The "villa district outside the safe zone"—the name implied they would have to detour around the exterior of the safe zone to get there. But Chester Sawyer was leading them down a small path from within the villa district they were already in.

"The villa district you’re here to clear out and the one we’re in now were originally a single, complete community. To wall off that other half, several of us Second Level Earth Ability Users worked day and night to build that wall. Honestly, Chief Sterling set the prices for these villas so high because he doesn’t want people who are too weak living here. That way, if those damn things on the other side of the wall ever go crazy and break out, not too many people will get hurt." Chester Sawyer explained to Flora Bloom and her group as they walked, hoping the four of them would understand his well-meaning warning and turn back.

Flora Bloom, however, just listened. At first, she simply thought Chester Sawyer was walking too slowly. But as they continued, his pace only grew slower. For some reason, she even noticed that his legs were trembling as he walked.

"I have to ask, Chester Sawyer, you’re a man well into his forties. You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?"

Flora Bloom’s comment made the other three in their group laugh.

But Chester Sawyer suddenly spun around and put a finger to his lips, making a "shushing" gesture.

"Oh, good heavens, lady! Can you please keep it down? There’s a gate a hundred meters ahead. Beyond that gate is the other half of the villa district. I’m telling you, you should all go back. The things in there... really, they’ll get you killed!"

The sight of Chester Sawyer’s terror only piqued Flora Bloom’s curiosity. "What is it? What could possibly scare you this much?"

"I don’t even know! I went in before with the Chief and two captains, leading a large squad to clear it out. We were handling the zombies just fine, but then a swarm of giant insects charged out of nowhere. There were too many of them. All the men who got surrounded died in there. The only ones who made it out were the captains, the Chief, and me."

Seeing that Flora Bloom and the others were still determined to press forward, Chester Sawyer hissed in a panicked, low voice, "No, no, no! Don’t go any further! Those things can sense people approaching from a long way off now, and they’ll attack in swarms. Please, lady, can we just leave now?"

Flora Bloom gazed at the electronic gate less than a hundred meters away, then turned to Chester Sawyer. "What’s the password?" she asked. "If you don’t have it, I’ll just have to get in my own way."

Chester Sawyer’s eyes widened in alarm. "No, no, no! The password is 314720**1."

Flora Bloom nodded. "Alright, you can leave now." With that, she led her group of four forward.

Chester Sawyer ran back a short distance before stopping to hide behind a tree, watching the group of four. Suddenly, a hand tapped his shoulder. The touch scared him so much that his face went white as he dropped into a squat, hands clamped over his head.

But the attack he expected never came. Instead, a pair of familiar shoes entered his line of sight.

"Chief? What are you doing here?"

"So they actually went in." Morgan Sterling didn’t answer Chester Sawyer, muttering to himself as he stared in the direction of Flora Bloom’s group.

Just then, as soon as the group of four had entered the password and opened the gate, a white mist emanated from Flora Bloom, shrouding them completely. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a patch of fog, making it impossible to see the people within.

Back when they first left the high-rise building, she had found a hidden corner to release Vert, telling him to fly high into the sky and follow them.

That was why she already knew Morgan Sterling was behind them—Vert had informed her through their spiritual link.

"That Morgan Sterling is sneaking around behind us," Flora Bloom warned, letting Neal Wallace and the others know that both Morgan Sterling and Chester Sawyer were still back there, hiding behind a tree.

"So, are we still going in?" Shauna Wallace asked, looking around. She was a little scared but still tried to put on a brave face.

Flora Bloom gave a mysterious smile. "Of course we are." ’Vert found something good. How can I get it into my space if we don’t go in?’

Though only a single wall separated the two areas, it was clear that this barrier—which cut the entire villa district in two—had been reinforced, thickened and raised by Earth Ability Users.

The two sides might have once been a single community, but with just a wall between them, the scenery on either side was now worlds apart.

Here, the landscape was a sea of green. The grass on both sides of the path grew waist-high, towering trees flanked the gravel walkway, and wildflowers and weeds flourished in lush thickets along the edges.

As the group walked along the path, the grass and wildflowers by the roadside seemed to possess a life of their own. Ignoring Flora Bloom’s misty barrier, they swayed gently toward the group’s ankles. The tips of the blades brushed against their calves and the tops of their feet.

"Don’t move."

The plants here had obviously begun to evolve, showing hints of sentient life. Having not suffered the ravages of what humanity might consider "taming" or "clearing," they were currently friendly toward the four humans. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Flora Bloom knelt and gently touched a blade of grass at her feet. As soon as it felt her touch, the supple strand suddenly lengthened, coiling around her finger several times. Its tip gently tickled her skin in an intimate-looking gesture.

Flora Bloom gathered a drop of spiritual water in her palm and let it fall onto the blade of grass. The grass immediately trembled, absorbing the spiritual water in an instant. Its tender green color deepened by a shade, becoming visibly darker than the blades around it.

It seemed to grow a little longer as well, winding around Flora Bloom’s hand with an unusual intimacy and affection.

Flora Bloom tried extending her spiritual power to the small flowers and blades of grass, following their forms down into the earth until she found their root systems.

The roots of all the plants here had woven themselves into a vast, intricate network underground, all intertwined and interconnected. It was truly miraculous.

After Flora Bloom sprinkled spiritual water over the grass and trees on both sides, their underground root network began to pulse, each root eagerly absorbing the liquid. The entire system began to expand, extending even further into the earth.

In return, the plants gifted Flora Bloom a cool, refreshing breeze. It carried the fresh scent of vegetation and washed over the four of them, instantly shielding them from the sweltering humidity of a Morhaven summer.

What’s more, Flora Bloom could feel a peculiar energy gathering from the plants and flowing toward her, entering her space directly.

It was Spiritual Energy! After these plants started evolving, they could actually release Spiritual Energy. Although it was scarce and different from the Spiritual Energy within her own space, it could bring great benefits to anyone who spent time here.

The feeling was just like the first time she had entered her space. Every breath was sweet and refreshing, sweeping away any impurities from her lungs.

The coolness and comfort were one thing, but with this Spiritual Energy present, living here long-term would undoubtedly be of immense benefit to one’s health.

At the same time, after this Spiritual Energy entered her space, it circulated for a moment before the space branded it with a peculiar spiritual imprint.

’An imprint on Spiritual Energy?’

This was the first time Flora Bloom had ever witnessed such a thing. It was one thing for her space to brand plants and animals with its unique imprint—that she could understand. It made them recognize her as their master, obeying her commands and summons.

But it could even imprint Spiritual Energy? ’This space is unbelievably domineering!’ For the first time, Flora Bloom grew curious about the origins of the space within her.

How was such a miraculous treasure, a marvel of heaven and earth, brought into existence? Or perhaps there were transcendent, higher beings in this world... could one of them have created such an extraordinary, supernatural marvel?