Chapter 298: Chapter 204: Future
Of course, after the initial shock and confusion passed, the team members didn’t believe the long-armed Zombie had actually been scared off by Paige Summers.
Still, they couldn’t figure out the real reason.
Since that was the case, they had no choice but to leave it at that.
On the bright side, the Zombie had fled, so they could at least catch their breath before moving on.
After all, they hadn’t even had a chance to rest before Paige Summers dragged them out to be "drilled."
In truth, aside from Norman Ross, who knew exactly why Paige Summers was treating him this way, no one else was entirely clear on the matter.
Everyone had been busy fighting Zombies at the time. Even the team member who was ambushed wasn’t sure who was beside them, so how could anyone have noticed Norman Ross looking away for those few seconds?
Paige Summers had only seen it by pure chance.
But no one was a fool. Seeing the way things were between the two, they could vaguely guess that Norman Ross must have done something out of line to be targeted like this.
No one went to ask Norman Ross.
Ever since the fight with the Zombie ended, he had kept his head down, his expression unreadable.
And certainly no one dared to ask Paige Summers.
After this incident, if any of the Power Corps members accidentally met Paige Summers’s gaze, their hearts would pound in their chests.
Even Mason Hayes’s men now looked at her with a mixture of fear and respect.
Paige Summers had become like a goddess of slaughter placed high on a pedestal, intimidating the rabble below into submission.
As for Paige Summers, she was quite satisfied with this outcome.
She wasn’t soft on her own team, let alone these guys.
She would do whatever it took to break them in and make them obey—the faster and more brutal, the better!
She was determined not to see any more petty schemes or sly maneuvering on the road ahead!
Just as she was thinking this, Norman Ross suddenly ran up to her and bowed deeply.
"I’m sorry!"
Paige Summers glanced at him, a little surprised.
She could tell that this kid was usually quite arrogant.
’I scared him a bit, so he probably wouldn’t dare do that again. That should have been the end of it.’
That had been her intention.
So, if he had decided to play dumb, she hadn’t planned on exposing him. As long as she knew the score, that was enough.
However, the fact that he was apologizing publicly proved he was capable of self-reflection. It showed he had some integrity, so she wouldn’t have to lump him in with the kind of people she despised.
At that moment, she was in a decent mood.
So... she let the corner of her lip curl up. "You’re mistaken. I’m not the one who needs your apology." Her meaning was clear: The person he should be apologizing to wasn’t her. As for who it was, he should know that himself, right?
She would only continue to help him if he earned her approval. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bothered with him again.
If he chose the path of cowardice this time, it would inevitably create a mental block. The next time he faced a similar situation, he would likely freeze up or make the wrong choice.
And the disastrous consequences of a single mistake might be irreversible.
With that said, Paige Summers stared at Norman Ross, wondering if he had the courage to take the first step toward redeeming himself right now.
In reality, Norman Ross hadn’t thought that far ahead.
He had just been forcing himself to replay the recent events in his mind, over and over.
The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt.
He was arrogant.
It came from his talent, his hard work, and his current position.
But he had not yet been in this harsh world long enough to lose his conscience.
And so, he realized he had been wrong.
’He could have chosen not to save someone, but that meant anyone else could do the same. If teammates couldn’t watch each other’s backs, what was the difference between being on a team and fighting alone? This time they were lucky it was just a Low-level Zombie. What if next time it was a High-level one?’
’For whom does the bell toll?’
’The next one would be him!’
Only after thinking all this through did he step forward. That was why, faced with Paige Summers’s cold response, he immediately understood her subtext.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then abruptly turned and walked over to the team member he had abandoned. He bowed deeply.
"I’m sorry!"
Then, full of embarrassment and shame, he explained what had happened.
Everyone was somewhat dumbstruck, their reactions mixed.
Some thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill. The two groups barely knew each other, so it wasn’t wrong for everyone to fend for themselves. Others believed he was definitely in the wrong, but felt that Paige Summers’s methods were far too extreme. Then there were those who felt that even if he was at fault, there was no need for such a public apology. What a loss of face!
These were, by and large, the thoughts of the members of the Power Corps.
At that moment, none of them could have imagined that Norman Ross’s courage, determination, and magnanimity had just paved a much smoother path for his future.
As for Mason Hayes’s people, they were more worldly. Some of them had joined the Hunting Party before they were even adults and had been scraping by in the outside world for years, seeing all kinds of people.
Compared to what they had seen, a situation like Norman Ross’s was small potatoes.
