Reborn with Nothing but My Farm and Vengeance in the Apocalypse

Chapter 535: Chapter 535: Retribution

While Simon Lancaster was reeling in confusion, Melody Summers tossed aside the iron pipe. She pulled out her phone and called Saul Archer:

"Hey, Saul Archer, it’s me. Are you free right now? Bring some guys to the hill behind the complex."

"I’m introducing your boss to some new merchandise. A real looker, great build, tall with long legs... Anyway, just get over here and see for yourself!"

On the other end of the line, Saul Archer got the hint and said he’d be right over.

Melody Summers hung up and looked at Simon Lancaster with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.

Her gaze made Simon Lancaster’s scalp tingle. He asked, feeling apprehensive, "...Who... who were you just on the phone with?"

’New merchandise? A real looker, great build?’

’What did all that mean?’

Simon Lancaster was utterly baffled—if he weren’t a man, he would have thought Melody Summers was about to sell him to a brothel!

Melody Summers didn’t answer him. Instead, she bent down, picked the iron pipe up off the ground, and began to forcefully jab one end of it into Simon Lancaster’s bloody mouth.

"AGH—! MMH!—"

Listening to Simon Lancaster’s tortured screams, Melody Summers said coldly, "Running your mouth comes with a price. If your parents never taught you that, then I will."

’Melody Summers no longer dared to kill people with her space. After the lesson she’d learned from Felix Ford, she was afraid that using her space to kill would just create another reborn person.’

’Melody Summers had been wondering how to finish Simon Lancaster off. Since he’d brought up how she died in her past life, why not let him have a taste of it for himself?’

’Saul Archer and his gang of gamblers were hardly good people, but they were reliable as long as they were paid. She would use them to make Simon Lancaster experience exactly what she went through in her last life.’

’This was true karmic retribution. What goes around, comes around.’

When she’d had her fill of Simon Lancaster’s screams, Melody Summers tossed the iron pipe aside and secretly retrieved a small pill from her space.

This pill was something Melody Summers had acquired during a supply sweep at "Odyssey Station." It rendered a person incapable of speech, only able to utter meaningless syllables, and doctors would be unable to diagnose the cause.

’Melody Summers had thought the pill would be useless, but now it was proving to be the perfect tool for the job.’

She shoved the pill into Simon Lancaster’s mouth and forced him to swallow. As he stared at her in terror, Melody Summers whispered in his ear, "Since you were so curious about my last life, I’ll do you the favor of letting you experience it for yourself."

"Don’t thank me. Just consider this us settling the score between us across two lifetimes. From this day forward, all our past grievances are wiped clean!"

...

After a morning full of interviews, Nina Summers walked out of the conference room in a daze.

She had just been grilled by several interviewers in succession, each asking twenty or thirty questions. By the end of the session, her mouth was parched, and she felt completely brain-dead.

Stepping out of the Rhodes building, Nina Summers immediately spotted Melody Summers waiting for her.

Melody Summers noticed Nina’s dazed expression and asked, "What’s with that look? Did the interview go well?"

Nina Summers’s eyes wavered as she replied, "...I... I... They... they said I was hired..."

Her voice was tinged with confusion and disbelief, as if she couldn’t quite process the result herself—

’She was actually hired!’

’How was that possible?!’

As the result sank in, Nina Summers belatedly broke out in a cold sweat.

’She was only just now realizing that Chloe Sharp had been lying to her. The goal was to mess with her head, to get her to back out and give up on the interview!’

But Chloe Sharp could never have expected that her actions would backfire, inadvertently helping Nina Summers instead.

Thanks to Chloe Sharp, Nina—who had been so nervous her mind had gone completely blank—had actually managed to relax. Faced with what felt like hundreds of questions, she answered most of them with a clear head and fluent responses.

Plus, the lead interviewer, Holly Rhodes, wasn’t nearly as strict as Chloe Sharp had claimed. She wasn’t scary at all; she even helped guide Nina’s train of thought, allowing her to successfully answer a few questions she’d initially been stumped on.

Melody Summers, unaware of the emotional roller coaster Nina had been on all morning, simply beamed when she heard the news. "That’s wonderful! Come on, let’s go home. I’ll make you a celebratory meal!"

The two of them walked back toward the villa district under a shared umbrella, unexpectedly running into an acquaintance along the way.

"Mona!"

Melody Summers was surprised. She hadn’t expected to see Joyce Lawson here; the two hadn’t seen each other in a long time, not since Melody had moved back to the villa district.

Melody asked in confusion, "Mona, what are you doing here? Are you also looking for a job in the Reconstruction Zone?"

Joyce Lawson was pleasantly surprised to see Melody, too. She said hello, then flashed the ID card in her hand and said with a smile, "I found a job! I’m working at the temporary medical point in the Reconstruction Zone!"

Joyce Lawson was a medical student, and in this day and age, medical students had the easiest time finding employment.

Most of the city’s hospitals had been flooded, and vast numbers of patients needed to be evacuated. The temporary medical point in the Reconstruction Zone was the second most vital institution after its agricultural and animal husbandry industries.

With so many patients being transferred to the temporary medical point, it was in desperate need of medical personnel. When Joyce Lawson heard the news, she came for an interview and was hired right away.

Joyce Lawson added, "The current medical point is just temporary. Construction on the new medical center is already finished, and it’s about to open!"

"I heard the medical center is a massive project with an investment of who-knows-how-many-billions! There’s even capital from out of town involved!"

Melody Summers nodded. ’She knew about this medical center. In her past life, it had saved countless lives during the plague.’

Joyce Lawson shook her ID again, then gave a slightly sheepish smile, revealing two faint dimples. "Oh, by the way, Summers, I changed my name. From now on, I’m Mona Lawson."

The ID in her hand clearly read the two words: "Mona Lawson."

Melody Summers looked at the name "Mona Lawson" on the ID, feeling a stir in her heart.

’Recalling the dark past during the Extreme Cold, she hoped Mona could finally escape the nightmare her family had created and live the rest of her life without a single shadow hanging over her...’

After saying goodbye to Mona, Melody recalled what Nina had said earlier. She turned to her sister, "By the way, didn’t you want to change your last name back to Mom’s? I can ask Mona how she handled the process."

Nina froze for a second. She hesitated, then answered vaguely, "...Ah... well... there’s no rush for now, right...?"

Seeing her hesitation, Melody asked, confused, "What’s wrong?"

Melody thought about it. ’Caleb Summers had married into Mindy Walsh’s family, and Nina had grown up with Mindy’s parents. By all rights, her surname should have been Walsh. The fact that Caleb changed his daughter’s surname after his wife and in-laws died was utterly disgusting.’

Nina fidgeted for a moment before stammering, "...Sis... if I change my name back to Walsh... will you all still take care of me...?"

Melody was stunned. When she processed what Nina had said, she found it both exasperating and amusing—that was what Nina was worried about?!

’What was there to worry about?’

’Children who take their father’s last name are still cared for by their maternal grandparents, aren’t they? Why should taking the mother’s name be such a taboo?’

Melody said with a helpless sigh, "You silly girl, what kind of nonsense are you worrying about? No matter what your last name is, you’re still part of this family!"

The sisters continued chatting as they walked, but when they reached their front door, they were met with an unexpected sight: a police officer was standing on their doorstep!