Chapter 403 - 285: Guest
People tend to say foolish things when they’re in shock, so Paige Summers decided to forgive Claire Chapman for his idiotic comment.
Claire Chapman, on the other hand, took a while to process what he’d heard.
He only knew a few vague details about what happened in Central City, so it took him a bit longer to accept it.
But when he learned that Paige’s situation required Rhonda Rhodes’s cooperation, he didn’t waste any more time talking. He quickly led the group to where Rhonda Rhodes lived.
The residential area in the base was quite well-built.
There were dormitories for single team members, while those at the captain level or with special needs could apply for a private house.
Of course, Rhonda Rhodes lived alone.
Her place was rather unique. It was a small courtyard, the furthest from everyone else’s house, with a small open patch of land in front that was now overgrown with mutated plants.
Even within the base, her home wasn’t a place one could just drop by unannounced.
So when Claire Chapman led everyone to the gate, he just yelled for her to open up.
Unfortunately, he shouted for a long time, but no one answered.
Claire Chapman grew anxious and tried to force his way in, but he was thrown back before he could even touch the doorknob.
Levi Young reached out in disbelief. He could feel what seemed like a transparent film covering the outside of the door. It was invisible but incredibly tough—even a knife couldn’t pierce it!
Marcus Monroe was also surprised and tried to push through with brute force.
It didn’t work either.
The "film" was extremely elastic, like a spring. Pushing it to a certain point would only cause it to rebound with even greater force.
Seeing this, Paige Summers said knowingly, "Don’t waste your energy. She’s probably in seclusion. She won’t be out anytime soon. Let’s just wait."
They could only nod in agreement.
Levi Young was very dejected.
Sean Raines smiled. "It’s fine. We’re still missing a few medicinal ingredients anyway. Marcus and I will go gather them, and you, Andy, can stay at the base to look after Paige. By the time we get back, she’ll probably be out."
They talked as they headed back to the office area.
Sean Raines’s idea was to leave that very afternoon, without even packing.
Paige Summers disagreed, telling them to at least rest for one night and leave the next day.
But Marcus Monroe was also insistent, and in the end, she couldn’t win against them.
After lunch, the two of them set off immediately.
Paige Summers specifically had Sweetie go with them to make communication easier.
Back in Claire Chapman’s office, she was a little listless.
They said they were gathering a few ingredients, but they only knew a general area based on old records. It was uncertain if the herbs even existed anymore, so finding them would be incredibly difficult. How could she feel at ease watching them rush off and risk their lives for her?
Accommodations had already been arranged for her and Levi Young. Andy had gone off to continue studying those classic texts, leaving just her and Claire Chapman in the room.
Seeing her like this, Claire Chapman said bluntly, "Snap out of it! Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me holding down the fort on my own? And now that you’re back, you dare to show me this gloomy face! I’m telling you, I’ll let it slide today, but don’t even think about slacking off starting tomorrow. We’re rebuilding from scratch here! I’ve saved those factory buildings for you, and I’ll assign you the manpower. It’s all up to you now! Also..."
He grew more and more energetic as he spoke, assigning Paige a mountain of tasks in the blink of an eye.
His nagging instantly snapped Paige out of her melancholic mood. ’He’s right,’ she thought. ’I’ve been dying to get back to smelting. Now that I’m back at the base, of course I should roll up my sleeves and get to work! Things are what they are. Overthinking it will only make me miserable. I’m better off doing something productive!’
Paige Summers was definitely a woman of action.
Once she cast aside her jumbled thoughts, her enthusiasm was even greater than before she arrived!
The two of them discussed their plans and, after dinner, gathered the few captains who were still at the base. Paige revealed her identity to avoid any inconveniences later on.
Everyone was definitely shocked, but once they heard that besides her body shrinking, her superpower was unaffected—and that she had even Promoted—they quickly calmed down.
This was only for them. To everyone else, she would be introduced as Vice-Captain Sterling’s cousin, Susie. This was to prevent gossip from exposing her to outsiders and causing unnecessary trouble.
Additionally, Paige handpicked a few people on the spot. After getting their consent, she announced that they would begin repairing the smelting equipment the next day.
This news was met with another wave of excitement.
Everyone understood that if they could restore the smelting operations, it would be a huge boon for both the base and for them as individuals.
That night, Paige was full of energy as she drew up a list of plans.
Early the next morning, she threw herself into her work.
Restoring the smelting operation was easier said than done. It was far from being just ordinarily difficult!
All sorts of equipment had to be repaired, calibrated, and operated... Every single step had to be functioning properly. The most crucial problem was that Paige was the only semi-skilled worker in the entire base. The rest were complete novices who simply followed her commands—doing what she told them to do, and sometimes not even managing that correctly.
The people Paige had chosen were already the quick-witted types whose superpowers weren’t particularly outstanding—at least, compared to the rest of Bloodfall. In general, having them do this kind of work instead of going out to hunt was a bit of a mismatch. From top to bottom, Bloodfall’s members were almost all combat types!
After struggling for two days, Paige realized she needed to find suitable people for the job to work smarter, not harder.
The truth was, you didn’t really need much of a superpower for this work. Anyone with a bit of extra strength was enough. Ideally, they needed people who had worked with mechanical equipment before. When Paige Summers explained this to Claire Chapman, he slapped his thigh. "Alright! Let’s go to Southreach and recruit some people!"
This wasn’t exactly pulling teeth from a tiger’s mouth. They would pick First Order Superpower Users or just take ordinary people. Even if Leo Joyce found out, he’d probably think they were just lightening Southreach’s burden.
Of course, outsiders wouldn’t be told what the work actually entailed.
Superpower Users like that and ordinary people were also easy to control.
As long as they agreed to sign a contract, they wouldn’t be able to leave Bloodfall Base even if they didn’t want to keep the secret.
Claire Chapman quickly thought of all this. However, given that it was best for Paige not to use her superpower right now, he decided to personally accompany her on the trip.
The two of them set a time, but before they could leave, a visitor arrived.
"Captain, Vice-Captain, May Joyce is here!"
In the office, Paige Summers looked at Claire Chapman. She had completely forgotten to ask how things were going between him and that woman!
"She’s not here to discuss wedding plans, is she?" she asked, half-joking and half-serious.
Previously, Leo Joyce’s condition for lending the Southern Army’s help was for Claire Chapman and May Joyce to date with the intention of getting married. By her count, she had been gone for a few months. ’Surely they haven’t actually taken that final step...’
’Unimaginable!’
Claire Chapman stood up with a sheepish grin. "Of course not! We’re still getting to know each other!" He started walking toward the door as he spoke. "I’ll go take a look. Oh, right, you want to come? That girl’s like a whole new person lately. Her temper has gotten a lot better."
Paige Summers thought for a moment, then smiled too. "Alright. I’d like to see just how charming you are!"