Chapter 161: Chapter 149: Xiao Bai, Greet Uncle Situ

"Flora, are you all okay?" Just then, Caleb Bloom emerged from the main gate. He made his way through the crowd of people sprawled on the ground—some unconscious, some groaning in agony—and stood beside Flora Bloom, looking his daughter up and down.

When he saw his daughter give a faint smile and say she was fine, he turned to look at Jade.

"Jade, what’s going on here?"

Jade felt utterly helpless. She, Selina, and the others had only been at the men’s quarantine room for a short while when her daughter’s group rushed over. After that, they emerged from the quarantine room, only to run into this large crowd of people now sprawled on the ground.

Heath Holden was still severely paralyzed, but as the Earth Element user with the highest Superpower Level and strongest defensive power present, he was also recovering far faster than anyone else.

"You killed my uncle! I’m not letting you get away with this!"

Flora Bloom rolled her eyes at the trembling man and asked in exasperation, "And which one is your uncle? The fat one in the quarantine room who was about to assault a woman? Or the hunchback who was about to assault a woman? Or the tall, skinny one who was about to assault a woman? Which of those three ugly mugs is your uncle?"

Heath Holden was struck speechless by Flora Bloom’s question. If he answered, wouldn’t that be a tacit admission that his relative had been using his position in the quarantine zone to commit unconscionable acts?

’I always told my uncle to tone it down and not do such despicable things. Who would have thought he’d run into an iron plate today? Now I can’t even find a good reason for revenge. If she were just an ordinary person, it would be simple. I could just wait a day and have someone take care of her. But the problem is, she’s a superpower user! And she has a little Thunder Element white tiger with her!’

’I know how formidable a Water and Thunder Element combination is, but how could I possibly counter it? I can’t beat her at all.’

’But if I just let this drop... I made such a scene coming here today. If I back down now, how will I maintain my standing in the base in the future?’

Just then, a clear and resonant male voice rang out.

"Why do I smell something burning?"

The words had barely faded when a towering man in a black leather jacket strode through the crowd, another man trailing behind him.

Flora Bloom recognized the man trailing him—it was the patrolman they had met when they first arrived that morning.

A Second-level Fire Element Superpower User.

At the time, she had wondered, ’If a mere patrolman is Second Level, just how powerful must this base’s leader be?’

And now, seeing the patrolman following so respectfully, Flora Bloom was certain. This new man, whose terrifying strength was so great she couldn’t even gauge it, had to be his direct superior.

The man walked right up to Flora Bloom and extended his hand, only to have her roll her eyes and ignore him completely.

Unfazed, he turned and walked over to Caleb Bloom. He shook hands with Caleb, Sherman Lynch, and the others who had already made it inside the base, and introduced himself. "Hello, everyone. I’m the founder of this safe zone. My name is Morgan Sterling."

He looked at Flora Bloom again, his gaze shifting meaningfully to Little White at her feet. "May I ask what element you are, Miss? And how are you able to tame a beast that also possesses a superpower?"

Flora Bloom’s heart sank. ’Everyone here saw me use my Water Ability, that’s plain to see. But how do I explain my ability to command this little beast?’

Playing it safe, Flora Bloom looked up at the man, Morgan Sterling.

"I’m a Dual Ability User, and this is just my pet, Little White."

Flora Bloom was all smiles on the outside, but inwardly, she disliked this Morgan Sterling who had nearly exposed her secret with a single remark.

"Little White, say hello to Uncle Morgan Sterling."

Morgan Sterling was inwardly annoyed at being called ’uncle’ by Flora Bloom. ’I’m only twenty-eight! What uncle? Is this young woman blind? A man as handsome and dashing as me, how could I possibly be an uncle!’

But when he saw what Flora Bloom meant by "saying hello," his temple throbbed.

A sudden bolt of lightning appeared out of the clear sky, striking both him and Quinn.

Quinn’s body convulsed from the strike, and he nearly lost his footing, but ultimately managed to withstand it thanks to the enhanced physique of a superpower user.

