Chapter 106:
The farm was eerily still.
Zara slowed her steps as she approached, her brows furrowing at the small group of workers gathered outside the greenhouse entrance. No one was inside. No one was working.
Clara stood among them, arms crossed, face twisted in mild irritation.
"What’s going on?" Zara asked as she reached them.
Clara turned, sighing. "We don’t know. They won’t let us in."
Zara glanced toward the greenhouses, normally bustling with workers tending to the crops. Now, the doors remained locked, a few uniformed guards standing nearby.
Her mind drifted back to what Clara had mentioned before—the crops growing too fast, too resistant to the mist. It made no sense. And now, they were suddenly shutting down the entire greenhouse?
Before she could voice her concern, an official stepped forward, dressed in the standard-issue black uniform of the base. He was a tall man with sharp features, a neatly trimmed beard, and a crisp, impassive expression. The workers fell silent as he cleared his throat.
"The greenhouses are undergoing a fumigation process," he announced, his voice smooth but devoid of warmth. "All workers assigned to this sector are relieved of their duties for the next three days. You will be notified when operations resume."
A murmur rippled through the group.
"Three days?" A man named Garrick, a seasoned worker with a gruff voice, frowned. "That’s never happened before."