Chapter 162: Chapter 150: Rose Thicket in the Villa Area

Flora Bloom and her group followed Morgan Sterling into the villa district.

This villa district had once been a high-end residential area. It was clear there had been some fighting after the apocalypse began, as the outermost walls had been patched up with bricks and gravel. Although the walls weren’t painted a uniform color, one could see the faint aura of Earth Element energy surrounding them—a clear sign they had been repaired by an Earth Ability User and were exceptionally sturdy.

There were two guards at the main gate of the villa district. Upon seeing Morgan Sterling arrive with a large group, they saluted respectfully and then opened the gate for them.

As soon as they entered the villa district, the environment underwent a dramatic transformation.

Just moments before, while passing through the other areas of the base, they had seen that while not every building was dilapidated, the walls of the mid-rise apartment buildings at least bore the obvious marks of cleaned-up bloodstains. Moreover, there was no clear division between the old residential houses, the mid-rises, and the modern homes. The outer walls and gates of several communities had not been repaired; some broken walls had even been torn down completely.

The streets and alleys were filled with the unpleasant smell of disinfectant.

Although the disinfection efforts were thorough, housing in the three residential areas was limited, and the number of people who needed to be accommodated far exceeded the supply.

Superpower users and ordinary people were mixed together. While this made for a lively atmosphere, it also created many hidden dangers.

Inside the villa district, however, a fountain stood just past the main gate. Flora Bloom had no idea if the water was clean, but she certainly wasn’t going to drink it.

From the entrance, a gravel path forked into four smaller paths, each leading to a different villa section. The grass on both sides of each path was lush and green, dotted with artfully arranged rockeries and strange stones. Most notably, one or two large trees stood at the path intersections, providing shelter over several wooden benches.

Flora Bloom suddenly noticed several climbing Rose bushes in the grass and under the trees. Their stems were thick and their branches pliable. The dense leaves were a particularly eerie shade of green. ’How could such healthy-looking Rose bushes not have a single flower, especially in a place with a perfect temperature and good ventilation?’

Although the weather in Morhaven was still very hot, winter was only a few days away. ’I wonder if all these plants and flowers will survive the long winter ahead.’

With this thought in mind, Flora Bloom casually asked Quinn, who was standing behind Morgan Sterling.

"Hey, buddy, can I ask you something? The greenery here in the villa district is really well-maintained. Is there someone who specifically looks after it?"

Quinn was surprised that Flora Bloom would suddenly ask him such an irrelevant question. But this girl was powerful—even their leader was trying to win her over—so no matter how random the question, he prepared to answer it earnestly.

"Well, actually, nobody takes care of the plants here."

Flora Bloom gave him a thoughtful look. "They grow this well without anyone looking after them?"

"Yeah. It helps that there are water pipes running under the greenbelts here, so they get watered automatically every day."

Flora Bloom asked curiously, "It’s still on an automatic schedule? Where does the water come from? Is it the same as the water in the fountain by the gate?"

Quinn thought for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure himself, and he scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Uh, I’m not too clear on that."

"The water is pumped from the inland river outside the base for irrigation. That includes the water for the fountain. Most of these water sources have been contaminated by zombies, so no one in the base can drink it, but it’s fine for watering plants. That’s why we never shut down these pre-apocalypse water lines. See? Hasn’t it kept the environment here looking quite nice?"

As he spoke, Morgan Sterling shot a smug, flirtatious wink at Flora Bloom.

Morgan Sterling was halfway through his wink when he realized Flora Bloom wasn’t even paying attention to him. The petite girl had actually left the group, walked over to the lawn, and was now crouching down to examine a Rose bush.

Ignoring the dirt, Flora Bloom used her hands to push aside a patch of grass and dig away some soil, exposing the roots of the Rose bush. The rootstock was nearly as thick as her forearm—woody and brimming with Life Force. Every branch that sprouted from it was over a centimeter in diameter and a vibrant, waxy green, a clear sign it had absorbed ample nutrients from fertile soil to achieve such growth.

Flora Bloom reached out and pinched one of the Rose’s branches.

"HISS!" It was as hard as iron; the pressure made her fingernail ache.

’It takes a very long time for plants to undergo mutation or any other kind of evolution. In my past life, large numbers of mutated plants didn’t appear until a year later.’

’But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist now!’ Flora Bloom suddenly thought of the foxtail grass by the highway guardrail. ’That foxtail grass was a special case.’

Flora Bloom looked inward at the patch of foxtail grass by the river in her pocket dimension. Good heavens, she hadn’t paid it any mind for a while, and the patch that was once just tiny sprouts had already grown to be over ten centimeters tall.

Looking at the dense thorns on the Rose branches, a chill went down Flora Bloom’s spine. ’Looks like these Roses can’t be left alone, either.’

Seeing Flora Bloom run off by herself to stare at a plant on the lawn, the rest of the group stopped to wait for her.

Morgan Sterling watched Flora Bloom stare unblinkingly at the Rose bush, recalling her earlier questions to Quinn about the greenery. ’Could it be this little lady likes flowers and plants? This is a great opportunity to build a connection.’

Morgan Sterling walked over, stood beside Flora Bloom, and looked down at her as she carefully studied the Rose bush. A smile unconsciously formed on his lips.

Instead of seeing Flora Bloom get up and rejoin the group on the path, the others saw Morgan Sterling standing beside her, looking down with a foolish grin.

One was standing, one was crouching. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The man looked utterly smitten. The woman... huh? Why was the woman rolling up her sleeves?

Just then, Flora Bloom rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a tender young branch with fewer thorns, and pulled with all her might.

This act stunned everyone, including Morgan Sterling and Quinn. Caleb Bloom felt a headache coming on as he watched his daughter, at a loss for words.

He knew his daughter had a pocket dimension and could grow plants in it. ’But is it really okay to be so brazenly yanking up flowers in someone else’s villa district?’

"Flora, what are you doing? Need a hand?" Seeing Flora Bloom struggling to pull out a vine without any success, Cynthia Grant rolled up her own sleeves and walked over.

Morgan Sterling thought about stopping her, but watching Flora Bloom crouching at his feet, struggling to yank out the vine... well, it was just too amusing.

"Cynthia, you try. You’re a plant-type, see if you can get this thing out, roots and all," Flora Bloom said, struck by a sudden idea. ’A plant-type is the best choice for dealing with plants. Although Cynthia is only level two right now, people with her superpower have a natural affinity for them. Once she breaks through to the intermediate level, she’ll even be able to communicate with some evolved plants.’

Flora Bloom stood up, turned to Morgan Sterling behind her, and gave him a little push. "Back up, back up. Let Cynthia have a try."

Morgan Sterling was truly at a loss for words. He looked at Flora Bloom, amused, and said tentatively, "Um, Flora, if you like Roses, I can have my people find some varieties that actually bloom for you. These ones here haven’t even produced a single flower."