Chapter 23: Chapter 23: None of Your Business? Who Do You Think You Are?

Watching from a distance, Sue Lawrence felt the corner of her mouth twitch.

’Those three are cautious to a fault. They already have a photo, but they still have to call. Just how paranoid are they about me?’

The phone in her pocket lit up right on cue. She quickly ducked behind cover to answer, deliberately making her tone harsh. "Jason Sterling, what the hell are you doing now?"

Jason Sterling clutched his phone, listening intently. The line was perfectly quiet, without a hint of background noise. He pressed in a low voice, "Where are you?"

"Where I am is none of your damn business. Who the hell do you think you are?" Sue Lawrence retorted, pulling out a second phone as she spoke.

It was one she’d swiped from the private detective. She opened a pre-saved recording labeled "Son," and a soft, sweet child’s voice immediately drifted out. "Mommy..."

She responded casually, "Be a good boy, Leo. Mommy’s on the phone. I’ll play with you in a little bit."

The moment she finished speaking, the call disconnected. Her phone screen went black.

Sue Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, that fooled them. With a call like this, the shorter, the better. Less chance of giving myself away.’

She glanced up again and, just as she’d expected, saw Jason Sterling waving his phone at Tiana Lynch. "You heard that, right?" he said with conviction. "She’s at home with that little brat. Where could she possibly go? It was dead quiet on her end. She definitely hasn’t left the house."

Only then did Tiana Lynch finally relax, a smile spreading across her face. "Good. Let’s get on board!"

Jason Sterling turned to instruct Maeve Walsh. "Maeve, you go get the fuel first. The Zenith is in the cargo hold. Just mention my name to pick up the vehicle. We’ll wait for you on deck."

They had originally planned to go together, but the sight of Maeve Walsh’s face disgusted them, so they sent her off on her own. Besides, they were on the ship; it wasn’t like she’d be in any danger.

"No problem!" Maeve Walsh beamed, her eyes crinkling into slits. She spun around excitedly and headed for the ship’s interior.

Sue Lawrence glanced their way and quickly followed.

Even with the tall ship’s surveillance cameras out of commission, she wasn’t foolish enough to use the gangway—that would be an open invitation for discovery. But she could use a Skill: either scale the hull or simply leap straight up.

Sue Lawrence chose the latter. Picking a secluded corner, she first scanned the deck with her Perception. After confirming it was empty, she pushed off the ground, vaulting onto the ship in a single leap. She landed in an empty space between stacked supplies. It was completely quiet, not a soul in sight.

Keeping her Perception active, she preemptively avoided the ship’s crew, moving swiftly toward the fuel storage room. Before long, she spotted Maeve Walsh’s back in a corridor inside the ship.

Maeve Walsh was walking in such a hurry that she didn’t even turn her head at the sound of footsteps behind her. In her mind, everyone on the ship was crew. Who else could it be? It certainly couldn’t be that useless Sue Lawrence.

Little did she know that Sue Lawrence was just a few paces behind her, her expression serene. When they passed crew members, Sue would even nod and greet them.

The crew members were a bit curious, but having heard that guests were boarding today, they saw her calm and composed demeanor and thought nothing of it, allowing her to follow Maeve Walsh all the way into the ship’s interior.

Sue Lawrence didn’t follow her into the fuel bay, waiting quietly around the corner instead.

Maeve Walsh had a Storage Space. She would surely fill it to the brim with fuel before coming out. Sue had all the patience in the world.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Maeve Walsh emerged from the fuel bay and hurried toward the cargo hold. Her objective was clear: the Paramount Raider.

’Excellent.’

Sue Lawrence smiled and continued to follow.

Sue Lawrence followed from a distance. When she saw guards at the cargo hold entrance checking identities, she retreated to a safe spot and waited.

Maeve Walsh got into the cargo hold without a hitch. The moment she laid eyes on the domineering off-road vehicle, a smile of both satisfaction and fanaticism spread across her face.

’In her past life, during the apocalypse, they’d lacked food and clothing, didn’t even have a decent car. They were constantly on the run from zombies, hiding wherever they could, and suffered immensely. But now things were different. She was reborn. She’d gotten rid of that dead weight Sue Lawrence, stockpiled her space full of supplies, and now she had this king of off-road vehicles—a 15-ton beast. Who cares if she runs into a zombie horde? She’ll just plow right through them!’

The more Maeve Walsh thought about it, the more excited she became. Her fingertips trembled, and she was still smiling as she signed the vehicle release form.

As soon as the staff member left, she immediately activated her Space Ability, absorbing the entire Zenith. In high spirits, she turned and headed for the deck, humming a little tune.

She was going to meet up with Jason Sterling and Tiana Lynch, and then head back to their little base.

’Oh, right! Donovan Lawrence said he’d stockpiled a ton of supplies in the mine, too. With that, plus everything in my space... forget just surviving the apocalypse, we’ll have enough to last until the end of time!’

The more Maeve Walsh thought about it, the smugger she became, her steps growing lighter. She was completely unaware of the cold shadow silently closing in from behind, its eyes—fixed on her back—as frigid as ice.

She still remembered their first meeting.

It had been a moonless midnight in a remote alley. Several men were dragging Maeve Walsh into the shadows. Her stifled gasps and muffled sobs echoed through the lane. Passersby either pretended not to see or hurried away. Only she had grabbed a club from the roadside, switched on her phone’s flashlight, and charged in, swinging and shouting, "Police! Everybody freeze!"

The thugs fled in a panic. When she got closer, she saw that Maeve Walsh had a bloody gash on her head, her pants were pulled down to her knees, her body was covered in wounds, and her breathing was faint. She had used every ounce of her strength to get Maeve to the hospital. The doctor said if she’d been a moment later, Maeve would have bled to death.

When Maeve Walsh woke up, she knelt by the hospital bed and kowtowed, crying that she would spend the rest of her life repaying her kindness, calling her a life-saving benefactor.

But that "repayment" came the moment the zombie horde arrived, when, catching her off guard, Maeve had viciously stabbed a knife through her lung.

At that moment, Maeve Walsh’s face held not a shred of gratitude, only savage indifference. She had leaned close to her ear and whispered, "You saved me from those rapists back then. How about you save me one more time?"

Back then, she hadn’t even had the strength to reply, able only to watch in cold despair as her own blood stained the ground.

’This time, her answer was: The karmic debt isn’t settled yet, kid. First, you repay your benefactor.’

Sue Lawrence followed at an unhurried pace, subtly adjusting the force in her steps, yet her speed increased bit by bit.

Her footsteps remained steady, making not a single sound on the cold metal floor. Only her aura carried a hint of chill, growing colder as the distance between them closed.

Her professional kickboxing Skill activated. An explosive power surged through her muscles and sinews, and her senses were magnified to their limits.

Five meters, four meters, three meters...

When the distance closed to just a few feet, Sue Lawrence’s Eye of Barrier Breaking clearly saw the line of light blue text floating above Maeve Walsh’s head.

[Superpower: Space Storage (A Level)]

[Skill: 10,000 cubic meter Storage Space. Can store non-living objects. No time limit. Free deposit and withdrawal.]

’It’s a Storage Space, and an A Level one at that!’

Sue Lawrence’s eyes darkened, and she suddenly took a step forward!