Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

He didn’t say more, but the threat in his words was unmistakable.

Paige Summers let out a breath and remained silent.

The car sped along. They were heading away from the Zombies and encountered no trouble, arriving smoothly at another residential area in the city.

This area was mostly inhabited by Superpower Users of a slightly higher level, so it was comparatively safe.

Shawn Monroe had made arrangements beforehand and secured a house here.

The car pulled directly into the courtyard.

After getting out of the car, Paige Summers stepped inside and saw the slender back of a woman.

The woman had her back to them, wiping a table. She only turned around when she heard them enter.

”It’s you!” Paige Summers said softly.

Seeing that exquisitely beautiful face, she suddenly understood. The person Shawn Monroe had mentioned—the one who had disguised herself as Paige, fooled everyone at the base, and then made a clean getaway—was Faye Webb!

’Of course...’

’Marcus Monroe had said her superpower was to take on the appearance of others.’

’She had once transformed into my grandfather and even helped Marcus Monroe.’

’Clearly, her superpower wasn’t low-level.’

’We’re both women and about the same age. Plus, with me being pregnant and not using my superpower, of course she could give a convincing performance!’

’But when did Faye Webb throw in her lot with Shawn Monroe? Or was there another explanation?!’

Seeing Faye Webb, however, Shawn Monroe didn’t look pleased. In fact, his expression turned colder. ”Why are you here?”

Faye Webb’s expression stiffened for a moment before she broke into a radiant smile. ”I wasn’t planning on coming over, but then I thought about how Sister Summers has no one to look after her, and I felt I should come help. In her current condition, things like bathing are inconvenient. You can’t have you men helping her with everything, can you?”

Shawn Monroe frowned.

He had hired a woman to help Paige before, but he obviously couldn’t have brought her along. With the chaos outside, things weren’t likely to calm down soon, so hiring someone new was out of the question...

Paige Summers glanced at him. ”She has a point. Since she’s willing, why not let her stay?”

’I may hate Faye Webb, but I loathe Shawn Monroe even more. If there’s no one to help me bathe, what if he tries to do it himself? Can I really fight him to the death with this big belly? It’s not impossible, but I should avoid that if I can. Now that someone is so eager to help, why would I refuse!’

Shawn Monroe considered this for a long moment before finally nodding.

In private, however, he called Faye Webb over and warned her in a low voice, ”When she doesn’t need you, stay away from her. If anything happens to her, I guarantee your end will be horrific.”

His words were laced with such coldness that Faye Webb couldn’t help but shiver. She had no doubt that if anything happened to Paige Summers, Shawn Monroe would absolutely not spare her.

”I’ll take good care of her, I swear. I won’t do anything I’m not supposed to. Please, believe me!”

Shawn Monroe nodded, satisfied. ”Good. As long as you behave yourself, you’ll get what you want when we leave.”

For the time being, Paige Summers was settled.

But the crisis in Southreach was still escalating.

The Zombies that had turned from ordinary people were eliminated before long.

After all, they were just Low-level Zombies.

However, the Zombies that had once been members of The Guard were not so easy to deal with.

They had all been Superpower Users. Although they could no longer use their superpowers after turning, many had mutated. The speed-mutated Zombies were especially troublesome. They didn’t engage in direct conflict but specifically targeted ordinary humans.

The nearby residential areas were densely populated with ordinary people, and even if they tried to evacuate, they couldn’t outrun the Zombies. As a result, many more fell victim.

Meanwhile, a situation was unfolding at The Citadel.

Maisie Joyce had gathered the city’s top leaders for an emergency meeting, only to find themselves trapped inside The Citadel.

The man leading a contingent of Second Division soldiers to surround The Citadel was none other than the division’s former deputy commander, Victor Caldwell!

He had previously been bought off by Maisie Joyce to betray Henry Chase, and now, he had betrayed Maisie Joyce in turn!

Hearing the sounds of battle outside, Maisie Joyce’s face turned grim. ”Victor Caldwell would never have the guts to do this on his own! Who is backing him?”

Colin Koenig and the others all turned to look at Keith Preston.

As everyone’s gaze fell on him, Keith Preston’s expression soured. ”You can’t possibly think it was me,” he said coldly.

”Of course not,” Maisie Joyce said at once. ”If it were you, you wouldn’t have needed to show up today! We just thought that you’ve had more contact with Victor Caldwell than most. Do you have any leads?”

Keith Preston thought for a moment before shaking his head. ”Victor Caldwell always seemed unremarkable. Aside from being an exceptional bootlicker, he never had close dealings with anyone suspicious, as far as I know.”

Colin Koenig frowned. ”Let’s put that aside for now. The question is how we get out of this. Army Commander Preston, with something this big going down, your men can’t still be at the garrison, completely unaware, can they? What arrangements did you make before you came?”

Keith Preston gritted his teeth. ”They should have been at The Citadel by now!”

Maisie Joyce pressed her lips into a thin line. After a long moment, she asked, ”Are you saying you ordered them to come protect The Citadel, and now they’re missing?”

”...Yes,” Keith Preston said, dejected. Then he added hatefully, ”It must be Victor Caldwell’s doing!”

No one spoke for a moment.

Victor Caldwell could certainly cause a delay, but Keith Preston’s trusted men wouldn’t listen to his orders. For them to be unable to come, something serious must have happened within the army.

Who could possibly stop so many soldiers from The Power Corps, and how?

They hardly dared to consider the possibilities.

Were they really going to be trapped in The Citadel to die?

They weren’t the only ones surprised by this turn of events; even Leo Joyce hadn’t expected it.

The person he had made contact with was indeed Victor Caldwell.

The men sent with Keith Preston’s ”personally signed letter” to stop the First Division soldiers from leaving their barracks were also Victor Caldwell’s people. That much was true.

However, the men of the First Division weren’t fools. It didn’t take them long to realize something was wrong.

They promptly tied up the messengers and prepared to charge out of the barracks toward The Citadel.

But just then, Zombies appeared outside the barracks.

Not just one, but hundreds of them!

The Zombies swarmed the barracks like long-starved beasts, frantically attacking the soldiers inside. They clawed, they bit, and some could even unleash superpowers.

Caught completely off guard, swaths of soldiers fell. A short time later, some rose again. But they were no longer human; they had turned into Zombies!

The barracks were littered with severed heads and limbs. Blood flowed in rivers, nearly ankle-deep.

For The Power Corps, comrades were falling one by one, while the number of enemies only grew.

It was an incredibly arduous battle.

As for Southreach’s Hunting Parties, many had left the city to hunt, but some had stayed behind.

But they soon discovered something was wrong.

They had planned to help The Guardian Army eliminate the Zombies that had entered the city, but they were stopped before they could even leave their own compound.

These people didn’t show their faces. Their heads were wrapped in black cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed. Some were tall, others short.

Their methods varied—the tall ones excelled at direct assaults, while the short ones specialized in sneak attacks. What couldn’t be denied, however, was that they were all considerably powerful.

The Hunters who had remained were not the elite of the Hunting Parties, and under the sudden assault, they suffered heavy casualties in no time.

In the end, only a few squads were left, barely holding on.

Within a single day, Southreach had descended into utter chaos—a living Hell, awash in a sea of blood.