Chapter 170: Chapter 158: Buzzing and Chirping

After being imprinted by the space and circulating within it, the Spiritual Energy had actually grown larger. Flora Bloom summoned it to her palm. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

It was a large, ghostly green orb of energy, actually composed of countless particles of energy the size of dust motes.

’Is this the Spiritual Energy nurtured by the flowers and trees? It’s beautiful!’

"What’s that?" Seeing the glowing green mass in Flora Bloom’s hand, Neal Wallace and the other two gathered around, their curiosity piqued.

This was especially true for Sherman Lynch. His body, previously damaged by starvation, had healed after he awakened his superpower and evolved. However, due to his advanced age and the prior injuries, his physical condition was definitely inferior to that of other superpower users of the same level. But just a moment ago, he had suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated. His body’s functions felt as if they were being nourished by a spring rain, gradually reawakening.

Neal Wallace didn’t feel it as strongly; aside from an overall sense of comfort, the very air he breathed seemed sweet and fresh. The person who felt it the most, however, was Shauna Wallace.

The Spiritual Energy gifted by plants to nature was the spirit of vegetation, possessing the power to rejuvenate all living things. In this, it shared a common ground with Shauna Wallace’s Healing System.

The rejuvenation of all things begins with Spiritual Energy, reviving the lifeless land. The healing of all things is a cycle of Spiritual Energy, capable of mending the fading life in every creature.

As Shauna Wallace sensed the surrounding energy and the Spiritual Energy swirling around her, she suddenly felt something growing wildly within her, as if about to burst forth. But the sensation was fleeting, gone as quickly as it came.

Flora Bloom smiled mysteriously. She had just sensed the energy of a second superpower within Shauna Wallace’s body. It was fleeting, but she was certain she hadn’t been mistaken. Looking at Shauna, she said, "This... is a gift from nature!"

Flora Bloom dispersed the orb of Spiritual Energy in her hand, sending it back to the flowers, grasses, and trees. She wanted to test if the local plants would fall under her control after absorbing this imprinted Spiritual Energy.

Each particle of the vegetation spirit was as fine as a speck of dust. After dispersing, they re-entered the plants and were absorbed into their roots.

Underground, the root systems of the various flowers, grasses, and trees were intricately entangled, long having formed a small subterranean network. As the Spiritual Energy was absorbed, the ghostly green vegetation spirit was passed along and consumed within this web of roots, with every individual plant wanting a piece of the pie.

Sure enough, every plant that received even a sliver of the vegetation spirit was branded with the same spatial imprint. A small smile tugged at the corners of Flora Bloom’s lips.

Her spiritual connection was suddenly filled with numerous nascent, dependent links. These links converged into a small network, extending from the vegetation on either side of the group and stretching beyond the villa area.

Flora Bloom’s spiritual power had detected it correctly: the ground beneath them was an independent kingdom. Any plant with roots connected to this network could be sensed and assimilated by it.

However, the underground root network was so vast that Flora Bloom couldn’t make all of them acknowledge her as their master at once.

The dependence and affection these plants showed her through the spiritual link were different from that of Vert and Xiao Bai. They possessed intelligence rivaling that of humans and could actually converse with her.

These plants, however, could only express emotions such as joy and dependence.

’These plants that haven’t completed their evolution are like newborn infants, still so nascent,’ she thought. ’Given time, they will surely develop intelligence and become evolved plant life.’

She again scattered the spiritual water among these flowers and grasses, as pure and simple as a gentle breeze. Then, she continued the cycle: branding the Spiritual Energy they fed back to her, then dispersing the imprinted energy back to them.

After three such cycles of scattering Spiritual Energy, the area of vegetation that acknowledged her expanded once more.

Flora Bloom thought for a moment. ’That’s enough of this for today. There’s still other business to attend to.’

"Let’s keep moving. I have a feeling this place holds some major surprises for us."

