In stark contrast to Paige Summers’s gloomy mood, Sweetie was ecstatic. After being cooped up for several days, it was finally free and could stand openly on the truck’s roof. The vehicle’s speed didn’t bother it in the slightest. Perched high above, it calmly surveyed the curious and wary gazes below, already possessing the air of a sky king!

Watching it occasionally circle through the air before calmly returning to its perch, Paige Summers tried to lift her spirits.

No one in the vehicle spoke, and the atmosphere was oppressive. She grew impatient with staying inside. After having Erin Quinn sit next to the gentle-natured Liam Chandler, she pulled out a cloth, wrapped it around her head, told Marcus Monroe what she was doing, and then followed Sweetie’s example by climbing onto the roof.

Howard Everett’s lips twitched, but in the end, he said nothing to oppose her.

Paige Summers saw his subtle movement, and she also saw the tense, stern expression on Marcus Monroe’s face. She scoffed inwardly but stuck to her guns and left anyway.

She had once envied Marcus Monroe for having such companions and the friendship they shared, but she’d also come to realize that she ultimately wasn’t on the same wavelength as them. For her, life needed connections, but beyond a certain point, they became shackles.

Her appearance drew some attention, but her identity wasn’t exposed, contrary to Howard Everett’s fears.

Other than Samuel Hughes and his personal bodyguards, no one had seen Paige Summers before. And since they had opted to leave Glimmerlake from the rear of the procession, there was no chance of them running into each other for now.

Besides, even if those people did see her, they likely wouldn’t recognize her. After all, it had been nighttime, she had been wearing a guard’s uniform, and a hat had concealed half her face—a stark contrast to how she looked now.

The vehicles weren’t moving very fast in order to accommodate those on foot, but their truck still managed to reach the tail end of the foremost convoy.

Sweetie was delighted that Paige Summers had come to keep it company, letting out several long cries before hopping onto her shoulder.

The retreat was anything but peaceful, with Mutant Beasts appearing from time to time.

A squad from the base’s Guard was clearing the road up ahead. Things went smoothly at first, but with their small numbers, they soon found themselves overwhelmed as time went on.

After being attacked yet again, the convoy came to a halt.

The Guard Captain in charge sent someone to contact the various Hunting Squads and request that they join forces against the enemy.

In truth, they didn’t need to be told; Superpower Users from some Hunting Parties were already fighting Mutant Beasts. But with this official request, all the Hunting Parties were now required to send aid.

Paige Summers volunteered to go. Marcus Monroe nodded and sent Martin Warren with her.

From the Flying Eagle team, Lucian also boarded the Guard’s truck with two of his people. Very few knew they were planning to break away from the base, and those who had volunteered to stay behind had already prepared their cover stories. As a result, it wasn’t strange for acquaintances who saw them to think nothing of it.

Most of the Hunting Parties from Glimmerlake Base weren’t very large—a group of ten or so was standard—so the majority sent one or two Superpower Users.

Even so, this amounted to thirty or forty people, a considerable number from the perspective of The Guard.

On the truck, Lucian sat down next to Paige Summers and gave her a knowing smile. "Hey! Pretty nice up on the roof, wasn’t it?"

Paige Summers was quite frank. "It was."

Lucian stared at her for another moment before his gaze shifted to Sweetie, who was flying alongside the truck.

"Is that your pet?"

Paige Summers shrugged. "I’d prefer the term ’partner.’"

Lucian’s smile deepened. "Alright. I will." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Paige Summers looked at his face, forced to admit that he was exceptionally handsome. With his long hair down, he had a somewhat androgynous look, but with it tied up, there was no mistaking his gender. Smiling like that, he had a kind of dashing, rebellious charm!

Noticing she was staring at his face in a daze, Lucian winked and leaned close to her ear. "What’s this? Are you captivated by my beauty, too?"

Though he kept his voice low, Martin Warren, sitting nearby, still vaguely heard him. The corner of Martin’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

’This kid has too much nerve, hitting on a girl at a time like this!’

But Paige Summers, the target of his teasing, just let out a low laugh. Although he was saying such things, there wasn’t a trace of sleaze in his tone; in fact, it was actually quite funny.

She casually pushed his head away and lowered her voice to issue a mock threat, "That’s right. So you’d better keep your distance, or I might just pounce on you!"

Lucian pouted as if wronged. An older man sitting opposite them spoke up unhurriedly, "Little lady, it’s not so easy to pounce on him... Want me to teach you a move?"

"Hey! Old Man Townsend, stay out of this!" Clearly, this man was an acquaintance of Lucian’s.

Paige Summers froze, suddenly flustered.

Then, she broke into an exaggerated laugh. "Oh? Don’t tell me you’ve had that idea for a while, mister?"