Chapter 542: Building the Base Safe Zone, a Declaration

Chapter 542: Chapter 542: Building the Base Safe Zone, a Declaration

After creating the Redwood Tree, Seraphina didn’t stop.

She raised her hand, activating her [Clean Bubble] Skill.

Countless transparent bubbles drifted from her palm, dancing through the air and landing on everyone.

The bubbles popped silently upon contact with their skin, whisking away grime and bacteria and leaving a cool, refreshing sensation.

The people who had been moving the corpses were amazed to find the foul odor clinging to them had vanished.

The bloodstains on their hands were gone, too. They felt as if they had just taken a bath, refreshed and clean.

Jasper Drake stood to the side, a complicated look in his eyes as he watched it all unfold.

He recalled their time in the Vorlag Safe Zone.

Back then, Seraphina was just a girl who hid her Abilities, preferring to act alone most of the time.

He never would have imagined that now, she would be standing in the center of the ruins, a giant tree at her back, snow falling from above, and before her the very leaders she had pulled back from the brink of despair.

Seraphina had become a figure capable of shouldering immense responsibility.

"Drake," Seraphina said, walking up to him and handing him two handfuls of seeds.

"Growth Potatoes and Healing Blood Grapes. Your Ability is plant Control, so accelerating their growth shouldn’t be difficult for you."

Jasper Drake took the seeds, looking down at the tiny grains in his palm.

Growth Potatoes—a single one could fill a person’s stomach.

Healing Blood Grapes—eating them could speed up wound recovery.

These were treasures. Seraphina had given them to the Vorlag Safe Zone back then, allowing them to survive when supplies were scarce.

Later, at the Central Base, the management confiscated the seeds. Although he was still made to grow these crops and spiritual plants, the decision of who received the food was no longer his.

"These..." His voice was a little hoarse.

"I kept plenty for myself," Seraphina said. "Use them without worry. If you run out, I have more."

Jasper Drake said nothing more. He turned, walked to a patch of open ground, and knelt to bury the seeds in the soil.

He pressed both hands to the ground. A green light flowed from his palms, seeping into the earth.

Tender sprouts broke through the soil, growing, branching, flowering, and bearing fruit at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A little over ten minutes later, a large patch of Growth Potatoes and Healing Blood Grapes appeared in the ruins, laden with fruit that glistened tantalizingly in the sunlight.

The survivors stared, their eyes wide with disbelief.

They desperately needed food.

...

Wesley Moore’s efforts, meanwhile, were also beginning to show results.

Limping, he had scoured every corner of the ruins, finding survivors huddled in the shadows, hiding in dilapidated houses, and concealed in the cracks of the wreckage. He sought them out one by one to deliver his message.

Someone was going to build a new base here. There would be food, water, and a place to live.

Some of them followed him back.

Young and old, men and women, all of them were covered in dirt and grime. They were wounded, and their eyes were filled with uncertainty.

They followed Wesley Moore to the base of the Redwood Tree. Standing in its cool shade, they watched the snowflakes drift down from above, gazed at the crops growing wildly on the ground, and stared at the young woman standing in the center of the crowd.

"Her?" someone muttered. "She’s so young. Can she really do this?"

No one answered him, but the same question was on everyone’s mind.

A middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd and looked at Seraphina.

His eyes held no gratitude, only suspicion and wariness.

"You’re the one who wants to build a base?"

His voice was hoarse and grating. "You’re not just all talk, are you? The Central Base was a massive safe zone with so many Players and so much leadership, and it all fell apart because of a few people’s schemes."

"How can you be sure the base you build won’t suffer the same fate?"

The words were harsh, but Seraphina didn’t get angry.

She looked at the man, at the vicious scar on his face, and at the deep-seated fear and unease in his eyes.

He wasn’t questioning her; he was afraid.

Afraid of trusting again, of being abandoned again, of losing the sanctuary he had worked so hard to find yet again.

The collapse of the Central Base hadn’t just destroyed their homes; it had destroyed their faith in the very concept of "safety."

"You’re right," Seraphina began, her voice calm. "I can’t be certain about the future."

Someone in the crowd sighed softly.

"But—" Seraphina’s voice grew louder. "What I *can* be certain of right now is that your safety and survival—food, medical care, and shelter—all of that can be guaranteed."

Seraphina didn’t hesitate. She needed to gather more people to meet the conditions for using the [Imperial Crown].

To do that, she had to display some of her Abilities.

She raised her hand, activating her Magic Cuisine.

A few ordinary weeds next to her began to twist, contort, and coalesce under the light enveloping her palm.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into several loaves of steaming bread and a few bottles of cool drinking water.

The bread gave off the aroma of wheat, and beads of condensation formed on the outside of the water bottles, looking especially tempting amidst the extreme-weather catastrophe.

Everyone was so stunned by the scene that they were speechless.

The middle-aged man who had questioned her stood with his mouth agape, his eyes wide as saucers.

He had seen Players and all sorts of Abilities, but creating food directly from weeds...

This was beyond anything he had ever known.

"You don’t need to worry about food."

Seraphina handed the bread and water to the person beside her, gesturing for them to distribute it. "I can provide all the food necessary for everyone’s survival.

Three meals a day, guaranteed.

The only condition is that you follow orders. When disasters strike, we must stand united against them."

Someone took a loaf of bread, their hands trembling.

He took a bite. It was real bread—soft, sweet, and not an Illusion.

Another person drank the water, silent tears streaming down their face, carving two clean streaks through the grime.

"As for the issue of safety—"

Seraphina raised her hand and communed with the Scavenger’s Farm.

The Silenti emerged from the void.

One, two, three... Countless Silenti appeared behind her.

They stood silently behind Seraphina like the most loyal Guards, but the dangerous Aura they exuded, one that seemed to come from their very bones, made everyone instinctively take a step back.

"Wh-what are those monsters!"

"The Petrification Apocalypse! I’ve seen those monsters in the Petrification Apocalypse Dungeon! They shoot Petrifying Light!"

Some screamed; others turned to run.

"Halt."

Seraphina’s voice wasn’t loud, but it held a Power that was impossible to resist.

The people froze in place. They turned back to see Seraphina reaching out to pat the head of the nearest Silenti.

The Silenti obediently lowered its head, purring like a large cat being petted.

"They are the Guards of our base,"

Seraphina said. "They will not harm anyone inside the base. With them here, any enemies outside who try to harm us will be turned to stone."

The crowd fell silent, but their unease lingered.

Someone else spoke up, a young woman this time. Her voice was quiet, but every word was clear. "Safety... doesn’t just come from outside threats. It comes from within, too. And from you Players."

She looked at Seraphina, her eyes a mixture of fear and defiance.

Seraphina looked back at her and was silent for a few seconds.

Then, she nodded.

"You’re right."

"Threats to our safety might come from within. That’s why the base will have rules that everyone must follow. Players and ordinary people alike. No exceptions."