Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

The three factions combined numbered around sixty to seventy people.

These three factions usually kept to themselves, each minding their own business and focusing on recruiting new members.

But this time, the emergence of Caeluna disrupted the balance between them, drawing their ire.

They had made up their minds to force Caeluna out.

They figured that even if Caeluna had powerful backers, they would first make a show of force to teach the newcomers to keep their heads down.

The people signing up to join Stella Sterling and her group today were all young, the youngest in their teens and the oldest around thirty.

The older ones were relatively level-headed.

But the teenagers were at that hot-blooded age. Although the hardships of the past two years had tempered them significantly, the fire in their bellies remained.

Once they made a decision, they would go all out.

Before Stella Sterling could even speak, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen shouted, "Boss, what’s the plan? Do we go straight in and waste them, or do we fall back for now, retreat, and come back for revenge after we’ve gathered more people?"

Stella Sterling almost choked on her own spit when she heard the title.

Her expression looked strange for a second or two before returning to normal.

She didn’t answer him.

’Gather more people? Where would we do that? Everyone is already here!’

But saying that out loud would be a major blow to morale, so Stella Sterling didn’t reveal the truth.

The boy’s name was Julian Fletcher. Seeing the boss’s silence, he assumed she preferred his first suggestion. His face lit up with excitement. "So the boss wants to go straight in and waste them? Awesome! I think that’s the way to go, too."

"Hey, kid, just wait for Sterling’s orders. What are you so worked up about?"

Shaw Lawrence, who happened to be standing right next to Julian Fletcher, gave his arm a tug.

Julian Fletcher quieted down a little, but his face was still flushed with excitement, and he looked ready for a fight at a moment’s notice.

"Good. I’m glad you’ve made this decision."

"Now, let me give you a little demonstration."

The moment Stella Sterling finished speaking, she pulled two items from her black bag and tossed them to Stephen Lawrence and Shane Lawrence.

Then, before they could react, she raised a gun of her own and opened fire on the crowd opposite them.

In just a few seconds, a swath of people in front of them collapsed...

Only then did Stephen Lawrence and Shane Lawrence get a clear look at what they were holding. Their shock quickly turned to elation.

While they had never used these things before, they had studied them extensively and knew the theory inside and out.

Without even stopping to ask Stella Sterling where she had gotten them, they aimed the weapons at the Sea Gang and unleashed a hail of bullets.

In a matter of seconds, a huge number of people from the Sea Gang and the other two factions were mowed down. Only a handful of the quickest to react didn’t even have time to scream before they turned and fled, running for their lives.

Stella Sterling didn’t give chase. She had already achieved her goal. She didn’t care that some had escaped; she was confident they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble again.

Out of sixty or seventy people, only about eight or nine had escaped. The rest were now corpses lying on the ground.

Even for those who were accustomed to the cruelty of the apocalypse and had seen plenty of death, to witness so many die in an instant was still shocking.

In the distance, the members of the smaller factions who had withdrawn earlier watched the scene unfold in terror.

They took one last, long look at Stella Sterling and her group, then abandoned their belongings, turned, and fled, disappearing from sight.

They didn’t dare linger. What if the Caeluna members, caught up in a killing frenzy, decided to kill anyone they saw?

Before today, they might never have heard the name Caeluna.

But after today, that name would be forever burned into their minds.

At that moment, Seven Locke and the twenty-six other new recruits were completely stunned. They all wore the same expression: jaws hanging open in utter disbelief.

Machine guns... such powerful weapons were absolute game-changers!

’Caeluna actually has weapons like these!’

After the shock came a profound sense of relief. They were glad their earlier decision had been the right one; joining Caeluna was no mistake.

They had all been prepared for a bloody battle.

So everything before had been a test from their new leader. They’d suspected as much, but even so, they had believed a bloody fight was unavoidable today. They never imagined that she was truly just testing their loyalty, that she had the power to deal with the troublemakers all on her own, without them even needing to lift a finger.

In that moment, they were shocked and excited, and they looked at Stella Sterling with a complex mix of emotions.

It may have seemed like a small test, but for them, it had been a crucial one. If they had chosen wrong—

Having dealt with the problem, Stella Sterling turned to look at them. Her eyes held the same calm they’d seen before, but now they could also see a hint of approval in her gaze. "Very good. I am satisfied with your performance."

"Welcome to Caeluna."

She had said almost the same words before, but they all understood that the meaning behind this "welcome" was entirely different.

And their state of mind upon hearing it couldn’t have been more different.

"I want to join."

"I want to join Caeluna! I want to sign up!"

After a brief silence, a crowd of people suddenly surged forward, rushing frantically toward Stephen Lawrence and Shane Lawrence, all shouting that they wanted to sign up.

These were the same people who had been in line earlier but had left when Aaron Hayden and his gang appeared.

From a safe distance, they had witnessed the entire spectacle.

Now, their desire to join Caeluna was stronger than ever.

Stephen Lawrence didn’t immediately hand them the forms. Instead, he looked to Stella Sterling.

Stella Sterling’s expression was placid. "Continue. Do the same as you were doing before."

After saying this, she settled back into her lounge chair.

’The test was only for those who had already signed up. Since they had registered, I could tentatively consider them my people. And if they were my people, I had to test their loyalty and courage!’

’As for those who hadn’t signed up yet, they weren’t my people, so whatever decisions they made had nothing to do with me. I won’t pass judgment on their actions.’

The people waiting to sign up breathed a collective sigh of relief when they heard Stella Sterling’s words and began to hurry Stephen Lawrence along.

Stephen Lawrence took out the forms and had them line up to fill them out. He understood Stella Sterling’s meaning. He announced, "Before you join, what you do is your own business. But once you join Caeluna, you are one of us. Caeluna will grant you protection, but in return, we demand your loyalty. So, think it over carefully. Are you in or are you out?"