Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

As expected, the members of May Joyce’s team were extremely curious. Those on better terms with Bloodfall couldn’t wait to start asking around.

They were also very tempted by the good weapons, but then they realized that even Bloodfall’s own members had to wait, so their turn was probably a long way off. However, trading their share of supplies to her for Crystal Cores seemed like a viable option. As long as the price was fair, it would save them trouble and let them cozy up to Bloodfall. They might even be able to find out where the group was going next, or how to contact them. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too late to follow up in a few days!

Since they weren’t in a hurry on the return trip, it took them about four days.

During those four days, May Joyce was at her wit’s end.

She knew perfectly well how important these metals were to Southreach and her older brother, Leo Joyce. Her original plan had been to have her brother’s people come to Stoneridge Base to collect the metals as they were being distributed.

However, Paige Summers had beaten her to the punch!

She didn’t have enough Crystal Cores to compete with her, but not competing was infuriating. Now, her team members were even demanding their supplies be distributed early... It was enough to make her whole body ache with frustration!

Gritting her teeth, she finally went to find Claire Chapman when they stopped to rest for the night.

But he simply said, ”May, I really can’t interfere with the decisions your team members make. Think about it, doesn’t that make sense? As for Bloodfall, this is a matter of securing benefits for my team. If I were to forcibly stop them, my members would definitely have some opinions, and that would make the team difficult to lead in the future. I’m sure you can understand my predicament, right? We’ve been through so much on this journey, so you must know that being a leader isn’t easy. It’s not just you; it’s the same for me.”

That... was true.

Thinking about what had happened before, May Joyce couldn’t think of a single thing to say in rebuttal. She could only nod silently and leave the tent.

”Oh? I had no idea you were in such a predicament. It must be so hard for you!” The moment May Joyce left, Paige Summers turned and entered the tent, looking at Claire Chapman with a smirk. She had obviously heard every word.

Claire was exasperated. ”Hey, hey, can you give me a break!”

Paige tilted her head slightly. ”Actually, I’m just curious. What are you planning, stringing May Joyce along like that? Are you after her fortune or her body?”

”Why do you have to put it so crudely? I haven’t deceived her at all. I’m just a bit tactful sometimes, slightly reserved...” His eyes darted around. ”Heh, you sound so sour. Could it be you’re jealous?”

Paige snorted. ”Jealous, my ass! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed she’s into you. Even if Bloodfall needs to maintain good relationships with other bases, we don’t need to resort to this! In short, if you’re not interested, stop leading her on. Do you think Leo Joyce is a pushover? Be careful he doesn’t force your hand and make you his brother-in-law!”

Claire was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. ”You know, I hadn’t thought of it before you mentioned it, but maybe marrying her wouldn’t be so bad after all!”

This time, it was Paige’s turn to be stunned.

”You’re... kidding, right? May Joyce isn’t a bad person, but sometimes she’s so dumb it makes you want to cry. Are you sure you have that kind of mental fortitude?”

Claire chuckled and winked. ”Of course I’m kidding!”

Paige let out a small sigh of relief and changed the subject. ”Alright, on to serious business. I came to talk to you about establishing Bloodfall’s own base.”

”Yes, it’s about time. Do you already have a plan?” Claire’s expression turned serious as well.

After a long silence, Paige looked him in the eyes and said, enunciating each word, ”The Foundry.”

The corner of Claire’s eye twitched. After a moment, he finally spoke. ”Can I just say I had a bad feeling about this? The way you were staring at those blast furnaces with that obsessed look in your eyes... I knew something was up. I just didn’t think you’d actually dare to say it out loud!”

Paige was unfazed. ”Why not? It’s a ready-made foundry. We just need to fix it up and we can start production. Then we won’t just have weapons for our own people; we’ll have enough to sell to other bases. I guarantee you won’t have to worry about a thing! Besides, the place is huge. I did a rough estimate—if we really expand it, it could hold twenty to thirty thousand people, no problem. And that’s not even counting the military base next door. If we get more people later on, we can totally expand in both directions. The land is vast and sparsely populated, so it’s very convenient!”

Claire sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.

”Start production? With what, and with who? We have no ore and no equipment. Do you think repairing that kind of specialized machinery is as simple as building a house? Besides, even if we fix it, who knows how to use it? Smelting isn’t a job just anyone can do, you know! Please, just calm down and think this through!”

Paige didn’t get angry at his rebuttal. She had guessed it would go this way and had already prepared her arguments.

The only thing was, this would mean she’d have to reveal her secret.

’This would be a test for Claire, wouldn’t it?’

’Probably...’

She began with a smile, ”I have something to tell you...”

When she finally got to the main topic—like the ore and wheat seeds in her space—Claire just stared blankly.

A long while later, after Paige had finished speaking, he still hadn’t snapped out of his daze.

”That’s... that’s... that’s incredible! You’re saying... you grew that wheat? And it can still produce viable seeds?”

Paige nodded. ”According to Rhonda Rhodes, we can get one harvest out of the contaminated soil, but probably not another after that. But if we have a limitless supply of seeds, then we don’t need to worry about that problem.”

Then, she continued to lay out her vision for the base.

”It’s not just wheat. I plan to try other seeds, too. We need grain and cotton. So, even if we use up all the ore at The Foundry and can’t find more, we’ll still have plenty of other things to do besides smelting. For example, we could build a textile mill, a food processing plant... Also, I think our base needs to be different from the others. We won’t wait for people to come to us; we’ll proactively recruit people with special skills. That’s a more targeted approach. And there will have to be certain rules for anyone who wants to settle in the base...”