Chapter 433 - 312: "Home" (2)
Claire Chapman smiled confidently. "She does want revenge on Leo Joyce, but she wants to live even more. As long as she wants to live, she has no choice but to join us. And where our ship sails—that’s for us to decide, not her!"
Paige Summers nodded and, after a moment, smiled as well. "Mm, you have a point. Then let’s put her to good use. It’d be a waste not to."
’A monitoring system would be a great asset.’
’If we could actually build and install one in the base, it would save a ton of manpower. Our security would take a major step up.’
’And that’s not all. Since the people she brought with her are experts in this field, they can probably develop other useful devices.’
’There’s just one problem—manufacturing won’t be easy.’
’Even though she wasn’t an expert in the field, she knew that manufacturing electronic components wasn’t like forging weapons. It required more advanced, intelligent equipment, and the materials needed went far beyond what was required for typical Artifact Making.’
With this in mind, Paige Summers said, "Let’s call Maisie Joyce and her team for a meeting first. Building a monitoring system is a huge project, and I need to go over it with them in detail."
"Done! I’ll have someone fetch them right now!" This was exactly what Claire Chapman had been waiting to hear. He left at once, brimming with excitement.
Marcus Monroe watched Paige Summers, who was already so lost in thought she’d forgotten he was even there, and sighed to himself. ’He knew it. The second she’s back at the base, she gets roped into work and starts spinning like a top, never stopping.’
’But what could he do? That was just how she was. And worse, he found her ridiculously cute when she got this focused...’
’How pathetic!’
’Looks like I need to find more to do myself!’
’Right, I was supposed to take those kids to the military base for training, but that fell through. I should use this time to really put them through their paces!’
’And then there’s Southreach. I need to expand our intelligence network there. Once Leo Joyce gets back, there’s bound to be some drama in the city, and I can’t miss that.’
’I might even learn something interesting.’
’For instance, who was it that gave Leo Joyce the idea to go after that arms shipment?’
’I refuse to believe he just panicked because Central City retook Norgate, making him forget he’s already lost several teams inside that military base before!’
’And what is this other party planning?’
’Are they friend or foe to us?’
’Huh? When I think about it, I’ve really got a lot on my plate!’
Marcus Monroe suddenly felt a sense of satisfaction. Hearing footsteps approaching outside, he pulled the pensive Paige Summers into his arms and kissed her cheek. "You focus on your work. I’m going to go check on things."
Paige Summers blinked, snapping out of her daze. "Mm, okay. Once I get a handle on their capabilities and wrap things up, I’ll head home."
’Home...’
The smile on Marcus Monroe’s face widened unconsciously.
"Okay. I’ll be waiting for you."
「In the days that followed, it wasn’t just Paige Summers who was busy; Marcus Monroe was too.」
Many new people had arrived at the base during their absence.
Some came from Southreach, others from different bases.
There were Superpower Users as well as ordinary people.
With the population growing, everything from internal administration and personnel assignments to the top priority of base security required clear, rigorous systems and designated leaders.
Claire Chapman had originally been handling these matters alone, but his energy was limited. To be frank, he also had far too little experience in this area. Managing an entire base was vastly different from leading a Hunting Party—and much more difficult.
Therefore, many things needed to be re-planned from the ground up.
Marcus Monroe had no choice but to get involved.
Of course, he had no intention of staying on the sidelines to begin with.
’Since Paige calls this place "home,"’ he thought, ’then it ought to feel like one.’
’I want her to be able to live here freely and without a care.’
’She should find the sense of belonging here that Central City could never give her!’
Even with Marcus Monroe’s stamina and energy, he felt exhausted every single day, which just went to show how massive his workload was.
But he was undoubtedly busy... and blissful.
A few days after returning to the base, Paige Summers’s appearance and health were fully restored. Levi Young examined her and confirmed that this time, she had made a complete recovery.
Needless to say, Marcus Monroe was determined to make up for their lost time together, and then some.
Unfortunately, since they both had work the next day, they couldn’t indulge themselves to their hearts’ content every single night.
But after he shamelessly employed his full repertoire of persuasive techniques, Paige Summers usually ended up letting him have his way...
As their physical intimacy deepened, their relationship grew closer.
Anyone in the base who wasn’t blind, veteran or newcomer, knew that the two of them were a couple.
But Marcus Monroe discovered that the anxiety in the pit of his stomach hadn’t vanished.
He still hated seeing those kids hovering around Paige Summers, even if it was for work. Then there was Maisie Joyce, who had been clinging to Paige more and more lately. After a period of rest, the woman had slowly emerged from the shadow of Leo Joyce. She now seemed completely devoted to building the base’s monitoring system, constantly huddling next to Paige and whispering in her ear for any reason at all. She wouldn’t even let up during meals, chattering endlessly about how to build this or that component.
To Marcus Monroe, she was far more annoying than a housefly.
Because you could swat a housefly. But Paige valued this woman, and the two were always completely absorbed in their discussions. Forget swatting her—it wasn’t even easy to shoo her away.
The situation frequently got on Marcus’s nerves.
And when he got on edge, life became hard for certain people, who found themselves dragged out for extra training more than a few times.
Then, one day, during a break in training, Marcus Monroe was staring pensively at the lab where Paige was working when Mason Hayes was once again pushed forward by the others.
"Ahem. She’s all yours, man. You don’t have to be so insecure."
Marcus Monroe shot him a look. "What do you know?"
Mason Hayes said with a completely straight face, "Hey now, I’m a married man, so I definitely know a thing or two more than you! If you ask me..."
Marcus Monroe froze. A sudden inspiration struck him.
He spun around and slapped Mason Hayes hard on the shoulder, cutting him off. "Right! You’ve got a point! I get it now, I completely get it!"
"Huh?!" Mason Hayes stared after Marcus Monroe’s hastily retreating figure and muttered after a long moment, "What did I say? I hadn’t even started talking yet!"