Lex Cross raised an eyebrow, gently pinching Flora Bloom’s ear. "Think about the first thing I said!"
Flora Bloom’s eyes darted as she recalled the scene: she had lunged at the man in white to snatch the black ant, only to be caught in an embrace with his arm locked around her waist. That was when she’d heard what Lex Cross said.
"Woman, I was only gone for a little while, and you’ve already found your next man?"
’That was it?’
Flora Bloom eyed Lex Cross skeptically, a smile playing on her lips. She watched him until the tips of his ears inexplicably flushed red, then said, "So, you’re... jealous?"
Lex Cross froze. Just as he was about to say something, two people walked in from the courtyard. One was Donovan Yardley, who was supporting Mason Adler as they slowly approached.
Flora Bloom watched the master of mood swings, Lex Cross. His sulky pride from a moment ago instantly vanished, replaced by a cold, indifferent gaze fixed on the two newcomers.
"What are you doing here?"
Mason Adler’s eyes were still covered by a cloth, but he could still tell which direction the voice came from.
"I’m not here for you," Mason Adler said, then turned to Flora Bloom with a smile. "Flora, my father sent me to invite you to our home for dinner. Are you free?"
After Titan Adler learned that the men he’d sent to Morhaven had vanished without a trace, he fell into deep thought. It wasn’t long before someone reported to him, detailing Flora Bloom’s actions rescuing people from the zombie horde outside the base.
The Flying Mantis and the giant crocodile, her two pets, were now essentially invincible, whether against those with superpowers or hordes of zombies.
’Considering she went out to save people all by herself and returned completely unscathed... to let a woman like that go to his rebellious son, Lex Cross, was an absolute waste.’
’A woman like her had to be brought into the Adler family’s service.’ Thus, he had sent Donovan Yardley with Mason Adler to find Flora Bloom immediately.
Donovan Yardley had always served the Adler family, but he also respected Lex Cross. There were plenty of discerning people in the Adler family, but unfortunately, Titan Adler had been completely bewitched by Selene Lynch’s beauty. He’d ruthlessly pushed away his own outstanding son, yet was extraordinarily lenient with the good-for-nothing he’d had with Selene Lynch.
When he heard Mason Adler speak to Lex Cross in such a tone, his expression immediately stiffened. He didn’t dare to look at Lex Cross. After all, no matter how much he sided with him, he was still a man of the Adler family.
Titan Adler had once saved him and his family, a debt he could never forget.
But when Lex Cross heard what Mason Adler called Flora Bloom, his lips curled into a sharp, handsome smile.
"Flora? Another man calling you ’Flora’?" He looked at Flora Bloom. "Just how many replacements have you lined up?"
’Wow. That was definitely jealousy. But only he could be so arrogant and hot-headed about it.’
Mason Adler was instantly provoked by Lex Cross’s words. "I wasn’t inviting you! The Adler family does not welcome you! I’m here to get Flora; Father is holding a celebratory dinner for her! You... you’d better not come to our house and spoil our family’s good time!"
Before Lex Cross could speak, Five strode over, roaring with laughter. "Well now, I was wondering which dog was barking. If it isn’t our very own blind number two. Here, boy, bark again for me, let’s hear it."
As he spoke, Five went to grab Mason Adler by the collar and drag him out, but Donovan Yardley interjected.
"Brother Five, do me a favor. Young Master Adler is young and rash; he doesn’t know any better. Please don’t stoop to his level."
Donovan Yardley was a loyal man; they all knew that. It was just a shame that the person he served was Titan Adler—Lex Cross’s clueless, scumbag of a biological father.
"Forget it. Just hurry and take your little master home. If you let him run loose, I, Five, might just butcher him one day when I’m in a bad mood."
"Well..." Donovan Yardley hesitated, then turned to Flora Bloom. "Flora Bloom, the Adler Family Head’s invitation is sincere. Perhaps you could do him the honor of accepting?"
