Chapter 444 - 321: Power Struggle (Part 2)
It took quite some effort to contact Colin Koenig, as Marcus Monroe couldn’t yet show his face publicly.
It wasn’t until the following afternoon that they finalized a meeting time: nine o’clock that evening.
The location was a house Colin Koenig owned privately.
Although Marcus Monroe hadn’t been there in years, he still knew the area well and arrived on time.
This time, he came alone.
Colin Koenig’s face lit up with surprise and delight upon seeing him, but Marcus Monroe knew better. ’He must be full of speculation.’
He couldn’t be bothered with small talk and got straight to the point.
He didn’t mention the internal affairs of Southreach, instead focusing on the zombies at Harborcrest Base.
"...So, what’s your plan for this? If you keep delaying, the number of zombies will only grow, and even Southreach might not be safe!"
Colin Koenig couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
"Little Brother Monroe! Your personality hasn’t changed a bit—still as blunt as ever. It’s not that I don’t want to deal with this, it’s that I can’t! I’m the Deputy City Lord and the public spokesperson for The Government, but you know perfectly well that in reality, I don’t have the final say on anything!"
"Has it really gotten to that point?" Marcus Monroe asked, his expression unreadable.
"You have no idea!" Colin Koenig was full of grievances. "I’ve proposed sending troops several times, but every time they hide behind the banner of ’pacify the interior before repelling the exterior,’ claiming we must first find the person who injured the City Lord and settle on a Deputy City Lord before anything else can be discussed. It’s just an endless runaround! The truth is, they don’t want to send troops, terrified it will weaken their own forces and allow someone else to usurp their position!"
Marcus Monroe’s fingers tapped lightly on the arm of the sofa. He spoke slowly, "I heard the old patriarch of the Woods Family is still around. I wonder if that’s true."
Colin Koenig was stunned for a moment, then sank into contemplation.
After a long while, he heaved a heavy sigh.
"I understand what you’re suggesting, but I’ve never been on good terms with the Woods Family. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be the one to go."
A slight smile touched Marcus Monroe’s lips. "Then how about I go?"
Colin Koenig hesitated for a moment before saying, "I’ll try to arrange a meeting for you, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work."
Marcus Monroe nodded. "I have faith in you."
Colin Koenig looked troubled but ultimately didn’t say anything more to dampen their hopes.
Marcus Monroe was already very satisfied with this outcome.
After agreeing to meet again in three days, he left as quietly as he had come.
During those three days, Keith Preston paid another visit.
This time, he finally revealed his true intentions. "I hope you two can enter the Citadel to protect the City Lord. Name your conditions. As long as you can shield the City Lord from interference from others, nothing else is a problem!" At the end, he added, "I believe this is what Miss Joyce would want as well!"
Claire Chapman didn’t agree immediately, saying he needed time to consider it.
But as soon as the man left, he turned to Marcus Monroe and said, "This is perfect. We’ll split up. I’ll go to the Citadel to check out the situation, and you can coordinate things from the outside."
"...Alright."
But then Marcus Monroe added, "It’s probably not going to be easy in there. Be careful."
"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. If something really goes down, my own safety comes first, of course!"
Marcus Monroe nodded.
He’d known Claire Chapman for a decent amount of time now and knew he was incredibly sharp. ’As long as he puts his own life first, there shouldn’t be any major problems.’
’Otherwise, Paige Summers would be heartbroken.’
Three days flew by. By the time Marcus Monroe went to see Colin Koenig, Claire Chapman had already entered the Citadel under the guise of being one of Keith Preston’s subordinates.
For this service, Keith Preston paid a hefty sum of Crystal Cores.
Claire Chapman, operating on the principle of never turning down a freebie, accepted the payment with a clear conscience.
Marcus Monroe found this endlessly amusing.
’He really is a friend who’s worked with Paige Summers for so long,’ he thought. ’Those two are cut from the same cloth in some ways.’
As he thought this, a pang of jealousy hit him.
’It’s a good thing that Claire Chapman kid doesn’t have any ulterior motives anymore,’ he mused. ’Otherwise, I really wouldn’t be comfortable with the two of them spending every day together back at the base!’
Marcus Monroe decided that as soon as he returned, he would have to make expanding Bloodfall Base an even more urgent priority.
’Once the base is bigger, that Chapman kid will be too busy to have any free time, which will definitely minimize his opportunities to see Paige Summers!’
He walked on, his thoughts drifting to Paige Summers, and only snapped out of it when he found himself standing in Colin Koenig’s living room. He then gathered his thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.
"Did you get the meeting?"
Colin Koenig nodded, a mix of happiness and worry on his face. "I did. They apparently know of you, which is why they agreed."
"That’s good. Time and place?"
Colin Koenig checked his watch. "Tonight. We leave right now."
The old patriarch of the Woods Family was an extremely low-key individual; not many people even knew of his existence. At the same time, however, he was also one of Southreach’s rare Tenth Rank Superpower Users. Therefore, the handful of people who knew of him were influential enough to decide the course of the current situation.
But this wasn’t the only thing Marcus Monroe was counting on.
It was also because of the old patriarch’s character.
Although the details were murky, he was said to be a man of considerable integrity.
If they could truly persuade him to step in and mediate, the matter of dispatching troops to eliminate the zombies should be achievable.
The reason he had tasked Colin Koenig with this and guessed he would succeed was because of a secret he had learned during his earlier time in Southreach: Colin Koenig was the illegitimate son of a member of the Woods Family.
This was also the root of Colin Koenig’s poor relationship with the Woods Family; he could never forgive the man who had deceived his mother, leading to her death, and then abandoned him.
But, no matter what, the blood of the Woods Family still ran in his veins.
Blood ties cannot be severed, and Marcus Monroe was betting that the old patriarch of the Woods Family knew about it.
Fortunately, his bet paid off.
The car drove toward the eastern part of Southreach. However, Colin Koenig stopped just at the edge of a residential district. "Get out here. They’ve sent someone to pick you up. I won’t go any further."
Sure enough, Marcus Monroe had barely been standing there a moment after getting out when another car approached at a slow, steady pace.
Colin Koenig watched as the car picked Marcus Monroe up and drove away, quickly disappearing over the horizon. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself.
He had always intended to fight the Woods Family to the bitter end, but in the end, he still had to bow to circumstances.
He recalled the confident smile the old patriarch had worn during their one and only meeting years ago, and the memory made him feel utterly suffocated.
’But... what’s done is done.’
’I just hope Marcus Monroe’s trip is successful.’