Paige Summers dazedly followed the group. After an inspection and paying a certain number of Crystal Cores, they entered Glimmerlake Base as outside Hunters.

Marcus Monroe and his team, however, weren’t surprised. From the very beginning, they hadn’t fully believed Leanne Walsh. Even though the various strange phenomena at Dawnbringer Base had confirmed the possibility of a Beast Tide, they had only taken the timeline Leanne Walsh provided as a rough guide.

Paige Summers was different.

Combining her original body’s memories with Leanne Walsh’s actions, she had almost subconsciously assumed that the base had already been hit by the Beast Tide by the time they arrived.

But as she walked down the street—disorderly and lined with crude buildings, yet bustling with people—Paige Summers suddenly broke into a smile that was hard to tell if it was born of joy or worry.

’I really am a fool!’

’The plot has already changed so much, so what’s so strange about one more deviation?’

’This... should be a good thing, right?’

As her thoughts ran wild, Marcus Monroe had already led everyone to a hotel specifically for Hunters.

It was called a hotel, but it was worlds apart from those before the apocalypse—extremely rudimentary. The rooms only had the most basic facilities like beds and tables, and only one of them had a private bathroom.

But at this point, nobody cared about such things.

The situation was different from what they had planned; they had to make adjustments on the fly.

Gathered in one room, Marcus Monroe began assigning tasks one by one.

Shawn Monroe and the others should be arriving soon, so Isaac Langley would go near the base entrance to watch for them. Martin Warren would take a few people to scout outside for any news about the Beast Tide. Howard Everett was to find a way to connect with key personnel in the base and, at the very least, figure out the Base Chief’s movements. As for Marcus himself, he would take a team to the location where the supplies were stored.

Paige Summers couldn’t help but be impressed. Even though he had been just as uninformed as she was, he had quickly and thoroughly thought through every aspect of the new situation.

’Compared to him, I’m still too green!’

However, to follow her assignment, she had no choice but to take Erin Quinn by the hand and head out with Marcus Monroe.

Posing as a family of three to case the joint in preparation for the upcoming robbery... this mission truly made her feel awkward!

’I used to be a law-abiding citizen!’

Fortunately, according to Leanne Walsh, the Base Chief had used his position to hoard these supplies for himself. For him to dare to abuse his power for personal gain at a time like this, Paige Summers felt basically no guilt about robbing him blind.

Glimmerlake Base was a bit larger than Dawnbringer Base and was divided into an Inner City and an Outer City.

The buildings in the Inner City were clearly sturdy, the streets were neat, and the people coming and going seemed to be in good spirits. Walking among them, Paige Summers felt it was much, much better than being in The Dead City. It wasn’t like the Lower District, where you’d feel covetous gazes from all directions, nor was it like the Middle District, which was mostly residential with every door and window tightly shut.

How to put it... the people here seemed to be living ordinary lives.

It was a truly precious feeling.

However, the moment they stepped out of the Inner City and into the Outer City, the difference was immediately palpable.

On the messy streets, it was difficult to find even one person with clean, intact clothing.

People gathered in groups of three or five in every corner, looking like they were plotting something. As the trio walked past, they were met with drooling, greedy stares. If not for the pressure from Marcus Monroe, a High-level Superpower User, which made them realize he wasn’t someone to be trifled with, these people would have likely swarmed them.

Paige Summers silently withdrew her gaze.

’Just a single wall separates them, yet their living conditions are worlds apart...’

"It should be over there," Marcus Monroe said softly after they had walked for a while, his expression unchanging.

The spot was some distance from the main streets of the Outer City. It was very remote, with several abandoned warehouses. It was sparsely populated and extremely desolate.

It wasn’t without reason that the Base Chief had chosen to hide the supplies here.

They were still several hundred meters away from the warehouses when two young men stopped them. Their expressions were fierce; one look was enough to tell they were not to be messed with.

"This is Flying Eagle’s territory up ahead. No one else is allowed to enter!"

Perhaps because they were wary of Marcus Monroe, they didn’t make any excessive moves, merely holding out their arms to block the way. But their eyes were filled with vigilance, and their bodies were poised to fight at a moment’s notice.

