Chapter 311: Chapter 299: The Reason for Shelly’s Coma
In Quinn’s team, besides himself, Yvonne Lynch and Amos Rooney were the only superpower users; the rest were all ordinary people. But these ordinary people were each equipped with bulletproof gear and firearms, making them a force no one at the base dared to provoke.
Flora Bloom, Sherman Lynch, and the others had acquired these resources by clearing out an entire armed police substation in the city center.
Of course, just in case, a large cache of bullets and more powerful munitions was stashed away in Flora’s space.
In addition, Flora’s group had a construction and maintenance department. The five Earth Ability Users Sherman Lynch had recently brought back were assigned to this team by Flora.
Among the people who tried to ambush and kill Flora on the second floor of the mission hall that day were a few who she later captured and branded with her spiritual mark. They were Wyatt, a Level 3 Gold Ability User; Blaze, a Level 3 Fire Ability User; and Milo Lynch. Flora assigned all of them to the construction and maintenance department, with Ethan Monroe serving as the department’s captain.
Also captured and now under Flora’s control were Lucille Underwood, a Level 3 Plant Ability user, and Lucia, a Water Ability User who was still only Level 1. They were assigned to the sanitation team, with Lucille as captain, responsible for overseeing the flowers and trees in the villa area.
Although Flora controlled all the spiritual plants within the villa area—whose root systems had already spread outside to connect with a third of Morhaven’s entire underground network—her main concern wasn’t monitoring the plants. It was the base’s curious residents who had just moved in.
Don’t be fooled by the two or three months of apocalyptic hardship they’d endured. When they entered the villa area and saw the scenery, they were like Grandma Lowell stepping into a grand estate, their curiosity rivaling that of obnoxious brats.
The superpower user whose arm was severed by the outer wall of Villa Three was a case in point. After Flora brought him back that day, she tried reattaching the limb using her miraculous Space Spirit Water. Fortunately, the arm hadn’t been detached for long. Although the wall had shredded some tissue, the potent regenerative power of the Space Spirit Water restored it completely.
To avoid further trouble, Flora had simply tossed the man onto one of the lawns in Villa Area One the previous night and left him to fend for himself.
What Flora hadn’t expected was that her unintentional act of saving him had allowed the man to escape from a cruel doctor’s experimental cage in a laboratory. He had then found Flora’s people, which in turn led her to the lab’s address and allowed her to capture the doctor she wished she could tear limb from limb.
The 50 people who had recently joined Flora’s group quickly dwindled to thirty within a few days. Of these thirty, ten were assigned to the logistics team to be managed by Jade and the others.
Ten were assigned to the sanitation team. Lucille Underwood stationed them throughout the various villa areas to prevent overly curious people from doing dangerous things like picking flowers, poking beehives, or breaking the Rose vines.
Flora sensed unstable superpower fluctuations surging within David Warren and believed he would awaken soon. But she didn’t tell him. Instead, she put him and Irvin Holden in charge of personnel, creating a separate HR department specifically for screening new recruits.
While all potential members ultimately had to pass Flora’s inspection, anyone wanting to join first had to get past the initial hurdle of these two straight-laced men—David, who was blunt, and Irvin, who was tough and stubborn, both lacking in social graces.
The medical team consisted of Cynthia Grant, a Level 3 Plant Ability user; Maeve Preston, a former chief obstetrician; and Shelly, a young nurse.
The remaining nine from the group of thirty were all assigned to the medical team, where Maeve Preston insisted on putting them through a three-day intensive training course on medical equipment and nursing knowledge.
As for Shelly, after the incident with Lucia, Flora had brought her to a room on the second floor of the neighboring villa, and she hadn’t come out since. She had developed a fever the day The Crown Prince and Leopard brought her back from Chester Bell’s place.
At first, they thought Shelly’s fever was a good thing, as fevers often preceded the awakening of a superpower. But even after drinking Flora’s spiritual water, Shelly showed no signs of waking up.
Flora was baffled, and everyone on the team grew incredibly worried. Joel Bloom was especially anxious, constantly running over to the neighboring villa, only to be shooed away by Cynthia Grant and Maeve Preston every time.
Shelly’s situation was very unusual.
Her high fever had long since subsided, and Flora could sense a superpower gradually awakening within her. However, it was being suppressed by an unfamiliar spiritual power, preventing it from fully manifesting. This same spiritual power was also the reason she couldn’t wake up.
When it came to matters of spiritual power, Flora was completely in the dark; she had no idea what was causing Shelly’s persistent coma. ’If only Lex Cross and the others were here,’ she thought. ’They would definitely know.’
Besides them, perhaps only Isla Preston knew anything about spiritual power. But could a zombie’s spiritual power really be compared to a human’s?
Flora used her spiritual power to communicate with Isla Preston, who was guarding the airport.
"Mistress, Shelly has likely been controlled by someone’s spiritual power. When I controlled Chester Bell, he was unable to use his spiritual abilities. If someone like Shelly, who is in the process of awakening her superpower, is controlled, it could very well cause the awakening to fail. If it fails, her spiritual power will be damaged. She might never wake up, or she could wake up mentally impaired."
’Mind control? Is Shelly being controlled by spiritual power?’
This was the first thought that entered Flora’s mind. Immediately, one person came to mind: Chester Bell.
"Isla, how can I break the control over Shelly?"
"The one who cast it has to release it willingly... or you kill the person controlling her."
When The Crown Prince and Leopard rescued Shelly from Chester Bell’s place, Chester himself wasn’t in the villa.
Flora, along with The Crown Prince and Leopard, immediately went to the villa where Zane Locke had been staying.
But when she arrived, she found an ordinary family living in the villa. Not only was Chester Bell not there, but there wasn’t a single superpower user in sight.
"What do you think you’re doing? Barging into someone’s house! Is there no law anymore?!" a woman yelled. She reeked of sour sweat, her hair was greasy and full of dandruff, and her breath was foul. The apocalypse had clearly forced her to neglect her personal hygiene for a long time.
"Where are the people who lived here before?" Flora didn’t waste time with pleasantries, asking her question directly.
"What ’people who lived here before’? We’ve always lived here! Hey, you’d better get the hell out of my house if you know what’s good for you! Or else I’ll make you regret it!"
"..." Flora gave the speaker a cool glance and proceeded to check every room in the villa. Just as she was about to head for the basement, the man who had been speaking, along with a man and woman beside him, suddenly blocked her path, their faces tense.
"What is wrong with you, girl?! It’s bad enough you barge into someone’s home without an apology! Don’t push your luck! Get out now if you know what’s good for you! Otherwise, we won’t be so polite!"
Suddenly, The Crown Prince’s and Leopard’s daggers were pressed against the two men’s necks. The cold touch of the metal rendered them speechless.
"You!" The woman gasped, staring at the two who had appeared out of nowhere. She swallowed nervously, no longer daring to stand in their way.
When Flora reached the basement, she found a basket of unknown wild green fruits, along with some easily storable grains, flour, and dried meat.
No wonder the three of them had been so tense. If anyone else discovered this food, it would be nearly impossible for three ordinary people to protect it.
Seeing Flora and her two companions leave empty-handed, the two men and the woman immediately rushed to the basement to check. When they saw that nothing was missing, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
