Free Web NovelChapter 327: Chapter 315: Amenable to Discipline
The Golden Crow had burrowed into a mud hole last night and hadn’t come out since. It exuded a feeling of joy through its spiritual link with Flora Bloom, so she paid it no mind.
The wolf cub had been doing nothing but eating and sleeping in the dimensional space. After waking up a short while ago, it had desperately wanted out. Once Flora Bloom released it, the cub vanished in a flash. Flora Bloom knew from their spiritual link that the wolf cub was safe, so she didn’t give it a second thought.
The Phantasmite, Faye—a phantom projection formed from spiritual power within Flora Bloom’s dimensional space—had gone quiet after falling asleep in the thatched hut.
Sepherdine, Quinn, and Seth Warren, each with a trusted subordinate in tow, suddenly arrived at the entrance of Villa District No. 3 looking for Flora Bloom. This wasn’t Sepherdine’s first visit, so he naturally knew the secret of the villa district’s walls. Quinn, despite being the one who originally had a cooperative agreement with Flora Bloom, had never been to Villa No. 3 himself.
Yvonne Lynch, on the other hand, had been here before—though her last visit, being dragged over in the jaws of a small white tiger, was not a fond memory. So, when Quinn and Seth Warren started to approach the walls of Villa District No. 3, Sepherdine could barely contain his excitement!
Seth Warren and Quinn saw Sepherdine staring at them, his face flushed with excitement, and thought something was wrong. They both turned to look at him.
Sepherdine’s motive was simple. Those two had poached countless members from his team, both overtly and covertly. He was so furious he could grind his teeth, yet he couldn’t voice his complaints. Realizing his petty scheme was a bit childish, he quickly let out a few coughs and pretended nothing was wrong.
Jade, Lisa, and Caleb were still in the yard planting vegetables. Meanwhile, Star and Moon, dressed in cute little outfits, were playing with Cynthia Grant under the wisteria-covered pavilion outside the yard. The two little ones were having the time of their lives, one moment chasing bees, the next climbing the wisteria trellis to eat honey.
Cynthia Grant had been designated by Flora Bloom as the official "child and pet administrator," in charge of supervising the two little creatures.
Little Bee informed Flora Bloom through their spiritual link that someone was looking for her. She slowly finished absorbing a Crystal Core, then went to the entrance of Villa District No. 3 to lead the three men in.
The three leaders left their trusted subordinates outside the villa. Yvonne Lynch saw Cynthia Grant playing with two little tots who couldn’t even walk and was about to go over. However, the sight of Little Bee’s massive size as a queen bee made her shrink back. She obediently sat down with the other two on the small lawn outside the villa, took out a Crystal Core, and began to absorb its energy.
There was a stone table in Flora Bloom’s villa yard, surrounded by a few stools. The set was mismatched and looked rather odd, but it was better than nothing.
"So, what can I do for you three? Let me make one thing clear: if you want food, fine. But you’re trading Crystal Cores for it!"
The three men exchanged a speechless look. Sepherdine, in particular, was filled with a sense of helplessness and regret. ’Why did I ever agree to manage the base?’ he wondered. The other two, in contrast, had looks of pure schadenfreude on their faces.
To manage the base, Sepherdine had to bear the responsibility for supplying resources to the ordinary survivors. Even providing them with just one meal a day was a massive daily expenditure. The amount of Crystal Cores Sepherdine had to spend on food alone was already giving him a major headache.
And now, it had come to this. No supplies, no food—they even had to come to the gates of Villa No. 3 every day just to get water. His life was anything but easy!
"Flora Bloom," Sepherdine began, "the three of us came today because we need to discuss something with you. Look, the base is surrounded by these plants now. Our people can’t get out to find food and resources, and our superpower users can’t hunt zombies to get Crystal Cores and upgrade their abilities. If this continues, none of us in the base will be able to survive."
As Sepherdine spoke, his expression was grave and his brows were tightly knit. His resemblance to a worried father made Flora Bloom chuckle.
Flora Bloom nodded in agreement.
Sepherdine continued, "It’s one thing that our superpower users can’t level up, but you know as well as I do that food is people’s top priority. All our food comes from trading Crystal Cores with you. But, I’ll be frank, we don’t have many Crystal Cores left. A few more trades and we’ll be completely out. My own superpower users need those cores to level up, too."
Flora Bloom continued to nod.
Seth Warren suddenly cut in, "Flora Bloom, even if we start planting vegetables and grains in the base right now, it will be a while before we see a harvest. In the meantime, we have neither Crystal Cores nor food. Our very survival is in question.
"It’s hard to say what the situation is like in the outside world, not to mention these plants... Word is, a superpower user got trapped in that tall grass and only managed to escape yesterday."
