Chapter 185: The Consequence

As he was being led away, the scrawny man kept looking back, glaring viciously in Stella Sterling’s direction.

Even from a distance, Stella Sterling could still hear him cursing up a storm.

But it didn’t matter. She wasn’t one to argue with a dead man walking.

The next time he looked back, she even gave him a little wave, a kind farewell.

If all went as expected, they would never have to deal with each other again.

And given the current situation, nothing unexpected would happen. Otherwise, the huge scene Ethan Young was making would turn into a complete joke.

He wanted to make an example of him to deter any other rule-breakers lurking in the shadows, so the man’s punishment was bound to be severe.

She didn’t involve herself in how Ethan Young handled him from there.

On the way back to her residential building, she ran into the kind woman from before.

The woman was surprised to see her safe and sound. Her eyebrows shot up as she blurted out, "You’re actually okay!"

Realizing how that sounded, she quickly added, "Sorry, dear, that’s not what I meant."

"That man from earlier—he’s a con artist. He specifically targets newcomers like you. A lot of people have been scammed by him. By the time some of them realized something was wrong, it was too late. He’d threaten and pressure them until he’d taken everything they had."

"You see, every newcomer arrives without any points, and it’s hard to earn them quickly. Trading personal items for points is one of the few ways to get started, but after he scams you, that option is just gone."

"I was so worried when I saw you with him earlier, but I couldn’t say too much. When you walked off with him, I really thought you were in trouble. It’s such a relief to see you’re all right."

The woman, who looked to be in her thirties, spoke at length and with genuine sincerity.

Stella Sterling nodded in thanks. "I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. The one with the problem isn’t me, it’s him."

"And from now on, he won’t have the chance to scam anyone ever again."

"What do you mean?"

The woman didn’t understand. Her eyes widened. "You didn’t kill him, did you? Dear, you can’t do that!"

Many of the people who’ve survived this apocalypse have a few tricks up their sleeve. It’s different for people like her who joined the base early on and have its protection.

But the newcomers have likely spent the last couple of years fighting to survive out there. None of them are simple.

’This young woman was so calm before, and she ignored my warning,’ she thought. ’Maybe she’s more capable than she looks.’

’It’s not impossible that the skinny punk misjudged her, picked a fight he couldn’t win, and got himself killed.’

"The base has its rules. Even though he’s a piece of trash, killing someone within the base is forbidden. If the higher-ups find out, you’ll be punished."

Stella Sterling laughed. "Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him. I just told the base authorities what he was up to. If you hurry over to the public square now, you can probably still see what happens to him."

With that, Stella Sterling patted the kind woman’s shoulder and walked away.

’Did that girl get it wrong?’ the woman wondered. ’That punk has connections. Even if you report him, someone will protect him. He’s not that easy to take down.’

The woman shook her head as she watched Stella Sterling’s retreating figure, thinking the newcomer was being far too naive.

If all it took to deal with him was reporting his crimes, someone would have done it long ago.

But he had a backer, someone protecting him from the shadows. There was nothing anyone could do, so they just had to swallow their losses in silence.

She didn’t believe the young woman’s words, but she was curious and had nothing better to do, so she started walking toward the public square.

She wanted to see if there was any truth to it. If she got to witness the man’s miserable end, it would be immensely satisfying. If not, it would just be a wasted walk, no real loss.

As she walked, however, she noticed quite a few people heading toward the square. Curious, she stopped someone to ask what was going on.

That’s how she learned that the base had just put out a notice: Captain Young of the base’s armed department was going to punish someone and was calling for everyone to come and watch.

After explaining, the person hurried off toward the square.

For the past two years, everyone had been struggling just to survive. There was no electricity, and what little power they had was saved for critical uses. As a result, nearly all forms of entertainment had ceased to exist.

Now that there was a rare chance to watch some drama unfold, everyone’s interest was piqued.

Hearing this, the kind woman’s eyes flickered. She recalled what the newcomer had just said. ’Could it be that she was telling the truth?’ The thought spurred her to quicken her pace.

Stella Sterling didn’t go to watch how Ethan Young dealt with the man, but the incident was the talk of the entire base.

Even from her private room on the sixth floor, she could hear the buzz of conversation from outside.

The man was dead.

Ethan Young’s methods had been decisive. In front of everyone who had gathered to watch, he publicly announced the man’s crimes, reiterated that such actions would not be tolerated within the base, and then executed the man on the spot, showing them with cold, hard facts the consequences of breaking the rules.

Among those who watched, some were delighted, while others looked grim.

But regardless of what anyone thought, Ethan Young had achieved his desired effect.

After today’s display, those who engaged in petty schemes behind the scenes wouldn’t dare to act so recklessly anymore. At least for a short while, they wouldn’t risk committing the same offense.

Of course, everyone knew that such things could never be completely eradicated, no matter where you were. The most he could do was to strike fear into their hearts.

To make them hesitate before breaking the rules.

Stella Sterling heard that someone had apparently tried to stop Ethan Young from killing the man, but they failed. Ethan Young had forcefully carried out the execution.

’It seems what the scrawny man said was true after all,’ she mused. ’He really did have a backer.’

But whoever his backer was, their status must have been lower than Ethan Young’s, which was why Ethan Young could deal with the situation so directly.

She heard all of this secondhand.

By the time the whole affair had concluded, she had already had a nap and woken up.

It was now a little past five o’clock.

She headed toward the office building in front and, after asking a few people for directions, found Ms. Ward, the woman who had shown her around the day before.

"You want to change your living quarters? Why? Aren’t you already in a private room?"

Ms. Ward was very surprised to hear Stella Sterling’s request.

In her eyes, Stella Sterling’s accommodations were already excellent. There was absolutely no need to spend points to move somewhere else.