Chapter 176: Chapter 176: Crazy for Love?
Dominic Crawford followed Joy Warren’s gaze, looking over at Sierra Sullivan as well.
But compared to Joy Warren’s look, Dominic Crawford’s was filled with resentment.
Being stared at like that by Dominic, for a moment, Sierra Sullivan felt like some scumbag who had stolen his girlfriend.
’But I swear to God!’
’I really didn’t do it!’
’I didn’t steal anyone’s girlfriend!’
’More importantly, I’m a woman!’
’Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t!’
Sierra Sullivan originally thought the matter would just blow over.
Unexpectedly, after dinner, Dominic Crawford quietly sought her out.
He stood beside Sierra Sullivan but didn’t speak immediately, instead looking around warily.
He kept glancing in Joy Warren’s direction.
He looked as furtive as a thief.
Before Sierra Sullivan could say anything, Jayce couldn’t stand it anymore.
"Crawford, are you going to say something or not? If not, then beat it!"
Although he understood Dominic Crawford, seeing him act this way was still irritating.
More than that, it was frustration that Dominic wouldn’t fight for himself.
’If you like her, just go confess. What’s the point of dawdling and hesitating? In Joy Warren’s eyes, it’s probably just a turn-off.’
Told off by Jayce, Dominic Crawford didn’t get angry.
On the contrary, he seemed to have a bit more courage than before.
"Sierra, I don’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to ask, why does Joy Warren always look at you like that?"
Sierra Sullivan didn’t deliberately keep him in suspense and directly stated her guess.
"It’s probably because I was pretty thorough this morning when I took some supplies out of my space, so..."
Sierra didn’t need to say the rest; Dominic Crawford could figure it out for himself.
Dominic Crawford didn’t speak, but a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
A few moments later, his expression grew more resolute, as if he had made some kind of decision.
Seeing him like this, Sierra Sullivan’s heart stirred. She had a guess as to what he was thinking.
"Don’t tell me you’re planning to try and awaken a Space Ability when we get back?"
Hearing Sierra Sullivan’s question, Dominic Crawford subconsciously touched his face. "Was I that obvious?"
Jayce nodded. "More than obvious. It’s written all over your face."
They had known each other for a long time, so Dominic Crawford wasn’t embarrassed that the two of them had seen through him.
"Yeah!" Dominic Crawford admitted frankly. "I want to give it a try. Think about it, having a Space Ability would be a lot more convenient. When I’m by myself, I can live however I want; just making do is fine. But when two people are together, it’s different. Girls always need things to be a bit more refined."
After Dominic Crawford finished speaking, he saw Sierra Sullivan and Jayce staring at him with blank expressions, and he laughed again.
"Don’t look at me like that! Dr. Hayes helping people awaken a Second Superpower is a well-established procedure. It’s not like there will be any accidents. Even if I can’t awaken a Space Ability, getting another one is still a good thing, don’t you think?"
Awakening a Second Superpower was, of course, a good thing.
It could enhance one’s own strength, providing more ability to protect oneself in the apocalypse.
But Sierra Sullivan still felt that Dominic’s reason for risking the awakening of a Second Superpower wasn’t a good one.
Even if Dr. Hayes was very confident, it wasn’t a 100% guarantee.
No matter what, there was always a certain amount of risk.
The thoughts flashed through Sierra Sullivan’s mind.
But before she could say them out loud, she swallowed them back down.
’Respect other people’s decisions.’
’Even though we’re good friends and I’m just looking out for him, what he needs right now is respect.’
’Besides, we can’t get back to the base anytime soon.’
’Who knows, by the time we do, he might have changed his mind.’
Seeing that Sierra Sullivan and Jayce were silent, Dominic Crawford scratched his head, laughed again, and walked off to one side a moment later. His head was bowed, lost in thought.
Dominic Crawford had just left when Nathan Thorne sidled over.
"Him—"
Nathan Thorne jutted his chin in Dominic Crawford’s direction.
"Crazy in love, isn’t he?"
Dominic Crawford hadn’t stated his intentions outright.
But anyone with eyes could see what he was thinking.
It was just that others weren’t as blunt about it as Nathan Thorne.
Jayce shot Nathan Thorne a look. "What he does has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business."
Nathan Thorne huffed. "We’re all friends here, that’s the only reason I said anything. If I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t say a single word. But fine, if you’re telling me not to, I’ll stop, alright?"
Though that’s what he said, his tone and expression were somewhat aggrieved.
Sierra Sullivan looked at Nathan Thorne with amusement. "Even among friends, you have to be mindful of boundaries. This is his own business. You don’t have to understand, but you can’t meddle."
Nathan Thorne wasn’t an unreasonable person. He thought about it seriously and felt that what Sierra Sullivan said made some sense, so he nodded.
"Fine, I get it. I won’t say any more."
With that, Nathan Thorne looked toward the window.
A board had been placed there, blocking the entire window so thoroughly that nothing could be seen.
But Nathan Thorne’s expression at that moment was as if he could see through the board to the outside, his face tinged with melancholy.
"When do you guys think we’ll finally be able to leave this place?"
That was a question Sierra Sullivan couldn’t answer for him.
It wasn’t just him; Sierra herself desperately wanted to know the answer.
Compared to Dominic Crawford’s yet-to-blossom romance, this was clearly the matter that was more melancholic and weighed more heavily on their hearts.
For a while, no one spoke.
Despite being full of people, the room fell utterly silent.
However, the group didn’t stay immersed in that mood for long.
Since they couldn’t leave for the time being, they should focus on improving their Superpowers.
Only by becoming strong enough could they handle the various sudden crises of the apocalypse.
Overthinking wouldn’t help them, but improving their Superpowers could save their lives and help them protect the people they cared about.
In this environment, they didn’t have to worry about their safety, so everyone could settle down and train in earnest.
Time trickled by as everyone focused on their training.
「Five days later.」
Sierra Sullivan and Jayce, fully geared up, went to the master bedroom to check on the situation outside.
The large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room was completely shattered.
At this point, there was no difference between the living room and the outdoors.
The wind howled, and yellow sand filled the sky, reducing visibility to less than a meter.
The two had just stepped out of the room when a vicious, two-mouthed bird charged at them.
