Chapter 40 - 27: Knife Skill

The vehicle sped eastward, racing across the wasteland.

The driver, Isaiah Langley, looked to be just in his early twenties, but his driving skills were exceptional. Whether it was his speed, his deftness at avoiding potholes, or his agility in dodging mutant flora and fauna, he was truly impressive.

Most of the people in the car were silent, except for Martin Warren.

Paige Summers discovered he wasn’t just a sweet-talker, but also a chatterbox.

To which, she was profoundly... grateful!

That’s right. Everything he talked about today centered on hunting outside the city. And while a large portion of his stories were about how clever and heroic he was, Paige still managed to glean a lot of information. She even began to suspect he was deliberately giving her a crash course.

Though the other team members later confirmed that wasn’t the case; apparently, on every hunt, he would pick a target to talk at nonstop, just to bask in their adoring gaze.

Regardless, Paige played along, giving him the starry-eyed look he was hoping for.

It wasn’t until they were passing the Blackwilds that her gaze drifted toward a point in the distance, her expression becoming lost and dazed.

Marcus Monroe, who had been secretly observing her, followed her gaze. A hint of amusement and a faint sigh flashed in his eyes. Turning back to her, he stated, "You’ve been here before."

Paige was momentarily taken aback by his certainty, but then it made sense. She’d heard he had left The Dead City for several years and only recently returned. ’He must have seen the world and met countless people,’ she thought. ’It’s no surprise he can read me so easily.’ Besides, she had, in fact, been reminiscing.

She was looking in the direction of the place where she first crossed over—the spot she had christened the U-Shaped Valley.

That was where her fate had been altered.

She was given a new life, bitten by a python, and almost died. Then she gained the superpower in her right hand, and finally, she was saved by a White Lion...

"Just once," she answered with a smile, reining in her wandering thoughts.

Marcus Monroe stared at her thoughtfully for a long moment, then said no more.

Paige mulled it over but couldn’t guess what he was thinking, so she decided to drop it. The hunt was the only thing that mattered right now.

They drove for the whole morning and ate lunch in the vehicle. The ready-to-eat meals were vacuum-packed, concentrated foods with a long shelf life, and they tasted far better than things like Nutrition Cakes. Though Paige had been subsisting on them recently, she still ate with gusto. The others had been mechanically stuffing the food into their mouths as if it were a chore, but seeing her enjoy it so much made them smile. Somehow, the food in their own mouths started to taste a little better.

Martin Warren took the wheel in the afternoon, and they turned to head north.

As evening drew near, they finally reached their first camp.

This place was permanently staffed by Superpower Users from The Dead City to serve as a rest stop for Hunting Parties. Paige had heard of such places, but this was her first time seeing one, and she was naturally curious.

The camp was spacious, enclosed by walls with gates on the north and south sides. It was sectioned into four corners and a central area. Aside from the southeast corner they occupied, the other three were already dotted with pitched tents. People milled about, clearly members of other Hunting Parties. Theirs, however, was clearly the smallest group; three tents were all they needed, a number that was just a fraction of the other teams’ sizes.

When Paige came out after setting up her tent, only Martin Warren was left outside.

She asked in surprise, "Where’d everyone else go?"

"Hunting, of course!" he replied cheerfully, busily stuffing dry branches and firewood into an empty fire pit. It was clear he was excited about not having to eat instant meals again.

Sensing what to do, Paige took a pot from a nearby rack, rinsed it with a little water from a bucket, and set it next to the fire pit.

With their tasks done, the two of them sat down to wait.

In contrast to the quiet of their corner, the other three were much livelier. No one was shouting, but with so many people—even the smallest groups had over a dozen members—the bustle of setting up pots and cooking dinner was inevitably noisy.

Paige silently scanned the other groups and was surprised to spot a few vaguely familiar faces. She quickly looked away.

Martin, who had been about to warn her not to stare, was taken aback. "Heh. You’re so composed, no one would ever guess you’ve barely been outside the city."

Paige smiled, completely unsurprised that he knew her background.

"I may be a rookie, but I’m not an idiot. I know the basics." She paused, then turned to him and lowered her voice. "I think I saw some people from the Lucky Hunters. Is that going to be a problem?"

Martin blinked, then laughed. "Why would it be? Most Hunting Parties have a fixed roster, but it’s not unheard of for people to team up with others, as long as it doesn’t conflict with their own party’s interests. It’s an unspoken rule, really. Everyone’s situation is different, so you can’t have rules that are too rigid."

’That’s flexible, I guess, but it seems like it would just lead to more trouble. And it creates a huge potential for loopholes to be exploited.’

’You’re facing down ferocious enemies, and you might have temporary teammates with ulterior motives at your back... like that Quentin Carter from the Lucky Hunters. He tried to kill me, so he must have been paid off. As for who’s pulling the strings, if I’m right, it has to be Leanne Walsh’s or Hugo Perry’s family. It’s a good thing he’s dead, otherwise I’d probably have the entire Lucky Hunters as my enemy! But looking at it from another angle... if I had been the one with ill intent toward the Lucky Hunters, if I had tried to sabotage them, would they still have managed to get that Mutant Beast egg?’

