"Thanks for coming."
She unhurriedly put away her Crossbow, untied the rope, and slid down from the tree.
She glanced at the Mutant Beast. The purple pile of flesh had already begun to rot, emitting an even more foul odor. Paige Summers wrinkled her nose in disgust, skirted around it, and deftly climbed the half-dead tree the beast had ravaged. She took the bag containing the egg in her hands.
"What kind of egg is this?"
"A bird's egg."
True, many birds had also mutated, but an egg this large was still beyond her imagination. No, the important thing was, "Is it valuable?"
"That's... hard to say. A professional would need to determine if it can still hatch. If it's viable, it should be worth…" 'Some Crystal Cores?' Jayden Yeats said uncertainly.
"Last question. Why was this egg in that hole?"
Jayden Yeats was silent for a long moment. He couldn't understand why she was asking such irrelevant questions at a time like this. The process didn't matter, did it? What mattered was that they had made her lure the Mutant Beast away alone. Although they had planned to send someone on a detour to the south to support her, in reality, everyone thought it was just for show. No one expected her to survive.
The reason he had volunteered for the support mission was simply to assess the situation and see if he could confirm whether she was the one who made that Crossbow, thereby gauging if she was worth his intervention. That was why, despite having arrived in the vicinity much earlier, he had remained silent.
But he never expected to witness such a spectacular scene of the weak defeating the strong.
Though she lacked strength, the girl was exceptionally skilled at using her mind and her weapon. And an arrow poison that could make a Mutant Beast start rotting in such a short time was truly rare…
Since he had chosen to reveal himself now, he already intended to get on her good side and was willing to compensate for what had happened earlier. As long as she brought it up, he believed there could be a very satisfactory resolution.
But she didn't bring it up.
Not a single word.
With mixed feelings, he explained, "It was buried outside the hole during the last scouting mission."
"When?"
"Four days ago."
"Four days…" Paige Summers looked at the bag in her hands regretfully. The egg had been buried in the dirt for so long; it probably wasn't viable anymore. 'Sigh, I thought I could claim it and make some extra money, but it looks like that's down the drain.'
She sighed, preparing to climb down and find a place to bury it and be done with it. Suddenly, she felt a tiny vibration in her palm. It was very faint, like a gentle tickle. A few seconds later, it happened again. Then, a series of rapid CRACKLE CRACKLE sounds started coming from inside the bag.
Paige Summers felt the changes in her hand and, stunned, she opened the bag. A small, fluffy yellow head poked out, trembling. It had a sharp, slightly curved beak, little bean-like eyes, and then, two tiny, fleshy, miniature wings on its back were revealed… It nuzzled against her hand, letting out soft chirps, and tilted its head up pitifully…
'So… so cute…' Paige Summers was instantly smitten. 'How can such an adorable creature exist?!'
She carefully cradled the adorable little thing—which, judging by its head and body, looked a bit like a chick, but whose wings proved it was indeed a bird—and slid down the tree.
Having decided she now had a pet, Paige Summers was in high spirits. She asked with a wide grin, "Are we heading back to the vehicle now?"
The already un-talkative Jayden Yeats found all the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat, leaving him feeling almost sick with it. But seeing her smiling face, her eyes overflowing with joy, he could only let out a long sigh and reluctantly force out a single word, "Okay."
Still, it seemed like a very long time since he had seen such a happy smile. It couldn't help but remind him of when he was very young, of those brief, dream-like years before the apocalypse… That was probably the only softness he had left in his increasingly hardened life.
On the way back, Jayden Yeats remained silent. It wasn't until they were about to exit the woods that he slowed his pace, mulled it over for a moment, and said, "Don't mention the Mutant Beast or this bird. I'll handle the explanation."
Paige Summers was taken aback.
A wave of warmth slowly spread through her chest. It was very, very faint, but… it was actually goodwill!
'Is he planning to protect me?'
'What a surprise!'
To be honest, while she didn't harbor any more negative feelings toward Jayden Yeats, Sylvester Marshall, and the others, she certainly had no goodwill for them either. Even if casually sacrificing others for one's own benefit had become the norm in this world, she considered herself part of the counter-culture.
People with different principles can't work together.
She had been interacting with them with the mindset that this was a one-time deal and that she would avoid them as much as possible in the future.
She never expected the man before her to have such a sudden change of heart.
She nodded.
In any case, this was a good thing.
They returned to the rendezvous point without a hitch, and Jayden Yeats, as expected, kept his promise.
When the members of the Hunting Party stared at the two of them in shock—their gazes, of course, focused mainly on Paige Summers—and finally couldn't resist coming forward to ask what had happened, Jayden Yeats didn't even say a word. Just by maintaining his deadpan expression and a gaze even colder than usual, he had already put himself in an unassailable position.
The busybodies retreated.
Just then, Sylvester Marshall walked over.
His face was wreathed in smiles, and he looked both excited and relieved. "It's great that you're both safe! I was just about to send people to back you up…"
Paige Summers blinked and looked at Jayden Yeats. 'Do I not need to say anything now either?'
The answer was undoubtedly yes. At his silent signal, Sylvester Marshall quickly dropped the insincere pleasantries, turned around, and sent everyone to wait in the vehicles to get ready to leave, while he and Jayden Yeats remained outside alone.
After boarding the vehicle with the others, Paige Summers got a firm pat on the back from Nola. Feeling a small current of goodwill from her, she returned a genuine smile.
However, she still felt a little uneasy.
She reached out and gently stroked the little baby bird, which was staying quiet and well-behaved in the pocket of her baggy combat fatigues. 'I really want to know what those two are talking about outside!'