Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

Compared to the harmony of Paige Summers’s group, the mood between the other two was far less pleasant. When Paige saw May Joyce rush out with tears in her eyes, she had a pretty good idea of what happened.

”We’re going back!” May Joyce said, her voice unsteady. She deliberately turned her head so Paige Summers couldn’t see her face.

”Yes.”

Evan Carter gave Paige Summers a sly wink before his expression turned serious again. He ordered the entire team to escort May Joyce to her car, and they drove away from the base.

Claire Chapman, who emerged slowly after them, didn’t look too happy either.

Paige Summers asked unsympathetically, ”So it finally happened?”

Claire Chapman sat down beside her, looking defeated. ”Can I just say I’m starting to regret this?”

He had hoped that if he just stalled a bit longer, May Joyce would eventually get the hint that he really wasn’t interested. After all, with Leo Joyce to consider, he didn’t want to be the one to rip off the bandage and reject her outright.

Besides, while May had always been very obvious about her crush, she’d never actually said anything. But today, for some reason, she’d gotten incredibly emotional, swallowed her pride, and hit him with a full-blown, heartfelt confession...

”Hmph!”

’I told you not to get her hopes up, but you wouldn’t listen,’ Paige grumbled to herself.

An outsider’s perspective is always clearer.

Claire Chapman was never the type of person who would sacrifice everything for power and influence.

He didn’t like May Joyce.

He could put up with her for a time, but not for a lifetime.

It was a good thing he’d figured that out. Otherwise, if they had gotten together, the constant drama would have been even more troublesome!

”Alright, don’t overthink it. This was bound to happen sooner or later...”

Claire Chapman cut her off. ”The problem is I didn’t even get to say my piece before she took off!”

”Huh?!”

”She said she liked me... I figured I couldn’t drag it out any longer, so I was about to tell her about the deal between Leo Joyce and me. But she didn’t even wait for me to start talking, she just turned and ran!” Claire Chapman paused for a moment, then added, ”It’s a disaster!”

Paige Summers put a hand to her forehead.

’What do you even call this? Man proposes, God disposes?’

’He had wanted to redirect May Joyce’s anger toward Leo Joyce, but she never even gave him the chance!’

She thought for a moment and said, ”Leo Joyce seems pretty shrewd. He probably wouldn’t turn on us just because of this.”

Claire Chapman tsked. That was the very thing he was worried about.

”Let’s hope so!”

Be that as it may, they still needed to make preparations.

The two of them discussed it and decided to go to Southreach in person to explain things clearly to Leo Joyce. It just so happened that they also needed to recruit people, so they could take care of that at the same time. But before that, they would recall the teams out hunting to guard the base.

Claire Chapman went to get busy arranging the base’s security, while Paige Summers, after some consideration, began preparing to reinforce its defenses.

It wasn’t just because of this incident.

Paige Summers had been thinking for some time that the base had too few people, leaving its defenses weak. It would be best to compensate for this with mechanical fortifications.

First were the defenses.

She found two Gold Ability Users to help.

First, they created enormous shields according to the blueprints she had drawn. Then, they mounted these shields in specific positions along the outer wall.

They weren’t just hung there; the crucial part was securing them firmly in place.

This was to prevent an enemy Gold Ability User from easily manipulating the shields and changing their shape.

With the outer walls reinforced, it was time to consider offensive capabilities.

There was a ready-made solution for this: large Crossbows and catapults. By substituting weapons for the Superpower Users’ attacks, they could significantly conserve their superpowers.

She had plenty of materials now, and since the base’s security was at stake, she certainly wouldn’t be stingy. Long rows of Crossbows covered nearly every firing port along the entire defensive wall. As for the catapults, they were placed in dense formations atop the fortress. They were semi-automatic; all that was needed were a few low-level Power-type Superpower Users to load the stones.

If an attack ever came, a rain of stones from above would be absolutely devastating!

Not to mention the Crossbow Arrows, each over a meter long. They were fired in volleys of ten and had such incredible piercing power they could easily skewer people like shish kebabs!

All of this took a tremendous amount of effort.

Luckily, Paige Summers had picked a few dexterous assistants from among the team members. She definitely couldn’t have managed it on her own.

After finishing this project, the thought of taking on apprentices crossed her mind more seriously than ever.

But that sort of thing depended on fate and couldn’t be forced.

There were a few people in Bloodfall who showed interest, and with the thought of keeping good things within the family, Paige Summers decided to start training them and see how they’d do.

The hunting teams had mostly returned and the base’s new equipment was in place. The next step was to head to Southreach. For this trip, Claire Chapman and Paige Summers had to go. They also selected a few team members who had previously lived in Southreach. The group departed quietly and discreetly.

Their days were tense but productive; pressure had become a motivator. As a result, the base’s defense Level had increased by more than just a single Order.

But back with May Joyce, she was about to go insane with rage.

She wasn’t an idiot. She could tell from the look on Claire Chapman’s face that he was about to reject her, which was precisely why she hadn’t given him a chance to speak.

’No way!’

’If she had actually let him say the words, wouldn’t it have been impossible to salvage anything?’

That’s right. May Joyce had no intention of giving up.

’After all this time, she’d finally fallen for a man, heart and soul. How could she possibly let him go so easily!’

