Chapter 482 - 415: A Step Too Late
Chapter 482: Chapter 415: A Step Too Late
Flora Bloom knew perfectly well what her vital essence could do. One look at Evangeline Rook’s current state was all the proof she needed.
"Nina Rook is in Morhaven?" Evangeline Rook exclaimed in shock.
Flora Bloom nodded. "What? You want to leave with us?"
Evangeline Rook glanced at the villagers, who were gazing at her with pleading eyes. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and then shook her head.
"No. Now that my Life Force has been restored, I must stay and help them recover. I must atone for the mess I’ve made."
Evangeline Rook looked at the alien bug in Lex Cross’s black energy. "Can you let me have this alien bug?"
Flora Bloom shook her head. "No, I have other uses for it." She herself had little interest in a single alien bug, but Vert was already raising a ruckus inside her dimensional space, clearly conveying its fascination with it.
Disappointment flashed in Evangeline Rook’s eyes, but she didn’t give up. "It’s too risky for an alien bug to be away from its master. They have no defensive abilities of their own and can easily die if they encounter a natural disaster.
This alien bug of mine is connected to my bloodline and shares a symbiotic soul with me. If... General Cross, it’s not that I don’t trust you. You saw it for yourselves—if Nina Rook didn’t hate Flora Bloom with a burning passion, she wouldn’t have let her own alien bug be separated from her for so long.
She never would have imagined you’d run into me after leaving Morhaven."
Evangeline Rook had no idea why they were really here. It was because Saul Sterling’s divination superpower had advanced after he recovered his strength. He had been able to deduce that this place held a cure for the toxins in Flora Bloom’s body.
Flora Bloom had been kept in the dark. Even Lex Cross, or rather, the diviner himself, didn’t know they would run into Evangeline Rook here.
One could only chalk it up to a series of fortunate coincidences and Flora Bloom’s incredible luck.
Flora Bloom sighed and looked around at the few villagers in the house, then at the people outside. They were all skin and bones, yet they trusted Evangeline Rook completely.
"They all seem to really like you," Flora Bloom said, looking at Evangeline Rook.
"Yes, the people here are simple and kind-hearted. There’s none of the backstabbing, power struggles, or scheming of my family. I feel at peace living here."
"You should know, even though you’ve recovered your superpower, it’s impossible for you to help them recover physically all by yourself.
When a person’s vital essence is damaged, they can’t recover unless their Life Force and vitality are replenished simultaneously. Am I wrong?"
Evangeline Rook herself was a Life Ability User, very similar to Shauna Wallace’s Healing System. However, the Life System superpower was far more domineering. Besides consuming spiritual power to restore life or heal injuries, it could also use one’s own Life Force to control or strip away the lives of others.
This was also why Flora Bloom had seen such potential in Shauna back then.
As long as she reached the level of a high-ranked ability user, there was a certain probability her superpower would mutate, turning her into a Life Ability User.
The ability to strip away Life Force was absolutely fatal, whether to living creatures, plants, or even zombies. It was an incredibly powerful ability.
"You have a way?"
"Lex promised you that if you cured my poison, he would help restore your appearance and help your alien bug recover its life force. He won’t go back on his word. If you trust us, come back to Morhaven with us."
Flora Bloom looked at Evangeline Rook with a sincere expression. She could tell that Evangeline was tempted, but she still didn’t agree.
"Sister Rook, you should go! Don’t worry about us! Just leave with them!"
Evangeline Rook finally sighed and handed the dying Flying Silkworm from her shoulder to Flora Bloom.
"Take it. If it recovers, please come back here and return it to me."
Evangeline Rook stared at the Flying Silkworm in Flora Bloom’s hand, her eyes filled with reluctance. She could trust Lex Cross, but the Flying Silkworm was her symbiotic partner. Entrusting her own life to someone else would make anyone uneasy.
The three days Flora Bloom had mentioned was actually to avoid exposing her Divine-level internal space. After all, spiritual water that could restore Life Force was incredibly rare. If Flora instantly restored Evangeline Rook’s alien bug, it would be too suspicious.
Plus, Evangeline Rook was also from off-world. If she discovered any clues, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t get some funny ideas about Flora.
Alien bugs were too foreign to her; she couldn’t make any rash judgments. It was better to be safe than sorry. Caution was never a mistake.
"Since you’re entrusting it to us, we will definitely fulfill our promise. I’ll come back in three days to return it to you. You can rest assured, I, Flora Bloom, am a woman of my word!"
The two mounted the Golden Crow, which spread its massive wings and soared into the sky.
When they arrived, a golden shield had blocked their entry, but now there was no obstacle to their departure.
She wouldn’t force Evangeline Rook to leave if she didn’t want to. The four old peach trees, the golden shield, the disorienting peach grove, and the old village chief’s claim that the villagers couldn’t leave or they would die.
These were all still a mystery.
But the two of them didn’t dwell on unraveling it.
"Why do you think Evangeline Rook doesn’t want to leave?"
"Perhaps she has her own concerns. She doesn’t have full control over this ancient town. The reasons are hard to guess. That Earth Element energy shield alone is definitely not something any of them can control.
If I’m not mistaken, although Evangeline Rook is an outcast of the Rook family, she didn’t come to Earth alone.
Let’s fulfill our promise to her and then cut all ties. With members of the Rook family appearing on Earth so frequently, I imagine those people out in the universe won’t be able to sit still for much longer."
Flora listened as Lex analyzed the various factors one by one, from the speed at which Earth’s spatial rifts were forming to the potential shifts in power if more off-worlders started to arrive.
It all made her feel even more worried and uncertain about the future.
"Do you think the coming war will cause Earth’s space to shatter ahead of schedule?
How can we stop this war?"
’Before the apocalypse, wars were about killing and wounding each other. The winner was simply the stronger side.’
’But after the apocalypse? What about the war between humans and zombies? It’s basically just a way to increase the number of zombies. If the zombies win, humanity is annihilated.’
’If humans win, the zombies can just make a comeback.’
’It’s a fundamentally unequal and unfair war.’
There’s a spiritual and soul connection between an alien bug and its master. And Evangeline Rook’s was a natural-born life-bound alien bug; the connection was much stronger than the one Nina Rook had cultivated later in life.
After Flora Bloom and Lex Cross returned to Morhaven, she didn’t immediately use the spiritual water to treat the alien bug. Instead, she found Shauna Wallace and had her use a healing superpower on it for a minor recovery.
A healing art couldn’t compare to a Life System superpower, but it could slightly alleviate the Flying Silkworm’s injuries.
Flora Bloom planned to give the alien bug a spiritual water bath on the third day to let it recover completely.
But as soon as they returned to the base, they rushed to the place where Nina Rook was being held. They were a step too late.
Five and Nolan Jennings were lying on the ground, injured and unconscious. Saul Sterling was nowhere to be found.
Flora Bloom rushed back to Villa Area 3 and found that everyone was still there, except for the missing Saul Sterling.
"Boss! It was the Rook family’s Ninth Elder," Five shouted as soon as he woke up after drinking Flora Bloom’s spiritual water and saw Lex Cross.
"Boss, Sister-in-law, they took Saul Sterling. The Ninth Elder, Gavin Rook, left a message. He said Sister-in-law has to bring Nina Rook’s alien bug to Orinburg and find them. Alone. Otherwise, Saul Sterling’s life is forfeit."