Teaming Up with My Enemy to Rule the Apocalypse

Director Lowell was hesitant.

Candice Tate used to work ten-hour days. Even though it pained him to give her so many Contribution Points, it wasn’t considered a loss.

’But now, Candice’s workload has been cut by more than half, and she’s still supposed to get three thousand Contribution Points?’

’And even Jayce is getting three thousand?’

’Isn’t Hector Grant being a little too generous?’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Jayce look over at him.

”Is Director Lowell unwilling? Or just hesitant to part with them?”

Being asked a question that mirrored his exact thoughts, Director Lowell looked somewhat awkward.

But only for a moment. He quickly composed himself.

”Not at all,” Director Lowell said, shaking his head. ”Captain Grant’s intentions are my intentions.”

He and Hector Grant went way back. He knew what kind of man Hector was, and he knew his temperament even better.

Hector Grant must have his reasons for saying and doing this now.

He was still willing to trust Hector Grant.

”So, Director Lowell, does that mean you agree?” Sierra Sullivan pressed.

Although Director Lowell still didn’t look pleased, he nodded. ”Yes, I agree.”

Just then, Hector Grant looked over at Sierra Sullivan. ”You—”

”Captain Grant,” Sierra Sullivan interrupted him. ”Jayce’s three thousand Contribution Points a month is enough to support me, so I don’t plan on working. Is there a problem with that?”

Before Hector Grant could answer, Candice Tate hurriedly spoke up. ”I’m getting three thousand Contribution Points a month too, right? I can support you too!”

Sierra Sullivan smiled at Hector Grant. ”See, Captain Grant? Now there’s one more person to support me. I have even less reason to work, don’t you think?”

Looking at Sierra Sullivan’s brilliant smile, Hector Grant felt a sense of helplessness.

He knew she was doing this on purpose, but there was nothing he could do about it.

After a moment of silence, he finally had to concede. ”Alright. Since you don’t want to, it’s fine to rest for now. The environment outside is too harsh, so it’s really not a good time to be going out anyway. We can discuss everything else later.”

Since returning yesterday, they had stayed inside Subterra, completely cut off from news of the surface.

Hearing Hector Grant’s words, Sierra Sullivan’s interest was piqued. ”How are things outside now? Is it any better than yesterday?”

Speaking of the environment outside, Hector Grant’s expression grew heavy. ”No. Not only has it not improved, it’s gotten even worse. You were lucky to get back yesterday. If it were today...”

Hector Grant didn’t finish, but his unspoken meaning was perfectly clear.

If they hadn’t made it back yesterday, it was questionable whether they could have returned safely today at all.

Although she had only known Hector Grant for two days, Sierra believed he wasn’t the type to speak carelessly about such matters.

His expression was so grave; it seemed the situation outside was far from optimistic.

”The base must be full of talented people. Has any expert predicted or analyzed the situation outside?”

After asking the question, Sierra Sullivan stared intently at Hector Grant.

She wasn’t just waiting for his answer; she was also trying to read something from his expression.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t discern a thing.

’Then again,’ she thought, ’a man like Hector Grant would naturally be able to maintain a poker face.’

’If he couldn’t even manage that, he probably wouldn’t have risen to such a high position.’

Although she was a little disappointed, it was to be expected.

Sierra Sullivan didn’t dwell on it any longer and stood up.

”Since we’ve finished discussing what we needed to, we’ll be on our way.”

Hector Grant rose with them. ”We still need to go find Dylan Dunn together to process the employment paperwork.”

Upon hearing this, Sierra Sullivan gave Hector Grant a deep look. ”Alright!”

The group left Director Lowell’s office.

After they had walked some distance, Sierra Sullivan finally looked at Hector Grant. ”Captain Grant, if you have something to say, you can say it now.”

Hector Grant smiled. ”Captain Sullivan, you truly are sharp.”

”You flatter me, Captain Grant. But I’m not a captain anymore. You can just call me Sierra.”

”Alright!” Hector Grant didn’t hesitate. ”Sierra, Jayce, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

Seeing his grave expression, Sierra knew it couldn’t be a small matter, and her own expression turned serious. ”Go ahead, Captain Grant!”

”Although Subterra has restored some semblance of order, you know that things are different from before the apocalypse. There are many things in Subterra that might not align with your pre-apocalypse perceptions—”

Hearing him ramble on without getting to the point, Sierra Sullivan was slightly amused.

”Whatever you want to say, Captain Grant, you can just say it directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

Hector Grant thought for a moment. ”You’re all smart. Even though I haven’t said it outright, you should be able to guess what I’m getting at.”

Sierra had indeed guessed.

She just didn’t understand why Hector Grant was specifically bringing this up with them.

”The reason I’m bringing this up specifically with you is simple. You’re good people, and you’re young. Sometimes, it’s easy to act impulsively. I know you’d be acting out of good intentions and a sense of justice, but I don’t want you to bring harm to yourselves because of it.”

”So, Captain Grant is worried I’ll impulsively play the hero and end up offending someone important.”

”See? What did I say about you being sharp? Since you already understand what I’m saying, I don’t need to spell out the rest. You know what you should do. Let’s go!”

Sierra and Jayce exchanged a glance and followed with Candice Tate in tow, but the smiles on their faces didn’t quite reach their eyes.

Sometimes, knowing something is one thing, but being able to act on that knowledge is another entirely.

’Hector Grant... was putting his faith in her far too soon!’

When they saw Dylan Dunn again and he learned what they were there for, he was all smiles.

”Excellent, excellent!” Dylan Dunn clapped Jayce on the shoulder. ”We get to be colleagues from now on, my friend! This is just great!”

Jayce remained noncommittal.

The paperwork was simple. Jayce didn’t even need a separate workshop; sharing one with Candice Tate would be fine.

Once everything was processed, they were free to go. They would officially start work tomorrow.

”My job here is done,” Hector Grant said. ”I’ll be taking my leave then.”

”Wait!” Jayce called out to him. ”Captain Grant, what about the people who came back with us yesterday? Where are they now?”

”They’ve all found their families, and they should have a good grasp of the situation in the base by now. Knowing them, they’ll probably start working as soon as possible, so you might run into them later. Of course, if you want to look for them individually, it might take some time. Subterra is vast and deep, and they all live in different areas. Finding them one by one would probably take a while.”