Military Command is preparing to send some elite Superpower Users.

But there won’t be too many of them, as the defense of Central City is more important.

So, The Government has decided to recruit a group of Superpower Users from the Hunting Squads to supplement their forces.

"That’s the official story, anyway. But this group is being recruited by The Central Government, which means their pay will come from The Government, and they must accept its leadership. To manage them, The Government has even dispatched important officials. You can see things aren’t that simple. In other words, The Government doesn’t fully trust Military Command. They’re looking for people to keep them in check!"

Paige Summers raised an eyebrow. "Using a ragtag bunch of freelancers to keep the regular army in check? Are you sure they’re not just looking for cannon fodder?"

Claire Chapman shook his head. "The Government and Military Command are not on good terms. It’s said that many in the previous Central Government administration were groomed by Military Command’s top brass, so they were content to be controlled. But this administration has several members who rose from the common people, and they refuse to accept a situation where Military Command holds all the power. This time, they want to use this as an opportunity to win over the Hunting Parties and hopefully establish their own armed forces. So, they won’t be cannon fodder."

"Are you trying to use this opportunity to get Bloodfall on The Central Government’s radar?"

"You could put it that way. The opportunities for a Hunting Party are too limited. I think we should be setting our sights much higher. The Central Government is at a disadvantage right now, but from a historical perspective, Military Command can’t remain dominant forever. Sooner or later, The Government will gain more power. At the very least, a system of checks and balances will be established. And before that happens, this is our chance to get in on the ground floor!"

Paige Summers’s expression grew serious.

What Claire Chapman said made sense.

She had heard similar things from Blake Morrison.

As it stood, Military Command was indeed too powerful.

In the long run, such a situation wasn’t conducive to the country’s development.

A country can’t have only one voice, especially not from a military wielding immense power. That could easily lead to the rise of warlords.

It was only natural for The Government to want to assert its power.

But that would take time.

The path Claire Chapman had chosen was nothing short of a gamble. If he won, Bloodfall could become part of the core of The Government’s armed forces. If he lost, they would all have to scatter and flee for their lives—if they were even lucky enough to get away...

It was incredibly dangerous.

Of course, things hadn’t reached that critical stage just yet.

She collected her thoughts, then said slowly, "It’s a possibility, but let’s not make any rash decisions. To be safe, we should adopt a wait-and-see approach. Most of the Hunting Parties won’t know the full story, so we don’t have to either. We’ll just treat it like any other mission." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Claire Chapman nodded in agreement. "That’s exactly what I was thinking."

He’d learned all this from a friend he had who worked for The Government. The friend had revealed far less, focusing mostly on the mission details, but Claire had pieced together the real reasons from the subtle clues. Now, with Paige Summers’s indirect confirmation, he felt even more certain.

Paige Summers let out a breath and told him why she had come looking for him in the first place.

Claire Chapman clapped his hands and grinned. "That’s perfect! We have to leave the city anyway, so there’s no conflict at all."

Paige Summers complained internally. ’What do you know? I didn’t even want to bring my own Hunting Party, and now you’ve blown it up into this huge operation. How is that not a conflict?’

Still, she couldn’t rest easy letting Claire Chapman handle this all by himself.

After thinking it over, she realized all they could do was be as careful as possible.

This trip was bound to be a long one. She should be able to find an opportunity along the way.

But that brought up a new set of problems to consider.

First and foremost was the safety of Levi Young and Nadia.

If they were going to be gone for a long time, leaving those two alone in Central City was out of the question.

Nadia had said the people who were tracking her hadn’t shown up recently, but what if they appeared the moment she and Claire were gone?

They couldn’t gamble with something like this or rely on luck. They needed a comprehensive plan.

Claire Chapman was quite direct about it. "We’ll ask Marcus Monroe! From my personal observation, he’s very reliable. Entrusting this to him should be no problem!"

Paige Summers’s lip twitched. "You sure don’t hold back. Really making yourself at home, aren’t you?"

Claire Chapman froze for a second, then broke into a wicked grin. "No, no, no, I’m the outsider. Of course I’m the outsider. *You two* are the insiders!"

His words made Paige Summers blush on the spot. She landed a swift kick on his leg and stormed off in a huff.

Watching her retreating figure, Claire Chapman knew she must be off to find Marcus Monroe. He couldn’t help but smack himself on the head and let out a low sigh.

’Such complicated feelings!’

He’d once had a bit of a thing for Paige Summers.

But unfortunately, the moment Marcus Monroe appeared on the scene, all his hopes were dashed.

He knew, in his heart, that he could never treat Paige Summers the way Marcus Monroe did.

Waiting for her, watching over her, protecting her... even putting off his own needs to help her with what she wanted first...

’Damn it, that’s the textbook definition of a loyal puppy!’

Of course, what ultimately made him give up completely was Paige Summers’s attitude toward him.

’She felt absolutely no spark for him!’

’She went straight to treating him like a good buddy...’

So, that was that.

’But... whatever. Being buddies isn’t so bad!’

At least he knew that Paige Summers was the most dependable kind of friend a guy could have.

The kind you could trust to have your back!

He ran a hand through his hair, gave up thinking about it, and headed straight for the bathroom.

While he had sorted things out, Paige Summers wasn’t having such an easy time.

Because Marcus Monroe had stated in no uncertain terms that leaving the city without him was impossible.

Paige Summers immediately felt a headache coming on.

She wasn’t particularly good with words, and right now, she had no idea what she could possibly say to convince Marcus Monroe.

Besides, he was under no obligation to her.

’Even as friends, I can’t just force him to help...’

But the safety of Andy and Nadia was critically important, and she wouldn’t feel at ease entrusting them to anyone else!

Lost in thought, a troubled expression spread across her face.