Dark Queen Of Apocalypse (by Morgan Hale) novel Chapter 305

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Then, the system spoke up and finally put her doubts to rest. “Grovenwich covers a huge area. If the system wiped out all the mutated creatures nearby, it would burn through an enormous number of points of energy.

“In the worst case, your spiritual space could be reset to its original state. Not only would everything inside be wiped clean, but your level would go all the way back to the start.”

Chloe just stared, totally dumbfounded.

“So, what the hell was the point of saying all that?” she grumbled.

When she’d heard that the base was supposed to expand to cover all of Grovenwich, big enough to house tens of millions of people, she’d been pretty happy about it.

But now she realized this was different from what he thought. It would come at such a huge price.

Thinking about how Blaze Haven was still tiny, with barely a hundred people inside, Chloe decided to forget about it.

Just as Chloe was about to give up, the system chimed in again, “Don’t worry, Host.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “How am I supposed to not worry? Seriously, you’re about to erase everything I’ve worked so hard for. Anyone would be pissed!”

The system replied slowly, “There is another way.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, come on, why didn’t you say that before?”

The system thought, ‘You never gave me a chance!‘

The second option is for the system to give you some Blaze Flags. You can lead your people out to claim new territory and expand the base,” the system explained.

‘So, you’re saying the system can expand the base to cover all of Grovenwich, but I have to kill all the mutated creatures myself?” Chloe asked.

‘Exactly. Once you’ve finished off all the mutated creatures, wherever you stick the Blaze Flag, Blaze Haven’s boundaries will stretch out to that spot, the system replied. “That way, you still get the spiritual space upgrade reward, and you won’t burn through your points.”

Chloe rubbed her chin, casting a look at the Botanic Gardens.

‘Sure,” she replied.

With her current strength and the Phantom Zombie backing her up, she figured she could go toe–to–toe with that mutant ivy.

The Botanic Gardens weren’t the main concern. The real headache was the zoo way out on the east side. The animals there were downright ferocious.

After the apocalypse, nobody dared to go near that place. In her previous life, those mutated beasts stormed Bluehaven Base right after the zombie hordes, wiping it out completely.

And then there was the mountain range behind Blaze Haven. It was a sprawling expanse of mountains, all part of Grovenwich’s territory, and packed with deadly threats.

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This was an insanely tough job, not something they could wrap up in a year or two.

The system gave Chloe a hundred Blaze Flags and a map of Grovenwich.

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There were exactly a hundred locations marked on the map. More than forty of those locations were in the mountain regions.

“As long as you stick a flag in the center of each region, the base will automatically expand,” the system explained.

“Got it,” Chloe said flatly, her eyes locked on the map.

She’d always known Grovenwich was big, but she never expected it to be this insane.

With so much mountainous terrain, only about half the area was actually fit for people to live in.

Once she had everything sorted out, Chloe got to work picking the ripe fruits and veggies in her spiritual space.

They’d stay fresh forever even if she left them alone, but leaving them unpicked meant she couldn’t grow any new varieties.

With the rich black soil in her spiritual space now stretched out to 17 acres, it took her three days of nonstop effort, but she inally managed to harvest all the fruits and vegetables.

Then, Chloe spent ten points to let the system auto–plant all the crop seeds she’d gathered, scattering them across the fields In her spiritual space.

She glanced at the mountain of produce piled up around her, and finally, a look of relief and satisfaction crossed her face.

There were cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and string beans. All kinds of produce piled up around her.

Still, Chloe couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. She slapped her forehead when she realized what it was.

I never planted any grain!” Chloe said to herself.

Then she let out a relieved laugh.

Liana was really something. She’d come up with rye seeds that could survive heat, drought, and even the coldest winters. They were right for growing out in the open fields.

The grain was great and all, but they couldn’t live without fruits and veggies. Since these things were nearly impossible to grow after the apocalypse, if she put them up for sale, she’d make a killing.

She grabbed a cucumber and took a bite. The cool, sweet flavor made Chloe squint her eyes in bliss.

‘So good,” Chloe murmured to herself.

She made up her mind. Once the base expansion was finished, she’d really start figuring out how to sell these fruits and veggies.

Maybe, one day, Blaze Haven would end up being the sole food supplier for humanity after the apocalypse.

Chloe thought to herself, never expecting her casual prediction to actually come true.

After Chloe took down the King Cobra and its companions, everyone in Blaze Haven saw how powerful she really was. That only made them even more loyal to her.

Everyone in Blaze Haven started working like crazy. Because the daytime temperatures were scorching, people couldn’t

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move around freely outside, much less get any work done outdoors.

Everyone started working at night and sleeping during the day.

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Luckily, Blaze Haven had a huge solar power plant, so all their electricity came from there.

Electricity was cheap. During the day, people drew curtains, cranked up the AC, and slept in total comfort.

Even at night, the air was still oppressively hot, but at least without the harsh sun beating down, it was somewhat tolerable.

All along the streets, people were hustling back and forth, their faces lit up by the bright streetlights as everyone scrambled to earn points.

Most of the regular folks were out in the fields, hoes in hand, while water–powered humans kept filling up the water tanks, and earth–powered humans were busy working on infrastructure projects.

Their mission was to build a whole city from scratch.

Whether anyone actually moved in or the houses just sat empty, it didn’t matter. As long as they built something, they got points for it.

Everyone kept themselves busy, and that constant work helped wash away the fear and sorrow that used to hang over them.

The new survivors were welcomed into Blaze Haven, and Linda took charge of getting them settled and putting them to work.

With her kids reassuring her, Linda finally pulled herself together and started hustling to get the newcomers organized.

Linda explained, “Newcomers, you’ll get free food for your first three days. After that, you gotta work for your points. If you want anything, use your points at the supermarket to grab what you need.

“Or, you can pay with cores. The wall outside the supermarket shows how many cores you need for each item.”

Linda gave everyone a stern look and continued, “No fighting or causing trouble in Blaze Haven. If anyone deliberately stirs things up or starts a fight, you’ll face consequences, no exceptions.”

Linda cast another glance at the handful of kids gathered in front of her. “Any child under twelve gets one free bread and a bowl of soup every single day.”

“What?” People started whispering and murmuring to each other.

“No way! Kids under twelve get free bread? Damn, this place rocks!”

“Come on, I’m seventeen! I’m not even an adult yet. Why can’t I get any?” A girl was so frustrated that she was practically stomping her feet, wishing she could be born five years later so that she could get those freebies.

Linda explained, “Even though you’re not officially an adult until you’re eighteen, most teenagers are already capable of earning their own points.”

After a pause, Linda continued, “Seniors over fifty can also get a free bread and a bowl of soup every single day.”

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