Chapter 79 - 50: To Save and To Kill

The situation was actually quite simple.

This group of people had temporarily banded together after leaving Dawnbringer Base to find a new place to settle.

Along the way, Xavier Warren and Simon Lee—the two men currently being beaten—had each gotten involved with one of the pretty women in the group. Whether it was on a whim or premeditated, it wouldn’t have been a big deal; it was all consensual. The problem arose when they were ambushed by a powerful Mutant Beast while making camp for the night. In a panic, Xavier Warren and Simon Lee actually shoved the women beside them into the Mutant Beast’s jaws!

This sparked outrage among the group.

It wasn’t just for the women who died. It was the fear that if they ran into another Mutant Beast, they might be the next ones used as human shields. The women in the group who had superpowers were a little better off, having something to fall back on. But those who survived on physical strength alone were terrified.

Although everyone was furious with their actions, kicking them out would have significantly weakened the group’s overall fighting strength. The other two men in their party calmed the women down, arguing that things hadn’t reached that breaking point yet.

Until they ran into this horde of Zombies...

The other two men were severely injured, leaving the women to fend for themselves in a desperate struggle.

That was when Xavier Warren and Simon Lee decided to retreat.

While everyone else was fighting the Zombies with all their might, they...ran away.

Paige Summers pieced the story together from the woman’s indignant account. It was obvious these two scumbags had run into her group not long after escaping. Perhaps they didn’t want their cowardice exposed, or perhaps they hoped their former companions would be completely wiped out. That’s why they had been so reluctant to come back, even lying to try and stop them.

’Now that’s a whole new level of scumbag!’

She shot the two men a look of utter contempt before glancing up. To her surprise, she saw the woman who had been speaking for the group earlier had approached Howard Everett. The woman lightly placed a hand on his chest and said softly, "You only have one young lady in your group. That must be inconvenient! Why don’t you take me with you? I can cook, or do anything else you need..."

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Then, a woman behind her suddenly lifted her head. "Take me! I promise I won’t be a burden, just let me follow you!"

"Me too! I’m really strong!"

"What good is being strong? My waist is soft and flexible. Why don’t you give it a try, handsome?"

"I..."

"..."

Only two of the seven women remained silent. They exchanged a look and lowered their gaze.

Paige Summers watched the scene in silence. ’Do they really want to survive that badly? What a shame, they’re picking the wrong men.’ She was certain that any subordinate Marcus Monroe trusted enough to bring on this mission wouldn’t be easily swayed by a woman’s charms.

And indeed, while Howard Everett’s expression remained mild, his eyes were filled with impatience and disgust. He looked like he was about to make it clear that their offers were not welcome.

Just then, one of them suddenly cried out, "Vincent King... You’re Vincent King! I’ve seen you before, you’re from The Dead City! Take me to The Dead City!" As she spoke, the woman pushed past the others and rushed up to Grant Yardley, grabbing his clothes tightly.

For a moment, Grant Yardley was flustered by the soft body suddenly throwing itself at him, but he quickly pushed the woman away.

Marcus Monroe furrowed his brow.

It wasn’t because of the scene itself, but because he was surprised the woman had revealed Grant Yardley’s identity.

Nearby, Howard Everett realized the same thing, and a murderous glint appeared in his eyes. He smacked the woman’s hand away and reached for the hilt of his knife.

But Paige Summers was faster.

As his hand touched the hilt, it was pressed down. Howard Everett looked coldly at Paige, who was now blocking him. "What are you doing?"

Paige Summers smiled innocently. "There’s no need for that, is there?"

’It’s not easy to survive in the apocalypse, especially for women.’

’Even if we all have different ways of trying to stay alive, I still want to give them a chance to do just that!’

Howard Everett snorted, clearly disagreeing with her.

Paige Summers sighed to herself and turned her gaze to Marcus Monroe.

"Can I have a word?"

Marcus Monroe gave her a deep look and was the first to walk aside.

Paige Summers hurried after him.

Because she had been standing in front of Howard Everett, blocking the other women’s view, they had no idea that their companion’s words had just brought them all to the brink of death.

Still, they could sense that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

For a moment, everyone just silently watched the two of them walk away. No one dared to make a sound.

Once they were away from the others, Paige Summers bit her lip sheepishly. "I know this is reckless. Even though you have Leanne Walsh, she’s probably already told Shawn Monroe some of what’s happened. He’s very likely on his way here with his men right now. If he runs into these women, he might guess that you were the one who took Leanne..."

"But, I still have to ask... can you let them go?"

