shook, and a small monkey leaped onto the rockery by the small pond.
Following close behind was Three-Eyes, who, like a gigantic thief, tiptoed toward the pond, afraid of damaging any of the villa’s buildings.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
Monkey One pointed at Three-Eyes with great dissatisfaction, as if to say, "This big idiot, why is he moving so slowly!"
Three-Eyes had now truly become Monkey One’s little sidekick, following wherever it went. Having been sternly educated by Flora Bloom, Three-Eyes was aware of its own enormous size and destructive potential. It had been extremely careful not to damage any buildings on its way over.
Flora Bloom beckoned to Monkey One and tossed it the grape in her hand. "Take Three-Eyes to go play with Shauna Wallace."
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!" Perched on Flora Bloom’s shoulder, Monkey One clung to a large handful of her loose hair and refused to let go, speaking coaxingly through their spiritual link, "Master, grapes, grapes, more!"
With Sepherdine still present, Flora Bloom patted Monkey One’s head. "Shauna Wallace has peaches. Go ask her for some!"
"SQUEAK!" Upon hearing this, Monkey One gave a sharp cry and bounded toward the entrance of Villa Three. Shauna Wallace’s hunting squad was currently training with the new recruits who had recently joined the team, all under the instruction of Sherman Lynch.
When Monkey One arrived, it was the group’s break time. It leaped into Shauna Wallace’s arms, acting cute and gesticulating with a series of squeaks.
Three-Eyes finally managed to catch up to the training grounds. Seeing the peach and banana in Monkey One’s hands, it eagerly poked Shauna Wallace. But due to its enormous size, its finger was also huge, and it sent the unprepared Shauna stumbling.
"Hey, hey, hey, Three-Eyes, be careful! Don’t be so reckless! If you hurt my future wife, I’ll have Flora Bloom teach you a lesson!"
"SQUEAK!"
"Ouch!"
Ethan Monroe was suddenly hit on the head with a banana. He glared fiercely at the culprit, Monkey One. "You ungrateful little thing! My wife prepared these fruits for me!"
"Ouch!"
This time, it was a peach to the head. Ethan Monroe’s temper finally flared! "Just you wait! When I get my hands on you, I’ll spank your monkey butt raw!"
The training ground was a lively scene of chaos as one person and two monkeys chased each other around. In comparison, Villa Three was remarkably quiet.
The pond water was clear, with only a few lotus leaves floating on the surface. Flora Bloom fiddled with the satellite communicator in her pocket, her mind a chaotic mess.
Sepherdine saw Flora Bloom lie back down on the rocking chair, close her eyes, and leisurely rock back and forth. He felt like an assistant standing by his boss, waiting for instructions, so he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Captain Bloom, the size of this area of yours is truly astonishing. I don’t suppose you could tell me how you did it?"
Unmoved, Flora Bloom spoke flatly, her tone calm and undisturbed. "Why should I tell you?"
"..."
"In the future, don’t waste time asking questions you know you won’t get an answer to."
Sepherdine took a fruit-branded phone from his pocket and opened an FM radio channel on it. "This is why I came to see you today!"
Flora Bloom didn’t move, continuing to rock in her chair.
The FM station on Sepherdine’s phone just emitted a continuous "KSHHH..." sound.
Three minutes passed.
Five minutes passed.
Fifteen minutes. Sepherdine stood motionless beside Flora Bloom, the FM radio playing its "KSHHH" static, and Flora Bloom said nothing to stop the irritating noise.
"Why isn’t it working?"
"Captain Sepherdine, you can just tell me your purpose for coming. After the apocalypse, all networks and radio stations were affected. They should all be unusable by now!"
"No. The creator of this radio app is a military veteran. His software uses a satellite receiver, so it can often still pick up news from various places."
"Oh? And? Did you just want me to listen to the radio?"
"KSHHH..."
"I came to discuss with you whether we could..."
"KSHHH... Argent... KSHHH... report... KSHHH... zombie horde... KSHHH... help... KSHHH... surrounded. KSHHH..."
Flora Bloom’s rocking chair came to a stop. She stood up and stared at Sepherdine’s phone for a long time.
At that moment, Flora Bloom ignored the "KSHHH" of the static. The only words echoing in her mind were: "Argent," "zombie horde," "surrounded," and "help."
Lex Cross had gone to Argent two weeks ago and hadn’t returned. He wasn’t answering his communicator, either. ’It seems he’s really in trouble.’
Sepherdine straightened up, his own expression turning serious as he met her intense gaze.
"How long have you been receiving this?"
"Three days. There was nothing before that. I only started receiving it three days ago. Several other safe zones have already sent people to help!"
Flora Bloom gave Sepherdine a knowing look. "You want to go support Argent too?"
Sepherdine nodded. "I do! I’ve dreamed of being a soldier since I was a child, but I had poor health and failed the physical when it was time for military service. But now, I’m a powerful superpower user. If I have the chance, I will naturally choose to serve my country."
Flora Bloom nodded. "Have you considered that Morhaven and Argent are in completely opposite directions? How will you get there? The land routes are full of zombies and various monsters. You might die on the way before you even arrive!"
"That’s exactly why I came to you!"
Flora Bloom raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let’s hear it."
"Morhaven has an international airport. In my team, there’s a superpower user who was an airline captain before the apocalypse. He knows how to fly. As long as we can capture the airport, we can fly a plane to Argent. The land route is long and fraught with danger; even if the roads were clear, it would take a very long time. But by air, it’s only a few hours."
A thoughtful glimmer passed through Flora Bloom’s eyes, and her hand, tucked in her pocket, tightened its grip on the communicator.
’That Lex Cross... if he weren’t in some kind of serious trouble, he would never ignore my communication requests. Argent... it seems I have to make this trip.’
She glanced at Sepherdine. ’I never thought this man, who looks prettier than a woman, would be so patriotic.’
After Zane Locke’s death, the endless underhanded schemes and infighting within the base had all but vanished. The occasional friendly competition between teams was now gradually stimulating the growth of the various factions and individuals in the base.
Flora Bloom didn’t know the current situation in Argent. If she was going, it was naturally best to be as prepared as possible.
"Captain Sepherdine, how about you have your men come here to train with Old Lynch’s team for a while? As for the trip to Argent... I think we need to plan this out more carefully."
