’But...’ A faint smile touched her lips.

Shawn Monroe was, after all, the Young City Lord of The Dead City. He was quite capable.

This arrangement, for example...

’And he trusts me a great deal.’

Compared to the hard-to-approach Marcus Monroe, the proactive Shawn Monroe was clearly a more suitable partner for cooperation.

With a hint of regret, she finally made up her mind.

’For now, this is enough.’

While they were lost in their own thoughts, things were far from calm on Paige Summers’s side.

Of course, it wasn’t because of those two women. Rather, events had unfolded mostly as she had predicted: both sides were here for the supplies and were unwilling to waste their strength on a meaningless fight. So, she took Erin Quinn back and prepared to get some proper rest.

It wasn’t the right time to ask about Leanne Walsh, so she could only put it off.

But unexpectedly, as Erin Quinn nestled in her arms, she suddenly tugged on her and whispered, so softly only the two of them could hear, "The man who was just talking to stone-face isn’t the real person! And he’s really scared right now, afraid that stone-face will see through his disguise."

’An imposter?!’

Paige Summers took a moment to process this before looking down in disbelief at the little one in her arms.

Erin Quinn, however, mistook her silence for disbelief and quickly added, "It’s true! The dark-skinned man next to him knows too! He was just thinking, ’This guy’s not bad. Not only can he use his superpower to transform into the Young City Lord’s appearance, but he’s also managed to mimic his voice and tone pretty well.’ He thinks stone-face and his group don’t know the real person well enough, so they probably won’t find out. But, he’s considering whether he should take the risk and kill us all if they get exposed!"

Hearing this, Paige Summers snapped out of her initial surprise. She let out a quiet breath. "I understand. Say no more. Get some rest now. For the time being, let’s pretend we don’t know anything about this."

As she said this, she mused internally, ’This is actually good news.’

’This way, Marcus Monroe’s chances of getting the supplies are even higher!’

But on second thought, she felt even more annoyed.

However, her decision to let her anger settle overnight was the right one.

By the next day, just as dawn was breaking, Marcus Monroe led his people and set off, completely ignoring whatever Shawn Monroe’s group was doing. Paige Summers found that her earlier irritability had been replaced by reason.

So, when they took a break midway and Marcus Monroe approached her to talk, she appeared quite calm.

"I’m sorry, about the matter with Leanne Walsh..."

Paige Summers was silent for a moment before saying, "Are you afraid of tipping them off?"

"Yes. If we really make a big deal out of it, the City Lord will definitely hear about it. At that point, Shawn Monroe won’t be able to hoard the supplies for himself and will certainly use The Dead City’s resources, like airplanes. If that happens, he’ll have a huge time advantage. We could very well end up doing all the work for someone else’s benefit."

He spoke frankly, but Paige Summers was taken aback.

’Wow, there’s a lot to unpack there.’

’It seems he’s not just on bad terms with Shawn Monroe, but he and his father, City Lord Graham Monroe, also operate independently of each other. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said something about doing the work for someone else’s benefit.’

Seeing she was lost in thought, Marcus Monroe continued, "Once this is over, I will definitely deliver Leanne Walsh to you. Also, regarding these supplies, you’ve contributed the most, so..."

"There’s no need." Paige Summers cut him off, having already made a decision. "I’m talking about Leanne Walsh. I’ve thought about it, and I’ll deal with her myself. As for the distribution of the supplies..." She looked up and met the man’s gaze directly. "I want twenty percent as my payment."

Twenty percent. It wasn’t a lot, but it wasn’t a little either. She considered it payment for the information and compensation for him breaking his promise. Paige Summers didn’t think it was an excessive demand.

Marcus Monroe was silent for a moment, then readily agreed.

It was just that he felt a bit conflicted.

He should be happy, right? The girl was acting so calm, so magnanimous. But in other words, this also meant she only saw him as an ordinary partner.

He had noticed her anger last night.

He thought he would have to spend some time today placating her, but unexpectedly, all his prepared speeches were useless. Her manner was so seasoned and decisive, hardly what you’d expect from someone her age.

He really should be happy.

But the thought that he was nothing more than that in her eyes filled him with an indescribable sense of loss.

He was becoming... a little unlike himself...

He took a deep breath and shook off the momentary wavering. ’After all, now is not the time for idle fantasies!’

Just then, Paige Summers spoke up. "Since Young Master Monroe is being so generous, I’ll throw in another piece of information for free. The Shawn Monroe we met isn’t the real Shawn Monroe. He’s an imposter. I don’t know his actual strength, but it should be far less than the real Shawn’s. So, it shouldn’t be too difficult for us to get the supplies."

Marcus Monroe’s head snapped up. Even someone as composed as him couldn’t help but be visibly moved. "An imposter??"

Paige Summers nodded. "It’s probably a type of superpower. But while he can fake his appearance, build, and voice, he can’t fake his superpower. If you don’t believe me, you’ll know for sure if a conflict breaks out later. One test is all it’ll take."

"No..." Marcus Monroe’s expression hardened, his serious demeanor returning. "I believe you."

He had already been suspicious, but the idea of someone transforming into another person... that kind of superpower was too rare, so it hadn’t occurred to him. After Paige Summers pointed it out, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He was more than ninety percent certain that was the case!

Once they were back on the road, Marcus Monroe felt even more confident about the trip.

After more than a day of forced marching, they finally reached the outskirts of Glimmerlake Base on schedule in the afternoon of the fifth day.

But the closer she got, the more Paige Summers felt that something was strange.

’Something’s wrong. Not only is there no smell of blood in the air, but from the outside, Glimmerlake Base looks completely unscathed. It doesn’t look like it’s been through a Beast Tide at all!’

’Could it be that things have taken a major, unexpected turn?!’