Chapter 435 - 380: A Domineering Aura
Chapter 435: Chapter 380: A Domineering Aura
The trading market had become the busiest spot in Morhaven Base. It seemed like everyone, whether they had business to attend to or not, would come for a look around.
Those with superpowers would bring their surplus food or unneeded supplies to the market, hoping to trade for something useful.
Even those without enough to trade would come to browse, much like how women enjoyed shopping before the apocalypse. It was a way to vent the stress that had built up since the world ended and ease their tension.
Of course, such a large crowd naturally came with its own risks. For instance, someone who hadn’t eaten in a long time might see food at a stall but have nothing to trade for it. In such cases, robberies and similar incidents could occur.
And in the beginning, they did. So Sepherdine, the base’s public-facing leader, dispatched a ten-person team of Level 3 superpower users to patrol the market and maintain security every day.
In return, vendors had to pay Sepherdine one percent of their earnings.
The owner of this shopping mall was Flora Bloom. The ground floor had dozens of storefronts, and some were even partitioned so two tenants could share the space and split the rent.
Rent could be paid daily or monthly. A single day’s rent wasn’t expensive—about the cost of a bowl of rice and a cup of water.
But with dozens of shops, if rent was collected from each one daily, she’d have at least thirty bowls of rice in her hands.
Flora Bloom had a large household and many team members. That daily income was just enough to provide the staple food for their entire group’s dinner.
So Flora Bloom certainly didn’t look down on this income, which, while seemingly modest, was actually quite substantial.
Aside from helping Jade water the plants with the spiritual water Flora Bloom prepared, Caleb and Lisa spent their days wandering through the trading market.
Lisa was right in the middle of her teenage years. And while she’d experienced the cruelty of the apocalypse, it was only natural for a girl her age to care about her appearance.
Flora Bloom’s personal storage space was packed with food and all sorts of supplies, and every so often, she’d give her close companions a fresh look with a new outfit.
But for a rebellious girl in her teens, there’s a big difference between being given something and finding a treasure on your own. She would always prefer the latter.
As it happened, Lisa had dragged Caleb to the trade district the day before, where she had fallen in love with a denim outfit and a matching, cool-looking denim hair tie. Seeing the young girl staring at the items, so captivated she could barely move, the stall owner thought, ’A customer.’
The two kids haggled with the vendor for ages, but he was adamant, demanding three pounds of flour and a pound of meat in exchange.
Lisa adored the outfit, but she didn’t have that much to trade. The group had plenty, of course, but she was just a normal person with no superpower. She only did light work and couldn’t bring herself to ask the others for resources just to trade for clothes.
She didn’t have enough, but Caleb did. Caleb was very fond of the older girl who always looked out for him. Even though he was closer to Flora Bloom, he really liked Lisa too.
So, the two made a pact to return the next day and make the trade.
Just as the two kids were about to head out, they ran into Flora Bloom, who had just finished eating and was looking for something to do. She decided to tag along with Caleb and Lisa to the trading market.
And if Flora Bloom was going, it was a given that Lex Cross, who had been her constant shadow lately, would be there too.
When the four of them reached the market, Lisa and Caleb told Flora Bloom they wanted to browse on their own, then made a beeline for the clothing and accessories stall from the day before.
Flora Bloom and Lex Cross were strolling aimlessly through the trade district when they came face-to-face with Sepherdine, who was out with a petite, adorable girl named Rita.
Sepherdine was the base’s public leader. In his partnership with Flora Bloom, he was the one who handled all the matters she couldn’t be bothered with or preferred not to deal with personally.
Though they didn’t seem to interact much publicly, they had, in fact, long ago established a solid understanding.
Sepherdine had spotted Flora Bloom and Lex Cross from a distance. He gave Flora a subtle nod, and without any further exchange, continued browsing with Rita.
With Lex Cross’s arm around her, Flora Bloom continued to browse slowly from stall to stall. Along the way, they happened to run into the ten communication-tower designers who had returned with Lex.
"Captain Cross, it’s you! Ah, and Mrs. Cross is with you." Gary Ruiz was the lead among the ten designers. His expertise was extensive; before the apocalypse, he had designed Veridia’s largest communications tower, with a signal radius that could cover an entire province.
Hearing those two words—"Mrs. Cross"—Flora Bloom instinctively blushed. She didn’t correct him, but simply gave Gary Ruiz and his team a bashful nod. "Are you all here browsing the market too?"
Gary Ruiz nodded. "We’ve been studying the magnetic field orientation across Morhaven and just had a small breakthrough. But we’re missing some raw materials, so we thought we’d try our luck scavenging for them here."
"What are you missing? I can have my people help you search."
"It’s a conductor made from a rare metal alloy. Someone outside the field probably wouldn’t recognize it. Besides, it was rarely available on the market even before the apocalypse. It was under strict government control."
"We’re hoping to find some older but more advanced models of electronics, then extract the materials we need from them."
Lex Cross and Flora Bloom nodded. Lex appeared indifferent to the technical details, but if there was a way he could help, he would.
He was the one who had brought them to Morhaven to build the communications tower, and he had done it for Flora Bloom.
To fight the zombie war three years into the apocalypse, their small group alone was completely insufficient.
Morhaven didn’t have a large population, but its resources were abundant. At this stage, people needed full bellies to have the strength left over to fight back. Hunger could only ever lead to decline and regression.
The only base with any connection to Morhaven was Argent. It had a large population, but the relationships between its four great families—a complex web of competition and cooperation—made people unpredictable. And though food and supplies weren’t scarce there either, power only seemed to fuel more intense infighting.
If they wanted to fight back, they had to make more bases and more people aware of the true situation, end the internal conflicts, and unite.
And the first step to achieving that was establishing communications.
Flora Bloom also understood the importance of establishing communications. With a flourish of magnanimity, she addressed the ten men, the youngest of whom was at least forty. "Uncle Ruiz, all of you, just go find what you need. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll cover everything you spend at the market."
Every word of Flora Bloom’s conversation was overheard by Sepherdine and Rita, who had just passed by.
Sepherdine was well aware of Flora Bloom’s brand of extravagance, so he wasn’t surprised in the least. Rita, however, had a different take on it.
Right now, Rita’s eyes, heart, and mind were completely filled with the sight of Lex Cross—his tall, wheat-skinned physique and his handsome, resolute face with its deep, intense gaze.
Before the apocalypse, a man with his build and face would have been a warlord or a CEO straight out of some cheesy romance drama.
She sensed three distinct auras from him all at once: languid grace, cold indifference, and unyielding resolve. The combination was intoxicating, and Rita was instantly hooked.
When she saw him with his arm around Flora Bloom, she had assumed they were a loving couple. In fact, hearing those old men call her "Mrs. Cross" had only confirmed it.
Just as she was wondering how she might get closer to them, she heard Flora Bloom’s domineering tone and her grand declaration. Rita couldn’t help but gloat inwardly.
’Looks like she’s just relying on her resources. Maybe this man, Lex Cross, isn’t with her for true love?’