Chapter 296: Chapter 202: Intimidation
Paige Summers didn’t know what was happening outside. Inside The Foundry, the mission to clear out the Zombies was in full swing.
Because The Foundry was too large, they split into four groups after entering and reaching a fork in the road. Each group had over fifty people and was prepared to start clearing from a different direction. The two teams on the flanks were to move in an arc and rendezvous with the two central teams before nightfall.
Initially, everyone assumed Claire Chapman would split the Power Corps from Southreach into two teams, then distribute the Bloodfall members and the remaining personnel between them. But, to their surprise, she instead broke up the Power Corps and inserted its members into each of the four teams.
As the deputy captain, Paige Summers understood her thinking.
These Power Corps members were already inexperienced, and to make matters worse, they refused to listen to anyone’s advice. Ignoring them outside wouldn’t lead to a major disaster, but inside The Foundry, letting them act on their own could easily get their entire group wiped out by a Zombie horde.
Having to answer to Leo Joyce was one thing, but more importantly, if they needlessly lost so many fresh troops, the cleanup mission would become much more difficult.
It just wasn’t worth it.
They were brought here to help, not to be sent to their deaths.
So, it was better to just split them up.
This way, even if they disagreed with their captain’s actions, with fewer of them together, they couldn’t stir up any trouble.
That was the theory, anyway.
But when the teams actually set out to clear their respective routes, a problem arose in Paige Summers’s squad.
The team Paige Summers was leading was mostly made up of Mason Hayes’s people, with a smaller portion from the Power Corps.
Mason Hayes’s people were fine. Although they weren’t familiar with her, they knew she was their boss’s sweetheart. Plus, her strength was truly outstanding, so no one dared to underestimate her. They followed her orders without question.
As for the Power Corps members, they were definitely unhappy that their usual team structure had been broken up, but they weren’t stupid enough to openly oppose Paige Summers’s combat orders.
But they started making sly moves behind her back.
They were very cliquey, which wasn’t a problem in itself. But when they saw others suddenly in danger, they would ignore them and focus only on killing Zombies, simply because the person in trouble wasn’t from the Power Corps...
This was something Paige Summers absolutely could not tolerate!
She happened to see this from a distance and was so angry she almost laughed.
Fortunately, the endangered team member was saved by another one nearby.
It wasn’t the time to do anything in the middle of a fight, so she held back and didn’t act on it immediately.
But the moment the battle was over, she strode up to that Power Corps member. "What’s your name?"
"...Norman Ross," he answered, his eyes shifting evasively.
Paige Summers’s lips curled into a cold smirk. "Good. You really are something else. It would be a crime not to give you a chance to show what you’re made of."
Before he could say a word, she grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him out.
The other Power Corps members had been watching. Seeing this, they immediately swarmed around her. "Where are you taking him?"
"Yeah! What do you think you’re doing?"
"Let him go!"
Questions and objections rose from all sides, along with a snide mutter, "You’re Bloodfall’s deputy captain, not ours. If you want to throw a tantrum, you’ve come to the wrong place..."
Paige Summers snorted, then raised her head to her own teammates who were rolling up their sleeves to protect her. "It’s fine. It’s just a bunch of puppies yapping. I won’t stoop to their level." ’What I *will* hold them accountable for is what happened earlier!’
"Fuck! Who are you calling a dog?!"
"That’s right, watch your mouth! Don’t think we won’t hit a woman!"
"If you’ve got the guts, put Norman Ross down first!"
Paige Summers whipped around and, with a heave, lifted Norman Ross so his feet dangled just off the ground. "You people want to fight me?" ’They can’t even read the situation, and they still dare to run their mouths!’
A series of sharp hisses and gasps filled the air.
Only then did they realize that Norman Ross’s face was turning blue from the pressure on his throat. He couldn’t muster any strength, let alone speak; even breathing was a struggle.
’So... so strong!’
They had seen how easily she’d beheaded Zombies, but they’d vaguely heard she was an expert at crafting weapons. So, they had unconsciously credited her performance to her strangely shaped long knife.
’Who would have thought... this woman was so strong.’
Norman Ross was burly. If he didn’t weigh double what she did, he was at least one-and-a-half times her weight. Yet she’d lifted him as easily as if he were a baby.
But... "Hmph! So what if she’s strong? What’s the big deal! The city’s crawling with Power Superpower Users. What’s she showing off for!"
’These people...’
Seeing the fleeting surprise and fear on their faces, only to be replaced by the same old defiance and indignation, Paige Summers was once again certain: these guys would never give up until they hit a dead end, never turn back until they slammed into a wall.
’Fine! I’ll give them what they want!’
She lowered Norman Ross and whispered, "Ben, keep them five meters behind me."
As she spoke, she was already moving, quickly dodging past all the team members and heading straight out of the dilapidated house.
By the time the Power Corps members snapped out of it, she was already dragging Norman Ross further down the main road.
’Is she crazy? There could be Zombies up ahead!’
’Right, and she still has Norman Ross!’
