Free Web NovelChapter 276: Chapter 264: Quinn’s Team
That night, the four captains each led a dozen or so of their subordinates, splitting into four groups to surround the last few dilapidated, drafty shacks still standing in the slum.
Across the entire base, the four factions had dispatched their Earth Ability Users to repair and rebuild the areas with mid-rise apartments, Western-style houses, and villas. Although progress was slow, everyone on the teams seemed to have found a sense of belonging, eagerly participating in the base’s restoration.
None of the four teams had sent anyone to deal with the slum shacks destroyed by the Three-Eyes gorilla. With the four major factions now in a standoff for control of the base, the houses in the slum were considered too old and dilapidated for anyone to want to live in them again.
This oversight meant that a creature had slipped through the net, hiding in one of the two remaining dilapidated buildings in the slum. When they sent a team to demolish the buildings, they discovered a mutated monster that had infiltrated the base.
At first, everyone was terrified, fearing it was another powerful monster like the Three-Eyes gorilla. But as a dozen or so people fled, they launched a few haphazard attacks in self-defense, and to their surprise, the monster was wounded and ran away!
This allowed everyone in the base to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The factions then organized their forces to surround and attack it.
The area outside the ruined, single-story building was a mess of rubble. Inside, a pair of golden-green, serpentine eyes watched the people outside vigilantly from behind a wall.
"HISSSSSS."
Quinn led Amos Rooney and a dozen ordinary people who had yet to awaken any superpowers. Each person carried a rifle and a pistol. Though they lacked superpowers, they were fully armed.
Everyone in the base was puzzled. In just a week, how had Quinn managed to assemble a team, equip so many ordinary, powerless people with guns and ammunition, and train them to a point where their overall strength was not much weaker than that of a squad of Superpower Users?
Sepherdine’s faction was now the largest and most numerous in the base. His long-time rival, Zane Locke, had lost a Level 3 Superpower User and two Second-level Superpower Users, leaving him unable to contend with Sepherdine.
Furthermore, Zane Locke had been severely injured that night in the secret tunnel beneath his villa and had yet to recover. What Sepherdine hadn’t anticipated was where that tunnel connected to, or that Zane Locke would somehow manage to lure the Three-Eyes gorilla monster into the base through it. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Zane Locke was no longer a threat, and Seth Warren’s team was far weaker than his own. The only one who made him uneasy was Quinn.
It wasn’t that his team was the largest, nor was Quinn’s own Superpower Level particularly high. It was the fact that this man had managed to win people over and assemble a fully armed team in just a few short days.
It defied common sense and logic.
"Have you investigated this Quinn? Is he really just one of Morgan Sterling’s former subordinates?" Sepherdine asked the man beside him in a low voice. "Where did he get all these weapons? So many guns and so much ammunition... It’s like he cleaned out a small armory."
"Captain, we can’t find anything! All we know is that this Quinn took his team out and returned with a large truck. It must have been filled with guns and supplies."
A glint flashed in Sepherdine’s eyes. "Oh? Did you find out where?"
The man shook his head. "No."
"Captain, Jed Holden says he’s confirmed the monster’s location. Should we contact the other three factions to launch a joint attack?"
"Go get Zane Locke and Seth Warren. We’re preparing to attack. This is a good opportunity to make a name for ourselves in the base. Tell everyone to get ready."
Quinn and his men were positioned at the rear, behind the other three factions. "Are you sure the monster inside has a human torso and a snake’s tail?"
Fully armed and holding a rifle, Quinn had the air of a hardened soldier as he spoke gravely with Amos Rooney.
"Confirmed. It also appears to be injured. Surrounded by this many people, it shouldn’t be able to hold out for long."
"Good. Don’t rush in to attack with the others. Your priority is to protect yourselves. Oh, right—have Yvonne Lynch go find *her*. Tell her we’ve found it!"
"Yes, sir."
「Inside the villa district.」
For the past few days, Flora Bloom had been leading her people in clearing out the residential complex across the street from their villa district. Within a week, they had already cleared the two villa communities adjacent to their own.
Additionally, a shopping mall across the street from the villa district had also been mostly cleared. Neal Wallace, Ethan Monroe, and Caleb Bloom were currently leading a team to conduct the final inspection and cleanup.
When Yvonne Lynch arrived at the villa district, all she saw were Caleb and Lisa frolicking with a giant white tiger.
Caleb noticed the woman wasn’t being attacked by the bee swarm. ’She must not be my sister’s enemy,’ he thought.
"Excuse me, young man, is Miss Flora Bloom here?"
Caleb shook his head. "My sister isn’t here. She went out."
Yvonne Lynch frowned, her expression anxious. ’The other factions are about to attack,’ she thought. ’What am I supposed to do if Flora Bloom isn’t here?’
Meanwhile, Flora Bloom was in Villa District Three, which had just been cleared out yesterday. She stood under a wisteria-covered gazebo, curiously watching a few jet-black ants to see where they were headed.
Flora Bloom broke off a few pieces of beeswax, creating an obstacle in the ants’ path. Monkey One, who had recently woken up, had already licked all the honey off, leaving only a faint but still fragrant, sweet scent.
"Master, a woman named Yvonne Lynch is here to see you."
Flora Bloom’s concentration broke. She gestured to Monkey One, who was sprawled on the wisteria trellis, having a grand time playing with Little Bee.
"Monkey One, watch where these ants go."
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"
Starting three days ago, the small pets hibernating in her space began to awaken one by one. Monkey One was the first. When it woke up, Flora Bloom almost didn’t recognize it. Its size hadn’t changed much, but its fur had turned completely gold, and the fur on its face now had a faint blue sheen. Its big, round eyes looked incredibly cunning.
Strangely, a faint, fleshy seam, partially hidden by golden fur, was now visible on Monkey One’s forehead. It wasn’t very obvious, but it looked just like the unopened third eye on the forehead of the Three-Eyes gorilla.
What made her even more curious was that when she brought Monkey One out of the space, the Three-Eyes gorilla became visibly flustered. It would follow Monkey One around in complete silence, like a lackey.
If not for its golden fur and inability to speak, Flora Bloom might have suspected that Monkey One had evolved into a member of the Three-Eyes gorilla’s species.
Inside the wisteria trellis, a giant beehive hung suspended in mid-air. Every now and then, Monkey One would reach in to scoop out a mouthful of honey. The sight of Three-Eyes trailing obediently behind Monkey One, begging for a taste, was absolutely adorable to Flora Bloom.
"Bring her over!" Flora Bloom communicated remotely with Whitey using her spiritual power, telling it to bring the woman to her. But when Whitey actually arrived with the person, Flora Bloom was given a huge shock.
Yvonne Lynch was utterly bewildered. She was so stunned, in fact, that she couldn’t even begin to think about her own safety.
She had been carried over in Whitey’s jaws.
The scenery had been a blur as she was carried along, the terror in her heart swelling with every passing second.
