Chapter 147: Chapter 92: Preparations (Part 2)

"This is a mission organized by The Government. The pay isn’t that great, but it’s led by the military, so we won’t have to worry about any extra hassle. What do you all think?"

Paige Summers propped her chin on her hand. "It sounds decent. It’s relatively safe, especially for new faces like us. But what are the details?"

Claire Chapman gave a signal, and Rachel Forrest immediately continued the explanation. "I heard The Government is preparing to restore communications between Central City, Norgate, and Southgate. They need to set up communication sites. So, we just have to follow the main road and clear out all the mutant plants and animals within a one-kilometer radius. Of course, it’s mainly mutant plants. We can’t control the Mutant Beasts if they decide to run."

"They’re accepting twenty teams total, with ten Superpower Users per team. Each team has a designated area and will be led by military personnel, so there’s no need to worry about overlap. The others on our team are all Superpower Users who haven’t joined a Hunting Party. With the four of us, that makes exactly ten."

"The round trip will probably take at least half a month."

’Half a month... By the time we get back, there should be news about the Pathfinder Rat.’

Paige Summers thought it was feasible. The plan was passed unanimously!

The mission was urgent; they had to set out the next day.

Claire Chapman was very thoughtful, even getting a cell phone specifically for Levi Young. Of course, phones only worked within the city, but the whole point was just to monitor the Pathfinder Rat sales. The plan was, if the shop owner called asking for more, Levi would deliver just one more to him.

Just one, to see how he reacted.

That evening, Paige Summers left a lot of food for Levi Young herself. Ever since getting her storage space, she had become very conscious of stockpiling food. It now contained vacuum-sealed food, plenty of roasted meat, and even a stash of fruit she had picked along their journey! She left more than enough for him to pick and choose from. Since they weren’t planning on taking Sweetie this time, she also made sure to leave enough Crystal Cores for it.

Back in her own room, she sat on her bed and sighed, touching the earring on her left ear.

’Ever since leaving The Dead City, everyone’s been focused on traveling and training. We haven’t had much chance to do good deeds, so the amount of goodwill I’ve collected is pitifully small.’

’Looks like it’ll be a while before I can unlock it.’

’But... I should be content!’

’After all, I have such a huge storage space. This cheat ability isn’t half bad!’

’Some people have nothing at all, and they still manage to get by!’

As she thought this, she also felt she was lacking ambition. Conflicted, Paige Summers began rummaging through her storage space.

The probability of a Mutant Beast having a Crystal Core increased significantly after reaching the Sixth Rank. Or perhaps it was having a Crystal Core that allowed them to reach the Sixth Rank in the first place. They had encountered some along the way, but they were difficult to kill, so they had only managed to obtain a dozen or so Crystal Cores.

Fortunately, Sixth-rank Crystal Cores took much longer to absorb, so she still had seven left.

She did, however, have quite a few Crystal Cores below the Sixth Rank.

It would be a waste for her to use them now, but items like these would only appreciate in value over time. She would never complain about having too many!

The most valuable item in her space was the Earth Immortal Fruit that Marcus Monroe had given her separately.

She didn’t plan on using it for now.

There were also other things: weapons, wood, the hides of Mutant Beasts, the sap and flowers of mutant plants, and so on, plus the large number of medicinal plants she and Levi Young had gathered on their journey...

Looking at it all, she realized her space was quite well-stocked!

She let out a satisfied breath and began to meditate and practice her Cultivation.

The next day, after leaving Levi Young at their residence, she and the other three left in high spirits.

The meeting point was a small plaza outside the Superpower User Management Office.

There were quite a few people, but it didn’t seem chaotic because the military had sent trucks. The teams that had arrived early were already on board, leaving only a few people outside to meet those who hadn’t arrived yet.

Levi Young dropped them off and headed back.

The four of them got out of their vehicle, followed Claire Chapman, and quickly found their team’s designated truck.

On each truck, there wasn’t just a superpower team, but also at least an equal number of soldiers.

As Paige Summers walked over, she didn’t look too closely but could feel that the overall atmosphere was rather somber. ’Superpower Users probably feel a bit awkward working with the military.’

The truck they were supposed to board was eighth in line.

A burly man in a combat uniform smiled and greeted Claire Chapman, leading them onto the truck. There were nine armed soldiers and a man who appeared to be an officer. He personally inspected the IDs of Paige Summers and her three companions before giving them a stern nod and gesturing for them to sit down.

Paige Summers sat next to Claire Chapman, who introduced her one by one to the four Superpower Users who had arrived early.

"This is Boss Archer, a Fire Ability User. The one next to him is his wife, a Water Ability User. This couple is a perfect match, haha!" The two were nearly forty. The man was quite macho, and the woman also looked very forthright.

"This is Brother Donovan, our strongest combatant and a Gold Ability User!" He was somewhere between twenty and thirty, with a very average face and build, but his hands left a deep impression on Paige Summers. They looked very large and powerful.

"The one to his right is Heath Hughes. Heath is only eighteen, two years younger than you, but he’s a Wood Element Superpower User. His strength is not to be underestimated!" He was a somewhat arrogant kid, which Paige Summers could understand. ’His Superpower Rank must be quite high. It’s inevitable he’d be proud of such achievements at his age. As long as he doesn’t overdo it, it’s fine.’

Claire Chapman was a smooth talker. After his round of introductions, all of them were smiling, and their attitude toward Paige Summers was quite friendly.

As the only woman among the four early arrivals, Lucy Lee was the first to speak. "So this is your ’good... friend,’ Paige?"

Her tone was quite teasing. Claire Chapman turned to Paige Summers, winked, and slung an arm around her shoulder. "That’s right! She’s got a thin skin, so you’ll have to look after her, Ms. Lee."

Lucy Lee chuckled and waved her over. "Paige, come here. Come sit with Ms. Lee, let’s chat."

Paige Summers saw that Claire Chapman seemed quite familiar with them—he hadn’t even bothered with a detailed introduction for the Forrest Siblings, which meant they must have all met before. She couldn’t help but marvel at his excellent social skills. Since someone was showing her kindness, there was no reason not to respond in kind, so she went over with a smile.

Lucy Lee and her husband, Jensen Archer, had no children and no relatives; they only had each other. They’d been in Central City for eight years, and their life was reasonably decent. During their conversation, Paige Summers’ sweet appearance and demeanor won Lucy Lee over, and Paige learned some basic information about her. Of course, she was also asked about her relationship with Claire Chapman over there. Lucy seemed convinced she was his girlfriend. Paige said she wasn’t, but was only seen as being shy, so she didn’t bother to argue.

She calmly observed them and felt that, at least on the surface, the four of them all had decent personalities. None of them seemed particularly difficult to get along with, which was a relief.

However, two people still hadn’t arrived.

Speaking of the two who were late, Lucy Lee knew them as well.

"Sigh, those two... the woman’s alright, but the man has a really strange temper..."

"Lucy!" Before she could finish, Jensen Archer, who was beside her, cut her off. He clearly didn’t like her gossiping about people behind their backs.

Lucy Lee rolled her eyes at him, then gave Paige Summers a smile and dropped the subject.

Before they knew it, it was time to depart. The trucks at the front of the line began to leave one after another. Seeing that their turn was next, the military officer in charge of their group, Yuri Warren, glanced at his watch and made the decisive call to set off.

Just then, a hurried shout came from the distance, "Wait for us!"