"At this hour..." a woman’s voice muttered from inside.

Just then, Paige Summers heard footsteps. Soon, Samuel Hughes, a man who looked to be in his fifties, appeared. He was wearing only a bath towel around his waist and opened the door, asking gravely, "What’s happen—"

But before he could finish, a Short Sword was pressed against his chest.

Paige Summers, who had already pushed her way in, deftly shoved a medicine pill into his half-open mouth. Just over ten seconds later, Samuel Hughes felt his entire body go numb. His mouth, his fingers—every part of him felt as if it were bound by invisible ropes. He couldn’t move an inch, let alone summon his superpower!

Fear washed over the man. He stared in shock at the person before him.

She was wearing a guard’s uniform, but her face was clearly unfamiliar. ’Is she an assassin? What is she planning...?’ His mind raced, but he was powerless to stop her from easily shoving him to the floor and walking into the inner room.

The woman inside clearly knew the intruder wasn’t there for her, so she made no move to come out. Paige Summers walked in holding a Crossbow and fired a Crossbow Arrow before the woman could even cry out.

She quickly turned back and hauled Samuel Hughes up from the floor.

"Listen! You’ll do exactly as I say. Don’t even think about resisting, or you’ll die!"

Without waiting for a reply, she wrapped an arm around his neck, using half of his body as a shield, and dragged him out of the room.

Wearing nothing but a bath towel, dragged almost naked by a woman like an object, Samuel Hughes’s face turned ashen. He had never been so humiliated! Rage and hatred surged within him, but he was helpless against the current situation. He couldn’t even close his eyes, forced to watch the guards at the door, their faces filled with utter shock as they saw him being brought out like this.

Their stupor lasted only a moment. The guards were well-trained, after all, and they quickly gathered. "What do you want?" one of them, who seemed to be the leader, asked in a low voice. The others either held their weapons or gathered their superpowers, ready to act at a moment’s notice to rescue the Base Chief!

"Bring the car over! And open the gate! Or I’ll kill him!" Paige Summers threatened, her words short and sharp.

The leader hesitated for a moment. But when Paige Summers’s hand on the Short Sword visibly tightened, nearly piercing Samuel Hughes’s skin, he hesitated no longer. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Andy, go get the car. Yardley, open the gate." He then turned and said, "We’ve done as you asked. Let him go!"

’Let him go?’ If the situation weren’t so serious, Paige Summers almost would have laughed out loud. ’Is this guy an idiot? As if I’d let him go!’

Ignoring him, she simply tightened her hold on Samuel Hughes.

After the car arrived, she ordered all the guards except the driver to stand in front of the house. She then forced her hostage into the back seat. "Have everyone follow us, just like a normal escort for the Base Chief. If you try to alert anyone on the way, don’t blame me for what happens next!"

Seeing the men standing there, seething, she shut the car door and said to the guard acting as her driver, "Drive! Turn left out of the main gate, and stop after fifty meters."

In a situation like this, no one could think of a solution.

These guards had all been handpicked by Samuel Hughes himself. Their loyalty was unquestionable, and no matter what happened, his life was their top priority.

So for now, they could only follow Paige Summers’s orders.

The moment the car stopped, Paige Summers had Andy open the passenger-side door. Howard Everett, who had been hiding in the nearby grove of trees, was quick on the uptake and immediately got in the car with Erin Quinn.

Seeing the scene inside the car, as well as the guards’ vehicle just starting to turn out of the main gate behind them, Howard Everett felt both shocked and delighted. He hadn’t expected Paige Summers to pull things off so smoothly all by herself!

The task of giving directions now fell to Howard Everett, while Erin Quinn quickly scrambled into the back seat and sat down next to Paige Summers.

A few minutes after the car was on its way, Paige Summers suddenly retracted her hand. She didn’t use much force, but the edge of this wooden sword had been sharpened to an extreme degree. While it couldn’t clash with metal or stone, slicing through human flesh was no problem at all.

And so, a trickle of blood immediately snaked its way down the neck of Samuel Hughes, who was sitting sideways.

"Don’t get any funny ideas! The medicine may have worn off, but I can still take your life at any moment! This sword is pure wood; your superpower is useless against it," Paige Summers warned viciously.

The medicine Levi Young had made was highly effective, but its effects didn’t last long—only a dozen minutes or so. She was pressed close to Samuel Hughes, so she had immediately noticed the slightest change in his body.

Hearing this, Samuel Hughes fell silent for a long moment before finally giving up the idea of resisting.

He could certainly use his superpower to kill them all, but this woman was fast and abnormally strong. She would likely strike the instant he made his move...

’I’m not afraid of death, but I can’t die yet. There are still... things I haven’t arranged. Besides, their objective is still unclear. I’ll just see what they’re up to. It won’t be too late to decide then,’ Samuel Hughes told himself.

Seeing him quiet down, Paige Summers was satisfied.

’Just as you’d expect from a Base Chief, he knows how to read a situation. This makes things much easier.’

It was now after two in the morning, and the streets were almost empty, save for the occasional passing patrol. They saw the Base Chief’s car speeding by and, though puzzled, merely speculated amongst themselves. No one would have guessed that the Base Chief had actually been kidnapped.

At 2:20, they arrived outside the base’s government building.

Andy the guard followed orders and greeted the sentries, explaining that the Base Chief had business back in his office. They drove through unopposed.

At 2:30, Samuel Hughes stood unnaturally, flanked by Paige Summers and Howard Everett in the base’s broadcast room, while his loyal guards were locked in the changing room inside.