Chapter 131: Chapter 119: An Unexpected Surprise

Suddenly, an energy shield glowing with an aqua-blue light enveloped Flora Bloom completely. The layered, aqua-blue ripples looked just like a combination of the water shield and bubble shield Flora had used before.

Upon seeing this, Neal Wallace was about to retract his superpower when he heard Flora say, "Don’t stop. Keep burning it until this shield disappears."

He didn’t understand Flora’s intentions, but because he trusted her, he continued to release flames, scorching the Water Element shield that enveloped her.

The onlookers wondered, ’Since Flora wants Neal Wallace to burn the pearl, why is she wasting her own superpower to activate a shield?’

’Is she testing the strength of Neal Wallace’s superpower? Or testing how long her own shield can last?’ What no one realized was that the shield hadn’t been cast by Flora at all. It was a Water Element shield activated by the elemental pearl itself in response to the attack.

After just over a minute, the shield around Flora’s body shattered, and Neal Wallace quickly pulled back.

"A little over a minute. A ping-pong ball-sized pearl can maintain a shield for one minute under the attack of a Second-level Superpower User. And, as long as you’re holding the pearl, the shield will envelop you too." This result was a very pleasant surprise for Flora.

She looked inward at the largest giant pearl oyster in her Spatial Spirit River. To Flora’s surprise, inside such a huge clam shell, there wasn’t a single pearl larger than a quail’s egg. Although each one was round and full, the sky-blue pearls looked extremely ordinary. Though they were delightfully plump and perfectly formed, they failed to inspire any excitement compared to the two ping-pong ball-sized pearls.

But when she took out a sky-blue pearl and held it in her hand, a gentle and nourishing blue Water Element light flashed. She sensed that the Water Energy within this pearl was actually a hundred times greater than the Water Energy in the ping-pong ball-sized ones.

’Is this what they mean by "good things come in small packages"?’

Based on the one-plus minute shield generated by the ping-pong ball-sized pearl when Neal Wallace set it on fire, and since this sky-blue pearl was a hundred times more powerful, the shield it generated should be able to withstand a Second-level Superpower User for about an hour and a half.

In the group now, everyone except her mother and Irvin Holden had awakened a superpower. Later, she would pick a slightly larger pearl and make it into a pendant for her mother to wear as a necklace for self-defense.

Cynthia Grant ran to Flora’s side and looked at the pearl in her hand. The once brilliant and lustrous pearl had now become dull and dim. She took the pearl, her heart aching so much she almost squeezed out tears.

"You spendthrift! Such a waste! Aunty, you really need to keep a tighter rein on your Flora!"

Flora smacked Cynthia Grant on the head. Seeing her still staring at the spent pearl in her hand like she was cradling a baby chick, Flora said to everyone, "Let’s get lunch ready first. I’ll have a surprise for you all later." She didn’t plan on telling everyone about her new discovery right away.

The fishing competition ended with Sherman Lynch losing to Caleb Bloom by a margin of five fish. The problem was, as a prominent base leader, he had never cooked a meal in his life, and Flora and the others had no intention of punishing their own stomachs. So, Sherman Lynch very self-awarely rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen to assist Ethan Monroe and Jade.

Lunch was tuna prepared three ways: braised head and tail, steamed belly, and sashimi. After some discussion, they decided to cook the sea hares with chopped chili. The clam meat from the opened shells was stir-fried with wild vegetables, green bamboo shoots, and chili peppers. And, as with every meal, there was scrambled eggs with tomato and vegetable soup.

Flora gave a few goose eggs to Ethan Monroe, had him pickle and seal them in a jar, and then stored it in her space.

Back then, she had cleared out all the jars of pickled vegetables from Stephen Bloom’s cellar and put them in her space. But there were no salted duck eggs. Perhaps it was a pregnant woman’s fickle cravings, but she suddenly had a longing for the taste of salted duck eggs. So, she used the goose eggs as a substitute, had Ethan Monroe pickle them, and then stored them away.

Lunch was served, and Flora handed the red wine to her father. Flora, who had been starving after spending so much time under the sea, was eating the delicious food, drinking the refreshing soup, and enjoying the plump grains of rice. But the moment she smelled the red wine, her stomach churned violently.

