Originally, Vanessa had planned to use Parker and his men to deal with Wendy, but she never expected them to back down so quickly.

They had only failed twice before completely giving up.

Vanessa understood clearly that if she brought it up again, Parker would refuse her. Worse, he might even start suspecting her motives.

She wasn’t willing to take that risk.

Of course, if she revealed Wendy’s storage space, there was a good chance Parker would be tempted enough to try again.

A storage space. Who wouldn’t be tempted by something like that?

But Vanessa didn’t want to share.

If only one person could possess that kind of ability between herself and Parker, she would choose herself without hesitation.

So she decided to gamble.

If she managed to kill Wendy, not only could she avenge her parents, she could also seize Wendy’s storage space for herself.

And she was certain there were still massive amounts of supplies hidden inside it.

With the storage space and those supplies, she would survive the apocalypse far more comfortably.

She would never have to rely on anyone ever again.

The thought hardened her resolve.

At worst, she would die.

So while Parker wasn’t paying attention, she secretly took one of the speedboats and slipped away, intending to ambush Wendy nearby.

And her luck turned out surprisingly good.

Not long after leaving, she ran directly into Wendy on her way back.

Without hesitation, Vanessa rammed her boat headfirst into Wendy’s.

"Die!"

Even though the dagger had been knocked aside once already, Vanessa reacted quickly and lunged again. But this time, she was a fraction too slow.

A wooden board suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Wendy’s hands, perfectly blocking the attack.

Vanessa’s knife slammed deep into the board with terrifying force. The blade embedded so firmly that she couldn’t pull it free immediately.

Wendy instantly retreated, widening the distance between them, cold sweat soaking through her back.

The knife had pierced straight through the wood. The tip had stopped mere inches from her eye.

Only then did Wendy realize just how vicious Vanessa truly was. The woman had attacked with the clear intent to kill from the very beginning.

"Vanessa, are you insane?!" Wendy screamed.

She threw aside the wooden board and yanked a canister of pepper spray from her storage space, glaring at Vanessa with murderous hatred burning in her eyes.

She was absolutely going to kill this woman.

Last time, Vanessa had simply gotten lucky by not being there. Otherwise, Wendy would have dealt with her along with the others already.

"So what if I am?"

Vanessa’s killing intent was no weaker. There was even a trace of exhilaration in her expression.

"Hah...Wendy, you really do have a storage space!"

Although Vanessa had already suspected it, seeing it with her own eyes was entirely different. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Watching a wooden shield materialize out of thin air right in front of Wendy made her whole body tremble with excitement.

It was unbelievable. Something this miraculous should belong to her.

The greed and hostility in Vanessa’s eyes deepened further. She pulled out a spare knife and advanced step by step.

"You stole all the food from the house, didn’t you?"

"What are you talking about?!" Wendy snapped while staying on guard. At the same time, she quietly drew a short blade from her storage space behind her back.

"How is it stealing when those supplies were mine to begin with?"

She refused to let Vanessa slander her.

Every bit of the Kale family’s stockpile had been prepared by her. Even if she took everything away, she had every right to do so.

"Yours? Bullshit!" Vanessa shouted viciously. "You stole it all! You took every last supply and left the rest of us without food!"

Her eyes blazed with hatred as she glared at Wendy.

"Stop acting shameless. Your whole family was the real parasites. You barged into our home first and lived off us for free!" Wendy shouted furiously.

Vanessa’s face shifted between pale and livid.

Wendy noticed her chest heaving violently. Her emotions were peaking, exactly the opening she had been waiting for.

Without hesitation, she raised the pepper spray canister and blasted it directly at Vanessa.

A cloud of red mist burst from the nozzle and spread through the air.

"Ugh...you...!"

Realizing something was wrong, Vanessa immediately tried to retreat, but despite reacting quickly, she was still too late.

The irritating spray had already drifted into her nose.

"Cough...cough...ah-choo!"

Vanessa clamped a hand over her face as the capsaicin burned through her sinuses. Sneezes erupted uncontrollably, one after another, while tears streamed from her reddening eyes.

"You bitch...playing dirty tricks..." Vanessa hissed through gritted teeth.

"So what?" Wendy sneered smugly.

Vanessa’s jaw tightened.

The burning sensation in her eyes and nose was becoming unbearable, sharp pain gradually replacing the initial irritation.

No. She couldn’t let this continue. If she lost control now, Wendy would definitely kill her.

Forcing herself to endure the agony, Vanessa lunged forward again with sudden explosive speed, moving with desperate ferocity.

The speedboat wasn’t large to begin with. Wendy had nowhere to dodge.

Vanessa grabbed her wrist.

With a vicious yank, she dragged Wendy toward herself while driving the knife downward at the same time.

"AHHH!!"

Wendy’s scream tore through the air.

The blade plunged straight into her thigh. The pain hit like lightning.

Wendy’s face twisted violently, her body trembling uncontrollably. Someone who feared even getting injections could hardly endure this kind of agony.

For a moment, the sheer pain nearly made her forget how to fight back at all.

But Vanessa wasn’t faring much better.

Her vision had become blurry from tears. Her eyes burned so fiercely it felt as though someone had rubbed crushed chilies directly into them.

She could barely see anymore. And all of this was Wendy’s fault.

Hatred surged through her.

Grinding her teeth, Vanessa prepared to finish things once and for all. She ripped the dagger free, blood spraying across the deck in a crimson arc.

This time, the knife aimed straight for Wendy’s throat.

"Hahaha...Wendy...go to hell!"

Vanessa’s laughter bordered on madness as she thrust the dagger forward with every ounce of strength she had left.

She was certain this strike would pierce straight through Wendy’s neck.

But just as the blade was about to touch her skin, something bizarre happened.

The knife... stopped.