"Most importantly, I need to confirm that such a place even exists before I can accept your mission, right?"

Annelise Locke lowered her gaze, only looking up to meet Flora Bloom’s eyes again after a long moment.

"I know you’re afraid I’m lying to you. But I can guarantee it, a place like that really exists! There’s a cave there, so deep you can’t see to the end, and it’s shrouded in a thick mist. The entrance is surrounded by vast natural mountains and marshes. Without me to lead the way, no one can find it!"

’Shrouded in mist? Surrounded by mountains and marshes? Impossible to find without her leading the way? Does that mean the place has formed a natural maze?’

’That has to be it. That’s definitely the place. I can’t believe a secret land like this has already appeared so early in the apocalypse!’

’I have to get my hands on this secret land! Even if it’s just for my family’s future safety and survival, I must be the one in control of it!’

"There’s one more thing I have to tell you. Before you came to ask me about the mission, someone else had already come asking about this place. But since it’s my mission reward, I didn’t say a single word."

Flora Bloom’s brow furrowed at this. "Oh?"

"I think I’ve seen one of the two men with the base leader before. But I don’t remember it too clearly."

’Morgan Sterling?’

Among all the people Flora Bloom knew, besides Lex Cross and his twelve subordinates, Morgan Sterling was the only one whose Superpower Level and strength she couldn’t gauge.

At that moment, Flora Bloom even suspected that Morgan Sterling might have already gotten his hands on some other secret land that had suddenly appeared.

’But if he had control over a secret land, he wouldn’t be building a safe zone here, would he? After all, a secret land is far superior to the current base in terms of both space and security.’

’No one would choose to ride a bike when they have a luxury car. The only explanation is that he hasn’t obtained it yet. He probably can’t even get inside the secret land.’

"I’ll take your mission. But you have to come on a sea trip with me."

That evening, after the Bloom family finished dinner, Joel Bloom shut himself in his room early as usual.

Flora Bloom didn’t bother him. ’There are some things he has to work through on his own to truly move past them.’

When Flora Bloom told Caleb Bloom and Jade about her plan to go out to sea again, they were worried but didn’t try to stop her. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Have your dad go with you. He can pilot the boat for you."

Flora Bloom smiled. "Mom, Dad, don’t worry. This time, we’re just going out to catch a type of Sea Serpent, so we won’t be going too far. I’ll head over to Old Lynch’s place in a bit and have Irvin Holden come pilot the boat."

"Alright, then. But be careful."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be careful with everything!" As Flora Bloom was leaving to get Irvin Holden, Cynthia Grant suddenly came downstairs. When she heard they were going out to sea, she insisted on coming along.

"Flora, I wanna go, I wanna go! Tomorrow, my uncles are planning to go out and fight zombies again. It’s so boring! Let me come with you to the sea and relax a bit!"

Flora Bloom gave Cynthia Grant a speechless look. "Going out to fight zombies is good practice. You should stock up on Crystal Cores and break through to a Middle Level superpower as soon as possible. That’s the only way you’ll be safer when you go out in the future."

"Oh, I know, I know! I’ll just go on this one sea trip with you, and I’ll go fight zombies when we get back. Don’t even think about leaving me behind!"

And so, when they set out the next day, the planned group of three had become a group of four with the addition of Cynthia Grant.

But when they reached the waterfront where the yacht was originally docked, Flora Bloom took out an inflatable raft and got in. Two figures suddenly appeared on it with her.

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

The Crown Prince and Lynx appeared on the raft, their faces expressionless as they sat right down.

"The Crown Prince, Lynx, what are you two doing here?"

"The boss’s orders. While he’s away, we’re to protect you."

Flora Bloom pressed her lips together and stared at the two for a moment, but they sat perfectly still as if nothing was amiss, completely unfazed by her gaze. They even picked up the paddles and began to row.

With no other choice, two more people were added to the trip. Still, Flora considered that while Lynx and The Crown Prince were users of a Hidden Ability, they were also ex-special forces. Special forces soldiers were jacks-of-all-trades, so they probably knew more about seafaring than Irvin Holden.

The six of them boarded the yacht and gathered on the bridge to discuss their route.

"Does anyone here know much about Sea Serpents? Where can we go to catch venomous ones?" As soon as Flora Bloom finished speaking, Annelise Locke spoke up.

"Most Sea Serpents in the ocean are highly venomous, and it’s all neurotoxins. I used to be a keeper for protected snake species at a zoo, so I know a little about them."

Annelise Locke was still completely wrapped in cloth, with only her eyes and nostrils visible.

"Sea Serpents are generally more common in tropical regions. Unlike most snakes, those in tropical areas don’t need to hibernate. At every high tide, some will crawl onto the shore to hunt for prey, then swim back out when the tide recedes. But Morhaven will be entering winter soon, so I think most Sea Serpents will rarely come ashore to hunt anymore. Instead, they’ll likely migrate based on the ocean temperature. The warmer the water, the higher the probability of finding them."

Flora Bloom nodded and looked at Irvin Holden and the others. "Don’t look at me. I don’t know the first thing about marine geography. If I’d known, I would have dragged Old Lynch along. He’d definitely know!"

"Actually, the sea just outside Morhaven isn’t too far from the nearest natural swimming area fed by a warm current!" Irvin Holden suddenly said. He looked at Cynthia Grant. "Cynthia, do you remember that place from the mission that nearly got you killed?"

"Ah!" Cynthia Grant cried out as if jolted from a dream. "Flora, you remember, right? Snowy said that familiar scent on me came from that place! It was originally a small island, and not a tiny one either. The warm current zone Julian was talking about just suddenly appeared there!"

"How long would it take to get there?"

Irvin Holden set the destination in the navigation system and, after some calculation, said, "A week at the fastest, two and a half weeks at the slowest!"

The Crown Prince and Lynx suddenly went to the control console on the bridge. After a flurry of activity and inputting a long string of code, as if setting a secret password, they looked up and told Flora Bloom, "Boss, if we’re going there, we have a more suitable route. We can definitely get there in five days."

Flora Bloom considered this for a moment, then asked again, "Julian, do we have enough fuel and supplies on the yacht?" The proposed ten-day round trip was acceptable to her. Any longer and she feared her parents would worry, especially since she had told them that morning she would only be gone for half a month.

"Alright, let’s go. We’re heading there!"

Flora Bloom arranged a room for Annelise Locke to rest in, then went out on deck and recalled the school of saury into her space. She also had Ash swim ahead of their ship.

Through their mental link, when Ash learned where they were going, it transmitted a deep sense of unease to Flora Bloom.

’But one of the goals of Flora’s trip was to investigate that place anyway. She was already at Level 3, and using Crystal Cores no longer helped her compress and refine her superpower. Every time she absorbed a Crystal Core, it felt like a stone sinking into the ocean, with no progress whatsoever.’

’If this continued, she would still be stuck where she was while everyone else broke through to the Middle Level.’

’The honey from the mutated bee swarm had boosted her superpower a tiny bit, but after eating it a few times, it had lost its effect.’

’It seemed the only way to break through to the Middle Level was to take a risk.’

’She thought about the layers of mist at the far edges of her space, and the Spiritual Energy that was practically overflowing behind it. If there really were other Crystal Stones there, not only could she expand and perfect her space, but it might also be a great help in breaking through to the Middle Level superpower.’