Chapter 209: Testing the Effectiveness

"Sterling, you’re heading out?"

"Hey, Sterling. Be safe out there."

Inside Caeluna, whenever people saw Stella Sterling, they would greet her one by one.

Before, the people of Caeluna had all sorts of titles for her, and it was chaotic. Eventually, with the exception of Stephen Lawrence, everyone—man or woman, young or old—had unified in calling her Sterling.

Stella Sterling nodded in acknowledgment. After a moment of thought, she gathered a few people and left with them.

A month ago, these members of Caeluna had begun their training.

Previously, when they fought people outside, they relied solely on instinct, with no technique to speak of.

Because they had been focused on building the base, Stella Sterling hadn’t required this of them. She had only selected a few individuals, along with the management team, for tactical training.

Now that the base was complete, she had Stephen Lawrence and the others accelerate the training for all of Caeluna’s members.

Although the fact that they had survived this long in the apocalypse meant they weren’t weak, the current struggle was growing more intense by the day. Everyone was getting stronger, and they could not be an exception.

Moreover, as her subordinates, Stella Sterling would not permit them to be too weak.

One month had already shown some results. She had just randomly selected a group and planned to test the effectiveness of their recent training after meeting with Mr. Cheney.

As Stella Sterling left with the chosen few, the others watched with envy. This was the first time Sterling had ever personally taken people out.

"Sterling, where are we going?"

On the small boat, there were five or six people besides Stella Sterling.

Julian Fletcher watched the scenery flash by on the lake’s surface, asking with barely suppressed excitement.

It had been a year. For more than a year, they had been on Mount Caeluna. This was his first time outside, and he was genuinely curious about the world now.

Hearing his question, Stella Sterling glanced at him. "You’ll find out what we’re doing soon enough. For now, you should all rest up. You have a big fight ahead of you."

Stella Sterling’s words silenced the boat, though everyone was intrigued by what she had mentioned.

’Sterling has supported us for so long. Is it finally our turn to be useful?’

The great rain had been falling for over a year now, and the terrain had changed drastically from before.

In the sky, besides the ceaseless downpour, a layer of mist hung in the air, blurring everything.

The air was filled with a putrid, fishy stench mixed with a damp smell, a combination so foul it was almost nauseating.

Before setting out, Stella Sterling had everyone put on masks, but the smell still seeped through.

Previously, aside from within the cities, you rarely saw corpses on the water’s surface outside—only endless rain. But now, floating bodies were everywhere, bobbing on the water and emitting a foul odor.

And above the corpses, swarms of mosquitos and other insects hovered.

Stella Sterling took out a can of insecticide and sprayed it furiously.

The members of Caeluna looked at the scene outside. Their earlier excitement had vanished, replaced by silence.

The year of peaceful life in Caeluna had made them forget that this was the apocalypse.

Then, they all turned to look at Stella Sterling with admiration.

It was Sterling. Sterling had given them a year of peace.

If they had joined any other base, would any of them have given them a whole year to just work safely inside, without ever having to venture out and face the dangers?

Never mind anything else, which of the bases or factions out there wasn’t constantly fighting over territory and resources?

Because if you didn’t fight, you got nothing. If you didn’t fight, your entire faction would starve.

But Sterling had that power. For this entire year, none of them had needed to go out and scavenge for supplies, yet Sterling had been able to provide food and drink for so many of them for a full year.

To them, Sterling was practically their second parents.

This was the good thing about bringing people along—you didn’t even have to pilot the boat yourself. Stella Sterling lay back contentedly in her small chair, eyes slightly narrowed behind her mask and sunglasses.

She could feel all of their gazes on her.

Beneath her mask, the corners of her mouth lifted in a slight, satisfied smile.

She hadn’t given these people any Loyal Servant Pills. After all, as her operation grew, so would her number of subordinates. It would be impossible to control every single one with Mid-level Servant Pills.

The awe these people held for her was genuine, and that was what she truly needed.

Mr. Cheney was still at the waystation in that small mountain village, but his trading post had grown quite a bit in scale.

It was no longer just a few people setting up stalls to sell their wares like before.

Now, it was nicely arranged, and there were even places to rest.

Moreover, his trading post’s reputation was growing. Many people came specifically because they had heard of it, looking to trade for things they needed.

When Stella Sterling arrived this time, the place was clearly much more crowded than before.

The others followed behind Stella Sterling with curious expressions, surprised that such a place could exist in the apocalypse.

Their arrival attracted some onlookers, but they only glanced at the group before looking away.

Everyone maintained a safe distance, mutually wary of one another.

Even the younger Julian Fletcher was no longer looking around with wide-eyed curiosity as he had been just moments ago. He had composed himself and now stood respectfully behind Stella Sterling.

"Haha, Sterling, you’ve come!"

Mr. Cheney greeted them from a distance, his eyes sweeping over the people behind Stella Sterling.

’These people don’t look ordinary at all.’

’Could these be the people of Caeluna? Her subordinates?’

Although they didn’t have any particular special aura, they all gave off an impression of being full of vigor. They looked sharp and showed no signs of weakness.

They were robust—very different from the people outside.

He then turned his gaze back to Stella Sterling. He hadn’t heard much news about Caeluna this past year, but he had maintained continuous trade with them. This Stella Sterling was unfathomable, and even the people she brought with her were far from simple.

She was just a young woman, but she was truly impressive.

"Mr. Cheney."

Stella Sterling offered a greeting. Ever since their last meeting, they had stayed in touch over the past year. She would occasionally come here to see if he had anything she needed.

Over time, the two of them had become well-acquainted again.

"I was wondering if there’s been any news about the items I asked you to keep an eye out for last time."

Stella Sterling told the others to look around while she and Mr. Cheney went into a private room to talk.

"Not yet, but I’ve already put the word out that I’m looking for those items. People can bring them here to trade when they find them."