Chapter 96: Good Stuff from the Black Market

"Hi," Stella Sterling said, a little awkwardly. She gave the three men a small wave and blinked.

Then she turned and closed the door.

Just then, the three Bell brothers snapped to their senses. "Who the hell are you? A thief, breaking into our house? You’ve got a death wish!"

With that, the brothers snatched the kitchen knives from the table and charged. They didn’t care who the intruder was; they’d take care of them first.

Stella Sterling had already closed the door. As she turned, she pulled something from her sleeve and threw it at the three men. She moved so fast they had no time to dodge.

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The three men fell to the ground at the same time, perfectly in sync.

Watching the scene unfold, Stella Sterling’s eyes lit up. ’This heavy-duty stuff from the black market really works!’

Back when she was trying to get a gun, she’d often visited the black market, making herself conspicuous. During that time, she’d managed to pick up quite a few useful items.

The person who sold it to her had hyped up its potency, claiming it could knock someone out within two seconds of inhalation. She had thought it was an exaggeration at the time but bought it just to try.

Today, while sorting through the miscellaneous items in her dimensional space, she had come across the small bottle and remembered she still had the knockout drug.

She had been planning to deal with the three Bell brothers recently anyway, so she’d brought some along to test it out.

It looked like the seller hadn’t been lying after all.

Looking at the three men lying completely unconscious on the floor, Stella Sterling’s lips curled into a smirk. At the same time, a warning bell went off in her mind. ’What if someone used the same thing on me...’

The smile in her eyes faded slightly, but Stella Sterling wasn’t overly concerned.

She looked down at the three men on the floor and slit their throats without hesitation. Dying while unconscious... they were getting off easy.

’This drug is so effective, it was a waste to use on these three. I should save the rest for self-defense.’

After killing the three men, Stella Sterling remained perfectly calm. She felt no joy, as if she had avenged a great wrong.

They weren’t some mortal enemies of hers, just a minor grievance from her past life.

She had experienced so much more in the apocalypse; this issue felt like a distant memory. It was just that they happened to be right under her nose, a problem she could easily solve.

After dealing with the three men, Stella Sterling searched the apartment and was surprised to find a considerable amount of food.

Most of the other residents were already going hungry, yet the three brothers had a large stash of food.

Instant noodles, snacks, canned goods, beef jerky, and several hundred pounds of rice and flour in total. There were even ration packs dropped from yesterday’s helicopter.

There was a wide, miscellaneous variety. The quantity of each item wasn’t large, but all together, it was a substantial haul.

Considering what she’d heard from Yasmine Holloway, the three brothers had indeed made out quite well.

On the living room table were some "weapons": iron bars, kitchen knives, and long poles with blades tied to the ends—all homemade. Stella Sterling swept them into the miscellaneous section of her dimensional space. ’Even if I don’t use them now, they can be used for firewood later. Even junk has its uses.’

Having scavenged everything of use, Stella Sterling glanced at the three bodies on the floor, then turned to leave. Before she left, she even politely closed the door behind her.

When she passed the 26th floor, the hallway was empty, but the thick stench of blood still hung in the air. Stella Sterling didn’t stop, quickly making her way back to the 28th floor.

...

"They’re dead!"

River Larkin stared at the three men lying stone-dead on the floor, his pupils dilated in shock. Beside him, Tripp Pence had already collapsed to the ground in terror.

Aside from the three Bell brothers, they were the two highest-ranking members of the group. River Larkin had been staying at Tripp Pence’s place for the past few days.

The two had come looking for Bell and his brothers today. After knocking for a long time with no answer, they caught the faint scent of blood. In the end, River Larkin forced the door open, only to be greeted by this scene.

"Who? Who did this? Who killed the boss and them!"

After his initial terror, Tripp Pence roared in fury. ’We’re finally somebody in this building now! Who would dare make a move on our boss?’

He rushed out and banged on the door of the apartment across the hall, intending to get a clear story and avenge his boss.

River Larkin wasn’t as impulsive. After his initial shock wore off, he looked at the three brothers not with grief, but with contempt, muttering, "Three pieces of garbage!"

’I worked so hard to build them up, and they get themselves killed just like that. What are they if not garbage!’

’But who killed them? There are no signs of a struggle. To kill these three so cleanly... that’s terrifying.’

His first thought was Stella Sterling, but he quickly dismissed the idea. ’Stella Sterling is tough, but she’s not capable of sneaking into someone’s home and killing them this silently.’

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. He rushed into the brothers’ bedroom to check for something, then emerged with a grim expression.

’It’s gone. The food is all gone. Not a single crumb left.’

That food hadn’t just belonged to the three brothers; it was the bulk of what their entire group had gathered over the past month. Now it was all gone. It meant more than a month of work had been for nothing.

Their weapons were gone too. The two most important things—food and weapons—had vanished. River Larkin’s face was dark as thunder.

"We honestly don’t know! We didn’t hear a thing last night!"

Outside the door, Tripp Pence was still talking to the couple from across the hall.

The couple had been miserable lately. While Mr. Bell and his brothers hadn’t robbed them outright, they had extorted plenty of their belongings under the guise of "protection fees," buying them a temporary sense of security.

Hearing the three Bell brothers were dead, the couple was overjoyed, but they didn’t dare to show it.

"You’d better not be lying. If it wasn’t for the boss and his brothers protecting you, you would’ve been robbed clean by now! If I find out you’re hiding anything, don’t blame me for what happens next!"

Tripp Pence snarled and shook his fist. However, given his scrawny frame, the gesture looked utterly ridiculous in front of the male neighbor.

"Of course. We’ll never forget the Bell brothers’ kindness," the husband said, nodding, his face a mask of grief. "Even though we didn’t join your group, in my heart, you guys and the Bell brothers are all family." Internally, however, he was cursing. ’If it weren’t for the Bell family leading the charge to rob everyone, would we be in this mess?’

Tripp Pence returned with a grim look, only to see River Larkin’s expression was even darker. Startled, he quickly asked, "Larkin, what’s wrong?"

"The food and weapons are gone!"

River Larkin’s face was dark with anger, even more furious than when he had discovered the three Bell brothers were dead.

"Who the hell did this? Could it be the people we robbed? Maybe they were pissed off and ganged up on them. Revenge! We have to get revenge!"