Chapter 429: Chapter 44 Changes

“Ask, Ask!”

“What is it?”

“Look at that soldier, sneezing non-stop, so silly!”

“What are you here for?”

“Collecting viruses.” Peggy activated her abilities with both hands and sensed from a distance for a while before saying, “That soldier has a common upper respiratory tract infection; it doesn’t seem to be the flu.”

“Is there a difference between the two?” Ask curiously asked.

“The former is the common cold, and the latter is the pandemic flu.” Peggy looked at him with an “you’re so clueless” expression.

Aren’t you just stating the obvious? Ask thought to himself.

The two sat on a wooden post next to the military supply tent. The post was somewhat tall; it fit Ask perfectly, but for Peggy, her feet couldn’t reach the ground, making her look a bit petite.

However, Peggy didn’t mind and swung her legs lively in the air. Watching her happy demeanor, Ask thought somewhat maliciously that you might never grow up.

Even if she used her flesh transformation ability to “grow up,” once she withdrew her ability, she would return to the appearance of a high school girl, perpetually frozen at 17.

He recalled a post by an alchemist on a forum, which talked about finding a young girl and then using abilities to fix her appearance, eventually waiting ten years until it was legal to lift her high.

That post, of course, was universally ridiculed. With the entertainment industry so advanced today, not even games are guaranteed to last ten years, let alone your bizarre Genji plan.

The responses to the post kept increasing, continuously topping the forum for a long time until the moderator used the ultimate move of hiding the thread to suppress its popularity.

A few weeks later, the game company released a new patch that fixed the bug where “regular attacks and extraordinary abilities could affect child NPCs.”

Yes, it was the forum post that had alarmed the game company, prompting a cold sweat. If someone actually carried that out, and it was exposed by the media, the entire company would be in deep trouble.

Thus, the meme of the “invincible bratty kid” was born… Of course, such restrictions did not exist in this world.

As Ask was idly daydreaming, he saw Peggy pull out a bag, from which she took a cheese cookie, broke it in half, and then handed him one half.

Ask was deeply touched; it was the first time a girl had given him food she hadn’t tasted!

“Why are you making that face?” Peggy noticed something unusual about his expression.

“No, it’s nothing. I just think you are very thoughtful,” Ask said, relieved.

Peggy: ???

She ate the cookie bit by bit, her gaze stealing glances at Ask. The braid hanging at her chest trembled slightly, as if hiding the unease and shyness in her heart.

Actually, being fixed at around 17 wasn’t so bad… Ask thought to himself, noticing that the girl next door had changed a lot since last year.

In the original memory of his body, back in Constantinople, Peggy was introverted and taciturn. She usually wore an extremely outdated big braid, thick black-framed glasses, and liked to tuck her shirt into her waistband.

Of course, the attire of a minor girl often depended on their native family, and Peggy’s parents were devout followers of the Orthodox and Armenian immigrants who were strict and stern at home, even not allowing her to go out at night.

After vampires killed her parents, she seemed to have become a different person. The flesh power cured her nearsightedness, but it also filled her heart with hate and grievances.

During her time living in the hotel, she would lie on the bed after training each day, blankly staring at the ceiling, neither crying nor talking, almost as if she were in a trance.

If not for Ask’s timely revenge, perhaps under the prolonged torment of negative emotions, the young girl might have developed a very extreme personality.

Even after killing the vampire, Peggy remained largely silent and aloof. It was a period of confusion after suddenly losing a life goal, and her habit of being obedient to Ask was also formed during that time.

As for when she regained the normal, vibrant personality of a 17-year-old girl? It was vaguely around the time in Olympia City…

“Hey, what are you thinking about? You look spaced out.” As Ask was deep in thought, he saw a fair hand waving in front of his eyes.

“I was thinking of you,” Aske said.

Peggy’s face turned hot instantly, crimson spreading from her pale neck to her cheeks, and a wonderful, joyful flutter arose in her chest, as if a little deer were calling out softly.

“What were you thinking about…” she asked, pinching the hem of her dress shyly and speaking in a low voice.

“I’ve noticed you’ve changed a lot since last year,” Aske said with a smile. “Last year, you hardly spoke and always maintained an icy demeanor that kept people at bay; but now, you’re much cuter.”

“Um.” Peggy thought of her deceased parents and gradually quieted down.

Back then, she didn’t talk much because she had no one to talk with.

After all, she had nothing left.

But now…

She glanced at Aske again and suddenly asked softly, “Squad Leader.”

“Hmm?” Aske responded.

“If I can’t keep up with your level, will you fire me one day?” Peggy asked.

“Level does not determine strength,” Aske replied.

“What if my strength isn’t up to par either?” Peggy pressed.

“Being weak doesn’t mean you lack potential,” Aske continued with a perfect response, still in his Squad Leader mode.

“What if I lack potential too? I mean…” Peggy racked her brains, “what if I get seriously injured, the kind that leaves me disabled for life and unable to fight anymore?”

She held her breath nervously, anxiously awaiting Aske’s reply. He was silent for a long while before he countered her question:

“Tell me, how could a Transcendent of the Flesh Sequence end up with a lifelong disability?”

Right. Peggy found herself half-smiling, half-crying, having forgotten her special ability.

Limbs lost could be completely regrown!

Then she suddenly leaned in close. Her healthy, pale skin typical of the Flesh Sequence, her delicate, cute nose, big eyes, and the long, curved eyelashes characteristic of Armenian girls suddenly came into Aske’s immediate view.

“What are you…” Before Aske could finish his sentence, Peggy had planted a kiss on his lips.

“You answered very well just now; this is your reward.” She quickly jumped off the tree stump, turned her back to Aske, unable to look back at his reaction, her heartbeat racing as if it would burst from her chest.

Then she forced herself to sound composed, pretending as if nothing happened, and said playfully, “You seem so inexperienced, it must have been your first kiss. Humph, it’s mine now.”

With that, Peggy hurriedly ran off.

Not stopping until she was outside the camp, Peggy finally slowed down and, looking at her reflection in a puddle by the roadside, she touched her lips.

Hehe, the first kiss. Opportunities belong to the courageous girls.

Watching her pretty face in the reflection, Peggy couldn’t help but smile broadly.

Left at the original spot, Aske continued sitting on the tree stump for a long while, finally processing what had just happened, and not quite sure what expression to show.

But since she had run off, there was no one to see whatever face he made.

There seemed to be a warm, soft aftertaste on his lips. Aske paused for a moment before gathering up the flirtatious thoughts that had just started to stir.

Rein it in, rein it in, else if he bumps into Medea and Nora later, his mind-read could spell trouble.

Eh, what did Peggy initially ask me to come here for again?

Watching the soldiers lining up in front of the supply tent, Aske fell into a long, wordless state again.

Hey, did I just get played?