Chapter 152: Decision

She made no secret of the fact she had a gun. Even though she could have stowed it in her dimensional space and openly shown them her backpack, they wouldn’t have seen a thing.

But so many people had seen her fire it back then. If her gun were to vanish into thin air now, it would surely arouse suspicion.

Harry hesitated for a moment before insisting, "That won’t work. According to the rules of Meridia Base, civilians are not permitted to carry firearms. If you want to join us, you must surrender your weapons."

After a moment’s thought, as if sensing their unease, she explained, "Our base is different. It’s very safe inside. We have team members on duty at all times to maintain order. You won’t face any danger, so you won’t need these."

Stella Sterling now understood that these people weren’t targeting her out of malice. Someone else was setting a trap for her. With this realization, her hostility toward them faded.

She understood that from their perspective, their actions were perfectly reasonable.

So far, the people from Meridia Base had only used persuasion, without resorting to coercion or force. That in itself was a rare thing.

So she didn’t press the issue. "I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to that request. I do understand your position, though. How about this? Just drop me off at the next landmass. That way, you won’t have to worry about me."

"How can we do that? Leaving you all alone out on the open water... it would be too dangerous."

The words were barely out of Stella Sterling’s mouth when Harry replied anxiously.

Stella Sterling actually laughed at this. "It’s fine. Whether I live or die will be up to fate."

Harry was surprised by the woman’s stubbornness. ’I’ve explained everything,’ she thought. ’Why won’t she listen?’

’But she’s not at all like the informant described.’

Nearby, Drake and his men exchanged uncertain glances. They didn’t want to surrender their guns, but they didn’t want to leave the ship either.

The guns were their lifeline, the only thing that stopped others from messing with them. ’How could we possibly hand them over?’

’But if we leave... life out there is hard. Even if we survive, we’d just be scraping by.’

’Meridia Base is able to send ships all over to search for survivors. That shows they have real power. If we join them, our lives would be much more stable. We might even be able to build something for ourselves.’

After some thought, Drake asked, "Your Meridia Base... can anyone join?"

A flash of pride crossed Harry’s face. "Of course. Our base has always taken in people who need help. We have civilians, but if you have other skills, you can join one of the special divisions."

"Anyone who wants to join Meridia Base is welcome. We take in and shelter everyone, even ordinary civilians. There are other jobs within the base for them, so everyone earns their own keep."

"Besides, command just gave us a new directive: search for survivors. We’re just doing our part to help people. Once we rescue you, you can choose to join our base or go your own way."

Hearing this, Stella Sterling felt a growing admiration for Meridia Base. ’This place is far more humane,’ she thought.

’It’s completely different from the base I joined in my past life. I wonder who the leader of Meridia Base is!’

Drake’s eyes lit up, but he kept his composure. "Does your base have a rule about surrendering personal belongings when you join?"

"Of course not. We know people are struggling, so the base never confiscates personal belongings. Unlike other bases, you don’t even have to pay a food tax to join. Your situation, however, is different."

Stella Sterling had already made up her mind to leave, so she stayed out of the discussion.

After a moment of silence, Drake spoke in a conciliatory tone. "How about this? You’re worried we’ll use the guns to endanger everyone. We can turn them in for now, and you can give them back to us once we’re at the base."

"There are strict rules and regulations inside the base. We wouldn’t dare cause trouble, right?"

"No."

A cold voice cut him off. A tall, imposing man strode into the room.

His intimidating gaze swept over Stella Sterling and Drake before landing on the other members of the Meridia Base crew. "What’s going on here?"

"Captain Young."

The others greeted Ethan Young with a nod. One of them stepped forward and quickly summarized the situation with Stella Sterling and Drake’s group.

Ethan Young was far more decisive than Harry and her crew. His gaze was intensely intimidating.

He looked at Stella Sterling first, his voice cold. "In that case, we’ll let you off at the next stop. But until then, you will remain in a secure, confined space."

"Understood. Thank you."

Stella Sterling had no objections to the terms she herself had proposed. ’So much for checking out Meridia Base,’ she thought, abandoning the idea.

Ethan Young’s gaze then shifted to Drake and his two men. "As for the three of you, if you want to join Meridia Base, you must surrender your weapons first. It’s not impossible to get them back, though. Once you’re in the base, if you pass the assessment, you can join the defense force or one of the patrol teams. Not only will we return your original guns, we’ll issue each of you a new one as well."

The two men beside Drake brightened, surprised that they might still have a chance to carry a gun.

They looked at Drake, their expressions hesitant.

But Ethan Young didn’t give them time to deliberate. He continued, "As for your previous proposal—it’s impossible. Either you do as I said, or you can leave with her when we make our next stop."

He rubbed his forehead as he spoke, clearly exhausted from the past two days of search and rescue operations.

’From what Harry said,’ he thought, ’both the woman and these three men have likely killed people with their firearms.’

’In the old days, I wouldn’t have wasted so many words on them. I would have just restrained them, confiscated their weapons, and maybe even eliminated them.’

’But times are different now. It’s hard enough just to survive out there. I can understand why they did what they had to do to live.’

’But once you enter Meridia Base, you have to follow our rules. Without rules, how could a base this large possibly be managed?’

After some consideration, Drake handed over the guns, making their choice clear.

Two of the base’s crew members escorted the three men out.

Only then did Ethan Young turn his full attention back to Stella Sterling. "You’re Louis Grant’s friend, aren’t you?"

He’d noticed her with Louis Grant earlier. ’This must be the friend Louis said he wanted to introduce.’