Chapter 172 - 160: You Go Lure the Bees

"Master, you need not worry. We will not harm you."

The queenly voice’s spiritual power began communicating with Flora Bloom through their spiritual link.

"How in the world did you get into my spiritual link?" Flora Bloom was going crazy. Of the dozen or so spiritual powers in the link, only this queenly voice was coherent. The rest sounded like meek, soft-spoken children whose minds hadn’t fully developed, making communication impossible.

"Does Master not know?"

"I was able to communicate with Master after eating the honey my worker bees collected."

Flora Bloom frowned. ’Eaten honey collected by worker bees?’ In a bee colony, only the queen and the larvae eat honey. ’Could this one be a queen bee?’ So she asked, "Did the others become like this after eating the honey too?"

’If these bees acknowledge me as their master after eating honey, what exactly is happening?’

Suddenly, Flora Bloom recalled the swarm of bees that had just chased them here. Several of them had gathered some pollen from the wildflowers before leaving.

’Could it really work like that?’

’The flowers and trees here recognized me as their master after absorbing the wood spirits I branded with my space’s special imprint. And those dozen bees collected nectar from these flowers.’

’Does this mean that any substance produced by something branded with my space’s unique imprint will also carry that imprint?’

The social structure of a bee colony is complex, with a clear division of labor. A hive has at least one queen bee, a number of drones, and many worker bees. The queen is female and is responsible for laying eggs after mating with the drones. The drones die after mating.

The ones that go out to collect nectar are all worker bees. They gather pollen and return to the hive to produce honey, which they use to feed the queen and the larvae in the hive.

’So, the bees from earlier gathered pollen from the wildflowers here that have already acknowledged me as master, and the honey they produced was eaten by the queen and larvae in the hive?’

’So, the pollen from the wildflowers branded with my space’s imprint must also carry the imprint. That means if the worker bees turn it into honey, any larvae and the queen who eat that honey become my property?’

’In other words, all these presences in my spiritual link acknowledged me as their master because they were branded after eating that honey.’

At this thought, Flora Bloom started to get excited. ’I never expected my space’s power could be used like this! This is totally beyond my expectations!’

The memory of the beehives in the trees, which had previously made her skin crawl, now looked like a considerable fighting force that would soon be hers.

She had wanted to clear out this villa area for two reasons. First, to give her family a better living environment. Second, Vert had said it found something good.

The "good thing" Vert had found was these bees. The bees had Crystal Cores, and they could also be food for Vert. Weren’t they good things indeed?

But the massive beehives hanging from tree after tree... there were at least a dozen by a rough estimate, and that didn’t even count other areas of the villa complex they hadn’t seen yet.

She didn’t know how venomous the stingers of these mutated bees were. If they were highly toxic, a rash attack could be fatal.

On the other hand, although this swarm of bees was aggressive, if she could bring them into her space and make them her own, they would become a significant offensive tool for her.

’Just imagine unleashing such a large swarm of bees to attack someone. A dense cloud of them could instantly swell a person up like a balloon. And if they were unlucky enough to be stung to death, they’d just be a dead, swollen mess.’

With this goal in mind, Flora Bloom had been wracking her brain over how to deal with these bees.

’But now, if this method really works, then what I’ll gain isn’t just a huge fighting force!’

Thinking of that sweet, syrupy honey, she mused how wonderful it would be to wake up to a glass of honey water every day in the apocalypse.

’Think it, do it.’ But she wasn’t reckless enough to just charge in and confront a swarm of bees head-on.

After all, this was just her theory.

With a ’let’s-give-it-a-try’ attitude, Flora Bloom glanced at Shauna Wallace, a mischievous smile creeping onto her face.

Shauna Wallace felt a shiver run down her spine at Flora Bloom’s inexplicable smile.

"Flora Bloom, why... why are you looking at me like that?"

"I’ve thought of a way to deal with these bees."

The eyes of all three lit up simultaneously.

"Really?" Shauna Wallace asked uneasily.

"What’s the plan?" Neal Wallace was also curious.

"Stop being so mysterious and just tell us!" Sherman Lynch, used to being in charge, couldn’t stand Flora Bloom’s roundabout way of speaking.

"Remember how I got Vert the golden cicada?" Flora Bloom looked at Neal Wallace and raised an eyebrow.

"You’re saying you can subdue these bees? Just like you did with Vert?" Neal Wallace was getting excited now too.

"But first, I need someone to help me lure them over!"

Flora Bloom’s gaze remained fixed on Shauna Wallace. The other three naturally understood what she meant. But Shauna was the weakest of the four and had no offensive abilities. Besides her, the two men were not optimistic about her proposal.

"This young lady has zero offensive power and she’s a slow runner. You want her to lure the bees here for you? You might as well just tell her to go get herself killed. It’d be faster," Sherman Lynch pointed out bluntly.

"Hey, I say, Flora, don’t tell me you’re just jealous she’s prettier than you and want her to get killed so you can secure your spot as the number one beauty?"

Flora Bloom stared speechlessly at Sherman Lynch’s old, teasingly improper face. "You old coot, looks like you’re itching for a workout, huh? Fine, you go. Let’s see if your old bones can handle a swarm of bees. If you get stung to death, don’t expect me to save you!"

Choked by Flora Bloom’s words, Sherman Lynch immediately and obediently shut his mouth.

"How about I go instead? If I can’t outrun them, my superpower can protect me."

"Your superpower won’t just protect you; the bees won’t even chase you unless there’s a huge swarm!" Flora Bloom rolled her eyes at him. "Insects and plants are naturally afraid of fire. You go? Unless you poke the beehive, I guarantee you won’t be able to lure the swarm over obediently."

Flora Bloom looked at Shauna Wallace, a faint smile playing on her lips. It had a hint of mischief, but it certainly wasn’t the malicious kind of smile that wished harm upon someone.

"Shauna, the Healing System has an affinity for all life forms except zombies, but it’s also dangerous. If the swarm perceives you as a threat, they will attack you. You saw it yourself when we were escaping just now. You’re a slow runner, and you could be stung at any moment."

"I’ll go!"

Flora Bloom smiled at her. "Aren’t you going to ask why I’m asking you to go?"

Shauna Wallace’s cool, beautiful face was expressionless, her bright eyes as calm as a still lake. "I don’t believe you have any reason to harm me. So, I’ll go."

’All the way from the weather station to the safe zone, Shauna Wallace had come to understand Flora Bloom’s strength. Someone this powerful would have no need to harm a person with a low Superpower Level like me. Besides, I don’t think I’m so beautiful that Flora Bloom would want me dead. If she wanted to kill me, she wouldn’t have waited until now.’

"Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. Healing System superpower users are in short supply. Keeping you on my team will be a great asset in the future!"

After speaking, just in case, Flora Bloom took out a small leather band strung with white pearls and put it on Shauna Wallace’s wrist.

"Shauna, thank you for your trust. But please, be careful with everything. What I need to tell you is that your Healing System is an incredible superpower; it’s not just for healing people. It has a strong affinity for life! The reason I’m asking you to go is that when you’re attacked by living creatures, your healing ability can soothe their aggressive consciousness and emotions, making them feel a sense of closeness to you."

Shauna Wallace’s face was filled with surprise. "Really? My Healing System is that amazing?"

"Of course. But since you’re only Level Two right now, it will be more effective on life forms not too far above or below your level. But there can be exceptions.

Of course, none of this is absolute. You can choose not to go, and none of us will let you put yourself in danger."