Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

An "Unusual" Move

Marcus Monroe steadfastly refused to let Evan Carter, Norman Ross, and the others come to Southreach to testify, so Keith Preston had no choice but to report this to Maisie Joyce.

To his surprise, Maisie Joyce’s expression had been grim at the time, but a day later, her spirits were restored, and she never mentioned the matter again.

It wasn’t until Marcus Monroe came to bid them farewell, saying he was taking his team back to Bloodfall Base and that Claire Chapman, as the City Lord’s fiancé, would naturally be staying behind to assist Maisie Joyce, that everything became clear.

Only then did Keith Preston understand.

It seemed the old saying was true in reverse, too: even a heroine was no match for a handsome man.

He could do nothing but smile helplessly.

’As for Leo Joyce,’ he thought, ’Maisie Joyce and Claire Chapman probably have a plan already. I’ll just wait and see.’

From Marcus Monroe’s perspective, one look at Maisie Joyce’s attitude told him that Claire Chapman had definitely spoken to her. He figured they must have finalized the marriage arrangements.

Maisie Joyce must have been very pleased with the marriage. While her attitude toward the people from Bloodfall had been good before, it had certainly never been this solicitous. She had even dispatched over a hundred soldiers from The Power Corps to provide cover for their departure...

Of course, he wasn’t going to refuse something that would make things easier for his people.

And so, their departure from the city went very smoothly.

For one, they were so fast that they had already put considerable distance behind them before most of the Zombies could even react. For another, with the hundred-odd soldiers from The Power Corps drawing fire, they left Southreach having faced barely any attacks.

Paige Summers held Annie in her arms as she sat in the car, a smile playing on her lips. "The fighting style of these Power Corps soldiers is rather similar to Lucian’s," she commented.

From the passenger seat, Sean Raines laughed. "You’ve got a sharp eye. They were originally from the second division, but after Victor Caldwell died, Maisie Joyce handed them over to Lucian. And well, he’s been training them for a few days now."

"No wonder. By the way, is Shawn Monroe okay? He looked completely drained when he got in the car," Paige Summers asked. Marcus Monroe glanced at Shawn Monroe sitting in the car behind them.

Sean Raines scoffed. "After a Spiritual Search, how could he recover so quickly? Speaking of which, your Magnus is pretty ruthless. Wasn’t he afraid of turning the guy into an idiot?"

Spiritual Search was a superpower of the Spiritual System. To Paige Summers, it sounded a bit like the Soul Search from Cultivation novels. Of course, it wasn’t as potent, and the consequences weren’t as dire—it wouldn’t turn someone into a complete imbecile—but the process was said to be excruciatingly painful.

A Superpower User’s spiritual power would naturally resist external energy. When memories were forcibly read, it was tantamount to the brain being invaded by an outside force; the resulting agony was far worse than any physical injury. Not only was it painful, but his spiritual power had likely suffered some degree of damage as well.

Because Shawn Monroe had been so tight-lipped, Marcus Monroe had ultimately been forced to resort to this method.

Once he knew where the Central Army soldiers were holding Wendy Lowell, Shawn Monroe had very few cards left to play. However, to prevent him from resorting to a scorched-earth scenario where he would rather see everyone die than hand over the hostage, Marcus Monroe still proposed an exchange.

With things having reached this point, the tormented Shawn Monroe could only agree.

Paige Summers had no objection to this.

’I suffered so much because of the premature birth. Shouldn’t Shawn Monroe pay a price for that?’

Thus, she said nonchalantly, "He didn’t turn into an idiot, did he? As long as he’s alive, that’s enough."

Sean Raines chuckled and said no more.

’That’s exactly what I was getting at. I just don’t want him to actually get killed.’

’After all, they still had to consider Kiera Walsh’s reaction.’ The people from Bloodfall had left, but his Taoist Association, the Lowell Family, and Jovitas were all still in Central City. If Kiera Walsh took her anger out on them over Shawn Monroe’s death... even if she didn’t do something completely irrational, she could still make small trouble for them every day, and that would make life miserable for everyone, wouldn’t it?

’So, torturing him is fine, but they have to let him live.’

As they spoke, the vehicles headed toward Bloodfall Base. By noon, they arrived at Zenthar Base.

This small base was the last one Marcus Monroe had searched while looking for Paige Summers. As it turned out, Shawn Monroe’s men had been holding Wendy Lowell here all along.

After they entered the base, Shawn Monroe sent a coded signal to his subordinates, telling them to bring the hostage over.

At first, things went smoothly.

The place they chose was relatively open. Shawn Monroe’s people, about fifty or so men with Wendy Lowell, arrived quickly in three vehicles.

But just before the hostage exchange, Shawn Monroe suddenly shouted to Paige Summers in her vehicle, "Things have been a bit unpleasant, but the deal we discussed with Central City is still valid, right?"

Everyone present was stunned for a moment.

Paige Summers smiled, stopping Marcus Monroe from losing his temper. She said to Shawn Monroe, "I’ve had the seeds ready for a while, and the growing instructions are written out clearly. But what about the Crystal Cores you promised?"

Shawn Monroe lowered his gaze. "I’ll pay half now. The other half will be delivered after the items are brought back to Central City. Don’t worry, The Central Government has at least that much credibility."

Paige Summers nodded. "I believe you. With the contract in hand, I’m sure The Central Government won’t go back on its word." She retrieved a bag of seeds and an accompanying letter from her space and had Sean Raines hand them to Shawn Monroe.

