Chapter 498 - 425: The Benefits of Hard Labor
Chapter 498: Chapter 425: The Benefits of Hard Labor
Villa No. 3 in the Morhaven base was abuzz with activity again. For reasons unknown, Flora Bloom had posted a paid recruitment for Level 3 and above Fire Ability Users.
And so, after thirty Fire Ability Users applied and were accepted, they entered Villa No. 3 and were not seen again.
Everyone was curious about the status of these thirty Fire Ability Users. When the thirty of them finally reappeared, they had all reached the Middle Level and were being led by Flora Bloom and her group to the large shopping mall in Zone 9.
Outside the mall, Flora Bloom’s people stood guard, patrolling daily. No one was allowed to enter except for the core members of Flora Bloom’s team.
Even Cynthia Grant had to report to her before entering, which deterred many overly curious people from getting any funny ideas.
But curiosity still drove them to gather outside the mall. Since they couldn’t go in, they simply waited outside.
The mall had undergone a violent demolition some time ago, leaving only two floors. Both floors had been reinforced by Gold Ability Users, who strengthened the walls and staircases.
On the first floor were ten huge, fireplace-like iron furnaces. Flora Bloom had come over a few days ago and, working with her father, Caleb Bloom, had reinforced and rebuilt them using both her True Sun Fire and his Gold Ability, making them extremely resistant to high temperatures.
At that moment, thirty Fire Ability Users and ten Gold Ability Users were touring the inside of the mall with Flora Bloom, Lex Cross, Winston Goldsmith, and Caleb Bloom.
The massive mall looked visually empty after its conversion. There were no lights, only modified skylights on the ceiling that let in the outside light.
At first, none of them knew what they were there to do. But after a brief introduction from Flora Bloom and Winston Goldsmith, they realized they had been recruited to act as human furnaces for smelting metal materials.
"We will provide the Crystal Cores needed to restore your superpowers for free. Of course, three meals a day will also be provided free of charge."
As soon as Flora Bloom finished speaking, the crowd erupted in applause.
"I’ve heard for ages that the food at Villa No. 3 is amazing. I can’t believe it’s our turn to have some!"
"Yeah, I missed out last time when Fatty went to Villa No. 3 to donate blood. I only got one bite of the fruit he brought back, but it was so sweet! The stuff we grow ourselves is never that sweet!"
In truth, the people of Morhaven base didn’t lack food. They had responded to Flora Bloom’s recruitment mostly to find something to do and to get a taste of the food from her villa.
What they hadn’t expected was that in just a few days, their superpowers would shoot up like a rocket, jumping from Level 3 to the Middle Level.
"Captain Bloom, can I ask what all this metal we’re melting is for?"
"That’s right! This job is so easy, plus you’re providing three meals a day and even helped us reach the Middle Level. We feel kind of bad about it."
At that point, none of the thirty Fire Ability Users had noticed the true meaning behind Flora Bloom’s words: "We will provide the Crystal Cores needed to restore your superpowers."
It wasn’t until Lex Cross directed Mark Sterling and a dozen or so others to haul in cart after cart of metal items that everyone was left dumbfounded.
Flora Bloom smiled faintly. "Everyone’s task for today is to put all this metal into these ten large furnaces, melt it all down, and remove the impurities. After that, you can go back and rest!"
The spacious first floor of the mall was now almost completely filled with metal items, save for the space occupied by the ten large furnaces and the spot where they were standing.
They were piled high, like small hills.
"All of it? Melted?"
Flora Bloom nodded lightly. "That’s right, melt all of it. And no slacking. There’s more tomorrow. If you want to quit halfway through, you can’t leave immediately. You’ll have to wait for the others to finish the work and leave together."
The crowd gulped. "Captain Bloom, it’s not that we’re unwilling, but... there’s so much. Can we really finish all this in one day?"
"Just give it a try."
These people had thought that getting free Crystal Cores from Flora Bloom to reach the Middle Level, plus three meals a day, meant that melting some metal would be an easy job.
But they never expected there would be so much.
But as the saying goes, you can’t take from others and not be beholden to them.
They had to bite the bullet and get on with it!
And so, the thirty Middle-Level Fire Ability Users entered the large mall in Zone 9 in the morning and still hadn’t emerged by the time night fell.
No one left. The cycle was simple: eat, use their powers to melt metal, and when their superpowers were depleted, they’d absorb Crystal Cores and go right back to melting metal.
By the end of this cycle, night had fallen, and everyone was too exhausted to move. They simply lay down on the mall floor and fell asleep.
Despite a full day of being blasted with fire, the ten large iron furnaces only increased in temperature; their surfaces showed no signs of discoloration or even glowing red.
The indoor temperature had also risen considerably due to everyone’s superpowers and wouldn’t cool down anytime soon. As a result, those sleeping inside didn’t feel cold.
The group, who had all decided before falling asleep to quit en masse the next day, woke up the following morning to a startling discovery: their control over their superpowers had improved overnight.
Not only that, but after a full day’s work, the progress bar for their Middle-Level abilities was slowly rising. Their mental state and physical fitness were also countless times better than the day before.
Full of motivation, everyone ate the breakfast that had been prepared for them and started another day’s work.
’We get fed, and we can rapidly increase our strength? Only an idiot would want to leave.’
And so, the curious people in the base staked out the mall for several days but never saw the thirty recruits emerge. They only saw people delivering food, water, and other supplies inside each day.
Some began to speculate that Flora Bloom was up to something shady in there.
And what Flora Bloom was doing was indeed something that couldn’t be seen by others. She was essentially preparing materials for crafting equipment, while on the second floor, Winston Goldsmith was teaching a dozen or so Gold Ability Users the techniques for making it.
Flora Bloom hadn’t been back since the first day. Lex Cross had told her that certain parts and Crystal Cores from special zombies or evolved creatures could be integrated into equipment to enhance its attributes.
For example, integrating a Fire Element Crystal Core into a weapon could not only increase its attack power but also potentially imbue it with a Fire Attribute, causing it to produce the burning effect of a Fire Element superpower on impact and damage the enemy.
Earth and Gold Elements, on the other hand, could be integrated into defensive gear to double the user’s defensive power.
The Plant Element could increase the toughness of both weapons and defensive gear, or with a bit of luck, even create a temporary ensnaring effect on the equipment to control enemies.
Therefore, Flora Bloom set out from Morhaven with Polly and Lex Cross, intending to find some zombies or creatures with special attributes and bring back some of their parts or Crystal Cores for experimentation.
Just as the two were chatting leisurely on the back of the Golden Crow, a figure suddenly appeared in the sky ahead, moving like the wind.
The figure vanished in a flash. The pair only caught a glimpse of a pair of enormous, fleshy wings flapping past them, which caused some turbulence for the Golden Crow.
The two looked down in the direction where the figure had disappeared.
Janton.
The city where Flora Bloom had grown up. It was also the place where she and Lex Cross had inexplicably met.
She suddenly thought of the horses from the mountain stables at the beginning of the apocalypse. With a jolt of inspiration, she patted the Golden Crow and said, "Let’s go. We’re going down to see my old friends!"