Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

This was not a good sign.

Seeing Shawn Monroe’s tragic predicament would strike fear into the soldiers, making them worry they could be next.

Of course, not everyone felt that way.

But it was enough to shake the morale of some of the troops.

’Come to think of it, that was probably her intention,’ Paige thought.

Kiera Walsh hadn’t said so explicitly, but that was the implication.

But Paige Summers felt that Nora Lowell must have discovered Shawn Monroe’s true identity; otherwise, there would be no reason to single him out like this.

Their relationship had deteriorated to such a horrific state that even as a Zombie, Nora Lowell clearly hated him to the bone. Rescuing him was not going to be easy.

”...Fine. The two of us will be enough.”

She had just snapped out of her daze when she heard Marcus Monroe’s bold declaration.

’Wait, wait! What did I miss?!’ she screamed inwardly, struggling to keep her expression neutral.

She couldn’t believe Marcus Monroe had agreed so readily. His relationship with Shawn was hardly any better than his relationship with Nora Lowell!

Kiera Walsh didn’t look particularly pleased to get the answer she wanted. She simply gave a slight nod.

”You’ve come a long way and must be tired. I’ll have Quincy find you a place to rest. There’s no rush on this.”

And so, filled with profound suspicion, Paige Summers followed Marcus Monroe into the tent Adjutant Quinn had prepared for them.

”Is it so strange that I want to save Shawn Monroe?” Marcus had clearly sensed her confusion. The moment Adjutant Quinn stepped out, Marcus asked the question while she was still standing behind him.

Paige thought for a moment, then tilted her head to look at his back. ”I thought you’d prefer it if he just died quickly.”

Marcus let out a low, muffled chuckle. He suddenly spun around, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his head against her shoulder. ”You’re really... so blunt you leave a man speechless!”

Paige rolled her eyes and shoved him away.

”Stop using any excuse to get so close!”

Marcus shrugged and stopped teasing her, seating himself on a nearby mat.

’As if I’m that benevolent.’

’Risking it all just to save Shawn Monroe?’

’What a joke...’

’This was just a convenient excuse to scout out Norgate. To be frank, it wasn’t a lie that he found the situation strange. Nora Lowell’s mutation was unprecedented, and the direction it was taking was terrible for humanity.’

’Compared to Shawn Monroe, the current Nora Lowell was far more interesting.’

’As for the rescue itself? If it was convenient, he wouldn’t be against it.’

’After all, they were blood relatives. It was one thing for him to kill Shawn—that was perfectly natural. But who the hell was Nora Lowell? A woman who slept her way to the top, a traitor... oh, right, now she was some bizarre Zombie. In any case, the thought of letting her kill Shawn Monroe just as she pleased... that actually left a bad taste in Marcus’s mouth.’

’He would have gone even if Kiera Walsh hadn’t brought it up. Now he just had an official reason.’

’But Paige didn’t need to know any of that.’

’The woman was too earnest. She took everything too seriously, and he didn’t want her treating the mission to save Shawn Monroe as some solemn duty.’

He had accepted the job, but just as Kiera Walsh said, there was no rush.

Marcus and Paige were new arrivals, so their first task was to familiarize themselves with the surrounding area.

Adjutant Quinn proved to be a great help in this regard.

He not only produced Norgate’s original map but also a recently updated version. He even sent over the scout who had explored the terrain so they could question him directly.

After committing the maps to memory, the two of them went to scout the area in person.

They didn’t bring Sweetie this time.

It was too large and too conspicuous.

Nor did they take the scout who had eagerly volunteered. Marcus dismissed him as too slow, completely ignoring the fact that the man was an Earth Ability User.

Paige was speechless.

Then again, she had to admit it was better not to have someone slowing them down.

Even though Norgate was smaller than Central City, it still took them three days to scout the surrounding area thoroughly.

Just then, Adjutant Quinn arrived on Kiera Walsh’s orders with an internal map of Norgate.

This came as a genuine surprise to them both.

Adjutant Quinn said grimly, ”This was left behind by Adjutant Howell. When we first advanced on the city, we thought it would be useless. We never expected...”

Marcus barely waited for him to finish before snatching the map and sending him away. He couldn’t stand the sight of the man’s gloomy face.

For their purposes, an internal map of Norgate was far more useful than a map of the surrounding area.

After all, their real mission was to investigate Nora Lowell.

They spent another day memorizing the new map. On their fifth day at the encampment, the two of them finally decided to make their move.

Though she didn’t show it, Kiera Walsh was anxious. As soon as she heard the news, she nodded. ”Adjutant Quinn, go bring them over.” She then turned to Marcus and Paige. ”It’s too dangerous for just the two of you. I’ve chosen four people to accompany you: two Eighth Rank Superpower Users and two Seventh-rank Superpower Users. They’re all quite capable and should be a great help.”

Marcus stared at her and refused flatly. ”That won’t be necessary. If they were enough to get the job done, you wouldn’t have contacted Black S, now would you?”

Kiera Walsh’s expression soured at being so publicly rebuffed.

Marcus continued as if he hadn’t noticed. ”The two of us have all the chemistry and confidence we need. For us, an extra person is just an extra liability. We don’t need anyone else.”

Kiera’s expression wavered. When Adjutant Quinn announced himself from outside the tent, she didn’t let him enter, merely calling out, ”Wait.”

The people outside could only wait.

After a long moment, she slowly let out a breath. ”Fine.”

But then she couldn’t resist asking one last question. ”Are you certain you can bring him back?”

Marcus replied with a grave expression, ”Of course... not.”

Just as Kiera was on the verge of fury, her face screaming ’Are you messing with me, kid?’, he added, ”I dare say that even if you and Black S went in together, you couldn’t use the word ’guarantee’ either!”

The disagreement finally ended with a long, resigned sigh from Kiera Walsh.