Paige Summers 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 Summers pressed her lips together tightly.

In that moment, a huge torrent of heat had rushed into her chest. Caught off guard, she nearly cried out. She knew it couldn’t have come from Marcus Monroe, so it must have been the woman before her.

’So, she was grateful to me...’

Paige Summers 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 Summers froze for a second, then smiled and nodded. "Likewise."

Seeing her completely unconcerned expression, Marcus Monroe knew she hadn’t understood his hidden meaning 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 Summers 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 me travel with Erin Quinn while she could transform at any moment. 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 Summers said no more.

Marcus Monroe was right. If someone close to you became 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 members of their group had come 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 extremely deep, at least a hundred meters by visual estimation. The four men were going back and forth between the pit and the surface, bringing out armfuls of items each time they came up.

The pile of clothes alone was taller than a man.

Of course, there were also weapons, medicine, and many other miscellaneous items.

Paige Summers 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 Summers either, tossing her a smile before going back to being movers.

Only Howard Everett walked over.

Paige Summers had no time 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 Summers, who had intended to watch. A moment later, Marcus Monroe hustled her into the adjacent room and ordered her to rest...

’Alright, I can tell they’re worried about me.’

Paige Summers 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 Summers was surprised.

The influx of energy seemed 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 immensity 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 Summers reviewed her experiences with receiving goodwill and easily discovered that she received the most after saving someone 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 something that would make her despise herself.

Furthermore, in the apocalypse, recklessly saving or helping someone 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 time,’ she concluded.

’Anyway, the protagonist’s hatred isn’t a threat for now. I have time to figure out this damn restricted cheat power!’

She listened for a moment. 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 consumed.

Her body was once again refined by the energy from the Jade Pendant Mark. When Paige Summers 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 movements!

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 meditating.

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 Summers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, 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 moment before saying softly, "Congratulations on your Promotion."

Paige Summers 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 Summers 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 me" resolve. Marcus Monroe paused for a long moment before covering his mouth with a fist, hiding his awkwardness. "As long as you’re okay. Then, let’s go!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

When their group arrived at the rendezvous point, the other teams were already there.

Seeing Erin Quinn’s condition, only the few who were somewhat familiar with them, like Martin Warren, Grant Yardley, and Clark Chandler, asked after her. Nobody else cared.

Paige Summers made a face in her mind.

’Actually, I think it’s understandable,’ she thought. ’No time together means no attachment. In times like these, people are naturally cautious about emotional investment. Still, I’m glad Erin Quinn isn’t awake. Otherwise, that fragile little soul would definitely be silently judging everyone again!’