Chapter 509 - 430: Discovering the Zombie Kingdom (4)

Chapter 509: Chapter 430: Discovering the Zombie Kingdom (4)

"Mom, Dad, I’m afraid our peaceful days are coming to an end."

Knowing their daughter as they did, Caleb Bloom and Jade understood that for her to say something like this, something major must have happened.

Lex Cross embraced Flora Bloom, worried. "Is it serious?"

"A matter of life and death."

In the dead of night, the captains of several factions in Morhaven Base were suddenly roused from their sleep. Had it been anyone else, they would have been met with scowls, if not outright fury.

However, the messengers were from Villa Three. The person who sent them was Flora Bloom.

Normally, Villa Three was off-limits to all outsiders. This was especially true after the birth of Flora Bloom’s child, when the security around the villa district became so tight that not even a fly could get through.

What’s more, beehives were stationed by every fruit tree in the entire base, and each bee acted as Flora Bloom’s eyes and ears. Anyone with malicious intent would likely be stung to death by a swarm before they could even get close to the Villa Three district.

This wasn’t just a hypothetical. Half a year ago, someone in the base had fallen for a rumor, claiming that Villa Three housed a divine elixir that could instantly heal any wound, resurrect the dead, and grant eternal life.

So, he attempted to break into the Villa Three district and steal it.

But he had only just reached the district entrance and leaped onto the wall when he was pierced all over by the thorns of the climbing roses that covered it, bleeding uncontrollably.

Rendered immobile, he could only watch in silent horror as a swarm of mutated bees closed in. In the end, he became fertilizer for the rose bushes, leaving behind nothing but a set of clothes riddled with tiny holes, snagged on a thorny branch.

Sepherdine was the first to arrive at Villa Three. As a regular visitor, he already had clearance to enter.

After him came Seth Warren and Quinn, and even the leaders of some of the more obscure, smaller factions in Morhaven Base were invited into the Villa Three district.

Arriving at Villa Three in the dead of night, they were led by Cynthia Grant and Shauna Wallace into the large courtyard outside the three villas that Flora Bloom’s group occupied.

The residents of the Villa Three district were all present. Some sat on stools and chairs at a round table in the courtyard. Others simply stood by the main villa entrance, leaning against the door or the wall.

Sepherdine, familiar with the place, easily found a seat among the gathered captains. He had intended to ask Ethan Monroe, with whom he was on good terms, what was happening, but seeing the grave expressions on everyone’s faces, he held his tongue.

Quinn and Seth Warren, in contrast, were far more restrained. They stood under a large tree in the courtyard, arms crossed uneasily, a mix of anticipation and anxiety in their posture as they waited to see what would unfold.

Flora Bloom had Polly nestled in a carrier on her chest; the baby was wide awake and unusually energetic. Selina, with her one-and-a-half-year-old son Isaac, found an empty stool and sat down at the table.

The captains of the base’s various teams, large and small, either remained standing or sat on the lawn beneath the rose trellises. Every eye was fixed nervously on Flora Bloom.

The official leader of Morhaven Base was Sepherdine, but it was an open secret that he consulted Flora Bloom, the master of Villa Three, on all major base matters.

In other words, Flora Bloom held the real power over the base’s affairs. It was simply common knowledge that she disliked management, which was how Sepherdine had landed the top spot, running the base in her stead.

Lex Cross and the twelve other special forces soldiers acted as Flora Bloom’s bodyguards. While Lex Cross himself stood impassively by her side, arms crossed as he leaned against a wall, the other twelve flanked her like burly sentinels. Their presence was imposing, radiating an undeniable sense of security.

Flora Bloom had originally intended for Sherman Lynch to make the announcement. After all, Sherman Lynch was still the chief instructor in charge of training all the major teams at the base.

Furthermore, he had tirelessly participated in the fight against zombie hordes across various bases. He commanded immense respect and was the ideal person to take command.