"Old man, thereâs nothing we want that we canât get. Itâs your lucky day weâve taken an interest in your stuff. Hand it over if you know whatâs good for you. Otherwise, Iâll smash your stall and youâll leave with nothing."
Just then, a sudden, loud shout reached Stella Sterlingâs ears.
Both the voice and its arrogant tone felt familiar to Stella. She turned to look and saw that quite a few people were also watching with interest.
At the center of the attention were two young men and a middle-aged man in his forties.
The two young men looked very similar, like brothers. One of them had a fierce, menacing expression. They stood in front of the middle-aged man, pointing at the goods laid out on the ground with an air of dominance.
Although she didnât know what had led up to this, it looked like the two brothers had taken a fancy to something the middle-aged man was selling and tried to snatch it. The man must have stopped them, causing one of the brothers to fly into a humiliated rage and resort to harsh threats.
The people in the crowd looked like they were enjoying the show. Over the past two years, they had grown used to this law of the jungleâtaking things by force. Even if they werenât as blatant as the two brothers, they didnât think there was anything wrong with their actions.
In fact, many were watching from the sidelines, considering whether they should do the same if the brothers succeeded.
This small mountain village seemed to have plenty of good things and abundant resources. But to get anything, you had to trade. Everything people had on them now was useful; if they could just rob someone, they would rather not make a trade.
Stella Sterling glanced at the expressions of the surrounding crowd before turning her gaze back to the main players in the drama.
She raised an eyebrow. âWell, look who it is. Old acquaintances.â
The brothers were none other than Timothy Chase and his sibling, whom she had met before.
Aboard the Meridia Base ship, these two had tried to pull a fast one on her. But for various reasons, she hadnât left the ship; instead, the two brothers were the ones who got kicked off.
She didnât know what had happened to them after that. To think they were still alive and out here causing troubleâand now sheâd run into them again.
As for the middle-aged stall owner being harassed...
The middle-aged owner looked at the two brothers before him without a trace of panic. He said calmly, "You two, we do fair trades here. If you like my things, youâre welcome to trade items of equal value. Even if you donât have something of equal value, you can show me what you do have. If I see something I need, I will naturally trade with you. But if youâre thinking of taking them by force, I wonât allow it!"
As he spoke, he began to pack up the items on his stall.
Just then, a hand slammed down on the cloth, stopping his movement. Timothy Chase stared at him coldly. "Are you deaf? Or are you telling me youâve got a death wish, old man?"
Beside him, Leo Chase said nothing. He just fiddled with something in his hands, but his eyes were just as malicious.
The middle-aged owner was about to speak again when a clear, cold female voice cut in. "Itâs been a while, and you two are as overbearing as ever. Iâm honestly surprised that people like you are still alive."
Stella Sterlingâs words were blunt and full of malice.
It made all three people involved turn to look.
The difference was that the Timothy Chase brothersâ faces were dark, even filled with killing intent, while the middle-aged owner simply looked over with curiosity.
âHe didnât know who was stepping in to help. Do good people like that still exist nowadays?â
A flicker of curiosity crossed the middle-aged ownerâs eyes.
"Itâs you, youâ"
After getting a clear look at the newcomer, a cold glint flashed in Timothy Chaseâs eyes. He started to speak, then abruptly stopped, his gaze toward Stella Sterling a mixture of hatred and apprehension.
Leo Chase was also staring darkly at Stella Sterling.
âIf it werenât for this woman, how could they have been kicked out by the people from Meridia Base?â
Back then, they hadnât known the true strength of Meridia Base. Later, however, theyâd heard that the base practically represented the official authorities. If they had managed to get in, their futures would have been secure. With their skills, they might have even been given important positions.
They wouldnât have to be drifting around everywhere like they were now.
âBut shouldnât this woman have joined Meridia Base? Why is she here? Could it be that people from Meridia Base are here too?â
Leo Chase mused inwardly as his eyes scanned the area behind Stella Sterling. After a long look, he confirmed that she was alone. There was no one else.
Stella Sterling didnât care how much their gazes screamed that they wanted to kill her.
With a smile, she greeted them as if they were old friends. "We meet again. After you were kicked off the ship, I thought youâd be dead by now. Seeing you alive again... what a disappointment."
Hearing her words, the people in the crowd started to give her strange looks.
Even though relationships were hardly friendly these days, it was rare to hear someone speak so bluntly. This woman had some nerve. The brothers clearly werenât good people, yet she wasnât afraid of offending them.
It seemed there was bad blood between this woman and the brothers.
Stella Sterlingâs words confirmed for the Timothy Chase brothers that she was indeed connected to them being kicked off the ship.
The aura around the two men grew heavier. They stared at her, their gazes deadly, and said coldly, "What do you mean by that? We donât have any grudge between us, do we?"
The crowd was even more surprised. The womanâs words had been so harsh. Given how arrogant the brothers had just been, shouldnât they be rushing up to give her a brutal beating?
But they didnât. In fact, they seemed somewhat wary of her.
And so, the way everyone looked at Stella Sterling began to change. Apparently, this woman was a force to be reckoned with.
The middle-aged man, however, was now frowning as he stared at Stella Sterling. For some reason, she felt familiar to him, but he couldnât quite place her.
Although Timothy Chase was glaring fiercely at Stella Sterling, he didnât make a rash move. Instead, he said with displeasure, "We donât have any major grudge. Letâs just let the past be the past. This has nothing to do with you, so I hope you wonât interfere."
âIf it wasnât for the gun this woman carried, why would they be tolerating her like this?â
"Sorry, but what if I donât want to let the past be the past?"
Stella Sterling waved a hand at them with a look of mock helplessness.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man tried to reason with Stella, "Miss, thank you for your kindness, but this is something we can resolve ourselves. Thereâs no need to get you involved."