From not far away, Vert’s squeaks echoed through the air, sounding both excited and insistent.

It was the same sound Vert and the Golden Cicada used to make when pestering her for Space Spirit Water back on the mountain by the stables.

’Looks like this little glutton has found its prey.’

According to Morgan Sterling, this other half of the villa complex had not only high-level zombies but also a swarm of unknown insects. And from Chester Sawyer’s description, these insects were incredibly fast and numerous.

However, the four of them had been walking for several minutes now, and aside from the flowers, trees, and other plants lining their path, all they saw were large, similarly designed villas.

They hadn’t seen so much as a single zombie, let alone any insects.

Logically speaking, those insects were most likely a swarm of evolved creatures, and zombies tended to steer clear of areas occupied by such lifeforms.

The only way for the two to coexist peacefully would be if the insects were also a type of zombie lifeform, and a high-level one at that.

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ~"

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ~"

A faint, dense buzzing came from the distance. It was somewhere between the irritating whine of a mosquito on a summer night and the industrious hum of bees collecting nectar.

Either way, it didn’t bode well for Flora Bloom and her companions.

But as the sound drew nearer, Vert grew even more excited within Flora Bloom’s spiritual link. It suddenly dove straight toward the source of the sound.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!"

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!"

The four of them hurried toward the commotion. After rounding two bends in the stone path, they were met with a startling sight: a patch of grass littered with the corpses of insects.

The insects were each about half the size of a soccer ball. Though only half the size of the Golden Cicada, their numbers were staggering.

They had two pairs of transparent, veined wings, three pairs of legs, a pair of antennae, and a huge, bulging abdomen. A golden-yellow sac was attached to their hind legs. These were, without a doubt, bees magnified several dozen times.

There were twenty to thirty dead bees on the grass, while the swarm confronting Vert in the air numbered well over a hundred.

Vert faced the hundred-odd bees alone, showing no fear. The "SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK" from its mouth, combined with the threatening hum of its vibrating wings, made the massive swarm hesitate to advance.

A sense of unease crept into Flora Bloom’s heart as she watched the scene unfold. If those hundred-plus giant bees swarmed Vert, the venomous stinger of just one would be enough to kill it.

’I don’t even know if this white mist of mine will work on living creatures.’

As it turned out, her white mist was completely useless against insects that didn’t rely on their eyes to see.

While the hundred bees confronting Vert paid the four humans no mind, another buzz rose in the distance, rapidly growing closer.

Flora Bloom took a closer look. In the distance, hanging from a thick branch of a colossal, towering tree, was a gigantic beehive!

She estimated the hive was half a meter in diameter and nearly two meters long. And incredibly, it wasn’t the only one.

Hives of various sizes hung from the trees in that row and from the large trees at every junction of the stone path.

This part of the villa complex had plenty of large trees, and now, as far as Flora Bloom could see, there were as many hives as there were trees. Some of the taller ones even had two or three hives of varying sizes hanging from their branches.

This place was an entire metropolis of beehives.

And now, another hundred bees were flying in.

"So many bees! What do we do?" Sherman Lynch looked nervously at Flora Bloom. He would rather fight a hundred zombies than face these hives.

"Fall back, for now."

Seeing them try to flee, the hundred pursuing bees buzzed furiously and gave chase.

Flora Bloom continuously created water shields behind her, but they only managed to slow the swarm’s pursuit for a moment.

The buzzing in their ears grew louder. A few times, Shauna Wallace, who was lagging behind, could feel the draft from the giant bees’ wings. But each time, just as a bee was about to touch her, a thin water shield would materialize between them.

This continued until they retreated all the way back to the stone path where they had first entered.

Suddenly, the two patches of grass and the surrounding wildflowers and trees began to emit a soft green glow. The light swirled around the swarm of bees. The insects immediately stopped their pursuit. They hovered over a small patch of wildflowers, gathered some pollen in the sacs on their legs, and then buzzed away.