The enchanting and bizarre black flowers were certainly not ordinary food crops, nor were they any known commercial plants.
Vast tracts of land were deeply tilled, and each ridge was densely planted with the same strange flowers.
They had stems and petals as black as ink, seemingly capable of absorbing light.
Their forms were twisted and rigid, as if sculpted from metal or solidified asphalt.
The flowers themselves presented an unnatural, sharp geometric shape.
The edges of the petals were sharp, and the central pistil shimmered with a faint, unsettling phosphorescence of eerie purple.
The lingering sweet, bloody scent in the air became especially strong here.
The source was precisely this silent black sea of flowers.
Zoya's pupils contracted slightly.
These flowers... were almost identical to the twisted floral totem she had seen on the Saint Martan military officer uniform badge!
Their large-scale, industrialized cultivation here was certainly not for simple ornamental or economic purposes.
Perhaps she should ask Chloe what exactly this was.
A group of workers wearing simple gas masks toiled mechanically among the black flowers, like driven livestock.
Their exposed skin was covered with fresh whip marks and abrasions, old injuries layered over new, appearing particularly glaring under the scorching sun.
These were likely the workers abducted from the sugar factory, forced into some damn labor reform.
Every dozen meters, a Soldier stood there, fully armed, with cold and vigilant eyes.
If the workers were even slightly slow, or just straightened their backs to catch a few breaths, they would immediately be met with the Soldier's scolding and whip.
A layer of unstable golden-red firelight suddenly erupted from Zoya's body, and the surrounding air was instantly scorched and distorted.
A violent impulse surged to her head!
Burn those scumbags! Turn this wicked flower field and its guards into ashes!
Her fists cracked, her nails almost embedding into her palms.
No!
She couldn't disrupt the plan!
Just wait...
Zoya knew better than anyone the terrifying nature of the evil fire within her body—it craved destruction and was extremely prone to losing control.
She forced herself to take deep breaths, and that dangerous firelight receded with difficulty, like a receding tide, back into the depths of her body.
This was completely opposite to Billie; that guy indulged in the pleasure of losing control and never thought of restraining her wild instincts.
On the other side, on the outskirts of the New Reclamation Area, in a dilapidated shed.
More than a dozen fully armed young people huddled in the shadows, the air hot and tense.
They, of course, belonged to the Black Queen, but most of their faces were young, their skin lacked the common sun-baked marks of locals, and their eyes mixed anger, tension, and an idealism untainted by the world, making them seem more like a group of students and passionate youths.
Leading them was naturally Frost, and beside him stood the two "angel funders," Mr. Lucas and Mr. Boris.
These were Centipede and Toad of the Wild Beast Gang.
"Wait until dark!" Frost lowered his voice, but the incite power in his words did not diminish.
He surveyed each young face, "We won't be like that naive woman, Chloe! What is she still doing? Praying for a myth to descend? Waiting for a vague savior?"
He scoffed, his voice suddenly rising, with an undeniable resolve: "We rely on ourselves! Rescue our brothers and sisters! Make those Soldiers who treat our compatriots like livestock pay the price! Hang them—"
He suddenly waved his hand, making a hanging motion, "—hang them! Let everyone see the consequences of tyranny!"
"Rescue our compatriots!"
"Kill them!"
The young people were stirred to a fever pitch, echoing him in suppressed voices, their eyes burning with the fire of revenge.
Frost looked at everyone's reaction with satisfaction, then walked over to Lucas and Boris in the corner.
"Hey, Brother Frost," Lucas rubbed his chin, looking curious, but his eyes gleamed with shrewd calculation, "That one called Goluthos... the little mute? What's her background exactly? It sounds like your Black Queen values her highly?"
A trace of impatience and disdain flashed across Frost's face: "How the hell would I know? I'm not a Saint Martan, listening to those people babble, saying she's some ancient anomaly ancestor from thousands of years ago?"
"Heh!" He sneered.
"I was hoping she could summon some world-destroying ancient beast to help us flatten the presidential palace!"
"The result? She just brought back a little girl who can't even speak? What can she do?"
"I think," Frost's voice was full of contempt and distrust, "She's just spouting nonsense! She simply wasted so much time, achieved nothing, and was afraid of not being able to account for it, so she just brought back some trinket to fool people!"
"Hahaha! Brother Frost is indeed insightful!"
Lucas immediately laughed flatteringly, patting Frost's shoulder, "Once you take over the New Reclamation Area, let Chloe see your methods, and become the true Black King... Hehe."
He leaned in closer, lowering his voice, a lewd, unspoken smile between men appearing on his face.
"That little girl..."
"Can you give her to us brothers to play with?"
"To you?" Frost was stunned, seemingly not having reacted.
"Yes," Lucas licked his lips, his eyes revealing naked wickedness, "To be honest, brother, I like this kind. Those budding young girls, their bodies are light and soft, and they have a virgin's delicate scent... Tsk tsk, that's what you call a true delicacy!"
"That girl Goluthos, although she's a mute, she's truly beautiful."
"That little look, so delicate and frail... Hehe, just to my taste!"
Frost was first astonished, then burst into a rough laugh: "Hahaha! Brother Lucas, no problem! No problem! Once I'm settled in my position, this eyesore of a fake Black King, I certainly can't let her stay by Chloe's side and continue to mislead people!"
"At that time, you can do whatever you want with her! Consider it my congratulatory gift to you, brother!"
Upon hearing this, Lucas immediately acted like a lifelong brother, hooking arms with Frost and laughing heartily.
They laughed as if power and women were already within their grasp.
Billie held her phone, maintaining the filming posture, her brows tightly furrowed. She had originally thought Frost was just foolish, jealous, and eager for quick success, and that his true intention was still for the Black Queen, but now that she heard this, he was a complete scumbag.
What did he take the Black Queen for?
They were a resistance organization, not some dictatorial cult!
This also made Serie suddenly understand a truth more profoundly.
Those who resist evil do not necessarily pursue justice; they may also just want to replace it.
They just didn't know that their conversation had already been fully recorded by the person concerned on a mobile phone.
They also didn't know what kind of ending this would bring them.
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