Marcus Monroe raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Paige Summers lowered her eyes and rubbed her nose. "Well... your relationship with Shawn Monroe is already terrible. Even without this, he’s going to come after you. He can throw his weight around in The Dead City, but it’s a different story out here. Don’t you want to see the look on his face when he shows up, so sure he’s getting the supplies, only to find you’ve already beaten him to the punch and he’s so mad he could just die? Aren’t you looking forward to it just thinking about it?"

A tickle in Marcus Monroe’s throat almost made him laugh out loud...

’Only she could come up with a reason like that!’

’Going to such great lengths just because she doesn’t want to kill them!’

’...But, fine. He had to admit, this kind of arrogant, showy, childish act wasn’t his style, but it was surprisingly appealing...’

’He really did want to see the look on that face!’

But... "You’re too soft-hearted. That’s not a good thing. You’ll suffer for it."

Hearing him yield, Paige Summers let out a breath of relief. She held up her hands and said slyly, "Don’t be mad if I tell you the truth. The only reason I’m playing the good guy this time is because I know you can handle the consequences."

Marcus Monroe’s heart stirred. "Why do you say that?"

"The way you look when you talk about Shawn Monroe, it’s like you’re watching a cheap magic trick. That can only mean one thing: you don’t see him as a real opponent at all. Am I wrong?"

Marcus Monroe stared at her for a moment, then couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curl up as he reached out and ruffled her hair.

’This girl really is clever!’

But when he pulled his hand back, his standard, serious expression had returned completely. "Alright, you’ve convinced me. Now, rejoin the group. We’re getting ready to move out."

Paige Summers giggled. "Yes, sir!"

When they returned to the group, Marcus Monroe immediately gave the order to move out. Although Howard Everett was displeased, even shooting Paige a glare, he still obeyed.

Paige Summers pinched the bridge of her nose. She was annoyed, too. Marcus had actually told her to deal with the women and make sure they didn’t follow them. If they did, he would kill them without mercy!

After thinking for a moment, she walked over and stood before them. "We’re on a hunt," she said coldly. "We’re not taking any dead weight with us. Don’t waste your time trying."

Someone immediately objected. "We’re not dead weight! We can do a lot of things. What do you know...?"

Paige Summers laughed. "Are you talking about sleeping with men? If you think you can use that to save your lives, are you just naive? You haven’t forgotten how your companions died, have you? Or did I mishear? Weren’t they pushed to their deaths by the very men they slept with?"

The woman was rendered speechless.

"Instead of thinking about useless things, you should be thinking about where to go next. Your life is only yours when it’s in your own hands. And another thing..." She hefted the Crossbow in her hands, her icy gaze shifting to the two scumbags sitting on the ground not far away.

They had been too intimidated by Marcus Monroe’s group to make a move. Now, hearing that the group was leaving without any intention of killing them, their minds started racing again. But before they could even form a thought, a thin black shadow flashed before their eyes, followed by a sudden numbness between their brows...

They died before they even knew what had happened.

The women, however, saw it all clearly. Two Crossbow Arrows were embedded between their eyebrows. In just a few moments, the two men’s bodies turned a deathly purple, and they stopped breathing.

Paige Summers lowered her Crossbow. "Go do what you need to do. Understand?"

Her soft, gentle voice echoed in their ears, but no one dared to entertain any other ideas. None of them wanted to die a horrible death like those two men before they could even find someone powerful to protect them.

Watching and hearing everything from a distance, Marcus Monroe’s expression was subtle.

’My earlier thought that she was soft-hearted... seems to have been wrong.’

’Perhaps she only spared them because those women didn’t deserve to die.’

’She certainly has her own set of principles.’

’As interesting as ever!’

Having intimidated the women into standing frozen in place, Paige Summers briskly caught up with Marcus Monroe and the others, ready to leave. She felt no remorse for killing two scumbags.

But strangely, at that same moment, two thick, warm currents flowed into her chest.

She glanced back and saw it was the two women who had been standing at the very back, the ones who had remained silent the whole time. Their eyes met for a moment, and one of them silently mouthed the words, "Thank you."

Paige Summers smiled to show she’d received the message, and her mood improved even more.

But the trouble wasn’t over. They hadn’t gone far before they heard several chaotic, suppressed gasps from behind them.

She didn’t look back.

But a powerful force rushed at her from behind!

She dodged nimbly and drew her knife. She thought it was an enemy, but found herself face to face with a stubborn-looking young girl. The attack... had been the girl’s own body!

’Is this little one... trying to throw herself into my arms?’