Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

’Maybe I should consider poaching her?’

But there was no rush. As Paige walked, deep in thought, she became increasingly convinced that Shawn Monroe placed far too much importance on whether Leanne Walsh lived or died. The benefits Leanne could bring him had to be extraordinary.

’What could it be?’

’What was the plot in the original story?’

’As a reincarnator, what is Leanne Walsh’s biggest selling point?’

She tried hard to recall the dream about the body’s original owner. Although that girl had always been confined to the back courtyards and paid no mind to the affairs of The Citadel, she had been completely infatuated with Shawn Monroe. As a result, she knew a thing or two about the man’s whereabouts...

As Paige was thinking, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

”Lamb, you head back first. I have to go somewhere.”

With those words, she hastily turned and headed down another path. ’I’m sure someone in particular will be very interested in this news!’

「In the Middle District, at one of Marcus Monroe’s private residences.」

”You’re saying that woman, Leanne Walsh, likely knows the location of a major cache of supplies, and now Shawn Monroe has taken her?”

In the living room, Marcus Monroe sat at the head of the room, with Paige Summers seated opposite him.

She gave a slight nod.

’In the original story, the female lead didn’t have her spatial ability from the beginning. She only acquired it after arriving in The Dead City.’

’Paige’s bold guess was that in the previous life, Nora Lowell must have gotten the earring at the auction that the body’s original owner never had a chance to attend. That was how she unlocked her spatial ability.’

’And in the dream, shortly after Nora Lowell arrived in The Dead City, Shawn Monroe took her and his men on a long journey. It was said that on this trip, they procured a massive cache of supplies. From then on, not only did he become completely devoted to Nora Lowell, but many of his subordinates also began to hold her in high esteem.’

’The body’s original owner, who had already been neglected for some time, was naturally left with nothing but jealousy.’

’But thinking about it now, with Nora Lowell’s Superpower Rank at the time, she couldn’t possibly have played such a crucial role. The only explanation is that she revealed her spatial ability and used it to bring back that massive cache of supplies with ease. But unless she was an idiot, she wouldn’t have exposed the earring. So, she must have led everyone to believe that the spatial ability was a superpower she had awakened on her own.’

These memories of Paige’s seemed to have nothing to do with Leanne Walsh, but when she connected them to the current situation and strung all the pieces of information together, they became very relevant indeed.

’The Leanne Walsh of today is a reincarnator!’

’In her past life, she was one of Shawn Monroe’s subordinates and had access to The Citadel, which means she held a certain status. There’s no way she wouldn’t have known about an operation as significant as procuring that cache of supplies. In fact, she likely knew the full details.’

’Would she let such an opportunity go to waste?’

’Not only would she use it, she would use it to latch onto Shawn Monroe and secure his favor!’

’Most importantly, the timing lined up perfectly.’

’Right now, Shawn Monroe must not have received the intel on those supplies yet. This was clear from what Marcus Monroe had confirmed: Shawn hadn’t made any major moves out of the city recently.’

Although these were just speculations with no hard evidence, Paige felt she was very close to the truth.

’I have to give myself a pat on the back for my own genius!’

Marcus Monroe mulled it over for a moment before asking, ”Is this information reliable?”

It was difficult to be convincing with words alone, so Paige gave him a sly blink. ”I can only say I’m about fifty percent sure. If you want one-hundred-percent certainty, there’s only one way: get your hands on Leanne Walsh and ask her yourself.”

Marcus Monroe paused, taken aback for a second, before he finally broke into a loud laugh.

’It’s either true or it isn’t—that’s a fifty-fifty chance right there. Once he got his hands on Leanne Walsh, he couldn’t possibly let her go, regardless of whether the information was real or fake. When the time came, if Paige demanded he hand her over, he couldn’t very well refuse.’

’What a shrewd little scheme!’

Seeing the teasing glint in his eyes, Paige pouted and said defiantly, ”I admit I’m doing this to get my hands on that woman, Leanne Walsh. But don’t think I’m just using you. This is mutually beneficial! Think about it—a huge cache of supplies. Isn’t that worth a little risk?”

Marcus suppressed a smile. ”You have a point. But this won’t be easy. I’ll need to plan it carefully.”

”That’s true.” ’Leanne Walsh has already tipped off Shawn Monroe, so he’s taking her seriously now. He’s definitely hidden her somewhere very secure, so it won’t be easy to get to her.’ Paige thought for a moment, then added a reminder, ”But you need to act fast. If you’re too late, you’ll get nothing.”

”I understand.”

Marcus saw Paige out with a smile. When he returned to the living room, Martin Warren and the others were already there.

They had all been drawn over by the rare sound of their boss’s loud laughter, intending to crack a few jokes. But they suddenly found his expression had turned completely serious. They could only grumble to themselves, ’It’s so unfair! Why is there such a huge difference in how he treats girls and guys!’

Marcus couldn’t be bothered with their petty thoughts. His expression turned stern as he briefly recounted what Paige Summers had just told him.

The men’s expressions all grew solemn.

”I’ll go find out where that Leanne Walsh was taken right now!”

”Once we find her, should we bring her back directly, or...”

Marcus shook his head. ”No. Vince, you’ll go with them. Find out the specifics, but don’t do anything that might alert our prey.”

”Got it.” After consuming the Earth Immortal Fruit, Howard Everett’s Spiritual Ability had reached the Fifth Rank. He was already an expert at hypnosis. Getting people to spill their secrets and then making them forget it ever happened was his specialty, so a mission like this was a piece of cake.

The men with their assignments quickly accepted their orders and left. Martin Warren looked at the pensive Marcus Monroe and couldn’t help but ask, ”Boss, what did Paige Summers say? Is this for real?”

’A massive cache of supplies... it sounds like something out of a fantasy novel!’

Marcus tapped his knee twice. ”It’s highly likely.” It was a gut feeling.

Martin Warren’s eyes lit up. In the apocalypse, they were short on everything, but supplies were what they lacked most of all—all kinds! ”Did you guys agree on how to split it?”

At the mention of this, Marcus felt a subtle pang of guilt.

’Paige Summers’s position was clear. For her, the priority was catching that woman; the supplies were secondary. For him, however, it was the exact opposite.’

’He’d have to find some middle ground on this matter.’