Paige Summers blinked, quickly putting on a frightened act. She tugged on Marcus Monroe’s sleeve. "Let’s go back. There’s really nothing to see here. Look, there’s no one around, which means we shouldn’t be here. Let’s just go back to the Inner City!"

Marcus Monroe glanced at her and then at Erin Quinn, whose acting was even more impressive as she was already hugging Paige’s leg and trembling. He seemed to let out a faint sigh and nodded.

The moment they turned to leave, Paige Summers could feel the two men behind them staring intently.

A smile touched her lips.

’If he hid the supplies in the Inner City, no matter how concealed, it would likely attract unwanted attention. But the Outer City is different. Most importantly, he found a group of skilled guards who look like a civilian organization to watch over it. The security level is definitely much higher this way!’

Once they had walked to a deserted area, Paige Summers suddenly spoke up. "Do you think the supplies are in there?"

"Nine times out of ten."

"Yeah, I got that feeling too." A somewhat nostalgic look appeared in Paige Summers’ eyes. She didn’t know how Marcus Monroe could tell, but from her own observation, those two men had likely been trained by regular soldiers. Regardless of their superpowers, their combat skills were definitely top-notch. In other words, the person who trained them was by no means simple; they were very likely a top-tier special forces operative.

In her past life, she had dealt with soldiers a lot because she made weapons. So, seeing the posture of those two, she could guess that their master was likely training them as if they were his own subordinates.

’Logically speaking, we only stumbled upon the place by accident. Even if the guards suspected we had other intentions, there was no need to be so vigilant and tense. Unless... they were hiding a huge secret behind them.’

’In this day and age, what could be so important besides supplies?’

Back on the main street, Marcus Monroe used his gaze to ward off the malicious stares. "Since we’ve confirmed it, let’s head back and see how the others are doing. The sooner we can make a decision, the better."

Paige Summers nodded and picked up Erin Quinn.

The little girl gave her a slight nod.

She smiled faintly and quickened her pace.

Their mission had gone so smoothly that by the time they got back to the hotel, the others hadn’t returned yet. Marcus Monroe considerately went to the adjacent room, letting them use the only room with a bathroom to wash up first.

"The supplies are definitely in those warehouses."

The woman and the little girl entered the bathroom, and only after confirming there were no surveillance devices did they speak freely.

Paige Summers hummed in agreement. Seeing that Erin Quinn was having a hard time with her messy hair, she had to step in and help.

Erin Quinn closed her eyes, letting Paige wet her hair and gently massage it. It felt so good she almost sighed out loud, but at the same time, her heart ached with a bittersweet feeling.

Ever since her mother was gone, she had always taken care of herself.

It had been a long, long time since anyone had washed her hair for her.

"Do you know which warehouse it is?"

"No. They thought the stone-faced guy was really strong and suspected he was after the supplies, so they were too busy thinking about how to deal with him if a fight broke out. They didn’t have time to think about anything else."

Paige Summers chuckled. "Actually, the best thing Marcus Monroe could have done was wait here and only show up when it’s time to actually grab the supplies. He’s really not cut out for reconnaissance!"

Erin Quinn was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Big Sis, are we leaving as soon as we get the supplies? Do the people in this base not know about the Beast Tide?"

Hearing this, Paige Summers’s movements gradually slowed.

"Big Sis?"

Paige Summers sighed. "On the way back, I was thinking... there’s actually a better option than just robbing them of the supplies. It’s just a bit more troublesome, and I don’t know if Marcus Monroe will agree..."

Erin Quinn pouted. "If it’s a better option, why wouldn’t he agree?" ’Alright, fine, I don’t like that stone-faced guy at all,’ she thought. ’If he doesn’t do what Paige says, then... oh, right! I could sell his team members’ secrets to their enemies, like those people we saw the other night. I could probably get a good price for it, and it would definitely make him regret it for the rest of his life!’

Completely unaware of the thoughts swirling in Erin’s mind, Paige Summers just smiled.

’Whether he agrees or not, I feel like I have to try and persuade him,’ she thought. ’But I should wait for the others to get back first and see what kind of information they’ve gathered.’