Chapter 163: Why Submit to Others?

Stella Sterling had Louis Grant pass a message to Ethan Young.

She would go with them to Meridia Base this time, but she wouldn’t be joining. Instead, she would be staying for a while as a guest.

Ethan Young agreed to this. He had previously extended a special invitation for Stella Sterling to join the base out of gratitude. However, since she herself had no intention of joining and had proposed this alternative arrangement, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

It was just a shame that the base would be losing a medical talent.

But as he had said, they wouldn’t force anyone to do something against their will. He regretted it, but he wouldn’t use coercion.

By evening, Basil Xavier, who had been groggy all day, was much more lucid. He had found a simple wheelchair somewhere and pushed it over to find Stella Sterling.

Compared to his pale face from the day before, Basil Xavier looked much better today. "I heard about your decision from Ethan Young. Since you’ve already made up your mind, I’ll naturally respect your choice!"

Basil Xavier continued, but he couldn’t help but add, "Still, Stella Sterling, I really don’t get you. You should be able to see it. Given Ethan Young’s attitude toward you right now, you’d have a great life if you joined the base."

"I can’t think of any reason why you’d make this decision."

"It’s fraught with danger for you out there alone. In the end, you’ll just have to pick a faction to join anyway. Since that’s the case, why not choose Meridia Base?"

"Don’t worry, with my connection, no one at Meridia Base will give you a hard time. As long as you don’t do anything too out of line, you can live very comfortably within the base."

He looked at Stella Sterling with sincerity. She had saved his life, and he was truly grateful.

Besides, there was Gordon Ford. If Gordon knew she was at Meridia Base, he would definitely be happy.

Ever since the hail stopped, he’d been constantly thinking about going back to find Stella Sterling. If he hadn’t been tied up with his own affairs, the man would have gone looking for her long ago.

If Stella Sterling could stay at Meridia Base, Gordon could finally rest easy and wouldn’t be constantly thinking about going back to find her.

And he really couldn’t understand Stella Sterling. It was such a great option, so why was she doing this?

She had refused Ethan Young’s special invitation to join, choosing instead to just be a guest for a while.

Even as a guest, Meridia Base would always welcome Stella Sterling, thanks to his influence. But a guest was just a guest, different from an actual member of the base.

Stella Sterling was reading a book. Hearing Basil Xavier’s words, she tilted her head and glanced at him. "It’s nothing. Everyone has different intentions."

"I don’t like being constrained by others. Even if the people at Meridia Base treat me with courtesy, I’d still be living under someone else’s authority!"

Stella Sterling’s voice was calm and detached. If she didn’t have any power, it would be one thing. Without power, she could endure anything just to survive.

She would know that choosing Meridia Base was the best option right now.

But now she had power and more than enough supplies of her own. There was simply no need to depend on anyone else.

Seeing that Stella Sterling remained unmoved, Basil Xavier sighed. "But in this world, many things are out of our hands. If you join Meridia Base, with my connection, I can help you live as freely as possible. But if you go somewhere else, that’s not guaranteed."

At this, Stella Sterling let out a soft laugh. "Who says I have to join a faction at all?"

Although Stella Sterling had deliberately darkened her face, her eyes were impossible to hide—so clear and bright, brimming with confidence.

Basil Xavier froze for a moment. He blinked, then continued, "I know you’re capable, but as things are going, existing resources will only become scarcer. The conflicts between people will grow more and more severe. You won’t get far on your own."

These were his heartfelt words; he knew more than most.

This disaster might continue for a very, very long time. The powerful bases are already making preparations, snatching up all sorts of scientists and technical experts, and preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Most ordinary people have, in fact, already been abandoned.

He thought that for Stella Sterling to be on her own, given the current state of things, was completely unrealistic.

Stella Sterling placed the book on her lap.

She clasped her hands, sat up straight, and looked calmly at Basil Xavier. "I never planned to go it alone. Right now, everyone is carving out their own kingdoms. Why can’t I?"

Stella Sterling’s tone was very calm. Incredibly calm.

It was as if she were talking about what she had for lunch and what she planned to eat for dinner.

Her tranquil tone was completely at odds with the words she spoke. Just from her voice, you couldn’t detect the slightest hint of ambition in her words.

Yet, as she spoke, Basil Xavier could almost see a powerful confidence and ambition, as well as her vision for the future.

At that moment, he stood frozen, speechless for a long time.

After a good while, he finally found his voice. "Stella Sterling, do you know what you’re saying?"

"Of course I do. I’m perfectly lucid. I’m not confused."

Her voice was calm, even carrying a hint of a lighthearted smile.

Basil Xavier stared at her, and she just looked back at him calmly, a smile still in her eyes.

In that instant, he suddenly knew: Stella Sterling was serious. She wasn’t joking in the slightest.

She truly had this intention—to forge her own path in this world.

So when she said she didn’t want to be constrained, it wasn’t that she wanted to be free and untethered—it was that she wanted to be the ruler of her own world.

He had never imagined before this that Stella Sterling possessed such immense ambition.

’Gordon, oh, Gordon...’

’Did you ever truly know her?’

He thought to himself, deeply puzzled. In the past, he would occasionally hear Gordon Ford mention Stella Sterling.

He always felt that the person Gordon described and the person he was interacting with now were completely different.

’It seems two years in the apocalypse can truly change a person drastically.’

After a moment, he let out a soft chuckle, breaking the somewhat heavy atmosphere. He smiled wryly. "I never would’ve thought you had such grand ambitions."

"Regardless, I have to say, I’m quite impressed. At least you dare to think that way. Most people these days are just focused on finding their next meal."

As he said this, Basil Xavier noticed with surprise that although the woman before him had a darkened complexion, her coloring was excellent, her clothes were neat, and her spirits were high.

She gave off a completely different feeling from the people outside.

This at least proved that she had been living quite well for the past year or two and hadn’t suffered much hardship.

In contrast, he himself had been busy as a spinning top for the past two years, with an endless list of things to do. His own condition seemed far worse than Stella Sterling’s; it looked like he hadn’t lived as well as she had.

This discovery greatly astonished Basil Xavier.