After taking care of Evan Pierce, Paige Summers wiped the blood from her hands. She considered for a few seconds, then decided against going back into the courtyard to look for the data. ’That stuff is too precious. Nora Lowell and her group might even be carrying it on them. There’s no need for me to take the risk. Better to get out of here as soon as possible!’

But right at that moment, the sound of the main gate and hurried footsteps came from the courtyard.

"Six, you go search over here! Andy, you go over there! I’ll check this way!" a man’s booming voice rang out.

Hearing that voice, Paige Summers froze.

’It’s him!’

The thicket of bushes wasn’t too far from the courtyard, and in the moment she’d been dazed, someone was already approaching her position.

If they came over, Evan Pierce’s body would definitely be discovered.

If it were someone unimportant, Paige wouldn’t mind taking care of them. They were Shawn Monroe and Nora Lowell’s trusted followers anyway; one less would mean their strength was diminished.

But this person was different.

Her thoughts raced, and she immediately thought of her space.

’The Stillspace can’t store living beings, but a corpse shouldn’t count, right?’

She mobilized her spiritual power. Her head swam for a moment, but when she came to and looked at the ground again, it was empty.

Paige Summers let out a soft sigh of relief.

’Storing something borderline like that in the space really is a strain.’

With complicated feelings, she walked out from the bushes and came face-to-face with the person approaching.

"Paige Summers, what are you doing here?"

Paige Summers gave a faint, bitter smile. "Boss... Long time no see."

The "Boss" she spoke of could be none other than Woody Warren.

"Boss, why did you leave The Dead City to come here?" Before she left, she had specifically asked Martin Warren to look after him. Even though The Dead City had a new City Lord and Nora Lowell was an enemy on the run, with Martin Warren around, surely he wouldn’t have been implicated to the point where he couldn’t stay...

Woody Warren’s expression was conflicted. He hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I came with Nora. Are... are you here to deal with her?"

Paige Summers opened her mouth. She felt she should explain.

She had never intentionally targeted Nora Lowell.

It was just that circumstances and their different personal choices always seemed to push them in opposite directions.

’...If you really get down to it, Nora Lowell was the one who came after me first.’

But she didn’t get a chance to say anything.

Because Woody Warren quickly frowned and said in a gruff voice, "You smell of blood. Evan Pierce... Did you kill him?"

His latently hostile tone extinguished any thought she had of explaining. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Her eyes dimmed. After a long silence, she finally looked at him calmly. "I was planning to kill him... So, are you going to try and stop me?"

He would surely relay this ambiguous statement to Nora Lowell, and how they chose to interpret it would be their business. But after these words, she and the Boss would probably never be able to go back to the way they were.

No, she had been naive.

She should have understood from the moment Nora Lowell appeared. The blood tie between Nora and Woody Warren was unbreakable.

At his core, Woody Warren was a man of deep feeling. He could help her, a complete stranger, without regard for the danger. How could he not do the same, and more, for his own family?

’No matter what Nora Lowell did, in his heart, she would never be in the wrong. The fault would always lie with someone else...’

It was just that Woody Warren had been too good to her, causing her to unconsciously hold on to some expectation.

That was why she felt so hurt and disappointed now, so utterly melancholic.

Thinking back, when she had entrusted Martin Warren with that task, perhaps she had subconsciously been trying to avoid this very scene. She had wanted Woody Warren to stay in The Dead City. That way, the Boss who had once cared for, looked after, and helped her—the man who had let her experience a hint of fatherly love—wouldn’t be standing on Nora Lowell’s side, opposing her.

But in the end, she had failed.

’Then... so be it.’

’I have to let go of this pointless greed.’

’Whatever the relationship, affection has to be given willingly. You can’t force it!’

Her gaze hardened. Woody Warren said nothing, merely tightening his grip on the blade in his hand.

CLANG! With a clash of metal on metal, Paige Summers and Woody Warren met each other’s charge almost simultaneously, trading a solid blow.

Paige’s strength was considerable, and Woody’s blade was immediately nicked.

He gritted his teeth, about to press the attack.

But Paige suddenly put force into her sword, twisting it to wrench his blade from his grasp and send it flying. In the same motion, she pointed her Short Sword at his chest.

Woody Warren was stunned.

The young girl who had been merely a First Order Superpower User when they first met had, in such a short time, grown to an unbelievable level of strength.

He had to admit it—he was no match for her at all.

His face turned grim with humiliation.

Paige, however, expressionlessly retracted her sword with a reverse grip. When she thrust it out again, the pommel struck him squarely in the stomach, making him stagger back two steps and fall to the ground.

The blow wasn’t light, but it wasn’t heavy either.

It was just enough to temporarily incapacitate him.

Paige didn’t look at his expression again. She simply placed the Short Sword on the ground at her feet, turned, and quickly left.

Behind her, Woody Warren struggled through the pain to pick up the sword, his eyes filled with sorrow.

He would never forget that he had given this to Paige when she first joined the Hunting Party.

Now, everything had changed.

He didn’t want things to be this way, but the grievances Nora had suffered during that mission in The Dead City weren’t fake.

’Paige is already a High-level Superpower User, so why does she have to be jealous and frame her?!’

’She knows full well that Nora is my only family!’

As the pain subsided slightly, he propped himself up with difficulty and started walking back toward their quarters.

Nora and the others should be back soon; they might run into Paige on the way. ’But with Shawn Monroe there, Nora shouldn’t be at a disadvantage.’ Thinking this, he still couldn’t help but call over his two men, who had returned empty-handed, to head in the direction Paige had disappeared.

It was just as the old saying goes: enemies are bound to cross paths.

Because she had been delayed for quite some time, Paige ran right into Shawn Monroe and his group on her way back.

Nora Lowell, however, was not among them.

Besides Shawn Monroe, the others were all familiar faces: Jayden Yeats, Quentin Sutton, Nola...

Paige was in a foul mood and poor state. Not wanting to get entangled, she immediately drew her Crossbow and aimed it at Shawn Monroe.

Shawn Monroe, however, raised his hands, signaling that he meant no harm.

Paige found this completely baffling.

It was the same last time. Logically speaking, back in The Dead City, she had always been seen as one of Marcus Monroe’s people. Shouldn’t he hate her, since Marcus had forced him to flee in disgrace?

"Can we talk? I’m being very sincere!" Shawn Monroe said.

The arrogance he’d displayed in The Dead City was completely gone, replaced by a gloomy aura that Paige disliked. She refused to lower her crossbow, but still asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Shawn Monroe smiled. "Why must things be so hostile every time we meet? It’s true that Marcus Monroe and I don’t get along, but I don’t recall ever offending you. In fact, if I remember correctly, I even saved you once! For the sake of the man who saved your life, we can at least talk peacefully."

He had indeed saved her, but it was also true that his intentions had been anything but good. She didn’t have amnesia; she hadn’t forgotten that he had tried to force himself on her!

Her gaze swept over the three people behind him.

Aside from Jayden Yeats’s usual expressionless face, the other two looked rather conflicted.

Paige Summers suddenly smiled. "Alright, then. Let’s talk."

Her actions, however, were the complete opposite of her words. She instantly fired several crossbow arrows straight at their chests!