Chapter 166 - 104: A Game of Chess

By the time Paige Summers and Claire Chapman returned to their residence, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

After a restless night, both of them felt a bit weary.

Claire Chapman thought for a moment before telling Paige her suspicions about Sheldon Reid’s identity.

"...So why was he really looking for you? Was it about the Pathfinder Rat?"

Paige Summers shook her head. "It’s complicated. I’ll tell you some other time when we have a moment. Let’s get some rest first."

"Then, what do you plan to do about Leanne Walsh?"

"I need to think about that carefully, too. Don’t worry. After this failure, she won’t be stupid enough to try again right away."

Claire Chapman rubbed her temples. "Alright. You should get some proper sleep. We can talk later."

That was the plan, but they were woken by a knock after only three hours of sleep.

An excited Jensen Archer had shown up at their door with Lucy Lee.

"There’s a great mission at the Administration Office! You two should come take a look. If it seems good, we’ll take it!"

Everyone took Bloodfall’s first mission very seriously. Hunting Parties and mission issuers chose each other, so strong and reputable teams were naturally given priority when competing for missions. Furthermore, the success rate was a crucial piece of data recorded in a Hunting Party’s file at the Superpower User Administration Office.

This was serious business, so the two of them couldn’t delay. They quickly got ready and set out.

But when they arrived at the Administration Office, they were told the mission had already been taken by another Hunting Party.

Initially, this seemed normal enough, and Paige Summers didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until the third day that Claire Chapman gravely informed her that Bloodfall couldn’t get a single mission from the Administration Office.

"I’ve been hanging around there for two days and applied for six missions. Two of them were very unpopular resource-gathering requests. When I said I wanted to take them, another Hunting Party leader overheard and looked at me like I’d grown a second head. But when it came time to register at the office, we were rejected every single time! Either the mission issuer decided we weren’t a good fit, or another Hunting Party had already taken it. The excuse was different each time, but the result was always the same: we can’t get a mission!"

After venting her frustration, Claire Chapman concluded, "Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong!"

Paige Summers didn’t say anything at the time, but that very night, she took a trip to Jovitas alone.

This time, she dressed as inconspicuously as possible. Holding the card she received as a bonus from her last information purchase, she easily obtained the intel she was looking for.

That night, she didn’t sleep or practice her Cultivation. Instead, she spent all her mental energy planning her next move.

The next day, she had Claire Chapman gather all the members of Bloodfall. First, she distributed the weapons she had managed to make in her spare time over the past few days. Even the Forrest Siblings got a share.

"Materials are limited, so this is the best I could do for now. Take a look. What do you think?"

These were all modeled after the weapons they were used to. Paige Summers didn’t have time to waste on fancy designs. Even so, in terms of both sharpness and handling, they were a significant improvement over their old gear.

Everyone was thrilled.

Jensen Archer couldn’t stop praising his new weapon, unable to put it down.

Gabriel Donovan had already received his, so he was the only one who remained rather calm.

Once they had settled down, Paige Summers finally brought up the fact that someone had been sabotaging their efforts to get a mission.

"This was originally a personal grudge, but now it’s affecting the entire Hunting Party, and I feel terrible about it. I will definitely do my best to resolve it as quickly as possible. So, I’ve decided to issue a mission to Bloodfall in a personal capacity. Of course, you can decide whether or not to accept it based on the pay and difficulty. Your decision is what matters most..."

「Three days later.」

Paige Summers’s weapon shop opened for business.

She didn’t make a big fuss about it, simply hanging up a sign: "Summers Armaments."

It was a bit quiet at first, but people were soon drawn in by the swords, daggers, and blades displayed on a wooden rack out front.

Although they were just standard weapons, it was clear they weren’t mass-produced junk.

One by one, people started to enter the shop to inquire.

The in-store notice for custom orders was perfectly clear: this shop accepted all weapon commissions, custom-made to order!

Across the entire commercial district of District Four, Summers Armaments was undoubtedly the first to adopt such a business model.

No, not just in District Four—even in the first two districts, no one dared to openly claim they could make any weapon.

Was it just a gimmick, or did they have real substance?

Some were curious, others just wanted to gossip.

And, of course, some were willing to pull out their Credit Points and test the claim on the spot!

Compared to other weapon shops, Summers Armaments had undeniably captured everyone’s attention from the very beginning.

This news soon reached the ears of Leanne Walsh in a villa in District 2.

She couldn’t show her true feelings in front of the man—one of Kevin Howell’s subordinates, sent specifically to gather information for her. But once she was back in her room, she was so filled with hatred she nearly bit through her blanket, her once beautiful and delicate face twisted into a savage expression.

’Why?’

’How is that woman so hard to kill!’

’The assassination attempt didn’t kill her. Instead, it cost Kevin Howell his men and got him a reprimand. I made it so her new Hunting Party couldn’t get any missions, but she’s still completely unscathed and has even opened a weapon shop.’

Leanne Walsh couldn’t understand why she was so difficult to deal with.

’She should have died back in the Dead City!’

She curled up on her bed, fully clothed, her eyes dark and clouded.

’As a reincarnator, I should be living a smooth and prosperous life, but I haven’t experienced any of that.’

’Instead, because of Paige Summers, I’ve been subjected to one awful ordeal after another.’

The memory of her time on Mount Turol made her temper flare uncontrollably.

The Hunting Party guarding her was said to be friends with Flying Eagle, and they treated her well at first. But after Nora Lowell escaped that night, two of Marcus Monroe’s team members vanished while pursuing her, and Ace also disappeared. After that, her life descended into an unprecedented hell.

One of the men in the Hunting Party was a sadist.

He acted normal in front of the others during the day, but every night, he would take her away.

If he had merely coveted her body, Leanne Walsh wouldn’t have actually minded.

After all, she had always used her body as a type of weapon.

But this man clearly had no interest in that.

He just enjoyed torturing people!

Her usual act of frailty and fear only served as a catalyst, making him even more excited.

She could endure the punches and kicks, but his sadistic whipping—aimed specifically at the softest, most tender parts of her body—made her wish for death.

After her pleas for help went unanswered, she realized the other members of the Hunting Party weren’t ignorant of what was happening.

For various reasons, they had simply chosen to ignore it.

Her only way out was to escape.

And escape she did.

But she had no gear, and on the night she fled, she nearly froze to death on Mount Turol.

The bone-chilling cold... It was the first time she realized just how terrifying the cold could be.

Her body grew stiffer and stiffer, yet her mind remained conscious, as if she had become one of the living dead. She lay helplessly on the ground.

Slowly, her mind began to fade as well.

She vaguely thought she wasn’t going to make it this time...

Luckily, having been reincarnated once, she wasn’t going to die so easily!

She was saved!

’But...’

Thinking of Kevin Howell, her gaze grew even darker.

’It’s all Paige Summers’s fault that I ended up like this!’

Her chest throbbed with a single, pulsing thought: ’Kill her! Kill her!’

Leanne Walsh gasped for breath, rushed into the bathroom, turned on the tap, and began splashing water on her face relentlessly.

Ever since seeing Paige Summers again, her emotions had become increasingly unstable.

’I hope Kevin Howell doesn’t come over tonight. I need to go blow off some steam. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control this overwhelming urge to kill, this intense desire to see rivers of blood!’