"This Joy Witch… is actually just a small sapling?"
Serie was slightly startled, then recognized the flower's appearance.
Isn't this the thing from the "Abnormal Contamination Zone" near the New Reclamation Area?
The good news was, the Joy Witch was very close to them.
The bad news was, that contamination zone… didn't sound like a good place.
Serie's consciousness stirred within Goluthos's body; she got up, and under Chloe's slightly puzzled gaze, took a drawing board—one she had "borrowed" from a child of the Black Queen earlier.
She quickly sketched the outlines of two flowers, one black and one red, and then drew a large question mark over them.
Chloe's eyes narrowed, and she immediately understood: "Adult Goluthos, are you asking about… those flowers in the New Reclamation Area?"
Serie nodded.
"The black flower is called Fear Eater Rose," Chloe's voice deepened, "it's a monstrous thing personally cultivated by Santos, the President of Saint Martan, and is said to be a very dangerous plant."
"Under specific conditions, approaching it, or even just seeing it, can cause one to be overwhelmed by an irresistible fear."
She paused, her face somewhat pale, as if recalling some extremely terrible scene: "Santos has a crazy theory; he believes all things can evolve into Anomalies, and the fear aura emitted by the Fear Eater Rose acts like a catalyst."
"It can forcefully bring out this evolution." Her tone carried suppressed anger, "Many Anomalies in Saint Martan, and… within our Black Queen, were forcefully accelerated into existence by him this way!"
Serie frowned slightly; this theory was somewhat similar to the Control Bureau's Cold Condensation Experiment.
"This method might be effective, but the side effects are also severe; eight or nine out of ten people, after being stimulated by the Fear Eater Rose, will experience severe adverse reactions, even cardiac arrest and mental breakdown."
"Even if they are lucky enough to survive, the abilities they gain come with severe sequelae."
Chloe clenched her fists, "But Santos doesn't care at all! He only believes in his jungle law of the strong preying on the weak, planting this monstrous thing everywhere, and using its extraction to build his army of monsters."
Chloe's voice was laced with ice: "This is simply a monster production line built on human lives! When the situation stabilizes, the first thing I'll do is burn all these damned roses and plant crops that can feed people on that land!"
Undeniable determination burned in her eyes.
Serie's heart trembled; she hadn't expected such cruelty behind that inconspicuous black flower.
Mass-producing Anomalies?
But the efficiency was pitifully low, and those who survived weren't necessarily useful…
Was it purely power gained at the cost of human lives?
This Santos truly was a lunatic.
Serie's finger then pointed to the red flower on the drawing board.
"This one…" Chloe frowned, somewhat hesitant: "I've seen it, right in the contamination zone on the edge of the New Reclamation Area. I'm not sure what exactly it is; perhaps it's a mutated experimental product that Santos created using the Fear Eater Rose?"
"That bastard is always like this! Constantly conducting his crazy experiments everywhere, and when they fail, he just seals them off, leaving a mess and running away!" At this point, Chloe was filled with renewed indignation.
"Those contamination zones are like festering sores on the land, each one a ticking time bomb."
"Only the innocent local people suffer in the end!"
Upon hearing this, Serie gently rubbed her head against Chloe's arm, as if comforting her.
Chloe's tense body trembled slightly; she naturally embraced Serie, burying her face in her neck, and deeply inhaled the faint, elegant fragrance, slowly calming her agitated emotions.
"Adult Goluthos, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Chloe's voice softened.
"Hmm… Of course, it's because, for some reason, I've become the very essence of that red flower."
Serie rolled her eyes internally, and innocently shook her head, indicating that she was just curious.
At the same time, Billie and Zoya had already acted.
Kuchiha had created many Rabbit Holes in the New Reclamation Area during the previous day's chaotic battle.
This saved them the trouble of entering and exiting the Black Queen headquarters and having to traverse the shallow sea.
They arrived at the New Reclamation Area.
The once continuous black flower fields had long been cut off from water and abandoned, the workers dispersed, leaving only a deathly calm.
Only a few scattered Black Queen guards remained.
When the guards saw Billie and Zoya, they not only didn't stop them but even nodded in greeting.
This was why Chloe was a leader; she had long ago instructed her militia to never neglect people like Billie and Zoya, because they were Adult Goluthos's people.
This thorough preparation made Serie secretly praise her.
To lead an organization as large as the Black Queen at such a young age, Chloe truly wasn't just talk.
What was her background, anyway?
Serie became curious about Chloe's origins.
That inherent calmness and discerning gaze, that experience and demeanor far beyond her age… it was definitely not something an ordinary family could cultivate.
She must be from a prominent family.
It wasn't that Serie looked down on the poor; it was just that the kindness and wisdom in Chloe could only be forged by years of nurturing.
She had only seen such a gaze in Lynette.
In some aspects, Lynette was even a bit more naive, especially concerning social interactions.
Zoya and Billie walked side by side towards the forbidden zone marked "Abnormal Contamination Zone."
At the same time.
Saint Martan's capital, Vestamar.
Huge portraits of President Santos, in glaring red, black, and gold, in a frantic propaganda art style, were crudely painted and plastered on every available space—building exteriors, bus bodies, billboards… they were simply everywhere.
The man in the painting had short black hair, graying at the temples, a meticulously trimmed beard, handsome features, and a robust physique.
His eyes, through the canvas, overlooked the entire city.
Military vehicles frequently patrolled the streets, and the presidential palace, fortified and transformed from the colonial-era governor's mansion, stood like a fortress within.
Deep within the presidential palace, underground.
President Santos sat before a thick, one-way glass panel.
On the other side of the glass was a thin, frail little boy dressed in a simple hospital gown.
Santos unhurriedly put on his glasses, picked up a pen, and personally took notes.
His expression was focused, as if observing an interesting phenomenon about to occur.
He casually waved his hand.
"Hiss—clank!"
The Soldier received the order, and the sharp metallic screech of the airlock opening rang out.
Immediately, thick, inky black gas, like a bursting dam, surged wildly into the little boy's sealed cell!
The little boy frantically dodged and held his breath, but the omnipresent black mist instantly swallowed him.
The anomaly…
had begun.
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