Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

As Claire Chapman spoke, Sean Raines’s ears twitched from a short distance away.

The moment he heard ”Central City” and ”Andy,” his expression froze, and he shot to his feet.

Rhonda Rhodes, sitting beside him, gave him a puzzled look. She watched as Sean stood there blankly for a long moment before slowly sinking back into his seat. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, a look of bewilderment on his face.

”Are you all right?” Rhonda Rhodes asked, her brow furrowed slightly. Having laid formations and fought enemies side-by-side, she was no longer as cold toward Sean as she had been at first. In fact, their bond was closer than the ones she had with the other team members.

Sean didn’t answer, only shaking his head, but inwardly, he was wailing in despair.

’Ancestral Masters above, I didn’t mean to forget that my junior sister and Levi Young were missing!’

It was just... he’d arrived to such a horrifying scene. Then came the formations, the preparations to kill the Zombie Leader, and finally, that sea of blood and gore. His whole reason for finding Paige—to ask for her help—had been temporarily forgotten...

’No wonder I kept feeling like something was off, but I never had a moment to think about it.’ Now that Claire Chapman had brought it up, the anxiety came rushing back.

But as anxious as he was, he hesitated to bring it up with Paige right now.

Ben’s coma seemed to have hit her hard.

’If she hears that Levi Young is missing too... can she handle it?’

But he couldn’t keep it to himself, either. What if she ignored Claire Chapman’s advice and decided not to return to Central City?

Seeing Paige across the way, seemingly deep in thought, he couldn’t stop himself from getting up and wandering over.

He feigned a look at Ben, then said with concern, ”I agree. You should take him back to Central City. Over the years, Andy and his team have run all sorts of experiments on mutated plants and animals. They’re definitely more qualified to deal with evolutionary issues than you are. The sooner you figure something out, the sooner Ben might wake up! If he just stays in a coma like this, who knows what will happen!”

He grew more agitated as he spoke, as if he wished Paige would agree to return to Central City that very instant.

A flicker of suspicion passed through Paige’s mind, but she was too preoccupied to dwell on his strange behavior, focusing instead on his words.

He had a point, of course.

But if she left, what would happen here?

It wasn’t that they couldn’t manage without her, but building a base involved an overwhelming amount of tedious work. She was genuinely worried about leaving it all to Claire Chapman.

Besides, Claire had to return to Southreach. The matter of borrowing personnel from Leo Joyce had to be addressed face-to-face.

The Power Corps’s losses weren’t catastrophic, but more than twenty members had died. That number was probably enough to make Leo Joyce’s blood boil. It was hard to say how he would react.

Claire Chapman understood her concerns perfectly. Since he was the one who proposed it, he had surely thought it through. Seeing her hesitate, he explained methodically, ”With the Zombie Leader dead, the remaining Zombies are all low-level and don’t pose much of a threat. I’ll lead the team on one more sweep, and that should be enough. When I go to Southreach, I’ll leave Mason Hayes in charge here. He’s older than us and reliable. He seems sincere enough, and with him, Heath Hughes, and the others, there won’t be any problems. You can go without worry.”

Paige considered it and realized he was right.

Bloodfall’s original members alone would have left the base vulnerable, but with Mason Hayes and his people, that was no longer a concern. Besides, they had lived in Southreach their whole lives and were likely familiar with both the surrounding terrain and any Hunting Parties that might pass through. Combined with the base’s easily defensible location, it should be safe enough.

Feeling confident that she hadn’t overlooked anything, she finally relaxed. ”All right. I’ll head back to Central City tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Sean’s heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally settled back into place. He immediately jumped in, ”I’ll go with you!”

Paige shot him a cool glance. ”Sweetie can’t carry three people. If you want to go back, you’ll have to drive.”

Sean froze.

It had taken them over two months to drive here!

A two-month delay... no, even one month would be too late!

But Sweetie was different. A round trip would take a mere two weeks!

After a long pause, an idea seemed to strike him, and he said with determination, ”I have something that can hold Ben without taking up any space. It’ll be much more convenient for us to travel together!”

Paige raised an eyebrow. She knew he must be talking about the bag used for holding jiangshi. If it worked, it would indeed be convenient. Ben’s condition was too conspicuous; even getting him into Central City would be a challenge.

But... ”Will that thing work on him?”

Sean boasted, ”No problem. You’ll see when we try it in a minute.” Inwardly, however, he was apprehensive. ’Jiangshi and Zombies... neither have vital signs... so it should work, right?’

Paige nodded, then went to get herself cleaned up.

As she left, she told Sean to wait for her so they could discuss the return trip later.

Sean felt a hidden meaning in her words and couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. ’My eagerness made me act strangely, and she must have noticed something’s wrong. Looks like I have no choice but to tell her about my junior sister and Andy.’

Once Paige was cleaned up, the two of them found a private spot to test his corpse bag.

It did indeed fit Ben, and his body showed no adverse reactions. Paige immediately ”requisitioned” the bag.

The bag had limited space, so with Ben inside, the jiangshi originally stored there had to be moved.

As it happened, the team had just finished cleaning out the Zombie Leader’s former cave. They had carried out numerous Zombie corpses, all with their heads crushed and Crystal Cores missing—no doubt the handiwork of the Zombie Leader in its quest to evolve.

With the bodies removed, the cave was now empty.

Sean thought it was a good spot. He got some deodorizers to air the place out, placed his precious jiangshi inside, and sealed the entrance.

With everything settled, all that was left was to depart the next day.

Just then, Paige pulled him aside to a secluded spot.

”Out with it,” she said. ”Why are you in such a hurry to go back to Central City with me? Did something happen? Does it have to do with Erin Quinn?”

Sean stiffened, then answered in a heavy tone, ”Yes. It’s not just Erin Quinn. Levi Young is with her. They’ve both gone missing.”

Paige’s eyebrows knitted together. ”Are you sure? How did those two even end up together? Isn’t Andy supposed to be at the Research Institute? Where did they disappear?”

Sean let out a long sigh. He didn’t know the full details himself. The message from his junior brother only said that the two of them had disappeared en route to Norgate. By now, disciples from the Taoist Association and the Bloodfall members stationed in the city had already formed a search party and left to find them.

Communication Talismans were precious, so his junior brother had only sent that one message. The crucial part was that he needed to get back as soon as possible. He had no idea what, if any, progress had been made since then.

So, the only thing he could do was tell her everything he knew.