Chapter 147: A Gesture of Goodwill

He held out the tent, carefully offering it to Stella Sterling.

His entire body trembled, as if he might collapse at any moment. His face was completely drained of color, and the fear in his eyes practically spilled from his pupils.

He watched Stella Sterling cautiously, terrified she wouldn’t accept the tent. He didn’t even have the courage to turn his head and run.

Stella Sterling said nothing and took the tent.

Seeing this, the man let out a sigh of relief. But he didn’t dare turn and flee, instead waiting for Stella Sterling to speak.

If she wanted to kill him, there was no way he could escape.

Stella Sterling, however, paid him no mind and simply turned and walked away. The man, having escaped with his life, breathed another sigh of relief. The moment Stella Sterling turned her back, he scrambled away in the opposite direction.

He put as much distance between himself and Stella Sterling as he could. She was a dangerous individual; getting too close was a death wish.

Stella Sterling thought her spot from last night was excellent, so she decided to head back there.

Her gaze fell upon the corpses on the ground, blood pooling around them. A flash of disgust crossed her eyes.

There wasn’t a soul within a dozen meters of her. Everyone else kept their distance, watching her from afar with expressions of deep apprehension.

Stella Sterling swept her gaze over them with a faint smile, then picked up her tent and left.

The others began to murmur amongst themselves, stealing glances in her direction. They wondered about her identity, and how she could possess such a thing.

’If only we could get our hands on one of those!’

Everyone looked in Stella Sterling’s direction with a mixture of fear and envy.

...

The tent was still usable after a bit of cleaning up. Having recovered it, Stella Sterling was in a pretty good mood.

The other people in the plaza soon turned their attention elsewhere.

People got busy with their own affairs—some setting up camp, others scavenging for food. Every so often, fights would break out over trivial items.

Those two brothers from yesterday were just as unreasonable and tyrannical. Relying on their fighting prowess, they robbed many people of their belongings.

Their actions made many people resent them, but the brothers continued to do as they pleased, completely ignoring what anyone else thought.

Timothy Chase even went so far as to declare that anyone with a problem could come find him and his brother. They’d be ready anytime.

"Damn it, they’re so arrogant."

"Bro, don’t do anything rash. You didn’t see how vicious those two were yesterday. Just forget it. Let’s just back off and find another spot. It’s not worth it."

Someone looked like they were about to step up, but a friend quickly pulled them back.

There was nothing to be done. What could they do when they weren’t as strong?

After setting up her tent again, Stella Sterling went out to look for her speedboat.

With so many people around at the time, she couldn’t just store it in her dimensional space. She had to tie the speedboat to a spot on the water. Who could have known the flood would be so violent?

She figured the speedboat was probably gone for good.

It was just a shame about all the food that had been on it.

She searched the area but couldn’t find it. In her heart, she already knew the answer. She sighed, left with no choice but to accept it.

"Hey, miss! Look what I found. Want one?"

It was that slightly chubby guy again. He approached her, holding up two tattered fishing nets.

"I know you probably still have some food, but none of us know how long we’ll be stuck here. It’s best to find a way to get more."

Stella Sterling looked at the items in his hands but didn’t accept them. Instead, she asked directly, "You’ve approached me a few times now. What do you really want?"

Louis Grant was taken aback for a moment, then he grinned. "Can’t a guy just think you’re pretty and want to be friends?"

’Beautiful?’

She scoffed. She didn’t believe a single word he said.

In her current state, it was a miracle anyone could even make out her features, let alone call her beautiful.

"Hey, don’t be like that! I can’t see your face clearly, I’ll admit, but judging by your figure...

...your posture, and your eyes... you’ve got all the makings of a total knockout. Hey, hey, what’s the meaning of this?"

Louis Grant’s words caught in his throat. He stared at the large blade resting against his neck. ’Where did she hide this thing?’ he wondered. ’I didn’t see it a second ago. How did she just pull it out of nowhere?’

But with the blade at his throat, he didn’t dare move a muscle.

"It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just... I don’t much care for liars. Since you love lying so much, what do you think I should do? Cut out your tongue? Or just take off your head?"

As she spoke, Stella Sterling actually laughed, as if she was in a good mood. "Either one will shut you up for good. The result is the same. How about I just pick one for you?"

Louis Grant frantically threw his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don’t mean any harm! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! I just figured you must have food in your backpack, and I wanted to trade for some real food! That’s all, I swear!"

As he spoke, he slowly backed away, eyes glued to the blade Stella Sterling held at his neck. "Careful with that, beautiful. I’d like to live a little longer. I’d rather not die here."

"Isn’t this water full of fish? Just go catch some. Why scheme for other things?"

Stella Sterling withdrew her blade. She hadn’t actually intended to kill him.

Seeing this, Louis Grant’s lively demeanor returned. "A guy gets tired of eating fish every day! Besides, this water is so filthy. I’m afraid eating too many of these fish will ruin my handsome face."

As he spoke, he tried to flick his impossibly short hair and flashed what he considered a devastatingly charming smile, all while peeking at Stella Sterling out of the corner of his eye.

When her expression remained unchanged, he actually looked a little disappointed. ’How can she not be the least bit captivated by my stunning good looks?’

’Okay, that settles it,’ she thought. ’This guy has a screw loose.’

Stella Sterling gave him a calm look, then turned and walked away.

Louis Grant looked a little disappointed, but soon moved on to find his next target.

Stella Sterling didn’t return to her tent. Instead, she rummaged through a pile of trash for a while, fashioned a simple tool, found a spot, and began fishing.

What he’d said wasn’t entirely wrong. But she had no intention of accepting his overtures. As for tools, there was plenty of scrap around to make one.

It just went to show that as long as people weren’t pushed to the absolute brink, they would always find a way to survive.

Before long, all across the area—not too large, but not too small either—people began preparing their dinner.

The main course was fish they’d pulled from the water. Some chose to eat it raw. Others, who had somehow managed to get a fire going, were roasting their catch under large, propped-up umbrellas. The delicious aroma drifted far, making the mouths of those without a fire water with envy.