Chapter 321: Chapter 309: The Base’s Gardening Craze
Within three days, news that the residents of Villa District 3 were planting vegetables had spread throughout the entire safe zone.
The safe zone was now completely surrounded by unknown plants. Though they were safe, they had also lost their freedom. The option to go out and hunt zombies for Crystal Cores to upgrade their superpowers was now off the table.
Without Crystal Cores, people had to use them to trade for water and some food. Over the last three days, makeshift stalls had sprung up throughout the base, lining the Mission Hall and every street and alley. Stall owners laid out their personal stashes of food or various peculiar items.
If you had enough Crystal Cores, you could even buy a young virgin—a commodity that was rare even before the apocalypse.
Quinn’s team was the first to follow the example of Villa District 3 and start planting vegetables. His group was composed almost entirely of ordinary people. They lacked the enhanced constitution of superpower users that helped them resist hunger, yet their demand for food was no less than anyone else’s.
Sepherdine’s team soon followed suit, also starting to cultivate their own crops. Members of both factions planted all kinds of fruit and vegetable seeds in and around the villa district. For a time, a vegetable-planting craze swept through the safe zone.
Smaller teams and minor factions began to follow their lead, planting their own fruits and vegetables. Of course, all the necessary seeds, as well as the initial food aid that Flora Bloom advanced to the teams, required a deposit in Crystal Cores.
People in the villa district could simply plant in their own yards. Those living in the recently renovated residential blocks, however, had it much worse.
The residents here were ordinary people, unaffiliated with any faction and unawakened. They had a much harder time getting food than superpower users. Even if they wanted to plant crops, how could they trade for seeds when they didn’t have a single Crystal Core to their name?
Besides, even if they managed to buy seeds, what about the land? ’Are we supposed to just toss them on the ground and hope they sprout and bear fruit on their own?’ The hard concrete surfaces were completely unsuitable for planting. So, they scraped together what little food they had—a bunch of nearly rotten bananas, several cans of expired meat, and a few packs of crackers—and hired five Earth Ability Users.
Through the tireless efforts of the five Earth Ability Users, the ground in front of and behind their houses was transformed into tillable farmland. Thus, the ordinary people returned to an agrarian lifestyle, carefully rationing what little food they had left each day, confident that the fruits and vegetables they planted would soon be edible.
One day, Flora Bloom was browsing the various stalls in the safe zone with her mother, Cynthia Grant, Lisa, and Caleb. As they passed one particular stall, run by a gaunt woman, Caleb stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes glued to something on display.
Following his gaze, she saw a pile of children’s toys. It included cloth dolls, toy cars, and rockets; there was even a complete set of building blocks.
When Caleb noticed Flora Bloom and the others looking at him, he turned away in embarrassment and reluctantly began to shuffle away.
A smile touched Flora Bloom’s lips. ’He’s still just a seven-year-old kid, after all.’ She walked over to the stall owner, the gaunt woman.
"How much for these toys?"
The woman’s eyes were hollow and lifeless. She clutched her stomach with both hands as she glanced listlessly at Flora Bloom. Suddenly, her eyes brightened. "No... no charge. You can have them."
"Just name a price. I’ll take them all," Flora Bloom said, surprised. She ignored the hopeful gleam in the woman’s eyes.
"Captain Flora Bloom, I really don’t need any Crystal Cores. Just let me join your group, and all these toys are yours. The little boy is so young; I’m sure he’s in desperate need of them."
Flora Bloom frowned. She reached into her pocket for Crystal Cores, in truth pulling them from her storage space.
She counted out the cores. "Ten Crystal Cores. If you’re selling, pack them up."
Seeing that Flora Bloom was completely ignoring her plea, the woman’s eyes landed on the Crystal Cores in her hand. She sighed. "Deal!"
Caleb, however, rushed forward to snatch the Crystal Cores back from the woman’s hand. With a slight sway of her body, she dodged him and looked at him with a grin. "Hey little guy, there’s an old saying: a deal’s a deal. Look how good your sister is to you. She saw you liked these, so she bought you all these toys. You couldn’t be any luckier!"
"You!" Caleb glared at the woman, then turned to Flora Bloom. "Sister, I don’t want the toys. Let’s return them and use the Crystal Cores to buy something useful instead."
When the gaunt stall owner saw that Flora Bloom was actually considering it, she quickly stood up and said, "Hey, alright, alright! My loss. Take all the toys. I’ll even throw in a great gift, I guarantee you’ll love it!" As she spoke, she opened a box by her feet, revealing... a stack of test papers.
Flora Bloom picked one up. "Elementary, middle, and high school test papers?" She found it hilarious. ’This is the ’great gift’?’ Although educational resources were scarce since the apocalypse began, she had no intention of using these to torment Polly. Just one look at Lisa’s pale face as she stared at the stack of papers was enough to know how much kids dreaded them.
To stop the woman from making any more outlandish promises, Flora Bloom handed over the Crystal Cores, took the bag of toys, and turned to leave. Just as she did, the gaunt woman stuffed the stack of test papers into her bag.
Shelly had been in seclusion for three days, and had successfully raised her superpower to Level 3. However, an accident occurred while Joel Bloom was helping her train.
"Flora, come with me, quickly! Joel’s not going to make it!" Shelly blubbered, her face a mess of tears and snot, her expression a mask of terror and panic.
Flora’s heart skipped a beat. "Where’s Shauna Wallace?"
"Shauna is already there."
Shelly cried even harder. "She’s already treating him, but it’s not working... Her Healing superpower... it’s just..."
Flora spun around and took off at a dead sprint, racing back toward Villa District 3.
When she saw Joel Bloom lying pale-faced on a cold surgical table, she didn’t hesitate. While Shauna Wallace, wreathed in a green glow, continuously channeled her healing power into Joel, Flora immediately poured a large bottle of spiritual water down his throat.
"How did this happen?"
Flora’s question made everyone present fall silent, each hesitating to speak. It was Maeve Preston who finally broke the silence.
"Flora, it... it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. Shelly wanted to practice with her superpower, and your brother volunteered to help her."
"What? Shelly’s superpower!?"
Flora moved closer to Joel, continuing to pour spiritual water into his mouth. But he showed no signs of waking. ’He has no visible injuries, so why won’t he wake up?’ It looked like she would have to wait for Cynthia Grant and Neal Wallace to arrive and give Joel a thorough examination.
Just then, Shelly returned. She stood before Flora, head bowed, looking utterly remorseful. "Flora, you can hit me. It’s all my fault that Joel ended up like this."
Flora sighed, her temper suddenly flaring. "Even if your superpower seems useless, it’s still a superpower! Don’t you know that?!"
Shelly froze for a moment before her crying intensified. "I’m sorry!"
"My brother is still an ordinary person! Did you even consider his safety when you decided to use him for your superpower practice?"