Lex Cross exhaled, his cold gaze shifting to Donovan Yardley as he advanced on Mason Adler step by step.
Lex Cross snatched Mason Adler up by the collar just after Five had let him go. He held him dangling like a blind chick, creating a truly comical scene.
"Let’s go. I’ll go with you!"
Enraged, Mason Adler was about to hurl a Fireball at Lex Cross, but Lex preemptively struck him with a bolt of lightning, knocking him unconscious.
"Weakling!"
He looked at Donovan Yardley. "Let’s go. You lead the way!" After taking a few steps, Lex Cross looked back at Flora Bloom, his eyes a clear warning. His expression was cold, yet tinged with his usual arrogance. "Stay put. I’ll deal with you when I get back!"
Flora Bloom shrank back slightly. She knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but his glare still made her feel inexplicably guilty.
She immediately nodded obediently. "Got it. Hurry back!"
Seeing her cute, docile expression, Lex Cross allowed a subtle, satisfied smirk to touch his lips before he turned and left.
And just like that, Lex Cross and the other two left the courtyard. Not long after, The Crown Prince and Wildcat arrived. Flora Bloom assumed they’d heard what happened and were looking for Lex Cross, but they were actually there for her.
"Sister-in-law, something’s happened at Robin Grant’s house."
"What happened?" Flora Bloom asked with a frown.
"Hector Grant went to Robin Grant’s house. It looks like he’s trying to take Cynthia Grant to the Thorne family."
"The Thorne family? What does Cynthia have to do with them?"
"Apparently, Hector Grant signed a deal with the Thorne family to hand Cynthia over to them for research."
"Absurd! Is that old fool Hector Grant kidding?! Let’s go. I’d like to see what gives him the nerve to send Cynthia to the Thorne family!"
The Crown Prince and Wildcat wore grim expressions. It seemed things at Robin Grant’s house were getting ugly. Just as the three of them were about to leave, Five suddenly walked over. "Sister-in-law, I’ll go with you! That girl Cynthia is a handful, but that Thorne family research lab... it’s better if people with superpowers stay away."
Flora Bloom gave Five a curious look. "Why do you say that?"
"That research lab of the Thorne family... ordinary people go in and never come out. Those with superpowers who go in are never the same when they come out. A lot of common folk, desperate for food, will sell their own children or wives to the Thorne family for a meal. But something’s off about Hector Grant. The Grant family isn’t hurting for food, are they? Isn’t Cynthia his own daughter?"
’A research lab?’ In Flora Bloom’s mind, nothing good ever came from the words ’research’ or ’experiments’. "There’s no time to lose. Let’s go check it out. The Crown Prince, Wildcat, one of you go inform your boss. I have a feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye."
The other special forces soldiers, hearing that Cynthia was in trouble, also wanted to go check on her. After all, on the journey from Morhaven to Argent, they had gone from being strangers to comrades with Flora Bloom, and they had been through a lot together.
Besides, Flora Bloom was carrying Lex Cross’s child. In other words, while her business wasn’t automatically their business, any matter she chose to take on was, by extension, their concern.
The group had barely arrived at the small courtyard before they were off again, heading in a great procession toward Robin Grant’s house. Along the way, a few of the soldiers were eating the bread and milk Flora Bloom had given them to tide them over, which drew stares from many passersby.
Some of the onlookers were familiar with Captain Cross’s team and immediately recognized Five and his men.
"Aren’t those Captain Cross’s subordinates? They’re back! Where are they going?"
"It really is them! But where’s Captain Cross? Why isn’t he with them? His men are in such a rush... don’t tell me Captain Cross is in some kind of trouble?"
"Come on, let’s all go take a look! Captain Cross has done so much for the base’s security. We can’t let him be bullied!"
"Right! I’m going too! I bet his scumbag dad is making trouble for him again! Come on, let’s go show Captain Cross our support!"