Shawn Monroe called out to his men, "Sam Shields, come over."

The team member named Sam Shields, a Space Ability User, immediately ran over. He took the seeds and the letter, then handed a container of Crystal Cores to Sean Raines.

With that business settled, Shawn Monroe whispered a few more words to Sam Shields.

Sam Shields quickly ran back to his group and sent over Wendy Lowell, who had been standing there, looking anxiously toward Paige Summers.

At this point, the next logical step was for Shawn Monroe and his people to get in their cars and leave quickly.

Instead, Sam Shields briskly returned to his men, had everyone pile into the vehicles, and the three cars sped away, leaving Shawn Monroe behind...

On the Bloodfall side, everyone was stunned. All eyes involuntarily turned to Shawn Monroe. ’Is this guy crazy? Why isn’t he leaving with his men?’

Shawn Monroe, however, was perfectly calm. "Isn’t there still half the payment of Crystal Cores outstanding? I told Sam Shields to lead the team back to Central City, and I would stay behind as collateral. I’ll leave once the other half is delivered. This way, you can all rest easy!"

Everyone was speechless.

’We’re not that petty! We weren’t worried at all, okay?!’

The corner of Marcus Monroe’s eye twitched. He was seriously considering just killing this brat right here and now. ’To shamelessly try and stay here... is he planning to sabotage the base, or is he just looking for a chance to get close to Paige again? Either way, I’d feel a lot better if I just eliminated him right here and now!’

Sean Raines suddenly clapped him on the shoulder. "Since Regiment Commander Monroe is being so sincere, we shouldn’t refuse. Let’s leave it at that. We’ll head back to the base first. Regiment Commander Monroe is here all by himself, and not in the best of health. We should take good care of him."

In the car, Paige Summers had just finished calming down Wendy Lowell—who had been overcome with emotion at seeing both her daughter safe and her new grandchild. Looking outside, Paige could only say, "Let’s head back to the base first..."

Marcus Monroe let out a breath and turned to get into the car.

This time, he left Shawn Monroe to Sean Raines. ’If we ride in the same car,’ he thought, ’I can’t guarantee he’ll make it back to the base alive.’

The matter was thus more or less resolved. Although they were left with a loose end, the group quickly set off again, this time heading straight for the base with no more stops.

In the car, Paige Summers looked at Wendy Lowell and saw that she was indeed in good condition. She didn’t look like she had been mistreated, but Paige still asked, "Mom, are you okay?"

Wendy Lowell reluctantly tore her gaze away from Annie’s face and shook her head. "I’m fine. They treated me well, and I always got the first portion of any good food. That Sam Shields from just now, I knew him from before. He treated me like an honored guest. But you, that Shawn Monroe didn’t do anything to you, did he? The baby wasn’t due for another month, right? How..."

Paige Summers sighed softly. "I went into labor early. Luckily, the baby and I are both fine."

Wendy Lowell was alarmed. "What exactly happened?"

Paige Summers gave her a rough summary of what happened, but left out the part about hemorrhaging. She was fine now, after all, and telling her would only make her worry.

Even so, after hearing the story, Wendy Lowell stroked Paige Summers’s face sadly. "It’s all Mom’s fault for not being careful. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to be at his mercy..."

Paige Summers shook her head. "It has nothing to do with you. Even without them holding you, I couldn’t have escaped with this big belly. I didn’t really suffer much. I just lost my appetite from the stress, and that’s what caused the premature birth. Luckily, it’s all over now. Don’t overthink it. Help me, and together we’ll take good care of Annie. He’ll definitely grow up healthy and strong!"

"Alright!"

Wendy Lowell agreed, and as she looked at the baby in her arms, a smile slowly spread across her face.

Even at this age, you could already tell that Annie strongly resembled Paige Summers. Although he was a boy, his features were delicate and beautiful. As Wendy Lowell looked at him, it was as if time had turned back and she was seeing the newborn Paige all over again. The lingering regret in her heart seemed to have been mended, just a little.

Seeing her mother happy, Paige Summers also felt more at ease.

Only then did she turn to Marcus Monroe and say with a smile, "Still angry?"

Marcus Monroe snorted and didn’t say a word.

Paige Summers wrinkled her nose.

"Don’t worry. I don’t know why Shawn Monroe is acting crazy and insisting on staying, but what kind of trouble can he stir up all by himself? Faye Webb is dead, and his subordinates are either dead or gone. He’s completely at our mercy!"

How could Marcus Monroe not know all this?

It was just that whenever he thought about Shawn Monroe’s undying obsession with Paige Summers, he felt a violent rage stir inside him.

Paige Summers sighed with a smile. "You, honestly. I’ve made it so clear, and you still don’t get it. Letting him go back would be letting him off easy. It’s great that he’s staying. It’ll be more convenient for you to ’discipline’ him!"

After a long moment, Marcus Monroe’s expression finally relaxed.

"Alright, stop worrying about this. I know what to do now. You just focus on resting and getting your strength back."

Paige Summers nodded in satisfaction.

’I really do need to recover. I’m already tired after just this short while.’

Closing her eyes and leaning back in her seat, she found she couldn’t completely quiet her mind.

’Those Zombies in Southreach really are a disaster waiting to happen!’

’And those escaped Eldorians... I heard it wasn’t just Eldorians; some of them were described as looking a lot like Rovarians... Though only a few escaped, they’re extremely cunning. They’ll definitely have more dirty tricks up their sleeves...’

’Bloodfall has to do something!’

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