Chapter 256: Can Be Reused

"And what about Black Swan? How has she been performing lately?"

Unlike the others, who joined her base voluntarily, Black Swan was brought in as a captive.

Although she had already made her take a Loyal Servant Pill, meaning the woman had no chance of betrayal.

But if her heart wasn’t in it, then there was no point in keeping her around.

Stephen Lawrence didn’t know why his master suddenly brought her up, but after a moment’s thought, he reported in detail, "You asked me to keep an eye on her. Lately, she’s been going out on missions with the other base members. There’s been nothing unusual. In fact, she’s saved other members several times during sudden crises."

Stella Sterling listened calmly, offering no comment. Stephen Lawrence continued, "She’s also been improving rapidly. When she’s not on missions, she spends all her time training relentlessly."

"There’s one more thing. When I first told everyone about the Strong Medicine, she was the first to stand up and show her support."

"What’s more, in front of everyone, she drank a large bowl of diluted Strong Medicine to show her trust in us."

As he said this, Stephen Lawrence himself sounded a bit surprised.

’Black Swan hasn’t been with Caeluna for long. And I heard she wasn’t recruited—she tried to make a move on our master, got put in her place, and was forced to join the base...’

’Shouldn’t someone like that resent us?’

’Even if she was forced to submit, she couldn’t be truly loyal.’

Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that she had changed her mind after seeing how good things were at Caeluna. Perhaps she had accepted reality and was behaving well to change everyone’s impression of her.

’But even so, there was no need for her to be the first to step up and support the Strong Medicine. After all, back then, no one knew if the stuff had any side effects.’

’At the time, aside from a few who were already in the know, no one dared to make a rash move. There was absolutely no reason for her to stick her neck out like that.’

’Her defense of Caeluna and her support for the master’s inventions ran deeper than that of many long-time members.’

’It was completely unexpected.’

After hearing all this, Stella Sterling tapped her fingers, her thoughts unreadable.

After a long moment, she said to Stephen Lawrence, "From now on, mentor her more within the base. You can entrust important tasks to her as well."

After a pause, she continued, "Including things that aren’t convenient for others to know."

Hearing this, Stephen Lawrence was astonished. He hadn’t realized his master valued Black Swan so highly.

But what surprised him even more was his master’s last sentence.

’Things that aren’t convenient for others to know... as far as he knew, that meant the master’s secrets.’

’He knew his master possessed some superhuman abilities.’

’And his master had demonstrated her power to him before.’

’So, many times, when there were things that couldn’t be known by others, or when a legitimate excuse was needed, the master would either take him along or entrust him to handle it alone.’

’And now, for the master to say this... could it be...’

Stella Sterling didn’t leave him guessing for long. She said directly, "Like you, she has also taken that medicine. She will never betray me, so it’s fine for her to know certain things."

He let out a breath. ’So that’s how it is!’

’It made sense. If not for that reason, why would the master trust her so much, even entrusting her with matters that couldn’t be known by others?’

’Because after taking that medicine, betraying the master was impossible.’

’This also explained why Black Swan trusted the master more than anyone else.’

After a moment’s thought, Stephen Lawrence said, "Boss, even without that medicine, I’m completely loyal to you."

’Although I did have other ideas at the very beginning...’

’I thought about escaping, about getting revenge once I was out.’

’But later on, with plenty of food and drink under the master, that thought slowly faded.’

’Aside from the daily agony of being a guinea pig, in some ways, he even felt he was countless times better off than the people outside.’

’Back then, he’d started to think following the master wasn’t so bad after all.’

’Later, even though I’d taken the medicine, following the master meant having a powerful backer. She herself is strong and has deep resources, and I get to manage so many people.’

He had long been grateful to his master. With the excellent treatment at Caeluna, he had no desire to betray her or leave.

Even without the medicine, he would never do something so stupid and court death.

Stella Sterling froze for a second, not understanding why he’d suddenly say that.

But her mind quickly caught up, and she nodded. "A master like me—powerful, beautiful, and good to her people... what could you possibly be dissatisfied with? Unless there’s something wrong with your head."

Stephen Lawrence burst out laughing. "Of course! And it’s my own intelligence and tact that let me stay by your side, boss."

The two had known each other for several years and were quite familiar with one another in some respects.

Stephen Lawrence knew that as long as you didn’t provoke her, his master could be quite easygoing at times.

However, these were lessons he’d learned through countless beatings over the years. Thinking back on those days, he suddenly shivered.

A touch of envy and resentment welled up in Stephen Lawrence’s heart.

’These people in the base now have no idea how much luckier they are than I was. The master’s temper is so much better with them. At least it’s not like back in my day, when one wrong word meant terrible suffering.’

After a few more words, Stephen Lawrence took his leave. He was currently the busiest person in the base.

After all, Stella Sterling’s main principle was enjoying life. Although Caeluna was hers, she didn’t manage anything beyond the absolute necessities.

She just lived her leisurely life, leaving most of these matters for Stephen Lawrence to handle.

He would then sort through everything and report only the most important things to her.

Besides handling his duties, he also had to select the people who would accompany their master to The Apocalypse Summit in three days.

After all, many prominent figures would be there. The people accompanying their master absolutely could not make any mistakes.

After Stephen Lawrence left, Stella took out the invitation and looked at it again.

In her previous life, she had been a nobody, so she didn’t know anything about these exchanges between bases.

She was very curious what Meridia Base intended to do by gathering so many factions together.

The thought of seeing some old friends in a few days lifted her spirits, and she started looking forward to the summit.