Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

Stella Sterling sat in front of the monitors, watching the scene unfold without much emotion.

’It looks like word of what happened last night has gotten out. Everyone in the building knows I killed Tripp Pence and his men.’

’It was already very late when it happened, and no one came out to see it.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’But there’s no such thing as a perfect secret. I made so much noise last night, and Tripp Pence’s men shouted my name.’

’People on the floors above and below must have heard everything. Besides, the bodies of Tripp Pence and his men were just left in the hallway. Anyone who stepped outside would have found them.’

’With them shouting my name last night, it’s no surprise people figured out I was the one who did it.’

’In a way, I did help these people who were being oppressed by Tripp Pence.’

She took a light sip of her tea.

’Tripp Pence’s gang seemed to have a dozen or so members. I killed seven or eight of them last night. Including the three Bell brothers from before, about ten people have died by my hand. That means there are still five or six of them left.’

’Now that the news has spread through the building, everyone probably knows I killed Tripp Pence and his crew. Will their remaining five or six brothers come looking for revenge?’

Her fingers tapped lightly on the glass tabletop, making a series of crisp sounds.

’I wonder if these people making such a scene are genuinely grateful, or if they’re just trying to pit me against the remaining members. Are they hoping I’ll kill those five or six for them too?’

She let out a soft laugh, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. After a moment, she stood up, opened the door, and brought the items left outside into her apartment.

’It would be a waste not to take things people deliver right to your door.’

Just as she was about to close the door, another set of footsteps echoed from the stairwell. From the sound of it, a group of more than ten people was heading straight for the 28th floor.

She looked up and saw a tall, bald man leading the group. He looked somewhat familiar.

"Miss Sterling!"

Seeing Stella Sterling standing right in the doorway, the bald man paused for a second before quickly calling out to stop her from closing the door.

Stella Sterling looked them over. Besides the bald man in the lead, there were more than a dozen people behind him. Most of them were young, with the youngest in their teens and the oldest no more than forty.

Moreover, this group of people was highly disciplined, as if they had been formally trained.

Compared to the previous group of people who were practically skin and bones, this group looked to be in much better condition. Though their clothes were dirty, as if they hadn’t cleaned up in a long time, their complexions were relatively normal and their presence was strong. They didn’t seem weak at all.

She looked at the bald man in the lead, her tone flat and unreadable. "Bringing this many people to my door. Are you here to cause trouble?"

She just stood there in the doorway, her voice level, yet a palpable, menacing aura washed over the group.

The leader, Felix Lawrence, stopped in his tracks, and the dozen or so people behind him halted as well.

They stared at Stella Sterling with grave expressions. Even though she was just standing there nonchalantly, she gave off an immense sense of pressure, as if taking another step forward would put them in grave danger.

Felix Lawrence didn’t dare underestimate her. He waved his hand, signaling for his people to back away to show Stella Sterling their goodwill. "Miss Sterling, please don’t misunderstand. We didn’t come here today to stir up trouble. We came to discuss a matter of cooperation with you."

Before Stella Sterling could reply, another set of footsteps echoed from downstairs.

She and Felix Lawrence’s crew all turned to look.

Felix Lawrence was even more surprised. It seemed he hadn’t expected anyone else to come looking for Stella Sterling at a time like this.

The footsteps were hurried, and soon, two figures appeared in their line of sight.

Felix Lawrence looked on with a puzzled expression. The sudden appearance of these two men gave him an immense sense of threat. Although the weapons in their hands were just ordinary clubs, they were incredibly intimidating in their grasp.

This was especially true of the man in front. He was pale and looked very weak, but when his icy gaze swept over Felix, it made his heart clench.

He was just confused. He didn’t recognize these two, yet they looked like they were here to cause trouble for his group.

’Could they be the remnants of Tripp Pence’s gang? Are they here to fight us to the death?’

Felix Lawrence’s eyes darkened. He turned to Stella Sterling and said, "Miss Sterling, we can talk later. Let’s deal with these two troublemakers first."

Stella Sterling didn’t look at him, her gaze fixed on the two newcomers instead.

"What are you two doing here?"

Her displeased gaze landed on Gordon Ford as she said coldly, "If you care so little about your own health, you might as well just end it all yourself sooner rather than later."

Faced with such cold words from her for the first time, Gordon Ford froze for a moment. Then, he let out a low chuckle.

But Gordon Ford quickly suppressed his smile and looked toward Felix Lawrence and his men. "Are they here to cause trouble for you?"

Felix Lawrence realized what was happening. It seemed these two newcomers knew Stella Sterling. He quickly spoke up to explain, "It’s a misunderstanding. Looks like we all got the wrong idea. Brothers, we’re not here to cause trouble for Miss Sterling. I’m here to discuss a partnership with her!"

Hearing this, Basil Xavier raised an eyebrow. "So it was a misunderstanding. I guess we were wrong. But I’ve gotta say, brother, when you show up at a girl’s front door with a dozen guys, it’s kind of hard not to get the wrong impression!"

Felix Lawrence rubbed the back of his head and gave an embarrassed smile. "Lately, the building’s been full of all sorts of people, good and bad. For safety, we’ve all gotten used to moving in groups. It was my oversight!"

Basil Xavier tugged on Gordon Ford’s arm. "See? I told you not to worry. Look at you, getting all worked up!"

Then he turned to Stella Sterling with a grin. "Hey, don’t be like that. My brother here just saw a huge group of people heading up to your floor and was worried something might happen to you, so he rushed up to check things out!"

Felix Lawrence sized up the two men before him. They were strangers he’d never seen before, so they probably didn’t live in the building. Recalling what he’d heard about last night, he figured these must be the two people Tripp Pence’s group had targeted.

He turned to Stella Sterling. "I was presumptuous this time. It looks like it’s not a convenient time to talk, so I’ll take my men and leave for now. We can talk later!"

With that, Felix Lawrence decisively led his men away.

"This building of yours is pretty chaotic. So many different factions in just one building. It’s complicated!" Basil Xavier said with some surprise. After a night of rest, much of his stamina had returned, and he was acting much more confident and cheerful.

Stella Sterling turned to him, her tone inscrutable. "The world is like this everywhere now. Everyone’s just trying to survive."