"I know the theory, but I'm still too small to actually drive." He was too short and couldn't even reach the gas pedal, so he couldn't drive yet.
But he knew how to drive a car.
Now he just had to wait until he was older so he could actually do it.
"Tsk tsk tsk, yeah, you really are short." Paige glanced at him and said.
A twelve-year-old who wasn't even 1.4 meters tall, really short.
Wait, he was going to be thirteen soon.
The only reason he had grown this tall was because the family had always given the best food to the kids.
Ely: ...
It felt like a sword had stabbed him in the chest.
The deepest wounds came from family.
"Don't feel bad, all four of us are still growing. As long as we eat well, sleep enough, and exercise, we can still grow taller." Paige patted Ely on the shoulder to comfort him.
She wasn't satisfied with her height either. If only she could return to being over 1.8 meters tall.
Before, she had been 1.85 meters tall. She had excellent engineered genes. Too short, and how would she fight zombies?
The next day, Paige took a private vehicle to the place Commander Ye had arranged for her.
Paige was a bit surprised. She had expected a normal two-story apartment building, but instead, she got a large villa.
Walking into the yard, a small winding path made of bluestone started at the gate and led to the front door of the villa. There was also a big open space at the entrance.
Next to the gate, there was a small room. Paige guessed it was the gatehouse.
She scanned it with her mental power, and inside was a set of table and chairs and a simple small bed, prepared for someone to stay overnight.
The sides of the path had probably been green areas before, but because no one had taken care of them for a long time, they had turned into clean patches of bare soil.
"I'll have someone plant some nice flowers here later. Miss Paige, is there any kind of flower you like?" Officer Fang saw her looking at the open space and quickly explained.
Yesterday, when they came to clean up, it had been overgrown with weeds, so he had people clear it all out.
"It's fine, no rush." Paige replied casually.
She walked along the path, which didn't lead directly to the front door.
There were also small paths on both sides of the villa, suggesting that there was space behind it as well.
Paige didn't walk to the back, but she checked it with her mental power.
Besides a dried-up fake mountain pond and a pavilion, most of what remained was freshly turned soil. Nothing interesting to see.
Paige entered the villa, where a group of servants stood waiting.
She guessed that the one in front was the butler. Behind him were four women, two straight-standing men, and two dressed as chefs.
"These are the people Commander Ye prepared for you.
This is Butler Zhang. He's been a butler for over twenty years and is very experienced.
If you need anything, just tell him.
These four take care of the villa's cleaning. These two are guards. They're retired soldiers.
Though they can't fight on the battlefield anymore, they're still strong enough to be guards. And these two are the chefs.
Since we didn't know what kind of food you like, both of them are skilled in all kinds of cuisine.
If you try them for a while and don't think they're a good fit, just tell me or let the butler know.
We also have many backup staff.
Or would you like to call them all over to try out?" Officer Fang asked.
"No need, this setup is fine. But not her, get someone else to replace her." Paige pointed to one of the women.
"Everyone, go do your tasks. I'll look around by myself," Paige said to them.
"This is Miss Paige. From now on, you all follow her orders," Officer Fang told them.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Paige didn't want that person, because out of all the people, only that one had the most fragmented spiritual power.
Although Paige didn't fully understand what that meant, after spending time with so many people recently, she discovered something. It seemed that the more pure a person was, or rather, the more useful they were to society, the clearer and more transparent their spiritual power appeared.
For example, the three people around her had very clear and bright spiritual power.
Even the villagers, though slightly murky, were still within the range of ordinary people. After all, as people grow up, they develop their own little thoughts. That's normal.
The soldiers too, except for a few with heavily muddied energy, most of them were just like regular folks, with faint traces of light.
Commander Ye and the others didn't have the most transparent energy either. But theirs wasn't muddy, it seemed to be surrounded by a kind of glow.
Paige guessed that maybe it was a glow of virtue.
As for the PN Soldiers, she hadn't seen a single one whose energy wasn't murky.
Officer Fang glanced at the butler. The butler understood immediately and had two guards drag the named woman out.
There was no shouting or scene. Unless someone didn't care about their life.
Once the crowd was dismissed, Paige began inspecting the place.
When she stepped into the living room, the high ceiling gave an incredible sense of space.
A luxurious chandelier hung in the center, and the floor was made of dark red hardwood.
A set of deep brown leather sofas surrounded a marble coffee table, though the sofas were missing throw pillows.
Paige thought lying down on one of those would definitely be very comfortable.
The dining room was connected to the living room. There was a long wooden dining table, surrounded by high-backed carved chairs.
But the tabletop was currently empty, which made the place feel a bit cold and deserted.
In the kitchen, the floor was laid with bluestone tiles, and the stove was built with red bricks.
Two heavy iron pots sat on the stove, along with an aluminum kettle and two long-handled iron spatulas.
There were also various bowls and pans neatly arranged on the counter.
A wooden rice scoop, bamboo steamers, everything gave off the feel of everyday life.
In the corner was a large water vat, covered with a wooden lid to keep out dust.
Beside the vat was a brand-new wooden bucket. Everything in the house was brand new.
What surprised Paige was that in the storage room, there was even a refrigerator.
If she hadn't seen the ice inside the big unit, she never would've guessed a refrigerator existed here.
And in her mind, refrigerators were usually placed in the kitchen.
But here, the refrigerator had its own room.
The kitchen cabinets and the shoe cabinets near the entrance were still being rushed to completion. Once they were done, they would be delivered. If she needed anything else, she just had to tell the butler.
Following the wooden staircase upward, the second-floor hallway was carpeted with a soft rug.
Inside the master bedroom, a large redwood bed took center stage.
A soft pink gauze canopy hung above, swaying gently in the breeze.
On the nightstand sat a pair of antique bronze lamps. By the bed was a delicate dressing table with intricately carved edges around the mirror.
Paige ran her hand over the bed, clearly pleased. She really liked it.
Outside the bedroom was a balcony. She imagined placing a lounge chair there. Lying back at night and stargazing sounded lovely.
As for the empty walk-in closet, there was no need to look at it for now.