When Flora Bloom came out, the front yard was packed with people. She scanned the crowd and did a quick mental tally. ’Good grief.’ Every single villager from Oakhaven Village—except for Wu Shangjin’s daughter, Loraine Wallace—was standing outside her family’s yard.

Her uncle, Stephen Bloom, and his family were among them.

At the very front of the crowd stood Wu Shangjin. When he saw Flora Bloom, Neal Wallace, Ethan Monroe, and Caleb Bloom come out, he suddenly bellowed, his voice filled with righteous indignation.

"Caleb Bloom, if you know what’s good for you, hand over Jade immediately. Otherwise, we’re all rushing in!"

He was holding a hoe, which he raised and pointed at Caleb Bloom.

Flora Bloom watched Wu Shangjin’s clownish display and sneered, "You’ve got the guts? Then come on."

"Vert, come. Anyone who charges forward—don’t let a single one escape. If even one of them is left alive, I’m holding you responsible."

Flora Bloom called out, and Vert, receiving its orders, spread its wings and leaped to the yard gate. Playing its part perfectly, it tilted its head back and let out a sharp screech, looking as if it might violently lash out and kill everyone before it at any second.

Instantly, the crowd, led by Wu Shangjin, screamed and scrambled backward.

None of them had ever seen such a gigantic mantis monster before!

"Ah! Flora Bloom, you witch! How dare you summon such a demonic creature to attack humans! You’ll face divine retribution for this!"

The village chief, Victor Warren, suddenly stepped forward and declared self-righteously, "Your mother was bitten by a monster. She must be cremated to purge the evil presence. And you, you witch, can summon a demon like this. Oakhaven Village has no place for you."

Flora Bloom suddenly walked to the yard gate, leaned against Vert’s abdomen, and said, "Oh? No place for us? Then what do you propose to do about it?"

The village chief stammered, unsure of what to say. The party secretary, Wu Shangjin, mustered his courage and stepped forward, only to shrink back behind the chief in fear.

"For the well-being of Oakhaven Village, just hand your mother over for us to deal with. We’ll let you off the hook and allow you to leave Oakhaven Village."

Flora Bloom reacted as if she’d heard a hilarious joke. After a moment of laughter, her face suddenly turned cold, and she said, "Dream on."

At that moment, a very old man from Oakhaven Village—an elder whom all the villagers respectfully called Old Uncle—stepped forward, leaning on a cane.

Being the oldest person in the village, he was highly respected by everyone, aside from the village chief and the party secretary. He looked at Flora Bloom, his deeply wrinkled face etched with disapproval.

"Flora, I remember you being so clever and cute as a child. How did you grow up to be so senseless? This is a serious matter for your elders to discuss. What is a junior like you doing, causing trouble? Stand down, now."

His face was stern and authoritative, as if he were an elder of great standing reprimanding a junior in his own family.

In her past life, Flora Bloom might have had a shred of respect for this old man. But now, his words just made her feel utterly disgusted.

"My elders are my father, standing behind me, and my mother, who is inside cooking. What right do you have to call yourself my elder?"

Flora Bloom glanced around at the crowd, a scornful smile playing on her lips. ’These ignorant villagers. They probably have no idea that the world has been turned upside down, that the entire planet is now a playground for monsters. And yet they still have the nerve to be here, messing around with their feudal superstitions and plotting to murder my mother.’

"Insolence! You... you, a mere junior, you dare... you dare talk back to an elder like that? You... you... you ill-bred whelp!"

Seeing that Flora Bloom wasn’t buying his act at all, the old man’s voice suddenly rose to a shout.

Listening to his words, Flora Bloom’s expression darkened.

"You old coot, I can see your face is ashen, and your lips are turning purple. Take a look at your fingernails and toenails. Aren’t they turning black? Let me tell you something. You’ve already been infected with the zombie virus. You’re going to mutate into a zombie very soon. Oh, and zombies are what you people call man-eating monsters."

Hearing Flora Bloom’s words, the old man’s face went white with rage. He pointed at her, unable to sputter out a complete sentence for a long moment.

"You... you... you ill-mannered little mongrel! You... you’re insolent!"

"Am I the one being insolent, or are you the one talking crap? You’re at death’s door and you’re still letting Wu Shangjin use you as his weapon? Careful now. You might just turn into a zombie, get dragged off by him for cremation, and not even have a whole corpse left to your name."

Finally, provoked by Flora Bloom’s words, the old man turned his anger on Caleb Bloom.

"Caleb Bloom, what a fine daughter your family has raised!"

Caleb Bloom knew these people were all here to cause trouble. They either wanted to burn his wife to death or drive them out of Oakhaven Village.

He looked at the village chief, Victor Warren, and said earnestly, "Chief Warren, my wife, Jade, has already recovered. She won’t turn into a monster. If you try to burn her, that’s murder! And murder is against the law."

Hearing Caleb Bloom’s words, Wu Shangjin’s expression suddenly changed, and an uncertain light flickered in his eyes.

His purpose for gathering everyone here today wasn’t to burn Jade to death. He had already heard from Stephen Bloom’s family that Jade had somehow made a full recovery.

That meant his daughter, Loraine, might be able to recover too, right? He had to get the method for healing the wound from Jade and save his daughter before everyone else found out she had also been scratched by a monster. And so he interjected, "Just because you say she’s fine, that makes it true? When she turns into a monster, not only will your whole family be doomed, you’ll drag the rest of us down too! This is unacceptable. We must take Jade!"

Flora Bloom had noticed Wu Shangjin’s expression a moment ago. Something was off about the party secretary, but for the moment, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

She decided to test him. "Wu Shangjin, if I can prove my mom is fine, will you all leave?"

Wu Shangjin was stunned by Flora Bloom’s question. He saw the villagers starting to murmur amongst themselves, some of them saying, "If she’s really fine, then of course we don’t need to cremate her."

But Wu Shangjin grew anxious and said, "Who knows if you’re lying about her condition? If you want to prove she’s fine, then have her come with us so we can examine her."

"That’s right! You’re a witch who knows black magic! Who knows if you’ve cast some kind of illusion? Even if your mom is fine, your whole family needs to get out of Oakhaven Village! Our village doesn’t welcome you!"

At that, Flora Bloom finally understood everything.

"This is hilarious. Once we’re gone, I wonder how you all plan to divide up the spoils of our family’s house and land?"

When she said this, most of the villagers were stunned. Only the village chief, the party secretary, and her ’dear’ uncle Stephen Bloom’s family looked nervous, their eyes darting about evasively.

She’d guessed right. ’These people were really after our family’s property. Too bad for them. After the apocalypse, houses are the most worthless things around. A home that cost tens or even hundreds of thousands per square meter before the end of the world is now completely valueless. As long as you’re strong enough, you can take your pick of any house in a high-end urban complex. The only catch is having the power and supplies to survive in the first place.’

Suddenly, the sound of a man shouting and screaming came from a short distance away.

The voice was completely unfamiliar; at least, Flora Bloom had never heard it before.

A moment later, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie burst through the edge of the crowd, clutching a blood-drenched neck. He ran right up to the party secretary.

He was covered in blood, looking utterly wretched as he clutched his neck, his face deathly pale. Clearly, he had been bitten by something.

Flora Bloom warily pulled her father behind her, putting distance between them and the crowd.

"Wu Shangjin, has your daughter gone mad? She actually dared to bite me!"