Chapter 204Â
He claimed I was the only one for him and swore he’d never marry anyone else, but after he got his memories back, he justÂ
vanished without a word.Â
I am lucky I haven’t given him too much of my heart, and even luckier I never bought into his so–called feelings, she thought.Â
On her way back to the base, Chloe noticed all sorts of mutant creatures emerging along the road. Her sense of loss was instantly replaced by a surge of vigilance.Â
Back when the temperature was about -85 F, the only things out there were zombies and Frostbeasts.Â
But now, just about ten days later, the temperature had climbed to around -4° F. It was still freezing, but a lot of mutant creatures had already woken up.Â
And then there were all those mutant plants in the Botanic Gardens. Getting rid of them was a real headache.Â
The hailstorm had wiped out most of the zombies, but those were just the ordinary ones, or maybe level one or two.Â
Zombies at level three and above had a bit more intelligence. Their bodies could take a beating from those giant hailstones for quite a while.Â
They even had a hazy idea of how to hide themselves.Â
The real game–changer, though, was the rising temperature. Now that their frozen blood was thawing out, the zombies weren’t lumbering around anymore. They were moving a lot faster.Â
And when it came to the Zombie King, taking him down was nowhere near as easy as before.Â
Whenever Chloe came across a Zombie King or mutant creature that was on par with her own level, she noticed their combat abilities had gotten a serious boost.Â
She cut her way through wave after wave of level three and four mutant creatures along the road.Â
Chloe thought to herself, ‘Looks like I need to put my teammates through their paces while the opportunity’s here.Â
“It’s not enough to just get stronger myself–the whole squad needs to step up. That’s how you get real power!Â
Chloe cashed in all the cores she’d picked up along the way for points. Her total was now in the hundreds.Â
A faint smile curled on her lips, like a dragon watching its hoard pile up. Nothing felt better than that kind of security.Â
When Chloe got back to the base, she saw the villa was surrounded by all kinds of mutant creatures.Â
She rubbed her eyes. “Holy crap,” she muttered.Â
She’d only been gone a little over a week, and now the place was crawling with greenery. When she left, this villa looked like a palace.Â
Now, thick ivies had completely covered the whole building, their palm–sized leaves blocking every crack and crevice.Â
This wasn’t the luxurious villa she remembered anymore. It looked more like a haunted house.Â
She pulled out her walkie–talkie.Â
1/4Â
Chapter 204Â
Frank’s voice came through, urgent. “Chloe, bad news–the base is surrounded by mutant plants!Â
“Emily can’t figure out what level they are, so we’re staying put for now.”Â
Chloe smiled. “Perfect. I’m outside the villa. Everyone, get ready. We’re clearing out those mutant plants”Â
Frank paused for a moment, then asked, “Did you find Noah?”Â
Chloe felt a hollow ache in her chest. “He probably got his memories back and just left.”Â
Her voice sounded light, but you could hear the strain underneath.Â
Sadness, mixed feelings swirling inside her, a touch of resentment–but above all, she felt a sense of relief.Â
“What?” On the other end, a bunch of voices burst out in shock, and then everyone started yelling at Noah.Â
“He just up and left without a word? Ditched Chloe like that? Next time I see him, I’m gonna teach him a lesson,” someoneÂ
shouted.Â
Chloe gave a bitter laugh. “Alright, alright, let’s focus up. Everyone gets ready for a fight.”Â
As soon as Chloe finished talking, the green ivies blocking the villa’s front door were suddenly swallowed by a burst of flames. Fire blasted out from inside, burning the ivies to a crisp in seconds.Â
But that ivy was ridiculously tenacious. Even after the ivies at the door were torched, fresh shoots sprang up like the thing just wouldn’t quit, wrapping around the entrance and sealing it off all over again.Â
Chloe narrowed her eyes and let her gaze follow the ivy’s ivies off into the distance. Her heart skipped a beat.Â
She thought, ‘Holy crap. Are those ivies seriously coming all the way from the Botanic Gardens? How freaking powerful is this thing?‘Â
Chloe reached out with her right hand, and a 9–foot ice blade appeared out of thin air, catching the sunlight with a cold gleam.Â
She shot forward, taking a single step and instantly covering 65 feet in a flash.Â
She swung the ice blade down with force, hacking through a ivy as thick as her thigh. Bright red liquid gushed out from the severed end.Â
It looked a bit like blood, but it wasn’t as thick–more translucent, almost clear.Â
As soon as the ivy was cut, Chloe could barely make out a low, anguished howl echoing from the direction of the Botanic Gardens.Â
All the ivies wrapping around the villa were just offshoots branching out from this one thick, central vine.Â
Once that main ivy was severed, all the leafy tendrils covering the villa instantly froze and shriveled up in the cold air.Â
The vine, still oozing with red liquid, quickly pulled back, retreating in a hurry.Â
Frank and the others finally made their way out of the villa, glancing around in disbelief at the scene.Â
They all just leveled up. Even the lowest among them were now at least second–level powered humans.Â
“Chloe, you’re back?” someone called out.Â
2/4Â
Chapter 204Â
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.Â
55 voucherÂ
Chloe was the rock of the team. If anything had happened to her out there, the whole base would’ve been thrown into chaos.Â
Chloe nodded.Â
“Take out these intruders,” Chloe ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.Â
Chloe’s eyes were icy as she scanned the area. Not far off, mutant creatures were already closing in, ready to attack.Â
“Got it!” Frank replied. He’d been cooped up in the villa for way too long, and now he finally got to go wild.Â
He was the first to rush out, his whole body flaring with golden light that pooled into his fist. He picked up speed and smashed his fist right into the skull of the late–stage level three mutant leading the charge.Â
With a loud bang, the mutant’s head blew up like a watermelon.Â
‘Damn, that was savage!‘ Frank thought.Â
He was shocked. He was just at the peak of late–stage level three himself, and yet he’d managed to take out a fellow level three mutant with a single punch.Â
‘Now that’s what I call a lucky break, Frank thought.Â
Frank’s epic win fired up the whole squad. Everyone split into small teams and went on a full–blown rampage, hunting down mutant creatures and plants left and right.Â
Even the thirty–some ordinary folks grabbed fire axes and rushed in, joining the fight without a hint of hesitation.Â
Clayton led the charge.Â
He was an earth–powered human, and with a slap of his hands on the ground, he raised a wall that blocked every attack from the mutant creatures.Â
Everyone knew Clayton’s crew didn’t have any powers, so they left the level one mutants for them to deal with.Â
That way, they wouldn’t be in any real danger, but they could still get a taste of the fight.Â
There were no cowards in Blaze Haven.Â
Except for Liana and the infants, even Molly and Chiara were out there fighting.Â
After the apocalypse, there was no such thing as absolute safety, and people couldn’t count on anyone but themselves.Â
Only by mastering real power could people truly become strong.Â
Everyone charged in at once. With the cold still biting and the mutant plants barely awake, they were sluggish and slow. The squad tore through them. Those plants didn’t stand a chance.Â
As darkness started to settle in, everyone returned to the villa, loaded up with trophies from the hunt.Â
They marched back inside, laughing and celebrating, showing off their haul like victorious heroes.Â
3/4Â