Before anyone could react, Flora clapped a hand over her mouth, rushed to the railing on the deck, and began to vomit violently.

"What’s wrong with Flora?" Caleb Bloom took a sip of red wine, his concern growing as he watched his daughter suddenly run to the side of the deck to be sick.

Jade was about to go check on Flora, but Cynthia Grant stopped her. "Aunty, you all eat. I’ll go see how she is."

Unwilling to part with her food, Cynthia Grant walked toward Flora, clutching a piece of sashimi in one hand while still chewing on a mouthful of stir-fried clam meat.

Flora vomited for a while, bringing up all the food she had just eaten. The moment Cynthia Grant came over, the smell of clam meat mixed with the sashimi in Cynthia’s hand made Flora’s already queasy stomach churn again.

It wasn’t until she had nearly thrown up all her stomach acid that she took out some spiritual water and chugged it down. Then, she moved to a spot farther away from Cynthia Grant and pointed at her, saying irritably, "Cynthia Grant, stay away from me."

Seeing Flora’s face was as white as a sheet, Cynthia Grant thought she was sick and asked anxiously, "What’s wrong with you? Let me take a look."

Cynthia Grant was, after all, a former military doctor with family-taught medical skills; her grandfather was even a famous old master of traditional Chinese medicine in Argent. Naturally, she had also learned how to take a pulse in the traditional Chinese way. Without hesitation, she approached Flora, grabbed her wrist with her other clean hand, and placed three fingers on it.

Flora was surprised that Cynthia Grant knew how to take a pulse. She quickly pulled her hand away in shock, but she could still tell from Cynthia’s disbelieving and astonished gaze that she knew about the pregnancy.

So she quickly made a "shushing" gesture, signaling for her to keep quiet.

But the smell of the sashimi in Cynthia Grant’s hand made her nauseous again, and it took her a long while of retching before she recovered.

"Let’s go back and eat first." After composing herself, Flora returned to the table with Cynthia Grant, but she really couldn’t stand the smell of fish and alcohol on the table. She just told everyone she wasn’t feeling well and went back to her room to rest.

Jade was very worried about her daughter’s health but didn’t even consider the possibility of pregnancy. She looked at Cynthia Grant and asked, "Cynthia, what’s wrong with Flora? Why is she vomiting so violently?"

Cynthia Grant wracked her brain for an excuse for a moment before replying, "Maybe... maybe she’s just overtired and a little seasick."

Sherman Lynch knew Cynthia Grant’s character well; whenever she lied, she would stutter and stumble over her words. He looked at Cynthia, gave her a sharp glance, and said, "Go check on Flora after dinner. Medicine is scarce right now, so try to see if you can relieve it with some massage. We’ll see how much of your grandfather’s skill you’ve actually learned."

After hearing this, Cynthia Grant muttered to herself inwardly, ’I wouldn’t dare to casually massage a pregnant woman. What if I overdo it and it stimulates blood flow? That could cause a miscarriage.’

But out loud, she still said, "I know, Uncle."

Ethan Monroe and Neal Wallace exchanged a glance. Neal Wallace spoke up to smooth things over, "Let’s have Old Monroe make some plain vegetable congee for Flora later. The wind is strong out here on the sea, and she was swimming for a long time. She might have caught a cold."

"That’s right, Sister Jade, don’t worry. Flora is probably just tired lately."

At this moment, Caleb quickly shoveled the rice from his bowl into his mouth, finished it off with a few bites of vegetables, and then rushed into Flora’s room.

Flora was lying in bed when she saw Caleb come in. She asked, "Caleb, what’s wrong?"

Caleb sat down next to Flora, patted her belly, and asked, "Big Sister, is the little sister being naughty and making trouble again?"

Flora smiled and said, "That’s right. The little sister is growing every day, but she’s very mischievous."

"Big Sister, does Aunty Jade not know about the baby sister yet?"

Flora paused when she heard that, then patted Caleb’s head. "That’s right, Aunty Jade doesn’t know yet. Caleb, you have to promise Big Sister that you won’t tell anyone I’m pregnant without my permission, understand?"

Caleb blinked his eyes and nodded. "Mm, I know. Big Sister, I miss Dabai."

Flora stroked Caleb’s head and had him lie down beside her. While comforting him, she herself also drifted off to sleep.