She was heading back to the very place her body's previous owner had called home: The Dead City.
The Dead City was also known as the "City of Rebels" by Astoria's other Three Great Bases. As the name suggested, most of its inhabitants were people the bases wouldn't accept.
Political prisoners, murderers, Superpower Users who lacked strength but refused to be ruled, and unlucky souls who had offended high-ranking officials in The Three Great Bases... The list went on. In short, of its nearly one million residents, aside from those who had willingly abandoned everything to follow their loved ones or those who couldn't make the long journey to The Three Great Bases and had no other choice, most were not good people.
This directly contributed to the harsh reality of survival in The Dead City. To make it, you either needed protection or you needed to have strength of your own.
The body's previous owner had belonged to the first group. Unfortunately, after her grandfather—who possessed a Fire Ability—died, she and her father fell from the Middle District to the Lower District. Not long ago, her father, an ordinary man, was murdered in a dark alley while out searching for food.
After a period of grief, the original owner, who had been coddled by her family her whole life, was forced to fend for herself.
And so, she ended up being pushed off a cliff to her death...
Recalling the original owner's short life, Paige Summers clicked her tongue, her expression unreadable.
She wasn't one to judge another's life. But having been killed once for being weak and alone, and now possessing the memories of how it happened, she craved greater power more than anything!
She walked forward at a steady pace, remaining vigilant of her surroundings.
The small pouch tied to her waist was still there. Inside was a single compressed biscuit, which, even without water, would be enough to sustain her for a day. The sun overhead wasn't scorching; although it was noon, the physical exertion wasn't too intense.
At this rate, she should be able to make it back to the city within a day.
'I can definitely make it!'
Her young, sweet, and somewhat cherubic face was caked in blood and dirt, but the resolute light shining in her eyes was brilliant!
'Forward, forward, onward march!'
Paige Summers forged ahead, optimistically humming a little tune.
'In her head, of course.'
It had been twenty years since the apocalypse began, and The Dead City had been established for over a decade, so all the nearby Zombies had been cleared out. Still, she had no desire to attract the attention of any Mutant Animals hiding in the brush or mutant plants that could spring up at any moment. In some ways, those things were far more terrifying than Zombies. 'Oh, right, and then there are the zombie animals...' A bite from one of those could turn even a Superpower User into a zombie...
The previous owner's knowledge of the wild was pathetically sparse; she only knew the absolute basics.
But even that was enough to keep Paige Summers on high alert. After all, when it came to this, she wasn't much better off than the body's previous owner.
Her vigilance paid off. When she heard the faint sound of an engine behind her, she immediately found a nearby thicket of bushes and ducked behind it.
She knew full well that not everyone was a potential rescuer.
The engine noise grew louder and clearer. Paige Summers peered through a gap in the bushes, observing the modified vehicle.
It looked something like a Hummer, but it was slightly smaller and its outer plating was thicker. There was no windshield to speak of; in its place was a solid steel plate. A round, periscope-like protrusion on the roof seemed capable of rotating. 'That must be what they use to see the road ahead.'
'To be honest, this thing looks less like a car and more like a small, mobile fortress.'
'Still, in the apocalypse, out in the wilds where you could run into trouble at any moment, a vehicle like this must be worth a fortune!'
Paige Summers watched with a mix of envy and longing. After the vehicle drove past, just a short distance away, she collected herself, deciding it was more realistic to just keep walking.
Just then, however, the vehicle, which had already passed her, screeched to a halt. A tall, brawny man opened the door and stepped out.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the man was standing right in front of her!
"Out!" his deep voice commanded.
Knowing better than to argue, Paige Summers immediately raised her hands and stood up from behind the bushes.
The man had a dark complexion and a cold, stern gaze. He reeked of blood. Paige was certain that trying to play dumb with a man like this would make her the real fool.
"I'm not a bad person..." she said in a small, meek voice.
'Okay, that sounded incredibly childish, not to mention moronic.' But since she couldn't play dumb, acting a little stupid was better than trying to be clever.
The man must have thought she really was an idiot. A flash of disgust crossed his eyes, but after a moment's hesitation, as if he had no other choice, he said stiffly, "Come with me."
Paige Summers obediently followed him to the vehicle.
He must have thought she was moving too slowly, because as she struggled to climb in, he gave her a rough shove. Her small frame tumbled headfirst into the back seat, butt in the air.
By the time Paige Summers managed to right herself and sit up properly, to the sound of hearty laughter from the man in the passenger seat, the driver had already started the engine.
"Hey, you all right?" the man in the passenger seat asked, though he didn't sound particularly concerned.
Paige Summers quickly replied, "I'm fine. Um... thank you for the ride." She'd said "you," plural, but she was already certain the decision to pick her up hadn't come from the driver, but from the man now speaking to her. His motive was likely nothing more than a simple case of 'I'm bored.'
She didn't let her mind wander to darker possibilities. This was largely due to the passenger's handsome features, his overall demeanor, and his clean, high-quality combat fatigues.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
The man seemed to read her mind. "No need to be nervous," he said lazily. "We're all heading back to the city, and we've got the space... But you, how'd you end up all alone in The Blackwilds? Good thing it's still light out. Otherwise, you wouldn't have lasted a minute."
"Fifteen seconds."
Before Paige Summers could answer, the man in the driver's seat cut in, his tone dripping with unconcealed contempt.
'Screw you! Let's see you try getting your hand bitten off by a giant python! I didn't even have a weapon! I'd be impressed if you lasted fifteen seconds!' Paige Summers roared internally, but on her face, she wore a timid smile.
"Excuse me... what are The Blackwilds?"
At her words, the driver was left speechless with frustration. The man in the passenger seat paused for a moment before bursting into another round of loud laughter.
'She doesn't even know what The Blackwilds are? How in the world has this kid survived until now?!'