Chapter 208: Unfilial Daughter

They glanced at the bottled water in her hand, their gazes turning profound.

But a moment later, the men looked away and fixed their stares on Marcus Sterling and Wanda Larkin.

"I don’t care what your situation is. You have two choices: either give us what you promised, or give us back what we gave you!"

Wanda Larkin looked at them. "And what if we choose neither?"

The moment she finished speaking, a woman with frizzy, dyed-blonde hair kicked her, sending her sprawling to the ground next to Marcus Sterling.

"Choose neither? Looks like you really think we’re pushovers, huh?"

"Let me tell you, no one takes advantage of us and gets away with it. If you don’t give back our stuff... well, you don’t want to know the consequences."

Stella Sterling watched them for a few moments. Understanding their predicament, she gradually lost interest and prepared to leave.

Just then, Wanda Larkin glanced in that direction again and caught sight of Stella Sterling’s retreating figure. Her eyes widened, and she cried out, "Stella, is that you? Stella!"

The figure was the spitting image of Stella Sterling. Wanda Larkin’s eyes widened, and she began shouting frantically in that direction, "Stella, it’s me, your mom! I’m your mother! Your father is here, too! Please, save us!"

"Stella Sterling! Stella—!"

The young thugs surrounding them paused their assault, looking at Wanda in confusion. They followed her gaze but only saw a woman speeding away in a motorboat.

’Just a second ago, the woman acted like she didn’t know that person. Why is she suddenly screaming like a lunatic now?’

Seeing Stella Sterling continue without pause, Wanda Larkin seemed to snap. As if clutching at her last hope, she broke through the encirclement of thugs and ran to the water’s edge, screaming, "Stella! Stella Sterling, turn around! Mom and Dad are here!"

But no matter how she screamed, the figure in the boat never looked back.

Seeing his wife’s state, Marcus Sterling also looked in that direction. His pupils contracted, and a jolt of agitation ran through him.

He struggled to his feet and staggered forward a couple of steps, but just then, Stella Sterling’s motorboat disappeared from view. It was useless to shout now.

He stopped, his face darkening. "That ungrateful wretch."

’She obviously stopped and was even smiling over there. She must have seen us. She saw us and still wouldn’t lift a finger to help. She must have heard her mother’s cries and deliberately pretended not to.’

’Just as I thought. Since we didn’t raise her ourselves, she has no conscience at all. How could she be so heartless, watching her mother and me get beaten like this?’

He had assumed that wretched girl had died in the snowpocalypse long ago. He never imagined she was still alive, let alone that she’d managed to get her hands on a motorboat.

Wanda Larkin also stopped, staring at the empty water where the boat had vanished. Her face was a mask of dejection. "How could she do this? We’re her parents. How could she be so heartless?"

She couldn’t believe Stella would do this. She obviously recognized them, yet she just left as if they were strangers. How could she be so cruel, so cold-blooded?

’If Yara saw them suffering like this, she would never just stand by and watch.’

The thought of Yara Sterling—of the daughter who had now been missing for over two years—sent a pang of heartache through Wanda Larkin.

"Haha! She doesn’t even know you, and you’re trying to pass yourselves off as her parents."

"I’d stop struggling if I were you. No one’s coming to save you. And don’t call us heartless. We’ll give you some time to think it over."

Marcus Sterling said to the thugs, "We really can’t produce the items right now. And we can’t return the food we ate."

Seeing their eyes turn vicious, he quickly added, "But you can’t kill us. We have a son, and he’s a scientist."

"You should know how important scientists are these days. The bases need people like him. If you let us find him, we can give you plenty of rewards."

"But if you kill us, you’ll get nothing."

...

As Stella Sterling sped away in the motorboat, she heard the shouts behind her. She knew they had recognized her.

’But it didn’t matter. So what if they recognized me? Why should I help them?’

’The fact that I haven’t killed them with my own hands is already the greatest mercy I can show them.’

’As long as they don’t come looking for me in the future, I won’t kill them myself.’

’As for anything else—whether they could survive out there on their own—she couldn’t care less.’

"Ms. Sterling, you’re back!"

Stephen Lawrence, having just returned from his tasks, saw Stella Sterling and his eyes lit up. He then began to report on the day’s events.

Then his gaze fell on the chicken clutched in Stella Sterling’s hand, and his voice was full of pleasant surprise. "A live chicken! Where did you get it?"

"I traded for it."

Seeing the way Stephen Lawrence’s eyes were shining, she said, "Go ahead and cook it. Make a big pot of chicken soup. Everyone’s been working hard lately, toiling out in the heavy rain every day. It takes a toll on the body. Let’s have something good to recuperate. And don’t forget to pass my words along to everyone."

"Haha, you’re always so considerate of us, Ms. Sterling. It’s our good fortune to be able to follow you."

Stephen Lawrence happily took the chicken from Stella Sterling. After getting her nod of approval, he scurried off toward the kitchen.

Caeluna was now gradually getting on the right track, and it even had support staff.

Hearing that there would be chicken soup tonight, everyone let out a cheer and worked with even more vigor.

She was so good to them. Now, they didn’t have to take risks; just by doing a bit of work each day, they could eat until they were full. From time to time, they even got extra dishes. Their admiration for her reached its zenith.

And the words their leader had spoken went straight to their hearts.

They all worked as if their lives depended on it. Besides, this was going to be their home base, so naturally, they wouldn’t dare to slack off.

After returning to Mount Caeluna and resting for a while, Stella Sterling began to study her pocket dimension again.

For the next while, aside from occasional visits to Mr. Cheney, she rarely went out.

Time passed, little by little.

「One year later.」

Mount Caeluna was now completely transformed, a far cry from what it had been when they first arrived.

Its scale was no smaller than the former Meridia Base, and in some areas, it was even more advanced.

For over a year, everyone had focused their main efforts on construction, rarely venturing outside. During that time, they hadn’t recruited any new members either.

Gradually, the stir Caeluna had once caused in Mirefall died down, and many people slowly forgot the name.

Over the past year, however, the conflicts between survivors in various cities had grown increasingly fierce, giving rise to many new factions, both large and small.

Many people died every day. Some fell to natural disasters, others to human conflict.