The group that arrived consisted of about twenty people. Half were Superpower Users, while the other half were armed with live ammunition—they were clearly official personnel.

The man leading the group was in his forties. His name was Caleb Yorke, one of Samuel Hughes’s trusted confidants. He was incredibly burly and stomped over, his footsteps booming, scolding all the while. It seemed as if the very ground would tremble with each step.

In truth, he was quite powerful—nearly on par with Forrest Chapman.

Besides, he was older and in his prime. If it truly came down to a fight, Forrest Chapman might not even be his match.

But Samuel Hughes had never placed him in a key position. It wasn’t a matter of loyalty, but of temperament. Not only was he hot-tempered, but he was also far too headstrong and opinionated.

Samuel Hughes hadn’t wanted to entrust him with a task as important as retrieving supplies, but he simply had no one else available.

The moment news of the Beast Tide was announced, Glimmerlake Base erupted into chaos.

He had to send people to pacify the populace and prevent riots, while also explaining the situation to the base’s management. On top of that, the evacuation was set in stone, and he needed to assign people to organize it. He couldn’t rest easy unless his own men were handling that. As a result, the task of retrieving the supplies from Flying Eagle fell to Caleb Yorke, who wasn’t skilled in other areas.

Caleb Yorke had arrived brimming with confidence, thinking this would be an easy job and a chance to earn some credit.

But unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the vehicle, he heard Paige Summers’s shout. He was instantly furious, but also had a sense of, ’I knew it.’

He’d always had a poor impression of Flying Eagle, believing they weren’t truly loyal to Samuel Hughes. He had even suggested replacing them with his own men to guard the supplies.

Unfortunately, Samuel Hughes had firmly rejected the idea.

Ever since then, he’d harbored a strange animosity toward Forrest Chapman.

As he drew closer and saw Forrest Chapman, who looked disheveled from the fight, he immediately waved his subordinates forward to surround them. "Forrest Chapman! You and Flying Eagle dare to collude with an outside Hunting Party and betray the Base Chief!"

Forrest Chapman choked, struggling to catch his breath. His face was already pale with fury from the chain of unexpected events, but he forced himself to explain patiently, "Captain Yardley, you’ve misunderstood..."

"Cut the crap! We’re here for the supplies. Get out of the way!"

His rudeness infuriated the Flying Eagle members. They abandoned the opponents they had just been fighting fiercely and closed ranks around Forrest Chapman. Forrest Chapman hesitated for a moment but didn’t stop them. Even if he wasn’t the most tactful person, he could tell the other party had already judged him. His expression slowly darkened.

While they were locked in a standoff, Marcus Monroe had already discreetly led his people to fall back.

Just from a few words, he’d pieced together what was happening. ’Let them fight it out amongst themselves for now. As for the kid who stole the ring, it won’t be too late to deal with him later! This way, I can avoid drawing all their fire.’

He planned to first figure out the hidden meaning behind what Paige Summers had just shouted.

But before he could ask, he noticed Paige Summers pacing around strangely. She was sidestepping, taking tiny steps, moving in the direction of Forrest Chapman and the base soldiers while occasionally flicking her hair.

’How strange!’

Marcus Monroe couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but he felt he had a decent understanding of Paige Summers. ’She wouldn’t do something so useless and bizarre at a time like this. She must have a purpose...’

Martin Warren and the others saw her too, but no one paid it any mind. They were all more focused on the situation with Forrest Chapman.

The standoff didn’t last long. After Caleb Yorke produced a handwritten order from Samuel Hughes and demanded to know if Forrest Chapman planned to embezzle the supplies, Forrest Chapman chose to back down. He personally led them to the warehouse where the supplies were stored.

To be honest, he was deeply disappointed by this treatment. But then he considered that once he returned the supplies, his debt to Samuel Hughes’s father would be repaid, and he would finally be free. At that thought, an indescribable sense of relief washed over him.

In the apocalypse, supplies were undoubtedly precious.

But to him, a person’s integrity was more important. ’Once you break that, you can’t even call yourself human anymore.’

Not all of the Flying Eagle members left; a few stayed behind to keep an eye on Marcus Monroe and his group.

Just then, Paige Summers rejoined the group.

She looked at Marcus Monroe and broke into a grin, like a little fox that had just stolen a chicken.

The gloom that had settled in Marcus Monroe’s heart instantly vanished at her smile.

All that remained was a sense of resigned relief.

"Are you... alright?"

Paige Summers shook her head. ’Of course I’m fine. The one who’s going to have a problem just went into the warehouse...’ But with Flying Eagle members still around, she couldn’t say that out loud. Instead, she said, "Sorry, he still has the item."

Marcus Monroe raised an eyebrow. He shifted his position to block the Flying Eagle members’ line of sight. "Don’t worry," he said quietly, "he’s not getting away."

Paige Summers blinked, relaxing a little. "The one who took Evie hostage is the Flying Eagle captain’s son. He wanted to use us to force his father to leave Samuel Hughes. I think this time, his father has definitely made up his mind."

Marcus Monroe was a little surprised, but his expression quickly softened.

He had to admit, despite the complications, the outcome was exactly what he’d hoped for.

He’d only brought the kid along in the first place because he’d noticed his unusual relationship with the Flying Eagle captain and had hoped to win them over. Unfortunately, the kid pulled that stunt, forcing Marcus to abandon the idea. He never expected that after all the twists and turns, things would take a favorable turn again.

’Since he’s on board with this, getting the ring back is just a matter of time.’

Paige Summers could see he understood, so she didn’t elaborate. Instead, she asked, "Where are Shawn Monroe’s people?"

"They must be locked up nearby," he replied. "They weren’t where we left them when we got back. But we heard some noise, so they’re probably in one of the warehouses."

Now it was Paige Summers’s turn to be surprised.

’She knew Flying Eagle was strong, but Nora Lowell and Ace weren’t weak either! How could they have been captured so easily?!’

While she was lost in thought, Caleb Yorke and his men emerged. Some shouldered large bags on their own, while others worked in pairs to carry heavy crates. From the looks of it, there was a substantial amount of supplies.

Paige Summers shot a sharp glance at Marcus Monroe.

’They actually left this much behind?’

Marcus Monroe just smiled without a word. ’The number of items in the shipment might look the same, but some of the contents have been swapped out. Cillian wouldn’t miss anything worth taking. Still, no need to wipe them out completely.’

’Okay, the main reason is that the ring is running out of space, so we could only pick the most important items...’

But because of this, Caleb Yorke didn’t notice anything unusual.

The Flying Eagle members, of course, noticed. They checked the inventory regularly; it was impossible for them not to realize the packaging on several items had changed. But one look from Claire Chapman, and everyone, including Forrest Chapman, kept their mouths clamped shut.

’Bringing this up now isn’t a matter of integrity, it’s a matter of being an idiot!’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Besides, plenty of the supplies hadn’t been touched.’

’Just think of it as a service fee...’ Believing this was his own son’s "good" deed, Forrest Chapman could only sigh and console himself with that thought.

Caleb Yorke’s men worked quickly, and in no time, all the supplies were loaded onto the trucks.

He was surprised by how smoothly things had suddenly turned, but he knew he wasn’t guaranteed a win against Forrest Chapman. And with that unknown group watching like vultures from the sidelines, this was the best possible outcome.

Their party quickly departed, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

Forrest Chapman wiped his face. He knew he really couldn’t stay here any longer.

Putting the Beast Tide aside, just the fact that the supplies had been tampered with was something Samuel Hughes was unlikely to tolerate. They had to leave, and as soon as possible.