Marcus Monroe’s move threw the private room into chaos.

Nora Lowell’s eyes went red with fury. She raised her hand, about to unleash a Thunder Strike, but at that very moment, a dark shadow shot straight at her face!

She dodged aside and saw that it was a metal flower.

In the dim light, it emanated a deep, dark luster. Its sharp petals were as deadly as a Sharp Blade, looking as if they could slice open her skin and expose the flesh beneath at any moment.

"Everyone, stop!"

A furious shout from Shawn Monroe halted Nora Lowell’s attack. At the same time, the metal flower, as if alive, was pulled back to Paige Summers’s wrist by an invisible tether.

Toying with the metal flower, she tilted her head up, revealing her fair face. With a slight arch of her brow, her cat-like eyes shimmered with a watery light, holding a mix of regret, annoyance, and an unreadable playfulness. The effect was utterly captivating.

Shawn Monroe’s heart hammered in his chest.

But the words that came from those delicate lips made his expression darken. "You’d better get your woman under control! I didn’t even say anything when she snatched my things. Now, something got broken by accident, and I’m not even the one who’s mad—she is! Starting a fight over a pair of mediocre-looking earrings... Tsk, tsk. So crude!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Hearing this, Nora Lowell was practically about to explode with rage.

Yes, they were just earrings, but she felt distinctly that what she had lost was far more than just a pair of earrings!

Now, it was all ruined...

’It’s all because of this woman! If it weren’t for her, if it weren’t for her...’ she thought, her hateful gaze locked onto Paige Summers.

Paige Summers felt a bone-chilling coldness flood her chest, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

’As expected of the female lead, I guess...’

’This malice... It’s making my skin crawl...’

Seeing her face suddenly go pale, Marcus Monroe immediately got up and steadied her. "What’s wrong?"

Paige Summers shook her head, remaining silent.

Marcus Monroe frowned slightly and pulled her into his arms, then declared righteously to Shawn Monroe, "I’m the one who crushed it. If you have a problem, take it up with me. I may not be the Young City Lord, but I can afford to pay for a pair of earrings or the equivalent value in Crystal Cores. There’s no need to trouble her."

With that, he ignored the still-ongoing auction and escorted Paige Summers out.

Leaving Shawn Monroe and Nora Lowell behind, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more tense.

Paige Summers, whom Marcus Monroe had taken back to her quarters, wasn’t doing much better. Though some color had returned to her face, that icy hatred remained lodged in her chest, spreading through her body and leaving her weaker than usual. But she couldn’t explain the cause herself, so how could she possibly tell Marcus? Apart from, "I’m fine, just tired," she couldn’t say anything more.

Helpless, Marcus Monroe walked past a stony-faced Levi Young and personally helped her lean back on the bed.

"Then get some rest." He turned to leave, but then stopped short, a mysterious smile spreading across his face. "Perhaps this will lift your spirits and help you recover faster."

As if performing a magic trick, he opened his palm in front of Paige Summers. Two jade earrings, shimmering with a pearly white luster, lay there quietly.

"Huh? But... weren’t these shattered?!" Paige Summers’s eyes went wider than they had ever been. She had been staring right at him the whole time—when did he possibly do this?

"It was just a little trick. I have to keep my promises, don’t I?" He rarely spoke of his second superpower, the one besides being a Transformer. Though those who had seen him fight could guess it was a form of Energy Release, the ability was far more versatile than they knew. For instance, using energy to simulate a small pair of earrings and their shattered remains was simplicity itself.

Though curious, she didn’t have the energy to press for details. The most important thing was that the earrings, almost snatched away by the story’s heroine, were now hers! Brimming with satisfaction, Paige Summers smiled and accepted them. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she really did feel much better!

After Marcus Monroe left and Levi Young had returned to his own room, she impatiently sat up in bed. She pulled the earrings out from under her pillow and began to examine them in silence.

’Where have I seen this pattern before?’

’Why did it feel so familiar the moment I saw it? Familiar enough that I was willing to drop the peaceful facade and openly clash with the main characters?’

