Teaming Up with My Enemy to Rule the Apocalypse

”So you’re the two ringleaders?”

As Hugo Cheney spoke, he sized up Sierra Sullivan and Jayce, his eyes filled with contempt.

”Do you have any idea what this place is? Do you know who I am? Do you know what kind of people live in this building? Stirring up trouble here... you two must have a death wish!”

”Now, I’ll give you one chance. Get on your knees, beg for my forgiveness, and I might just let you live. Otherwise...”

Jayce scoffed. ”Otherwise what?”

As the old saying goes, your enemy is often the one who knows you best. There was no denying the truth in that.

After all this time as rivals, constantly at each other’s throats, Hugo Cheney knew Jayce’s voice all too well.

He recognized it the instant he heard that single sentence.

”You’re... Jayce?”

Even though he’d recognized the voice, Hugo Cheney couldn’t believe it.

Or perhaps, he was just unwilling to believe it.

Jayce raised an eyebrow. ”Not bad! Recognized me already, huh?”

Hearing Jayce’s confirmation, Hugo Cheney took an involuntary step back.

The memory of the beatdown Jayce had given him that morning was still painfully fresh.

Seeing Jayce again, a jolt of primal fear shot through him.

But after retreating two steps, Hugo Cheney forced himself to a halt.

’If I back down in front of all these people, how will I ever show my face again?’

’Who would ever take me seriously after this?’

’Besides, things are different from this morning.’

’This is Building 10!’

’Building 10 is my stronghold!’

’The number of Superpower Users in this building has multiplied recently.’

’With so many Superpower Users at my back, there’s no way I can’t beat one measly Jayce!’

With that thought, Hugo Cheney’s confidence surged back.

Hugo Cheney straightened his back and tugged at his clothes. ”Ahem! Jayce! You should have stayed in your own building. What are you doing in our Building 10? This isn’t a place where you can just run wild!”

”You told me not to come, but here I am,” Jayce shot back. ”What are you going to do about it?”

Hugo Cheney’s composure was clearly paper-thin.

The moment he heard Jayce’s taunt, his face flushed crimson with rage.

”Jayce! I’m giving you an out, and you’re throwing it back in my face! I was trying to be reasonable, but if you want to do this the hard way, then don’t blame me for what comes next!”

”Who wants to be reasonable with you?” Jayce cut him off. ”After what you’ve done, you’ve lost the right to speak to me civilly! You’ve killed so many survivors. Can you even call yourself human?”

”Hah!” Hugo Cheney sneered. ”And here I was, wondering what brought you here. To think it was for *these people*! How are they any different from ants? If we hadn’t gone through all the trouble to drag them back here, they would’ve died outside the base long ago! I saved their lives, so what’s wrong with asking them to repay the favor? Is there a problem with that?”

”Besides, it’s not like I had them knocked unconscious and dragged here! Ask the people around you—every single one of them came willingly! If they actually manage to awaken a Superpower, of course I’ll treat them well! They won’t have to worry about food or drink ever again! But if they don’t have the luck or the willpower, and they fail to awaken a Superpower... well, they can only blame their own rotten fate. What’s that got to do with me?”

That Hugo Cheney could say such things proved he didn’t see the other survivors’ lives as worth anything at all.

He saw himself as a god, holding the lives of other survivors in the palm of his hand, theirs to live or die at his whim.

There was no point in wasting any more words on a person like that.

Jayce couldn’t be bothered to waste any more breath on Hugo Cheney.

”Enough crap. I’ll ask you one more thing.” Jayce stared intently at Hugo Cheney. ”Your father signed off on this, didn’t he?”

”Of course he did—”

Before he could finish the sentence, Hugo Cheney bit his own tongue, forcing himself to stop.

Biting your tongue hurts, and the pain made Hugo Cheney’s face twist into a grimace.

”My dad doesn’t know about this,” Hugo Cheney quickly corrected himself. ”Anyway, what does it matter to you if he knows or not? Instead of worrying about things that don’t concern you, you should focus on whether or not you’ll be leaving here alive today.”

”Don’t worry. I’ll still be standing long after you’re dead.” Jayce started walking toward Hugo Cheney. ”But don’t you worry, either. I won’t let you die that easily.”

’The truth had to come out. The majority of the survivors needed to see Hugo Cheney admit what he’d done and apologize for it with their own eyes.’

’Otherwise, getting rid of Hugo Cheney would just mean a Hugo Warren or a Hugo Lowell would pop up to take his place...’

’In the apocalypse, strength and power determined your rank. Such a drastic shift in the social hierarchy could easily make people lose their moral compass and do depraved, monstrous things.’

’If people weren’t vigilant, they’d eventually fall into the same trap and pay with their lives.’

Watching Jayce advance on him step by step, Hugo Cheney forgot all about saving face.

”What are you staring at? Get him! Kill him! If he makes it back, he won’t let this go, and none of you will escape unscathed!”

At Hugo Cheney’s command, his followers’ eyes glinted with murderous intent as they turned to face Jayce.

’Of course, they knew they were abetting a tyrant.’

’But so what?’

’This was the apocalypse!’

’The law of the jungle reigned supreme!’

’It was their own fault for being weak. They dreamt of becoming Superpower Users like us? They deserved to die!’

The crowd moved toward Jayce, activating their Superpowers in unison.

Seeing this, the few survivors standing near Sierra Sullivan shrieked in terror and scattered.

They no longer cared about the corpses inside the rooms; they all scrambled inside to hide.

The last one to scramble inside even slammed the door shut.

Hearing the loud slam of the door, Hugo Cheney roared with laughter.

”Jayce, take a good look! These are the people you’re protecting! These are the people you’re trying to get justice for!”

”You’re about to be ganged up on, and they just run away without a backward glance, not giving a damn whether you live or die!”

”Why would you even bother saving people like that?”

”Oh! Wait, no, there’s still one here!”

Hugo Cheney’s gaze landed on Sierra Sullivan. He stared for a moment, his eyes narrowing slowly. ”Why do you look so familiar? You’re... Sierra Sullivan?”

Sierra Sullivan, for her part, was a little surprised that Hugo Cheney actually recognized her.

”You’ve got sharp eyes,” Sierra Sullivan commented casually.

Hugo Cheney fell silent, his expression turning even fouler.

’Jayce alone was more than enough of a headache, but now Sierra Sullivan was here too!’

’Are those two joined at the hip or something?’

’Why do they have to show up everywhere as a pair?’

Hugo Cheney’s eyes darkened, a sinister, calculating light glinting in their depths.

’While Jayce is surrounded, should I just take out Sierra Sullivan?’

’Or maybe... use Sierra Sullivan as a hostage to make Jayce back down?’