’How could anyone hunt with peace of mind under those conditions?’

Seeing her troubled expression, Martin just smiled without offering any further explanation.

Paige hugged her knees, lost in thought. But before she could sort it all out, the sound of approaching footsteps broke her concentration.

Marcus and the others were back.

Everyone’s clothes were clean, not a hair out of place. If the man bringing up the rear hadn’t been carrying several large, plump rabbits, she would’ve thought they’d gone for a stroll instead of a hunt.

With the prey secured, the rest was simple.

Paige volunteered for the tedious work of skinning and butchering, briskly carrying the rabbits to a far corner of the camp.

The men were all quite surprised.

Female Superpower Users were rare, so even when a party had a woman, she usually wasn’t asked to do that kind of dirty work.

They all looked to Marcus, but their leader seemed completely unconcerned. Not only did he not stop her, he even chose a spot at a comfortable distance to watch.

When they looked back at her, the men were astonished.

First, Paige dug a pit. Then, completely unfazed by the gore, she ran her hands over the rabbit’s body before bringing out her knife. To the Superpower Users watching, her speed wasn’t blindingly fast, but her movements were incredibly graceful. The foot-long blade seemed like a toy in her hands, dancing to her will.

In just over ten minutes, all four rabbits were dressed.

The pelts were removed in one piece—after tanning, they’d be perfect for scarves. The meat was stacked neatly to the side. The blood had soaked into the pit with barely a spatter, and the exposed innards and skeleton were slick and clean.

Martin, who was waiting with the water, stared dumbfounded for a moment before giving Paige a big thumbs-up as she brought the meat over.

"Impressive!"

Paige gave a playful wink. "I once had a grand ambition: to be a surgeon."

Everyone burst into laughter.

She paid them no mind and went to give Martin a hand.

’I’m not about to tell them I’ve been practicing on small animals since I was a kid!’

’It was perfect for training wrist flexibility, refining fine motor control, and curing my mild hemophobia... My own grandfather had declared dissection the perfect three-in-one training for me. How could I dare refuse? After years of practice, while other girls my age were daydreaming about fairytale romances, I had become skilled enough to be the head butcher at a slaughterhouse!’

’Besides, the blade is the king of a hundred weapons. If I didn’t understand its essence, I’d be unworthy of the title of heir to an Artificer House.’

’These laymen would never understand the subtleties of it all!’

’Of course, my old self could *never* have been this flashy. It’s all thanks to my mutated right hand. In addition to strength, it gives me a pretty nice bonus to dexterity, too!’

As the laughter died down, Grant Yardley, the burly man who had carried the rabbits, sidled up to Marcus.

"Boss, there’s more to this girl than meets the eye."

Marcus raised an eyebrow at him. ’You think I needed you to tell me that?’

Grant cleared his throat. "I mean, given her background, there’s no way she should know how to do any of this."

’What do you think *I’ve* been thinking about?’

"So..." Grant lowered his voice, asking tentatively, "could she be a spy?"

Marcus gave him a long, hard look, then simply got up and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Grant scratched his head, confused.

"It means you’re hopelessly stupid. If all spies were that obvious, we could send just you to conquer all of Astoria!" A hand slapped him hard on the back. The "helpful" explanation came from Howard Everett, who wore non-prescription glasses to look more refined. "C’mon, Grant, can’t you at least *try* to hide your stupidity? It’s not a good look to so blatantly advertise to the boss that your brain size is inversely proportional to your head size."

Grant fell silent as soon as he saw who it was.

’This guy is devious as hell. Best not to mess with him.’

’Still... what he said made sense.’

’If she were really a spy, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell anyway.’ The man, an optimist in his own way, chuckled to himself. ’It’s fine as long as she isn’t one. It’s fine. I actually kind of like the kid!’

Paige hadn’t expected to receive a subtle wave of goodwill just for doing what she could to help.

What a pleasant surprise!

She wasn’t in a hurry to find out who it came from. It had to be one of her companions.

A smile touched her lips, her face glowing in the firelight.

’Honestly, even though we’ve only spent a day together, I can already feel the easy camaraderie and sincerity between them.’

’It’d be a lie to say I’m not envious.’

’I might not become one of them, but I think I’d be really disappointed if they treated me with malice.’

Paige’s good mood lasted right up until dinnertime.

Martin’s cooking was simply divine... she nearly swallowed her tongue along with the stew.

This was no time to worry about appearances. She downed half a bowl of stew, just a little slower than the men, and was just about to dig into a large chunk of rabbit meat she’d ladled out. But just as she settled back down, she saw a slender, graceful figure emerge from the cluster of tents across the way.

The figure drew closer and closer, until Paige could see her face. Her mood instantly plummeted to freezing.

She didn’t even have time to put down her bowl before her other hand was subconsciously reaching for the crossbow at her side.