Chapter 45 The Hostility

Sophia suddenly thought of something and cast a suspicious glance at Clara.

She looked at Clara's beautiful face and couldn't help but grumble inwardly about the unfairness of fate.

"Clara, are you really Sovereign?" Julia's face lit up with a sweet smile as she willingly sat down next to Clara, eager to get closer to her.

Clara glanced at Julia's approach and furrowed her brow slightly. "Yes."

Sharon had already posted this online, so there was no point in denying it.

Besides, these few people were assistants given to her by Parker. In that case, Clara had nothing to hide.

"Really?" Julia's eyes sparkled briefly as she let out a surprised gasp, playfully covering her mouth.

"We thought the rumors were false. Ms. Edwards, I can't believe you're really Sovereign. But these past three years, have you really just been enjoying yourself in the Garcia family?"

Her words carried a sharp edge, forcing Clara to reassess this seemingly gentle and sweet girl before her.

It seemed this girl wasn't one to underestimate.

This was getting interesting.

Perhaps her sharp gaze made Julia momentarily uneasy. She quickly apologized and waved her hand. "Ms. Edwards, I'm not trying to pry into anything private. It's just that Mr. Ramirez has entrusted us with a crucial task this time, and I'm concerned about your familiarity with it."

Implicit in Julia's words was the doubt about Clara's ability to lead this mission after three years of inactivity.

Or perhaps, Julia deeply doubted her identity.

Clara smiled faintly, showing no signs of anger. "Ms. Bell, are you worried that I'll slow you down?"

As Clara spoke, she glanced at the others in the car, all of whom looked embarrassed at having their concerns exposed.

Clearly, they were all thinking the same thing.

"Clara, don't blame Julia. We just don't want dead weight or delays." Tristan spoke up, casting a noticeable glance at Clara's knees.

According to Hunter Gilbert, Clara couldn't walk for long due to a knee injury.

Then how come she seemed fine just now, taking those few steps?

His words were something Clara hadn't heard in a long time.

"It's okay. When we get there, if you guys don't want to stay with me, you can go elsewhere. We can split up."

The village was big enough that they would have to split up when they arrived.

But Clara always had to clarify things first. She didn't want anyone's inexplicable emotions to interfere with her work later on.

At her words, the four exchanged glances.

Julia was already feeling threatened just by Clara's stunning looks.

But she didn't intend to speak up first.

It was Sophia who couldn't help but glare at Clara, losing her temper. "Since Ms. Edwards said so, it seems like we're not needed. We won't delay you, Ms. Edwards. We'll go to the east side of the village, and you can go west."

West side?

Clara's eyes slowly shifted to Sophia, narrowing slightly.

According to the information she got from Parker, the west side of the village was mostly abandoned factory buildings ready to collapse, difficult terrain, and closest to the pollution source.

If one was not careful, exposed steel bars could easily cut through skin, causing trouble.

The east side, on the other hand, was inhabited by villagers and relatively better in terms of road conditions.

"Okay."

Clara nodded in agreement.

This surprised Sophia and the others.

Christian, after some thought, finally spoke up. "Then I'll go with Clara."

Before they left, Hunter specifically instructed him to take good care of Clara.

If anything happened to her, he would have a hard time explaining.

Hearing that the most handsome guy on the team was going with Clara, Julia suddenly couldn't sit still, pouting and acting coquettish. "Christian, didn't you promise to take care of me before we left?"

Clara lowered her gaze, not ignoring the hostility coming from beside her.

She couldn't be bothered with the thoughts of these little girls. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the car window, preparing herself for an early investigation of the pollution source.

Seeing her like this, Sophia snorted and rolled her eyes.

1

"What are you pretending for?"

Christian frowned slightly and whispered, "Alright, let's leave it at that. Haven't you all forgotten what Mr. Gilbert told us before we left?"

Thinking about Hunter's repeated instructions, the other three didn't insist on pulling Christian over.

The atmosphere in the car became unusually silent.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the factory complex, it was already past six in the morning.

Clara felt her knees had improved a lot. She took out bread and milk from her small backpack to replenish her energy.

The others were eating hot dog-like foods, and the air was filled with the scent of meat.

"Tsk, now she's putting on a show, trying to establish her character." Sophia couldn't help but mutter under her breath when she saw Clara eating just these simple things.

She nudged Julia's sleeve, and Julia looked over at Clara. When she saw Christian walking over with food in his hands, she felt particularly uneasy.

"Clara, you should eat this instead. I bought extra," Christian said.

Clara glanced at the greasy hot dog in his hand and then at the breakfast the others were holding.

Sensing the unfriendly glances from the other three, she decided to hold back what she originally wanted to say loudly. "You'd better eat something light. It'll be easier on your stomach later."

Christian paused, as if realizing something.

He watched Clara turn to the trunk to get something, quickly swapping the hot dog for bread.

The scene didn't go unnoticed by the other three.

Sophia sneered in disgust. "See? As long as someone looks good, they can do no wrong. Everyone just listens to whatever she says. Julia, he won't even eat the hot dog you bought for him."

Julia had naturally seen the scene just now and involuntarily tightened her grip on the milk, but kept a gracious demeanor on her face.

"Oh well, maybe Christian just doesn't feel like eating hot dogs today. Alright, let's eat and grab our things quickly so we can go help the villagers with their medical needs."

Tristan, seeing Julia's seemingly distressed expression, didn't feel too favorable toward Clara.

Just then, Christian came over to remind everyone not to eat too much greasy food, considering the smell of polluted wastewater could irritate the nasal passages and even cause vomiting.

"Don't eat anything greasy. Switch to something lighter. Later..."

Christian was interrupted mid-sentence by a firm shove from Tristan. "Christian, we don't need you to tell us what to eat. Looks like you're too smitten with Clara to care about anything else."

Taken aback by the sudden hostility, Christian looked bewildered.

"No, I just wanted to remind..."

Sophia's sarcastic voice cut in again, "Remind what? We all knew what to do and what to eat before we came here. Christian, how come you believe everything she says after just one comment?"

"Julia stood in line to buy you hot dogs, but clearly, you're not worthy of it."

Christian looked at the inexplicably hostile three, intending to explain himself.

But Clara walked past them, carrying bags and packages. "Don't waste time."