’That desperate craving... it only began to subside once I held them firmly in my hand.’

’How strange!’

Paige Summers pondered for a long time to no avail. She decided to get up and go to the bathroom to put them on. Standing before the mirror, her gaze unintentionally drifted down to her chest. She froze, then yanked open her collar, revealing the Jade Pendant Mark.

’This is it!’

Shocked, she held the two earrings up next to the mark on her chest. The design on them was an exact match for the pattern on the Jade Pendant Mark!

As if bewitched, she dazedly placed the earrings on her earlobes.

The moment they touched her skin, an explosive pain erupted in her mind. It felt as though information that didn’t belong to her was being crammed into her brain, so forcefully that her head felt like it would split open.

She let out a low groan, clutching her head as she squatted in front of the mirror.

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as she was about to succumb to the pain and pass out, the flood of information seemed to find its proper place in her mind and settled down. The pain slowly eased. She let out a long breath and finally, with great difficulty, pulled herself up using the sink. Though her complexion was even worse than before, her eyes were now startlingly bright, shining with a strange luster in the light.

’So this Jade Pendant and these earrings... they were both crafted by a master!’

The information wasn’t added by human hands; it was the "memory" of the two small pieces of white jade that made up the earrings.

’It’s... incredible. No wonder they say jade possesses a spirit!’

What fascinated her even more was that so long ago, Astoria had already been home to Superpower Users who could even manipulate space and time.

’And these earrings were the proof!’

With great excitement, she reviewed the information in her mind from beginning to end. But as she did, an extremely conflicted expression appeared on her face.

The two earrings... The one for the right ear held The Stillspace, which could store any non-living object. Whatever went in would come out exactly the same, unchanged. The one for the left ear, however, held The Evo-Space. The flow of time within it was vastly different from the real world. In other words, one day on the outside could be more than ten years inside.

’This thing is amazing, no doubt,’ she thought, ’but why does this remind me... this kind of spatial ability is clearly the original heroine’s—Nora Lowell’s—cheat ability!’

’No, no, that’s not the real tragedy here.’

’As a supporting character, I’m totally fine with snatching a cheat ability or two. Besides, in this world, I’m the one who laid eyes on it first. Didn’t Nora Lowell herself say it’s all about who’s more capable?’

’The truly terrifying part is that the original story never mentioned any requirements for opening these spaces. The heroine just dripped a couple of drops of blood, and they were hers. So why do I need energy? And a *lot* of it, at that? This is just blatant discrimination, isn’t it! Even cheat abilities play favorites now? Do they have to be so snobbish?!’

’And the method for collecting that energy... it’s a complete disaster!’

’Is this because I’ve merged with the Jade Pendant? It’s bullying me! I have to collect large amounts of goodwill, convert it into energy, and only then can I open the spaces!’

Paige Summers looked at her reflection. The flush of excitement had long since faded, replaced by a deathly pallor.

There was a reason Nora Lowell’s hatred affected her physically. If she received a certain amount of negative malice, it would cancel out some of the energy within the Jade Pendant Mark. So, even if she didn’t want to activate the spaces, she had to obtain more positive energy. Otherwise, not only would she be unable to use that energy to strengthen her body, but if the malice grew strong enough to take over the mark, her own body would be on the verge of collapse...

’A disaster... a complete, matching set of disaster...’

Clinging to a last shred of hope, she took off the earrings, pricked her finger, and smeared a few drops of blood onto them.

The result, of course, was that there was no result.

’Now it’s not just the god of plot, but the entire universe that’s malicious toward me. How am I supposed to win against these guys?!’

’This is truly depressing!’

She could only console herself. At least the earrings were hers now, and she knew how to deal with the situation. Otherwise, if she were just being hated on by Nora Lowell one-sidedly, her body might have collapsed one day, and she’d have had no idea why.

She crawled into bed.

’It’s just goodwill, right? No problem. Tomorrow, I’ll make the rounds with people I know, find a chance to help them out, and earn some!’

With a firm resolve to survive, she drifted into a light sleep.

But would it really be that simple?