Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle Chapter 1135: The Flower

Asad glanced at them next, verifying their ability to move once more, before opting to escort them to Blue Bubble Shelter initially. He'd purchase clothes and essential items for them there prior to heading back to the Shelter.

The youngest boy gripped the blanket firmly while murmuring softly,

"Thank you... Thank you, Uncle Asad."

Asad's eyes grew tender. He rarely received thanks from a child, yet he graciously accepted it...

He hadn't arrived intending to save anyone to begin with. Nevertheless, three delicate lives now regarded him as their rescuer. The sensation wasn't unpleasant whatsoever.

"You’re welcome... Phoenix Phalanx will pay for this. Every last one of them."

***

With the three now tended to, he dispatched two skeletons to protect them.

This unsettled them momentarily, yet having vowed not to fear, they quickly settled and began curiously prodding the skeletons, wondering at their motion...

In the meantime, the Wraith Queen had just alerted Asad to investigate certain spots alone... This necessitated postponing their journey home...

Thus, he pressed on with his search. Within the armory, crates brimmed with weapons—rifles, crossbows, and rough explosives. He commanded the Skeleton Kings to haul them away...

"I see... You want to show these to me..." Asad murmured, spotting diverse items usable solely by Necromancers.

They were cursed gear!

Cursed Necklace, Cursed Staff, and even Cursed Cloak... All present here too.

"Alright, let me take care of them."

Naturally, that wasn't the extent... Far too much loot filled the area, and the skeletons swiftly carted it all off.

Before long, he entered the laboratories, discovering vials of dark liquid marked with odd codes.

The skeletons packed them meticulously into boxes to prevent breakage. He swiftly appraised one, learning they were tonics to accelerate Corpse Flower growth.

In the storerooms lay sacks of grain, water barrels, and herb bundles.

Mummy Lords were already transporting the bulk, their bandages coiling around the goods like tentacles.

All around, signs of Phoenix Phalanx's brutality appeared.

Torture tools, chains, and journals brimming with entries on "subject viability" and "corpse integration."

"Tsk... They’re not humans..."

He promptly incinerated the journals he uncovered... "No one else will continue this work."

***

At last, Asad rejoined the children.

They huddled beneath the blankets, holding tight to the chocolate wrappers.

Tears still rimmed their red eyes, yet they gazed at him anew... Hope now sparkled within.

He knelt once more to assess their state and nodded. "Alright... Stay strong. We’re gonna leave this place now..."

The girl nodded vigorously. "We’ll follow you."

"Please bring us anywhere other than this place. We don’t want to be here anymore!"

"Take us with you..."

Asad grinned upon hearing the trio.

Shortly after, the group departed, the three children beholding the fortress engulfed in flames...

Regarding the field, Asad held off on destroying it, instead stationing his two Doom Knights to secure the area.

Capable of summoning three Skeleton Knights daily, they ought to amass a formidable defense force against intruders within 10 days.

In this manner, encircled by his undead legion with the three children beside him, Asad departed the plateau...

***

Meanwhile, at Eclipse Domain, Anna had freshly completed her bath when her tower room door flew open.

Thud!

Steam lingered on her skin, her hair damp and unbound, as Jillian stormed in unannounced.

"Anna!" Jillian's tone rang with urgency, per usual.

"Asad found a bunch of Corpse Flowers. Do you need them?"

Anna stiffened, gripping her towel firmer. "Jillian..." she exhaled, annoyed. "You never knock."

Yet her annoyance dissolved swiftly at the Corpse Flowers mention. Her eyes expanded. "Wait... Corpse Flowers?"

She grasped the implication instantly.

No mere plants, these. Cultivated via sacrifice... corpses interred below, nourishing the roots—a grueling, arduous ordeal demanding ruthlessness!

’Right... His mission targeted Phoenix Phalanx’s bases... So he discovered their Corpse Flower cultivation.’

Revulsion hit her first.

"It would be better to destroy them," she murmured. "If you knew how they were made..."

Still, she couldn't brush them aside lightly.

To an alchemist such as her, Corpse Flowers proved priceless. Their traits enabled crafting potions, antidotes, and stabilizers. She balled her fists.

"This is to help Shane," she resolved.

Shane geared up for his voyage, intent on scouring the oceans for plague-free territories.

Anna had caught word that he had uncovered clues or hints to curb the virus's further spread, maybe even a complete method to stop it.

Treatments had already been created to block infections from low-rank zombies. Scratches or bites from regular undead no longer struck fear into survivors.

True peril now stemmed from Zombie Lords... and possibly Zombie Kings.

Should Shane prevail, humanity could seize a real shot at concluding this Apocalypse World.

By refining medicines from Corpse Flowers, she could back him up from a distance.

Her choice was set...

She turned toward Jillian with a nod. "Alright. Tell him I need those flowers."

Jillian beamed with satisfaction and slipped away without a word.

Anna breathed out slowly. That woman brimmed with too much energy.

Then her gaze fell on the picture frame by her bedside.

"Aahh..."

It showed Shane’s face!

Jillian had surely spotted it, yet said nothing on the matter.

Anna’s face turned red, and she swiftly locked the door before getting dressed.

Restless thoughts plagued her through the night because of it!

By dawn, she was up and about.

She left her room and headed to the marketplace.

Survivors crowded the Eclipse Domain, swapping goods, weapons, and food obtained from Wandering Merchants...

Her purpose here was straightforward: reagents to pair with the Corpse Flower...

Stabilizers, catalysts, and herbs were needed to counter the Corpse Flower’s unstable traits. Without such items, the medicine she pictured would be far too hazardous.

"I heard there’s someone selling those things around here..."