Teaming Up with My Enemy to Rule the Apocalypse

Although he realized something was up, Hector Grant wasn’t one to pry and didn’t ask what had happened.

"Claire Vance is domineering. Anyone she sets her sights on who turns her down usually faces her retaliation. I can’t be with you all the time, so you need to be careful."

Sierra smiled, unfazed. "What’s there to be afraid of? If she dares to start something, we’ll dare to finish it."

Nathan Thorne looked guilty. "This is all my fault. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have targeted Sierra and Jayce. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just—"

"You’ll just what?" Jayce looked at Nathan Thorne curiously. "Sacrifice yourself to save us? Trade yourself for our freedom?"

"Bullshit!" Nathan Thorne shot Jayce an irritated glare. "Can you watch what you say? I’d rather die than submit to her tyranny! If it really comes to it, I’ll just leave Subterra! It’s not like this is the only base around! Besides, even without a base, I could find my own basement and live comfortably with my parents."

"That’s more like it!" Jayce clapped Nathan Thorne on the shoulder. "You’ve got guts! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you! For a second there, I thought you were going to give in. You scared me! As long as that’s not on your mind, we’re good!"

Sierra laughed along with them. "Nathan’s right. If worst comes to worst, we’ll just leave Subterra. We can find any old basement, reinforce it, and live comfortably on our own."

’Between all of them, they had every kind of Superpower. Together, they had food, water, offense, and defense. What was there to be afraid of?’

Listening to their conversation, Hector Grant’s brow furrowed. "You don’t necessarily have to leave Subterra. There’s another way."

"What way?" Sierra asked, her interest piqued as she looked at Hector Grant.

"If you join an official team, both Claire Vance and Simon Hughes will have to think twice. They wouldn’t dare to mess with you so easily."

Sierra, "..."

"Don’t get me wrong!" Hector Grant explained hastily. "I’m not trying to take advantage of your situation or force your hand. I just think Subterra is ultimately safer. I know you’re all very capable and could live well even if you left, but people are social creatures. It might be fine at first with just your families living together, but what about in the long run? Even if you don’t get tired of it, what about your parents? Do they really want to live in isolation?

If you join an official team, you’ll have official protection. You can do occasional missions and receive generous rewards. Your families can also continue living in Subterra without any worries. For you, there are really only upsides and no downsides!

Besides, joining an official team is basically like getting a stable job. It doesn’t mean you’re completely tied down, and you certainly don’t lose your personal freedom. It’s not as bad as you might think. I really hope you’ll give it some serious thought."

Sierra, Jayce, and Nathan Thorne exchanged glances.

After a moment of thought, Sierra finally spoke. "We know you mean well, Captain Grant, but we’d like to go back and discuss it among ourselves first."

Seeing that Sierra hadn’t refused outright, Hector Grant breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright! Go back and talk it over! There’s no rush! I’ll wait to hear from you! Once you’ve made a decision, just come and find me!"

Hector Grant was a busy man. After saying his piece, he quickly left with his team.

Sierra then turned to Nathan Thorne. "Did you get the clock?"

"Don’t even ask!" Nathan Thorne looked completely dejected. "I had just gotten here when I ran into that crazy woman. Without a word, she demanded I go with her. I refused, so she had her people surround me. If you’d been any later, a fight would have broken out. When would I have had time to buy it!"

"Are you still going to buy it?"

"Of course!" Nathan Thorne replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I went through all this crap just to buy a clock. If I don’t even get the clock in the end, wouldn’t that make things even worse?"

Sierra nodded in emphatic agreement. "You’ve got a point! Go on and buy it, then!"

Nathan Thorne went into the shop and quickly bought two clocks, emerging with them in his arms.

But now, when Nathan Thorne looked at the clocks, it just didn’t feel the same.

"If I’d known this would happen, I wish I hadn’t come—"

"You’re looking at it the wrong way," Sierra said, shaking her head. "Do you really think Claire Vance only came up with this idea the moment she saw you? She’s probably had her eye on you for a while; today was just a chance encounter. If it hadn’t been today, it would have been tomorrow or the day after. The result would have been the same."

Nathan Thorne thought about it for a moment. "I guess you’re right. That’s a relief! Since it has nothing to do with the clock, I don’t have to feel bad every time I look at it."

Jayce clapped Nathan Thorne on the shoulder. "Come on. What’s done is done. Let’s go home and eat."

"Right!" Nathan Thorne nodded emphatically. "Whatever happens, food comes first. No matter what, we have to eat!"

Back home, Sierra set the dishes back on the table. No one brought up what had just happened; they just focused on eating their meal.

After dinner, a thought suddenly occurred to Nathan Thorne.

"Why did you guys suddenly follow me?"

Hearing Nathan’s question, Sierra didn’t answer. Instead, she looked over at Candice Tate.

The reason they had suddenly followed him was, of course, because of Candice Tate’s inexplicable premonition.

But Candice Tate was too young, and even she couldn’t explain where the premonition came from.

After learning the reason, Nathan Thorne suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Don’t tell me Candice Tate awakened some kind of special Superpower?"

Sierra paused for a moment. But thinking about it, it seemed like a real possibility.

But she had never heard of a Superpower like that before!

The three of them looked at each other, none of them able to figure it out.

In the end, they decided to find Dr. Hayes.

Dr. Hayes had been studying Superpowers for a long time; perhaps he would know something.

Even if Dr. Hayes didn’t know about this kind of Superpower, his thinking was famously unconventional. He might be able to offer a hypothesis!

But they didn’t know where Dr. Hayes was.

For that, they would have to ask Hector Grant for help.

Thinking of Hector Grant inevitably brought his invitation to mind.

"Captain Grant is still waiting for our answer," Sierra said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What do you guys think about it?"

Jayce answered immediately, without a second thought. "I’ll support your decision. Sierra, whatever you choose, I’ll do the same. Don’t feel any pressure. Just do whatever you think is best."

Nathan Thorne hesitated for a moment. "I haven’t decided yet. I’m mainly worried about my parents..."

If he were all alone, he would have left Subterra without a second thought.

But he had his parents, and his parents had a bunch of relatives.

He had more to consider.