Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

Chapter 324

The message Marcus Monroe sent to Paige Summers didn’t tell the whole story.

The reality of the situation was far more troublesome!

According to the guards, Leo Joyce had indeed passed away, but while everyone was busy reporting the news, someone made off with his body.

Even trickier, Claire Chapman had vanished after clashing with the perpetrators!

This turn of events infuriated Marcus Monroe, who immediately dispatched his own men to search for her.

His identity was already public knowledge, and he was known to be quite close with the patriarch of the Woods Family.

Everyone in Southreach who needed to know, knew.

Everyone understood the situation perfectly.

The fact that the Woods Family had taken the initiative to break the stalemate and propose deploying troops against the Zombies was undoubtedly Marcus Monroe’s doing.

And while some were still uncertain of his true background, no one would dare obstruct his search for a person, so most were willing to offer their assistance.

Keith Preston had also sent his men to help, cordoning off several suspicious districts.

Unfortunately, the search had so far yielded nothing.

Because of this, Keith Preston made a special trip to see him. ”I didn’t expect something like this to happen. I was overconfident, thinking they wouldn’t dare make a move inside the official residence.”

Marcus Monroe shot him a cutting glance.

”I was only speculating...” Keith Preston sighed softly.

Marcus Monroe snorted coldly but didn’t reply.

Seeing this, Keith Preston said no more and quickly took his leave.

Not long after he left, Colin Koenig arrived. Feeling that he and Marcus Monroe were in the same boat, he spoke more directly. ”This business with the City Lord... could the Woods Family be behind it?”

Marcus Monroe glanced at him but remained noncommittal.

Colin Koenig’s suspicion wasn’t just about the theft of Leo Joyce’s body, but also about the actual cause of his death.

He shared the same suspicion as Miles Preston.

Indeed, many clues pointed toward the Woods Family.

For example, a few days ago, that legendary monster had suddenly appeared in the factory district. It destroyed a significant amount of equipment and injured several people, and the person responsible for guarding that area happened to be a scion of the Forrest Family serving in the military.

Whether this was intentional or a coincidence was still undetermined.

But the fact remained that the monster had escaped again.

That member of the Forrest Family was, at the very least, guilty of dereliction of duty.

He would certainly be replaced.

And the person now temporarily filling his post was from the Woods Family.

For another example, when the perpetrators stole Leo Joyce’s body, the Woods Family’s guards were conveniently absent. They only showed up late, after Claire Chapman had already vanished along with the body. And while they all had their excuses, how could anyone not be suspicious?

Then there was the Woods Family’s overly eager activity after the incident, which only fueled more unsavory theories.

All these little things—some blatant, others subtle—every single one pointed toward the Woods Family.

But that was exactly why Marcus Monroe suspected otherwise.

Seeing his silence, Colin Koenig began to ponder. ’Based on their interactions over the last few days, I have a pretty good idea of what kind of man Marcus Monroe is. He isn’t the type to stay quiet just because the Woods Family is powerful. If he truly suspected them of the abduction, he would have already made a move against them.’

”...Could it be the Forrest Family? But that doesn’t seem right, either. The Forrest Family is generally more cautious. They’ve been biding their time all this while; it makes no sense for them to have such a drastic change of style all of a sudden,” Colin Koenig muttered.

Not wanting to continue with such pointless speculation, Marcus Monroe changed the subject. ”Leo Joyce is dead. Are there any candidates for the next City Lord?”

At the mention of this, Colin Koenig could only manage a wry smile.

’How could there not be candidates?’

The Woods Family had put forward two candidates at once, the Forrest Family had nominated one, and Division Commander Cheney was itching for his chance. Even the five ministers within The Government were getting restless. His own subordinates, despite him having no such ambition, were constantly strategizing, with everything they said, both on and off the record, urging him to make a play for the position.

’Power is just too tempting!’

Seeing his predicament, Marcus Monroe gave an amused smile.

”If you wanted to take that seat...”

”No!” Colin Koenig cut him off without a second thought. ”I’m not the right fit. I don’t have the strength for it.” ’No matter how you look at it, a Sixth Rank Water Ability User would never be able to command public respect in that position.’

Marcus Monroe scoffed. ”This isn’t a fighting tournament. Do you really think being able to beat everyone makes you fit to be City Lord?”

’To be the lord of a city, what you need are administrative skills.’

’Colin Koenig’s performance has been excellent so far.’

’Especially after Leo Joyce fell into a coma. He shouldered a heavy burden, caught in the crossfire of various powerful factions, yet he still managed to calm the city’s residents and keep all the factories running. And when he learned that I wanted to push for deploying troops to Harborcrest Base, he did everything he could to help.’

’In my opinion, he would be a better City Lord than any of the others.’

Colin Koenig was silent for a long while before he spoke. ”While I do have a grudge against the Woods Family, it’s not a fight to the death.”

To this point, all he had done to the Woods Family was suppress their influence.