She had been doted on and spoiled by Leo Joyce her whole life. While not everything was perfect, things had generally gone her way. How could she possibly accept the greatest failure of her life!

She held it in at Bloodfall Base. She held it in on the way back. But once she was back on her own turf, she couldn’t hold it in any longer!

As soon as she got home and back to her room, the sounds of CRASHING and BANGING echoed throughout The Citadel.

Leo Joyce wasn’t in The Citadel, but the Second Miss, Maisie Joyce, was.

The butler watched her expression cautiously and said, ”Regarding the Third Miss...”

”Let her smash things,” Maisie Joyce said bluntly.

Compared to May Joyce’s beauty, her own features were plain, and she had been easily overlooked since she was a child. If it weren’t for her own competence, which had allowed her to carve out a place for herself under her older brother, she would probably be an invisible member of the family.

This ability was not a superpower, but a talent for managing affairs. Over the years, control over logistics had gradually shifted into her hands, thanks to a shrewdness and skill that others couldn’t match.

A woman like this wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at May Joyce’s tantrum.

’Go on, smash it all,’ she thought with no small amount of mockery. ’City Lord Joyce can afford to replace whatever you break!’

Rage is often fleeting. Once she was tired from smashing things, May Joyce looked at the wreckage of her room, and a wave of sorrow washed over her. She was clearly not the type to brood alone, so she turned and went downstairs to find Maisie Joyce, who hadn’t left yet, and threw her arms around her, bursting into tears.

She spoke between sobs.

She repeatedly blamed Paige Summers, not even sparing her little cousin.

To sum it up, the only reason Claire Chapman didn’t like her was because of that woman. And now that she wasn’t around, she’d sent her damn cousin to stay at the base. It was a blatant challenge! She wouldn’t let them get away with it; she would make them pay!

Finally, she looked up with a pitiful expression. ”Second Sister, help me...”

Maisie Joyce glanced at her and refused in a stern, righteous tone.

”Absolutely not!”

She pulled May Joyce down onto the sofa and began to reason with her patiently. ”You need to use your head before you act! That Paige Summers isn’t even at Bloodfall Base right now, so what’s the point of taking her cousin to vent your anger? Besides, she’s just a child... children are so fragile. What if something were to happen to her? If she got hurt while under Claire Chapman’s care, Paige Summers would almost certainly fall out with him. And if Claire Chapman then found out you were behind it, he would definitely resent you. That would be the absolute end for you two!”

Maisie Joyce stared at her, her gaze full of meaning. ”Besides, if this ends up tarnishing our older brother’s reputation... you know the consequences are more than you can bear!”

The moment she heard those words, May Joyce felt as if she’d been lost and had just been shown a guiding light!

’This is an absolutely perfect plan!’

’Kidnap that Susie, stage an accident, have her die a horrible death... it would be a miracle if Paige Summers and Claire Chapman *didn’t* have a massive falling out!’

’And once they turned on each other, wouldn’t that be her chance?’

’As for what would happen if Claire Chapman found out the truth... well, the solution was simple: don’t let him find out. The last thing Maisie Joyce had said, she ignored completely.’

’As long as she acted in secret and cleaned up everything properly afterward, it would remain a secret forever. The problem would be solved!’

While her face remained frozen in a daze, a flurry of thoughts had already raced through her mind.

May Joyce had never been one for complex scheming, but that didn’t mean she was a complete simpleton. She couldn’t have come up with such a perfect plan to drive them apart on her own, but she could certainly follow one!

She wasn’t stupid enough to miss that her Second Sister was giving her a hint.

She felt both jealous and touched by this.

Jealous of her sister’s clever mind, and moved that, in the end, they were family, and wouldn’t let her down at a critical moment.

But since her Second Sister had phrased it as a warning, it was clear she didn’t want to be too obvious about her intentions.

It wasn’t exactly a respectable business, after all.

Having figured this out, she played along. ”I understand, Second Sister. I won’t do it.” ’I absolutely won’t give up such a perfect opportunity!’

Maisie Joyce nodded in satisfaction. ”Alright, I have some business to attend to, so I should be going. You get some rest.”

The moment she left, May Joyce ran back to her room. Ignoring the broken shards all over the floor, she picked up the phone and began arranging for manpower.

Time passed quickly. One day, Claire Chapman, Paige Summers, and their group of fifteen finally arrived in Southreach, and May Joyce had already received the news. For her, this couldn’t be better. She had been worrying about how to lure them out of their base, and now, she didn’t even need to think of bait—they had delivered themselves to her door.

She sent people to keep them under surveillance, and an opportunity soon presented itself!

On the second day after their arrival in Southreach, Claire Chapman went to see Leo Joyce alone, while Paige Summers took a group of people to the city’s Black Market.

This was on the advice of Mason Hayes.

The Black Market wasn’t just for selling goods; it also dealt in human trafficking and housed certain special shops, such as those that took on tasks that couldn’t be done in the open, like assassinations and other shady business. Paige Summers needed to find skilled people to recruit and take away from Southreach, a request that could, arguably, fall under that umbrella.

With team members who were familiar with Southreach’s ins and outs, they navigated with relative ease, quickly arriving at a shop that handled such requests.

And it was at this very moment that certain people, unable to wait any longer, made their move!