CHAPTER 114: CHAPTER 114: THE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

"The Research Institute invited Sister Isryn?" Zerra asked with a frown on her face.

She had gotten a lot closer to Isryn lately and had quickly gotten used to calling Isryn’s name familiarly. Hearing that Isryn had gone to the Research Institute, her expression wasn’t good.

Eryx had a worried look on his face too, but he was much calmer.

"Why?" She knitted her eyebrows together and stared at Eryx.

Eryx blinked and explained slowly, "Well, my sister has the wood ability, and the Research Institute has conducted a lot of research lately. They want her to join them because of her talent."

Her frown deepened. She didn’t have a good impression of the Research Institute. Subconsciously, she turned to Cassias, someone who had gone through the apocalypse once.

Cassias quickly guessed what was on her mind and assured her. "Not all people in the Research Institute are lunatics. Some of them are really striving to find a cure for the zombie virus. It was also they who researched the crystal core and found its benefit."

He must have gotten this information from Evan or his previous life experience.

"Is that so? Sister Isryn will be back, right?" She asked Eryx.

Eryx smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry, Zee. My sister said she would be back before it gets dark. The scientist who recruited her is in charge of the plants there."

Zerra nodded; her heart was much more relieved. Those mutated plants were really interesting, though. Maybe she should find time to visit Isryn at the Research Institute too. To make sure that no one would bully her!

Moreover, on top of being a wood ability user, Isryn was also a doctor. Once they found out about her strong life force power and doctor knowledge, her role wouldn’t be limited to taking care of the plants.

Unable to find Isryn, she handed over the snacks she bought from home to Eryx. "Eat it with your sister later."

Ever since the apocalypse struck, her mom was bored at home, so she had developed a hobby of baking, or experimenting with dishes lately.

Her snacks conquered Laziel’s stomach and his love for sweet things. Even though their relationship was still awkward, they sometimes still exchanged a few succinct words.

The apocalypse had brought the biggest change to her mom. She had become more mature, less bitter, and more thoughtful.

"M-mom cooked again?" Laziel had even learned to call Nerith as mom despite still stuttering. It started as a slipped up when he was too engrossed in the sweets given by Nerith.

Now, he had learned to call her that when he saw her surprised face. She wasn’t angry or annoyed. In the past, he used to call her that in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes." Zerra nodded.

Before he could peek into the food package, Zerra grabbed him. "Your share is at home. Go back if you want those."

Laziel rolled his eyes and pulled his hand from her grasp. "I will go back later."

She snorted when she saw the reason he wouldn’t go back so soon. Of course, it was Meira. He asked for sweets earlier from her for his girlfriend, huh?

As soon as Meira appeared, Laziel even ditched his good friend and went to give his sweets to her. "This is for you."

Meira beamed and grabbed Laziel’s hands. Then, they started being lovey-dovey again. Eryx merely shook his head, a little amused, while Zerra made a disgusted face.

"Are you going to stay here?" She turned to Cassias, unable to bear the sight of her elder brother and Meira any longer.

Cassias hummed. "Let’s go to Evan’s office first."

She resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows at him. For what? Making trouble for the poor Evan again?

They left the scene. The moment they entered Evan’s office, the man groaned at the sight of the two of them.

"What are you doing here? I am busy. I am going to go out soon to do my job!" Evan grumbled, his eyelids jumping.

At the base, he wasn’t the only lieutenant general. There were others, but he was the busiest because he also took care of things in his third uncle’s absence.

Some other high-ranking generals were also sent to other cities to deal with the chaos from the impact of the apocalypse. The Capital was considered safe, so the country expanded the resources to other places.

"But if you give me tea, we can talk about it. Remember, you still promised to do one thing for me too." Evan continued to chatter in annoyance.

"Oh, the one thing you need me to do... you just want me to step out of this door?" Cassias asked in a nonchalant tone.

Evan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Where is my tea?"

In order not to anger him further, Cassias readily took the teapot from his space and began to make tea. His movement was elegant, like those princes in the mortal kingdom she sometimes saw.

This time, Evan also waited patiently, staring at the tea in the teapot with anticipation. When Cassias poured the first cup, he was impatient to snatch it.

Zerra also got her teacup. All the exhaustion from exterminating mutated animals from the nearby residential area was gone in an instant. It was no wonder that her master liked tea so much. It was so refreshing.

"So, how is it going with the Research Institute?" Cassias went straight to the point after Evan finished his first cup of tea.

"What’s going on at the Research Institute?" Zerra asked. She was particularly sensitive to this organization upon hearing its name for the second time today.

"They are going to compensate us for the octopus monster incident." Evan’s chin lifted up slightly, looking smug. For the first time since they had stepped into his office, he had a glint of approval of Cassias in his eyes.

After all, it was Cassias who had solved the octopus monster. "Oh, they finally admitted it was their doing?"

"They said it was a mistake." Evan shrugged. "They punished some of their people as a warning."

Their conversation deepened her curiosity about the Research Institute. The two also discussed the Research Institute’s new findings, which was what Evan coveted this time.

The supply at the base was decreasing rapidly. The Research Institute’s offer came at the right time.

They promised to create a garden for the base in the name of saving humanity. It didn’t matter what kind of news they spread to the masses. Evan only cared about the supplies they could provide to the base.

It was not sustainable to rely on the current supplies, even if food like canned food or dried food had a long shelf life. They would soon run out of those if they didn’t quickly create a means to sustain themselves.

"We have vacated the land in the south for the project. It used to be a community garden. If they can do well, we can set up another land." Evan decided.

He called his assistant, dividing the job among his subordinates to list arable lands.

"If the project is successful, we can let people exchange the cultivated plants and vegetables for crystal cores." The two discussed the base’s plan again.

She was amazed that they didn’t regard her as an outsider at all here...