Chapter 210: Chapter 198: Morhaven’s Underground Water Prison

Morgan Sterling led Chester Sawyer into the villa’s basement, opening a door on one of its walls.

A downward-sloping staircase appeared in the doorway. Just as they were about to enter one after the other, Morgan Sterling suddenly shot a vortex of wind at a specific point behind him.

"Who’s there!"

Yue Mao knew he’d been discovered. Struck in the side by Morgan Sterling’s vortex of wind, he flickered into view for a moment before gritting his teeth against the pain and vanishing again, swiftly retreating from the basement.

The basement was dimly lit. Morgan Sterling wanted to give chase, but the burst of superpower energy vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. He pursued for a long distance but found no trace of the intruder.

Yue Mao fled a great distance in a single burst, vaulting over the quarantine wall while still invisible and entering the villa district on the other side. This was the first time since reaching Level 3 that someone had managed to pinpoint his exact location while he was cloaked and still.

’That Morgan Sterling must be higher than Level 3. He might have even broken through to the Middle Level. Otherwise, there’s no way he could have found me!’ he thought. ’Good thing the Crystal Core I used to reach Level 3 came from a speed-mutated zombie. It makes me much faster than others at my level. If not for that, I’d never have escaped a Wind Ability user like him.’

’I found where Morgan Sterling is hiding them. This should repay the debt I owe you for taking that Level 3 Crystal Core. But where in the world have you gone, Flora?’

Ever since Yue Mao learned that Morgan Sterling had taken Flora Bloom’s brother hostage and was using him to force her parents to hunt zombies and gather supplies, he had been tailing Morgan in secret.

Morgan Sterling was too cunning and his superpower too great for Yue Mao to risk getting close.

He’d staked out the villa for a full day and night, finally slipping inside the instant Chester Sawyer arrived and went in.

He seized his chance to follow when the two men headed for the basement. To his surprise, there was more to Morgan Sterling’s basement than met the eye; a hidden door led to an even deeper level.

He had secretly searched over eighty percent of the massive Morhaven Safe Zone under Morgan’s control and found no trace of any prisoners. ’They have to be down there,’ he concluded.

Having lost his quarry, Morgan Sterling’s expression was frighteningly dark. ’It was that Hidden System user!’ He had a file on every single person in the base who had awakened a superpower—everyone except the members of Flora Bloom’s team.

And besides the three Hidden System users on Flora’s side, no one else in his territory had an invisibility superpower.

Chester Sawyer stood beside him, his gaze lowered. "Chief, should we move the prisoners?"

Morgan Sterling let out a low chuckle. "Move them? No. I’m waiting for them to come and try a rescue."

Chester Sawyer watched the smug look on Morgan Sterling’s face, as if he had everything under control. Morgan, in his arrogance, failed to notice the flickering uncertainty in Chester’s eyes or the deep unease etched into his furrowed brow.

’Morgan Sterling is good at hiding his true nature, and he’s incredibly powerful,’ Chester thought. ’But the powerful often share a fatal flaw: arrogance.’

’Flora Bloom has only been gone for seven days; that doesn’t mean she’s never coming back. Yet he rushed to capture her family. Joel Bloom and Jade are locked in the water prison below, along with Lucia. Meanwhile, Caleb Bloom is being forced to lead a squad of ability users out to clear zombies from the city center and collect Crystal Cores.’

’Flora Bloom and that man, Lex Cross, are undeniably strong. In fact, I don’t think even Morgan Sterling could take them both on.’

’Seven days is not forever. If Flora Bloom returns, Morgan’s actions will inevitably lead to all-out war.’

’And if Morgan Sterling loses, then I...’

The two men only entered the water prison to check on the three captives. As far as Morgan Sterling was concerned, as long as he held these three, Caleb Bloom would work himself to death for him.

Even if Flora Bloom returned, he could use their lives to force her into submission. ’Besides, who’s to say she’ll ever come back at all?’ he thought.

’If Flora Bloom died at sea, then that other woman who knows the location of the secret place must be dead too. A shame to lose the location of that place, though.’

’Still, it’s better that they’re dead than for them to return. If I can’t have it, no one else will get it easily.’

After checking on the three prisoners, the two men left the water prison. When they returned to the villa, however, Morgan Sterling summoned someone.

Seth Warren was sitting expressionlessly on the sofa in Morgan Sterling’s living room. When he saw Morgan emerge with Chester Sawyer, his eyes flickered slightly as he looked at Chester.

Their eyes met for a split second before Seth quickly looked away, turning his attention to Morgan Sterling.

"Chief Sterling, what can I do for you? I’m in no position to compete with you right now, nor do I have any interest in starting trouble. I trust you have no reason to make things difficult for me?"

Morgan Sterling handed him a glass of water and sat down beside him.

"I sought you out because I have good news to share. If we succeed, our superpowers could break through to the Middle Level, maybe even jump several levels at once! Wouldn’t you say that’s good news?"

Seth Warren smiled faintly. "Advancing is always a good thing. But treasures are rare. I doubt you plan on sharing one with me for nothing, Chief Sterling."

"If it were a single treasure, I’d naturally keep it for myself. But what if there’s more than enough to go around? Then what’s the harm in sharing with you, Seth?"

"Oh?"

"The truth is, I’ve discovered a mysterious place. Just by absorbing the energy at its periphery, my superpower is already on the verge of breaking through to the Middle Level!"

Seth Warren’s brow smoothed out, then furrowed again, his eyes flashing. He casually glanced at Chester Sawyer, and only after seeing Chester give a slight nod did he suddenly laugh aloud.

"Oh? And where might that be?"

"The wetland park in the western suburbs of Morhaven."

"You’re just telling me the location? Aren’t you afraid I’ll go on my own behind your back?"

"You’re joking, Seth! Forget you alone—even if we both took our entire squads of ability users, we might not find the entrance to that secret place."

"Besides, there’s a monster in that wetland park, and its attacks are incredibly powerful. My team has excellent offense, but we lack sufficient defensive power. To be frank, Seth, we went in recklessly last time and suffered heavy losses!"

At this, Seth Warren’s expression turned serious as he looked at Chester Sawyer. "Chester here is a Second Level Earth Ability User. And if I’m not mistaken, your squad has a full team of fifteen Earth Ability Users!"

"Heh," Morgan sneered. "The defensive power of a Level One Earth Ability User can’t even take a single hit from that thing."

"A monster that powerful... even I would be no match for it!"

Morgan Sterling gave a mysterious smile. "But if you join us, you and Chester Sawyer working together could probably withstand about ten of the monster’s attacks."

"However, if we had a Healing System user with us, I’m ninety-five percent certain we could defeat that monster and find the entrance to the secret place!"

Seth Warren frowned at that. "A Healing System user?" If he wasn’t mistaken, there was only one person in the entire base with a Healing superpower. He looked at Morgan Sterling in shock, trying to read the answer in his expression.

"That’s right. Shauna Wallace. What’s more, I have a special gift for you, Seth."

「In a bedroom on the second floor of Morgan Sterling’s villa.」

Shauna Wallace’s limbs were tied to the four corners of the bed. She wore nothing but a sheer negligee, her underthings barely concealed beneath it.

She struggled against her bonds, an unnatural flush coloring her cheeks. As a Healing System user, she had a voluptuous figure and smooth, delicate skin. This, combined with her naturally cold demeanor, made her an exceptionally alluring sight in her current state.

When Morgan Sterling led Seth Warren into the room, he was met with the sight of Shauna Wallace gazing at him, her eyes filled with a strange, sultry longing.