Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

By the time Wade led Paige Summers and the others to the end of the tunnel, the battle had already begun.

But no one could have expected such a staggering scene.

There was no armory, none of the equipment one would expect in a military base, nothing that Leo Joyce and his team had imagined. The tunnel ended at a wide precipice, over a hundred meters across!

Below the precipice, in a deep ravine more than ten meters wide, was a sea of scalding, blood-red lava. It churned and roiled, threatening to break free of its confines at any moment and swallow everyone on the edge whole.

Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe gazed at the scene in shock.

On the other side of the chasm, layers upon layers of vines grew, as red and vibrant as the lava below. They had already blanketed the opposite wall, their tendrils writhing menacingly.

So, this was the Blood Vine!

And Leo Joyce’s group was locked in a relentless battle with this very Blood Vine.

Paige Summers and her group moved with extreme stealth. The area ahead was a cacophony of shouts, superpower attacks, and the clash of weapons, so no one noticed their arrival for the time being.

Standing at the rear of their small group, Paige was initially confused. ’Since what they were looking for isn’t here, why don’t they retreat? Why are they pointlessly losing people here?!’

That is, until Marcus Monroe lifted her up and pointed to a spot on the opposite side.

Only then did she notice an opening in the cliff face, hidden beneath the dense layers of the Blood Vine’s tendrils.

The opening was about the same width as the tunnel they had just come through. At a glance, it looked as if it had once been a continuation of their path, now separated by the chasm and the river of lava. In other words, that cavern was likely where the tunnel’s real secrets were hidden.

But that was just speculation.

The situation looked grim for Leo Joyce and his team.

The Blood Vine dominated the opposite cliff, leaving no clear footholds. Though they unleashed all sorts of abilities, a single misstep meant being swept into the lava by a tendril, where body and bone would instantly incinerate. Even if they took a more conservative approach and simply attacked the Blood Vine with their superpowers from this side, the prolonged battle could eventually destabilize the tunnel and cause a collapse.

After a moment of silence, Paige said, ”We should help. No matter what, if we don’t get rid of this Blood Vine, it’ll remain a menace.”

Beside her, Rhonda Rhodes murmured in agreement.

Marcus Monroe nodded as well.

He’d known they were all thinking the same thing ever since he heard Rhonda Rhodes ask Wade about his connection to the Blood Vine.

’It’s not that I want to help Leo Joyce,’ he thought. ’It’s that this place isn’t far from Bloodfall Base. The base will likely expand in this direction in the future. If we let this Blood Vine keep growing, we’ll have to deal with it sooner or later. Better to take care of it now than to waste more effort down the line.’

’Besides, if we act now, we’ve got plenty of free labor...’

Having reached a consensus, they didn’t waste any more time and prepared to join the fray.

Just then, Wade suddenly spoke up. ”You really want to get rid of this little vine?”

”We do.”

Rhonda Rhodes replied, then sought confirmation. ”You said a moment ago that you and it... you aren’t...”

”I know,” Wade interrupted, lifting his chin with a hint of displeasure. ”I have no intention of stopping you. On the contrary, I’m going to give you a hand.”

Paige Summers smiled. ”Well, that’s wonderful!”

Wade gave her a look that said, ’You’re a smart one,’ then stroked his chin in satisfaction as he glanced at the people unleashing their superpowers with everything they had.

”These people are fools, actually,” he said. ”This method of attack is barely scratching the little vine. Its root system occupies this entire underground area. It has well over a thousand tendrils like these; losing a hundred or so is nothing to it! If you really want to kill it, you have to find its main trunk and burn it to ash. That’s the only way to finish it for good.”

”Is that so?”

”Of course,” Wade replied, turning his head to look at someone to his left.

The one who had asked was Leo Joyce. He stood firmly in a small patch of shadow, his face a mask of anxiety and frustration, but his eyes held a dark, calculating look that was hard to notice.

The way things had developed, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

He couldn’t stomach leaving empty-handed, and neither could the Superpower Users who had followed him. It hadn’t been easy to get here, and they had already suffered casualties. To go back with nothing to show for it... it would be a huge loss of face.

But staying meant trying to cross to the opposite tunnel, which seemed nearly impossible.

They had been attacking for half a day, yet the vines on the cliff face seemed endless, showing no signs of thinning out.

He knew many mutated plants had powerful regenerative abilities, but he’d rarely seen anything on this scale.

Even before hearing Wade’s explanation, he had suspected the vine’s main body was enormous, but hearing it confirmed was still a shock.

Seeing that Wade had answered—seemingly aware that he was the leader and speaking for his benefit—Leo Joyce finally glanced around. He gave Marcus Monroe’s group a cordial nod. ”It’s good to see you all made it back safely!”

’Having them alive adds to our combat strength, which is a good thing,’ he thought. ’And more importantly, they brought back an expert!’

’Marcus Monroe and his people must have been saved by this man, who wasn’t with them before!’

The man’s appearance was striking. Leo Joyce noted his clothing and bearing; he didn’t seem like an ordinary Superpower User at all. Instead, he bore a strong resemblance to the legendary, reclusive scions of the old Noble Houses. What’s more, he spoke with such certainty that it left no room for doubt. Leo was inclined to believe him.

He then addressed Wade earnestly. ”The situation is dire, and we’re short on time. If you have a way to deal with this mutated plant, why don’t we join forces, eliminate this enemy, and then discuss the details?” ’The ”details,” of course, would be how to divide whatever was in the tunnel. This man was clearly formidable. If he truly had the power to back it up, giving him a share of the spoils was acceptable. And if he could be recruited to Southreach, all the better!’

Wade’s lips curved into a smirk. ”Of course I know a way. I’m just afraid you won’t be willing to pay the price.”

Paige Summers and Marcus Monroe exchanged a look.

They both knew that everything Wade had said was likely for Leo Joyce’s benefit, which only made them more curious.

Wade began to speak slowly. ”The little vine’s main trunk is hidden deep underground. Finding it isn’t easy. Even I’m at a loss; it’s not like I can just dig up the ground inch by inch. Therefore, there’s only one way to kill it: we have to lure it out.”

”And the bait...?”

”It craves human blood above all else. We just need to find an open area, seal off the ground, and boil a large quantity of fresh blood in a vessel. Once that thick aroma spreads, it’s guaranteed to take the bait. Then, we surround it, block its escape route into the earth, and attack with fire. With nowhere to retreat, it will have no choice but to burn.”

Leo Joyce was silent for a long while. ”A large quantity of fresh blood...” he finally repeated.

”That’s right. Anything less won’t create a strong enough scent to attract it,” Wade said flatly. ”To put it plainly, you’ll need the total blood volume of at least twenty people.”

As soon as he said this, everyone fell silent.