As for Morgan Sterling, who prided himself on his immense power, even he felt his back go numb from the little white tiger’s bolt of lightning.

’He was on the verge of breaking through to Level 3 and becoming a Middle Level superpower user. What in the world was this little tiger? A single, simple bolt of lightning was actually able to affect him.’

But Morgan Sterling wasn’t angry. Instead, the smile he gave Flora Bloom grew even more earnest.

"Hey, interested in coming to ’play’ on my team? I guarantee I’ll treat you well—good food, good drinks... ahem, and your little pets too." Morgan Sterling simply assumed the big white goose was also Flora’s, and she didn’t bother to explain.

However, Morgan Sterling’s words made Flora’s opinion of him improve significantly. He hadn’t gotten angry after she snubbed him so bluntly, and he’d even invited her to "play" on his team. The use of the word "play" was key; it didn’t make the offer feel restrictive.

’This Morgan Sterling is pretty interesting,’ she thought. ’He clearly wants to recruit me, and he’s not a petty person.’

Still, the top priority right now was getting everyone into the base and settled. Their group included the elderly and a pregnant woman—she herself was pregnant. It had been since yesterday morning, and with dawn now breaking, they had only eaten a single breakfast in all that time.

Everyone was starving.

"Listen, Morgan Sterling, can you let us go inside and rest now? Your quarantine room is really no place for a person to stay."

"No problem. Quinn, get some people to clean this up."

Morgan Sterling then looked at Flora Bloom. "What’s your name? I can’t just go on without even knowing what to call you, can I?"

"Of course. The name’s Flora Bloom."

Morgan Sterling’s smile grew even more brilliant. He looked at the people behind Flora Bloom, nodding to each in acknowledgment. "Everyone, you’ve just arrived at my Morhaven Safe Zone, and I, Morgan Sterling, have been a poor host. It’s nearly dawn. If you wouldn’t mind, why don’t you all come to my place for a simple meal?"

"As it happens, we’re all starving. In that case, we’ll take you up on that, Leader Sterling!"

Morgan Sterling led the way. Flora Bloom fell back to join Caleb Bloom and Jade, letting Sherman Lynch, the old hand, take over interacting with their host.

This Morgan Sterling really was a social butterfly. After just a few steps, he was already getting along famously with an old-timer like Sherman Lynch, the two of them talking and laughing nonstop.

Cynthia Grant pulled Flora Bloom to the back of the line and whispered, "Flora, are we just leaving that bunch back there? Look at the way a few of them are glaring at us. You don’t think they’ll try to get revenge later, do you?"

Flora Bloom nodded. "They definitely will."

Cynthia Grant started to say something else, but Flora Bloom cut her off. "Okay, quiet. Save your energy so you can eat more later. This Morgan Sterling is obviously a rich guy. He dared to invite all nineteen of us. Isn’t he afraid we’ll eat him out of house and home?"

"You have a point. Oh, by the way, can you tell what level he is?"

At this, Flora Bloom’s expression faltered for a moment before she shook her head.

"I can’t get a read on him. He’s probably above Level 3, and I’m afraid he’s not far from advancing to the next stage."

Earlier on their journey, Flora Bloom had explained the superpower advancement system to everyone. "Advancement" referred to upgrading beyond a Level 3 superpower to reach the Middle Level.

Even a first-level Middle Level superpower user was worlds apart from a Level 3 user.

An ordinary Level 3 superpower user probably couldn’t even withstand a single blow from a first-level Middle Level user.

This base was full of hidden masters. In a single day, she had already encountered a Level 3 superpower user and three Second-level ones. On top of that, there was Morgan Sterling, who might have already reached the Middle Level. This gave Flora Bloom a sudden, unprecedented sense of urgency.

’Leveling up means getting stronger!’

Once they were settled, she had to focus on raising her level. Otherwise, in a safe zone like this, with all the different factions vying for power both openly and in the shadows, she wouldn’t survive. Not only did she need to get stronger, but the people around her had to get stronger too. Only then could she have any peace of mind.