Chapter 201: Chapter 127: Scheme Within a Scheme (2)

Nora Lowell fell silent, deep in thought.

’It’s not impossible, now that I think about it.’

She had never met the five assassins, but according to the files, they were extremely professional, vicious, and incredibly united. If Paige Summers had killed one of them to save her own life, the others would have undoubtedly fought her to the death.

Thinking about it that way, the whole thing made sense.

However, the fact that Paige Summers’s power had reached such a level filled her with resentment and strengthened her resolve to avoid a direct confrontation.

And if not a direct confrontation, then she would have to use other methods.

She snapped her head up and looked at Woody Warren. "In that case, let’s move on to the next phase of the plan!"

"Alright."

A complicated look flickered in Woody Warren’s eyes, but it was ultimately dominated by hatred.

Ever since the day his three old friends, who had left The Dead City with him, were murdered in their residence, he had felt a fire burning in his heart.

He had failed them, and more importantly, Paige Summers had killed them!

He had to get revenge!

So when Nora Lowell suggested they deal with Paige Summers, he had agreed without a second thought.

But now, hearing she was severely injured, he felt a strange sense of unease. The feeling was fleeting, though. The image of his dead friends appeared in his mind, and he quickly cast aside that flicker of doubt.

Not long after Paige Summers was "severely injured," more bad news came from Summers Armaments.

Someone showed up with a custom-made blade that was broken. He claimed the blade had snapped after clashing with an ordinary weapon and was vehemently demanding a refund.

He ignored the staff’s attempts to explain that the owner or a professional needed to determine the cause before they could process it. Instead, the man burst into tears, wailing that he had risked his life to save up the Crystal Cores for the blade. He thought buying a good weapon would give him a better chance of survival, but something like this happened before he even left the city to hunt. He said it was a good thing it happened now; if the blade had broken during a fight with a Mutant Beast, he would be dead! And so on and so forth...

His voice was incredibly loud, and in the blink of an eye, the commotion drew a growing crowd of onlookers from the commercial district, shopkeepers and customers alike.

After hearing his story, many in the crowd began to condemn Summers Armaments for selling shoddy goods.

Some of them were competitors, some were just uninformed bystanders, and others, still, had ulterior motives.

In any case, the scene quickly devolved into a frenzy of public outrage.

However, by the time Marcus Monroe got the call and rushed over to handle the situation, the owner of the weapon—the original troublemaker, the very person who had been loudly accusing Summers Armaments of being untrustworthy—had vanished...

If Paige Summers had been there, she probably would have just scoffed.

It was such a blatant frame-up. Who with any sense would believe it? It was just a trick to fool idiots or play into the hands of those who already harbored ill intentions.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t there.

She wasn’t at her residence, either. Instead, she was standing right in front of Sheldon Reid!

At her feet lay the corpses of the five assassins.

Thanks to special preservation, the bodies were still relatively fresh and hadn’t started to emit the stench of decay.

But their gray skin, slightly bulging eyes, and even their not-quite-rigid bodies... all contributed to the exceptionally bizarre atmosphere in the office.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Even Sheldon Reid, a man of considerable self-control, was deeply displeased to suddenly find Paige Summers and her companions presenting these corpses before him.

He had been incredibly busy lately, occupied with rebuilding the road to Norgate and establishing communication outposts. He had been single-handedly spearheading the project, and just as success was within reach, figures from The Government had begun to constantly raise objections. He had to manage the progress outside the city while simultaneously quelling dissenting voices within Central City. He was truly run off his feet.

Today, he had finally gotten a moment of peace, only to hear that Paige Summers had come to visit.

He had assumed she was coming to make a gesture of goodwill, never expecting to be confronted with a scene like this.

Facing his accusation, Paige Summers was fearless. She pulled down the hood of her cap, her expression cold, and pointed at the bodies on the floor. "I should be the one asking what *you’re* doing!"

"What do you mean?"

"Weren’t these men sent by you to kill me?" Paige Summers’s face was a mask of undisguised mockery. "You talk a good game, agreeing to let Ms. Lowell acknowledge her daughter, even magnanimously offering to let me live with the Reid Family. But behind my back, you pull a stunt like this... It’s unbelievable. As the commander of The Power Corps, how can you be so two-faced! As a descendant of a Noble House of soldiers, don’t you feel any shame?"

The Reid Family had always held themselves in high regard, and Sheldon Reid, in particular, had never been so humiliated. Rage surged through him, his eyes filled with killing intent. A chilling aura erupted from him like a drawn blade, unleashing immense pressure.

Paige Summers’s eyes flickered for a moment, but she immediately straightened her back and met his gaze unflinchingly, refusing to back down an inch.

It was obvious that Sheldon Reid’s Superpower Rank was higher than hers.

But if she backed down just because of that, she wouldn’t be Paige Summers.

After his initial burst of fury, Sheldon Reid’s rationality returned. He seized on the main point of her accusation. "You say I sent these men to kill you? Ridiculous! If I had really done it, with your strength, you wouldn’t be alive today!"

Paige Summers raised an eyebrow and smirked. "If they were all at your level, I would naturally have to admit defeat. But you must know how disgraceful this whole affair is. With your status, ordering others to do your dirty work would be effortless. Too bad your subordinates are so incompetent. The people they hired were such hacks. They underestimated me, Paige Summers!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Sheldon Reid’s expression shifted. He slowly reined in his anger and pondered for a long moment before speaking. "What evidence do you have that my subordinates were responsible?"

Paige Summers sneered. "If they had left any evidence, they wouldn’t be hacks; they’d be intentionally trying to sabotage you!" After a pause, she continued, "But it doesn’t matter if there’s evidence or not. Aren’t you just afraid I’ll be an eyesore if I join the Reid Family? Well, let me tell you today, you’re... over... thinking... things. From the very beginning, I never had any intention of getting involved with the Reid Family! From now on, you go your way, and I’ll go mine!"

"But if you send anyone after me again, don’t blame me for not saving you face. Even if it costs me my life, I will make this public. I’ll let every Noble House and every Superpower User in Central City see what kind of face the commander of The Power Corps—the very man they pay taxes to for protection—truly has!"

Firing off this barrage of words, Paige Summers didn’t give him a chance to retort. She turned on her heel and stormed out.

The way she left, it was as if she were afraid Sheldon Reid would have her silenced right then and there.

Sheldon Reid considered stopping her, but on second thought, he let her go.

He stared at the corpses on the floor. Paige Summers didn’t seem to be lying. ’Could she really just be guessing?’ No, he had to start by investigating the identities of these men.