Paige Sumrs clutched her chest as she walked toward them. They had stopped breathing.
Elara Archer lay on the ground, the male Zombie’s head nestled against her neck. Her face was covered in blood, but one could faintly see that her expression was peaceful.
Paige Sumrs pressed her lips together tightly.
In that mont, a huge torrent of heat had rushed into her chest. Caught off guard, she nearly cried out. She knew it couldn’t have co from Marcus Monroe, so it must have been the woman before her.
’So, she was grateful to ...’
Paige Sumrs didn’t understand. Why did the woman have the courage to die with a Zombie, yet lack the courage to face reality? Was it because she loved him? The lingering stench of the Zombie’s decay made it hard to breathe. Paige thought she would probably never be able to agree with the woman’s choice. But that didn’t stop her from being grateful for her final gift.
Letting out a deep breath, she stepped aside.
Marcus Monroe gave her a long look, then raised his blade, split open the Zombie’s head, and retrieved the Crystal Core from inside.
After stowing the core away, he picked up Erin Quinn. "If you ever turned into a Zombie," he said, his tone deceptively casual, "I’d put you to sleep for good." He would never let her fall into such an undignified state.
Paige Sumrs froze for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Likewise."
Seeing her completely unconcerned expression, Marcus Monroe knew she hadn’t understood his hidden aning at all. He opened his mouth, but in the end, only said, "Let’s go."
"Right. Oh, Erin Quinn... she’s not going to transform, is she?"
"Can’t be sure yet. We’ll have Vince take a look when we get back."
"Huh? He can tell?"
"Don’t underestimate him. His spiritual power can sense abnormal energy fluctuations in people’s bodies."
’It’s not that I underestimate him,’ Paige Sumrs thought. ’I just don’t want to owe that man any favors! But there’s no other choice right now. After all, the others would never let travel with Erin Quinn while she could transform at any mont. It’s better to find out for sure so we know what to do next.’
Stroking Sweetie, who was perched on her shoulder and constantly rubbing against her cheek, Paige Sumrs said no more.
Marcus Monroe was right. If soone close to you beca a Zombie, the best solution was to let them sleep forever.
When they returned to the small courtyard, Cillian was already there. Not just him; the other two mbers of their group had co as well. Along with Howard Everett, they were all busy.
To be precise, they were busy moving things...
In a corner of the courtyard, dirt and stones were piled high. The house that had previously been a ruin was now completely gone, replaced by a huge pit. It was extrely deep, at least a hundred ters by visual estimation. The four n were going back and forth between the pit and the surface, bringing out armfuls of items each ti they ca up.
The pile of clothes alone was taller than a man.
Of course, there were also weapons, dicine, and many other miscellaneous items.
Paige Sumrs was dumbfounded.
’No wonder it was so hard to spot anything unusual from the surface. This so-called cellar is buried deeper than an air-raid shelter! And that team who hid this stuff—were they part hamster? Not only did they dig this deep, but they also hoarded so much!’
’Good thing we found it.’
Seeing Marcus Monroe return, everyone greeted him cheerfully. They didn’t leave out Paige Sumrs either, tossing her a smile before going back to being movers.
Only Howard Everett walked over.
Paige Sumrs had no ti to ask about the supplies. She quickly explained Erin Quinn’s situation and asked him to take a look.
Howard Everett nodded and, without another word, carried Erin Quinn into an intact room. He then shooed out Paige Sumrs, who had intended to watch. A mont later, Marcus Monroe hustled her into the adjacent room and ordered her to rest...
’Alright, I can tell they’re worried about .’
Paige Sumrs lay down on the bed with a faint smile, glancing once more at the people outside moving supplies.
The energy in the Jade Pendant Mark on her chest had long since been filled by the recent encounter; the excess was automatically surging through her body and into her earring.
After examining it closely, Paige Sumrs was surprised.
The influx of energy seed to be selective; it didn’t go into both earrings. In fact, the left earring hadn’t changed at all, but the right one—the one with The Stillspace—had received all the energy.
What she hadn’t expected was the sheer imnsity of the dead woman’s goodwill. She could feel that the right earring was already a third of the way to being fully active. In other words, if she collected the remaining two-thirds, she could open a space!
This was truly exciting news!
Paige Sumrs reviewed her experiences with receiving goodwill and easily discovered that she received the most after saving soone or fulfilling their wish. Of course, the prerequisite was that the other person knew how to be grateful. If they were ungrateful, then it was pointless.
However, understanding it was one thing; actually saving people or helping them fulfill their wishes purely to farm goodwill was very difficult for her.
First, she didn’t want to do sothing that would make her despise herself.
Furthermore, in the apocalypse, recklessly saving or helping soone without even knowing what kind of person they were was definitely asking for a quick death!
’Guess I’ll just have to take it one step at a ti,’ she concluded.
’Anyway, the protagonist’s hatred isn’t a threat for now. I have ti to figure out this damn restricted cheat power!’
She listened for a mont. There was no sound from the next room. Unable to lie still, she decided to get up, take out a Crystal Core, and start her Cultivation.
Before she knew it, the two Fourth-stage Crystal Cores were completely consud.
Her body was once again refined by the energy from the Jade Pendant Mark. When Paige Sumrs opened her eyes, she was stunned to find she had Promoted to the Fifth Rank! Not only that, but the claw marks on her chest had also healed a lot. Although they still looked a bit scary, they no longer hurt and didn’t hinder her movents!
She grinned and left the room.
’See? Even without a space, I can live just fine. As long as a person is proactive, optimistic, and knows when to be content, they can always find a way out of a difficult situation!’
By now, it was getting late.
No one had disturbed her because they saw she was ditating.
Howard Everett had finished examining Erin Quinn long ago. He concluded that there was nothing abnormal with her body; in other words, the chances of her being infected with the Zombie Virus were very low.
Paige Sumrs finally breathed a sigh of relief.
anwhile, Marcus Monroe and the other three had already sorted all the supplies they had acquired and stored them in his ring space.
Walking over, Marcus Monroe gazed at her for a mont before saying softly, "Congratulations on your Promotion."
Paige Sumrs replied with a wide grin, "Congratulations to you, too."
’I Promoted, he got the supplies—a win-win. This calls for a celebration...’
Marcus Monroe suppressed a smile. "Let Vince take a look at your injuries."
Paige Sumrs froze, then said hurriedly, "No, no, it’s fine! It healed after I Promoted, really!"
She was very firm, with a "you can look if you don’t believe " resolve. Marcus Monroe paused for a long mont before covering his mouth with a fist, hiding his awkwardness. "As long as you’re okay. Then, let’s go!"
When their group arrived at the rendezvous point, the other teams were already there.
Seeing Erin Quinn’s condition, only the few who were sowhat familiar with them, like Martin Warren, Grant Yardley, and Clark Chandler, asked after her. Nobody else cared.
Paige Sumrs made a face in her mind.
’Actually, I think it’s understandable,’ she thought. ’No ti together ans no attachnt. In tis like these, people are naturally cautious about emotional investnt. Still, I’m glad Erin Quinn isn’t awake. Otherwise, that fragile little soul would definitely be silently judging everyone again!’
User Comments
0 comments from readers