All sorts of terrible thoughts raced through their minds.
They didn’t dare to think any more about it and immediately gave chase!
After exchanging glances, Mason Hayes’s team members also ran out, faint smiles on their faces. They probably knew Paige Summers was about to erupt and teach the others a lesson.
The Power Corps members had no problem chasing, but they couldn’t get closer than five meters.
Aside from an initial burst of speed, Paige Summers wasn’t walking fast, so they repeatedly tried to close the distance and snatch Norman Ross back.
But whenever they crossed that five-meter line...
...the thick earth beneath their feet would come to life, forming two large pairs of hands that grabbed their calves in a death grip!
"What’s happening?!"
"It’s an Earth Ability!"
"That guy’s doing it! The man who hasn’t said a word!"
"Huh?! I thought he had an Enhancement superpower! He was clearly just using his hands to kill Zombies!"
"..."
They cried out in low, terrified voices.
Hearing their conversation, Paige Summers suddenly felt that Claire Chapman had been incredibly farsighted. If this group had really been allowed to team up on their own, they would have definitely gotten themselves killed! The youngest among them was eighteen, the oldest barely in his twenties. They were just a bunch of clueless brats!
She conveniently forgot that in this life, she herself had just turned twenty-two.
Of course, having lived two lives, it was only natural that she would be more mature than them.
After walking for a while, she stopped.
Just as she expected, their shouting had attracted Zombies.
There were a dozen or so in the first wave.
’Perfect.’
Paige Summers smiled faintly. Before the Zombies arrived, she turned and said, "Ben, when the Zombies get here, I’m going to toss this kid to them. What do you think?"
Ben, naturally, didn’t answer.
He just tilted his head slightly, as if in confusion.
"You’re asking me why?" Paige Summers chuckled. Her words weren’t meant for Ben, but for the guy in her grasp and those behind them. "Didn’t he leave his own teammate for dead? Well, I’m going to let him have a taste of fighting all by himself! And his so-called ’good buddies’ are right behind him, yet they won’t save him. He deserves to know what that feels like!"
The Power Corps members all stared, dumbfounded. When they came to their senses, someone wanted to argue, to start cursing her out. But Paige Summers’s next words were like an immobilization spell, forcing them to swallow whatever they were about to say.
"If you’re not afraid of attracting more Zombies and getting him killed even faster, then by all means, speak up!"
Mason Hayes’s team members followed cautiously behind, trying not to make a sound. They were used to this from their time in the wild; in any area where Zombies might appear, silence was an absolute rule.
After hearing what Paige Summers said, they had assumed she was just bluffing.
But no one expected her to suddenly release her grip on Norman Ross. Just as he caught his breath and tried to run back, she kicked him straight toward the approaching, shambling Zombies!
’So... brutal!’
His escape route was cut off. Paige Summers stood watching with her arms crossed, and his own teammates were blocked by that strange man’s Earth Ability. A strange feeling flashed through Norman Ross’s mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth, gave up all hope, and charged the Zombies head-on.
He was a Level 6 Fire Ability User, a type of superpower that was already highly regarded. Reaching that level at the age of twenty-three meant he was exceptionally talented, which was why he had always been so arrogant.
But today, he discovered that his pride wasn’t worth shit.
Because that attitude was completely useless to him now!
With his power, killing one or two at a time, he could easily take down a hundred Low-level Zombies.
But ten coming at him at once was a different story.
He already believed that Paige Summers was going to watch him get eaten alive, and the thought of fighting alone made him panic. When a dozen Zombies lunged at him in a pincer attack, he was on the verge of despair!
Once your morale is crushed in a fight, your attacks will likely suffer as well.
The accuracy of his Fireballs was noticeably lower than usual.
He dodged left and right to avoid the Zombies’ claws while trying to aim for their heads—the same thing he’d been doing in the earlier battle, but now it felt incredibly difficult!
The more he fought, the more pathetic he looked.
Killing two Zombies didn’t turn the situation around for him; in fact, it only became more dangerous.
He was nearly bitten several times. On one occasion, a Zombie’s gaping, stinking mouth came within inches of his neck!
"Are you guys really just going to watch me die?!"
Norman Ross roared this out in a brief moment while dodging an attack.
But no one said a word.
Because behind this wave of Zombies, another had appeared—at least twenty this time. His teammates were frozen in fear. It was as if they couldn’t bear to watch him be devoured by Zombies, yet not a single one of them had the courage to make a move against Ben or Paige Summers.
As for the reason... it couldn’t be simpler. This time, they were truly terrified—terrified by Paige Summers’s cold-bloodedness. They didn’t want to suffer the same fate as Norman Ross, afraid that they would be the next one thrown into the Zombie horde!
Norman Ross completely despaired.
He began to desperately launch scorching Fireballs, not caring whether they hit their targets or not.
This kind of wild, chaotic attack naturally made victory even more impossible.
Finally, amidst the chaos, a Zombie reached out with its sharp claws, swiping at the side of his head...
’I can’t dodge it.’
’Am I going to die?’
