Chapter 42: The Strong Prey on the Weak

"Cooperation?"

Stella Sterling let out a low laugh, her gaze as sharp as a torch as she sized him up. "What do you have to offer?"

"You keep talking about me, but if we’re going to cooperate, what do *you* bring to the table?"

River Larkin was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. He pointed a finger at his own head, his expression confident. "I have a sharp mind and a keen sense for danger!"

Seeing that Stella Sterling was unmoved, he added with a smile, "You might not think much of these abilities under normal circumstances, but they reveal their true worth in dangerous situations. They’re lifesavers!"

"Is that so? The problem is, you haven’t demonstrated any of these abilities yet. So why should I trust you?"

River Larkin thought for a moment. "I admit, there’s no way to prove it right now. But over the past few days, I’m sure you’ve seen that I’m more aware of danger than others, haven’t you?"

Stella Sterling snorted, her disdain written plainly on her face. "Anyone with a shred of situational awareness could have figured out what you said before. To offer that as a sign of your sincerity for cooperation is just ridiculous!"

Seeing Stella laugh without hiding the contempt in her eyes, River felt deeply humiliated. His expression soured, and he remained silent for a long moment.

Stella clearly had no intention of comforting him. Seeing his dark expression, she simply looked away and leaned against the side of the elevator.

River stared at her for a while before finally speaking. "Then what do you want me to do to prove that I’m qualified to cooperate with you?"

Stella smiled. In River’s eyes, this was the first time since they’d met that she had truly looked at him.

He heard Stella say, "The residents of apartment 2508 on the 25th floor are three brothers. I’ve had a run-in with them before. If they’re not eliminated, they’ll be a major threat to me in the future. If you’re serious about cooperating, help me take care of them. Then I’ll believe you have the strength, and I’ll work with you."

"And ’take care of’ means...?" River asked, looking at Stella uncertainly.

She gave him a smirk. "What do you think?"

River was startled and blurted out, "You want to kill someone?"

Stella stared at him and raised an eyebrow. "You don’t dare?"

River looked at her in shock. He never thought this woman would be so bold as to suggest murder.

’Even if the world has changed, it hasn’t come to this, has it?’

River was intimidated and said nothing for a long time.

Stella didn’t press him, acting as if it didn’t matter whether he agreed or not.

He hesitated for a moment before asking again, "Are you sure? Even if you had a run-in, can’t you just smooth things over? It doesn’t have to go as far as murder!"

But Stella didn’t elaborate. She just said, "It’s fine. If you’re not willing, then forget it. I won’t force you. But from now on, don’t mention cooperation to me again. If you can’t even take this step, how can I trust you to accomplish anything later?"

Seeing that Stella was serious, River hesitated again. He wasn’t sure if she was worth him taking such a step.

Murder!

’He knew that if this really was the apocalypse, it was something he’d have to face sooner or later. But he never thought it would be this soon.’

After a long pause, he said, "But... there are three of them..."

Stella said nonchalantly, "Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to show off that sharp mind of yours? Killing someone isn’t just about brute force. Sometimes, it takes intelligence."

River fell silent again.

"This is your floor."

Stella nodded her head at him, indicating that he could get out of the elevator.

River left without a word. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, he stuck a hand in to stop them. His confident smile returned. "I will prove to you that I have what it takes!"

"I’ll be waiting."

Stella smiled and nodded, then pressed the close button. The elevator doors slowly shut—

Outside the elevator, River was all confidence and smiles. Inside, Stella wore a faint smile, but her eyes were filled with cold indifference.

The moment the doors closed completely, River thought he saw a flash of mockery on Stella’s face. But the doors shut instantly, and her face vanished from his sight. He couldn’t be sure if he had seen it wrong.

’I must have been mistaken. If I were a woman and a man was willing to take on three people for me, I’d be incredibly moved.’

He shook his head, dismissing the unrealistic thought, and turned to leave.

Inside the elevator, Stella’s face was indeed scornful. She had said what she needed to. As for whether this man named River could actually do it, she couldn’t care less.

The three brothers in 2508 were part of River Larkin’s group in her past life. It was they who had forcibly taken over her apartment.

If River could take out those three, it would count as getting revenge for her. If he couldn’t, and ended up getting himself killed in the process, well, that would be fine too.

Of course, if River did nothing, she didn’t mind either, because she would personally take care of them herself.

She stretched, stepped out of the elevator, and the BANG of her door shutting was exceptionally loud in the hallway.

From the opposite apartment, a head peeked out. Willow Young whispered, "You know, I used to think that Stella Sterling was pretty nice to me. At least she never tried to chop me up with a machete!"

She had seen everything that happened at Stella’s door earlier and was so scared she’d hidden inside, not daring to make a sound.

To think she used to point a finger at Stella and call her cold-blooded and selfish. Looking back now, she realized how lucky she’d been.

But if she were asked to do that now? She wouldn’t dare!

"Good that you know. Now you see I was right to tell you not to provoke her. You need to control yourself from now on. You can’t act like you used to."

"I know, I know! You don’t have to tell me. Stella Sterling is the type to come at you with a machete! How would I dare provoke her now?"

Willow Young muttered as she closed the door, but the man was left with a worried expression.

’Having such a ferocious neighbor... he didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. If he hadn’t seen it wrong, that was a big machete Stella was holding. That wasn’t something a normal household would have.’

’If she decided to do something to them, even with two of them, they probably wouldn’t stand a chance.’

’And looking at the current situation, society was descending into chaos. In a little while, there was no telling what people might do.’

And before, Lulu had even bragged in the group chat about how much food they had at home...

’No, they would have to go out less from now on.’ Thinking of this, he warned her, "Lulu, things are getting chaotic. When more and more people run out of food, I’m afraid some might resort to home invasions. From now on, don’t just open the door for anyone. We might even have to start sleeping lightly and stay vigilant!"

"I-It’s not that serious, is it? We’re still a society of laws!"

"No, it is that serious. If this snow keeps up, the rule of law will cease to exist. It’ll be an age of survival of the fittest!"