Chapter 397 - 281: Pioneering, Part 2
After sending everyone away, Marcus Monroe decided to return to Central City first.
For one, once Sylas Underwood reached Norgate, relaying messages would be much easier. For another, he could tell that Paige Summers wanted to go back.
Not only that, but she was also hiding something from him.
Marcus Monroe was not happy.
In the past, he might have patiently waited for her to tell him on her own. But now, he had no intention of doing that.
On the first night after they left the city, during their rest time, Marcus Monroe decided to "interrogate" her!
The two of them spent half the night messing around in a large sleeping bag until Paige Summers finally couldn’t take it anymore and begged for mercy.
"Stop, don’t... I really can’t take it anymore..."
"Aha, you’re the one who said it!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Then tell me, what have you been hiding from me?"
Paige Summers’s movements froze.
Marcus Monroe glanced at the girl who had fallen silent in his arms, then suddenly tightened his grip and asked hesitantly, "Have you... gotten thinner again these past few days?"
That shouldn’t have been the case.
Everything they ate now came from her space—not only was the quality excellent, but the quantity was also unlimited. Paige Summers’s appetite was even bigger than his! Sometimes, watching her down seven or eight bowls of rice without batting an eye, he’d feel a bit incredulous for her. ’How could such a small body hold so much?’
But she’d actually gotten thinner!
Paige Summers sighed. She had planned to hide it for a while longer, but it seemed she couldn’t anymore. She had no choice but to hold her hand up in front of him, fingers spread. "Do you see anything?"
Marcus Monroe cupped her slender fingers in his palm, fiddling with them one by one. After a long moment, he said, "They’ve gotten thinner, too?"
Paige Summers didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but then her expression turned glum. "They didn’t get thinner. They got smaller."
Marcus Monroe paused for a second, then shot upright, revealing his bare, well-built torso. Compared to him, Paige Summers looked more and more like a young, immature child.
He looked Paige Summers over from head to toe until her toes curled in embarrassment, then he said slowly, "Is it... what I think it is?"
Paige Summers gave a sullen "mhm."
She was also a little surprised the "symptoms" had appeared so quickly. But reality was cruel. After just a few days of peace, being highly attuned to her physical condition, she had already realized that she had shrunk a little bit again.
It wasn’t actually obvious, but you know your own body best.
If Marcus Monroe wasn’t with her every day, with his sharp eyes, he would have noticed it too!
Hearing this news so suddenly, Marcus Monroe’s brain seemed to skip a few beats.
He had worried that the experimental medicine would have side effects for Paige Summers, and he had been quietly observing her for a while at first. But aside from her getting smaller while her appetite got bigger, he really hadn’t noticed any other problems.
That was when he had finally relaxed.
But he never expected the truth to be far more absurd than he had imagined!
If she were just continuously getting smaller, he wouldn’t be worried. He could always wait for her to grow up again! But the problem was, no one could say for sure whether the medicine would produce even worse results!
What if her body couldn’t take it...
Marcus Monroe closed his eyes, stopping himself from thinking any further down that path.
He thought for a moment, then began to ask Paige Summers everything about the medicine. He was meticulous, asking about her physical reactions, her feelings, and the consequences Andy and Nadia had mentioned. He questioned her over and over until Paige Summers truly had nothing more to say, only then did he lie back down.
In the silence, he said, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow... we’ll push on."
Paige Summers understood what he meant.
Today, not knowing about this, he had seemed quite relaxed. But starting tomorrow, they would truly be "rushing."
Early the next morning, Sweetie flew toward Central City like a bolt of lightning!
But even after returning to the city, the problem remained.
Of course, Levi Young couldn’t have developed an antidote in such a short time. Although he had extracted the unknown substance, he had no clue how to counteract it.
And while Paige Summers hadn’t shrunk any more for the time being, everyone knew it was only a matter of time.
It had been two days since their return. After dropping Paige Summers off at her residence, Marcus Monroe had disappeared.
Paige Summers guessed he must have gone to find a solution, and she thought that was for the best.
Otherwise, if the two of them stayed together, constantly worrying about the problem with no solution in sight, just staring at each other wouldn’t accomplish anything.
So, she decisively shut her door and went to cultivate.
The news that she had returned alive was still a secret, so for now, only Nadia came to visit.
Nadia didn’t know about her condition and was very anxious.
However, she really wasn’t skilled in human biology and couldn’t be of much help, so she figured just coming over to talk with Paige Summers would be good.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get to see her once.
Marcus Monroe’s subordinates made it very clear: Paige Summers was cultivating and couldn’t be disturbed!
Nadia was both relieved and at a loss for words.
’That’s Sister Paige for you...’
’To be able to keep cultivating under these circumstances...’
’Such focus!’
Paige Summers did indeed have a good mentality. After all, worrying was useless. Besides, it wasn’t something that would kill her instantly. There was still time, right?
There was another important reason: she was about to promote!
She felt this might be a turning point, so she became even more diligent.
With Marcus Monroe around, there was absolutely no shortage of Crystal Cores.
Although there weren’t many Eighth Rank ones, using a sufficient quantity of slightly lower-ranked ones would do. It just meant using a larger amount, but that wasn’t a problem.
And so, in just a few days, Paige Summers had used up dozens of Seventh Rank Crystal Cores!
For her, it had been a long time since her last promotion.
It was just that a lot had happened in between, causing delays.
But it still felt like a case of breaking through after a long period of accumulation.
The moment she truly promoted to the Ninth Rank, the aura of a High-level Superpower User instantly erupted outward. The people protecting her, both inside and outside the house, all felt a powerful, invisible current of air wash over them, making them feel like they were suffocating!
Fortunately, it only lasted for a moment.
As soon as she completed her promotion, she quickly retracted her aura. Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, but they couldn’t help but marvel that if it hadn’t been for that one instant, they would have never detected the presence of a High-level Superpower User in the room.
To have such perfect control the moment she promoted—it was impossible not to be impressed!