Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

Paige Summers was a little surprised to see Irving Thorne again.

She was certain that during their last hasty meeting, the man had been deliberately keeping a low profile.

Now, however, he was letting his full aura show.

He was dressed in a tasteful, beige casual suit, standing tall and elegant in the private dining room. As he politely invited her and Sean Raines to sit, he exuded an air of refined, handsome grace.

In terms of pure looks, he wasn’t as handsome as Jean Shields, but his temperament was superb. He had the air of a true gentleman, which Paige Summers found quite appealing.

However, the moment she remembered that using his superpower would turn him into a woman—a woman over six feet tall...

...the image of the refined young master before her immediately felt like an illusion.

And so, she remained quite calm.

In contrast, Irving Thorne was a little excited when he took out a brocade box.

Paige Summers listened as he praised the two ”scalpels” to the high heavens. After a polite thank you, she tactfully asked, ”Young Master Thorne, did you invite me here today because you want to complete the set of Flying Knives?”

Irving Thorne paused for a moment, then understood what Paige Summers meant.

She wasn’t some politician who needed pointless flattery. One look at her expression and he knew she was well aware of her own work’s quality; she wasn’t the type to get carried away by a few words of praise.

What she wanted was to get straight to the point.

Irving Thorne closed the brocade box with a satisfied smile. ”No. Although I do hope for that, I believe we have more important things to do.”

”We?”

Irving Thorne nodded solemnly. ”Yes, we!”

Seeing Paige Summers adopt an attitude of being all ears, he continued, ”The information I had Master Raines deliver to you... while it may have been like teaching an expert, it was to highlight the key points among a sea of information. I trust you’ve already reached a conclusion, Captain Summers.”

Paige Summers nodded.

Seeing that she still didn’t respond, Irving Thorne had no choice but to press on. ”So, what’s next? Is Captain Summers planning to make a move?”

Paige Summers found him long-winded and simply raised an eyebrow. ”What if I am, and what if I’m not?”

Irving Thorne’s expression turned serious. ”If you are, then perhaps we should join forces.”

Paige Summers stared at him for a long moment before stating with certainty, ”You have a grudge against them.” ’Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to be this eager.’

He lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the complex emotions in his eyes. A moment later, he looked up and smiled gently. ”I do.”

Paige Summers smiled, too. ’Looks like he hates them to the bone.’ She propped her chin on her hand with an air of nonchalance. ”I see. All right, no problem. Let’s cooperate. So, tell me, what can you offer? Manpower? Muscle? Or information?”

Irving Thorne leaned forward over the dining table, his expression intimate. ”All of the above! Including myself. I’ve heard of you for a long time, and I believe we would be the best partners! You are the spear, and I can be your shield!”

”Excellent!” Paige Summers lightly slapped the table as if in full agreement, but then her tone shifted. ”But even the best partners need to build rapport. What do you say we find ourselves a Trial Stone?”

”You mean?”

Paige Summers looked him straight in the eye and said slowly, ”The Power User Federation.”

After a brief pause, Irving Thorne suddenly broke into a laugh.

”It’s a deal!”

The two exchanged contact information, and Irving Thorne soon made an excuse to leave, only saying that he needed some time to prepare.

Paige Summers naturally agreed.

And only then did the waiter begin to serve the food.

As Sean Raines watched the table fill with dishes and the waiter retreat, he finally snapped out of his daze.

”What the hell was that?! What’s with all the riddles and flirting? I feel like my IQ just dropped!”

Paige Summers just smiled. She finished her meal in silence, only explaining on the way back, ”You figured it out, right? He has a grudge against those three families, or at least one of them.”

”Of course I got that part, but why bring up the Power User Federation? And what was all that about spears and shields? Don’t tell me you dumped Marcus Monroe and are already looking for a rebound?!”

Paige Summers couldn’t help but curse, ”Rebound my ass! How can your brain be that small? Or have I been overestimating you this whole time, and it was never that big to begin with?”

Sean Raines said sullenly, ”You two were making eyes at each other. How is that my fault?”

Paige Summers shot him a contemptuous glance. ’It’s because I saw through Irving Thorne’s hatred that he tried to hide it, and I decided to be direct.’ But she couldn’t be bothered to explain that to Sean. Instead, she just told him about the strange situation with the Power User Federation, concluding with, ”He still thinks I have Marcus Monroe and Jovitas backing me, so when I mentioned the Power User Federation, he was bound to overthink it. And not just think—he’ll investigate why I singled them out and whether they have any connection to his enemies. Isn’t that perfect? With his status and his hatred as motivation, he might actually dig something up. It saves me the trouble of finding someone myself. What if I hired an amateur who tips them off? That would be an even bigger loss.”

It dawned on Sean Raines.

”You’re too cunning! I...”

Before he could finish, Paige Summers suddenly pulled out her phone. After a single glance, her expression changed drastically. Tossing out a ”Something’s come up, I have to go,” she threw open the car door, jumped out, and started sprinting in the opposite direction.

Sean Raines was stunned. By the time he came to his senses, she was already far away.

He couldn’t help but frown.

’What could have happened to make her rush off like that?’ But then he relaxed. ’With her skills, she probably isn’t in much danger.’

It wasn’t that his guess was wrong. The one in danger certainly wasn’t Paige Summers.

She took a hidden path, sprinting toward Quentin Sutton’s residence.

Thankfully, they hadn’t left District Four, so it wasn’t too far.

In just over ten minutes, she was standing before the door she had visited once before.

There was no suspicious activity nearby, and no one was in sight. But Paige Summers’s sense of smell was incredibly sharp; she could already faintly detect the scent of blood coming from inside.

’This is really bad!’

She shoved the door open and slammed it shut behind her.

The room was extremely tidy. At a glance, the tables and chairs were completely bare—abnormally so. ’This is definitely not Quentin Sutton’s style right now!’

Her gaze shifted to the lump on the bed. After a moment, she closed her eyes.

She walked over, lifted the thin felt blanket, and saw Quentin Sutton’s ashen face, all hope extinguished. His expression was calm, devoid of any emotion.

One of his hands rested limply on his chest, while the other was just barely reaching for the phone by his leg...

Paige Summers bit down hard on her lower lip.

’I can’t stay. This place isn’t safe. Someone could show up at any moment!’

But she couldn’t just leave his body exposed here, nor could she move him out directly.

Left with no choice, she decided to try putting him into The Stillspace.

Just like her previous attempts, it consumed a massive amount of spiritual power, but this time, she felt she could handle it.

Not daring to delay, she left immediately!

She didn’t stop until she was back at her own place.

The moment Paige Summers walked through her door and locked it, she retrieved Quentin Sutton’s body. At the same instant, she doubled over and threw up violently.