Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

"Your courage is commendable."

Stella Sterling nodded, acknowledging the other woman’s bravery.

The woman in black’s expression, however, darkened.

Her words only proved this was no simple matter. It was likely some kind of poison, and the antidote was in this woman’s hands. This meant she would be under her control from now on.

’How vicious!’

She cursed inwardly. But for some reason, the moment the thought crossed her mind, a sudden, electric pain shot through her body.

She collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly.

The people nearby were startled and backed away. Seven Locke and Julian Fletcher immediately moved to protect Stella Sterling.

"Sterling, be careful. She’s not acting normal."

Stella Sterling looked at the woman without surprise. The reaction was all too familiar.

Stephen Lawrence had been just like this when he first took the Loyal Servant Pill.

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t submitted willingly. Stella Sterling had no need to be polite to a defeated captive. She just made her swallow a Loyal Servant Pill, guaranteeing she would never harbor any rebellious thoughts again.

Simply put, the Loyal Servant Pill was extremely effective.

However, Stella Sterling didn’t use it carelessly.

After taking it, a person retained their own consciousness, and their behavior and actions appeared normal. But whenever she willed it, the person who had consumed the pill became no different from her puppet.

She had no desire to treat those who genuinely wanted to follow her this way.

Of course, that was on the condition that they were loyal to her.

She looked down at the woman. Seeing that her convulsions had subsided, she said softly, "Don’t curse me. Otherwise, you’ll be punished."

The woman in black’s eyes widened, a trace of fear and disbelief within them.

"What did you do to me?"

Stella Sterling didn’t answer her question. But now, a sliver of fear for the woman before her took root in her heart.

’There’s something wicked about this woman!’

"There, the woman’s over there!"

"Heh heh, we found her. Looks like our luck isn’t half bad. Get her! She must be rich. Once we capture her, everything she’s backed by will be ours."

"Looks like the last group was a bunch of losers. They couldn’t even handle this small group. In the end, it just makes things easier for us."

Just then, a larger fishing boat headed their way. A man standing at the bow pointed in their direction and shouted excitedly.

More precisely, he was pointing at Stella Sterling.

"Just dealt with one batch, and here comes another, eager to die."

Stella Sterling sneered, completely unfazed by the situation.

The woman in black’s eyes flickered.

This new group, it seemed, had the same idea they did. They were also targeting this wicked woman, they’d just been a little slower to arrive.

’What if...’

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the paralyzing, electric sensation washed over her again. She fell back to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

The members of Caeluna watched her, completely baffled.

They didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she was clearly having some kind of fit.

But their attention was on the approaching boat.

"Sterling, there’s a lot of them. Should we retreat for now?"

Seven Locke said, concerned.

"Since they’ve come all this way, we might as well greet them. It seems many people have forgotten about Caeluna. This is a good opportunity to give them a proper reminder."

The woman in black, who had just recovered from the pain, froze when she heard what Stella Sterling said.

Caeluna!

’That name sounds so familiar!’

She thought for a moment, and then her pupils suddenly dilated.

She remembered now. A year ago, the name Caeluna had caused a huge stir in Mirefall for a time.

Rumor had it that three of them, with just three guns, had taken out fifty or sixty people. Caeluna’s weapons were said to be incredibly powerful, and no one knew if they had other members, or other weapons like those.

’These people are from Caeluna? And we actually tried to go after them?’

’We didn’t even have a gun, yet we dared to confront them head-on. Weren’t we just asking for death?’

At that moment, any lingering defiance in her heart completely vanished. They hadn’t lost without reason today!

"Looks like the last group had some skill, for all the good it did them. They’re all dead."

More than twenty men jumped off the fishing boat, their tone full of disdain as they looked at the corpses on the ground.

Then, his gaze fell on the woman in black, sitting weakly to the side, and he burst out laughing. "Well, if it isn’t Black Swan! Usually so high and mighty, aren’t you? Don’t tell me you got caught, haha! How about you come with me? After I take care of these people, I’ll do you a favor and get you out of here."

"Ptooey!"

The woman in black, addressed as Black Swan, spat in his direction, her face full of scorn.

"Well, hello there. Welcome to your doom."

Stella Sterling waved a hand, greeting them. Her words, however, made the smiles on the faces of the twenty-some men freeze solid.

"You bitch! You’re about to die and you still dare to run your mouth? I was going to let you live a little longer, but since you’ve decided to step up, I’ll just have to kill you first!"

"Boss, we can’t kill her! She’s a cash cow!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

A tall, thin man beside him tugged on his arm.

Their entire purpose for coming was to capture this woman and squeeze her for whatever she was worth. If they killed her, their whole trip would be for nothing.

"If that’s the case, then capture her alive!"

"You talk too much."

Stella Sterling sneered. The greatsword she had used against the pig merchant was still strapped to her back. She drew the massive blade and charged toward them.

The Caeluna members didn’t know why Sterling wasn’t using a gun, or if she had even brought one this time. But since their leader was in motion, they charged forward without hesitation.

In just a few moments, they saw that Sterling had already cut down five or six men, one for each swing of her blade. Her speed was simply astonishing.

"Sterling is incredible!"

Seven Locke exclaimed in awe, nearly getting struck from behind. Fortunately, Julian Fletcher was there to pull her out of the way.

"Shit, how is this woman so damn strong?"

The leader cried out in shock. He then realized that the others in her group were also formidable fighters.

He immediately realized something was wrong. No wonder Black Swan and her crew were all wiped out here.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He pulled a pitch-black object from his clothes and aimed it in Stella Sterling’s direction.

BANG.

"A gun! He’s got a gun! Sterling, look out!"

The sudden gunshot startled everyone. When they saw Stella Sterling had dodged it, the members of Caeluna breathed a sigh of relief and fixed their gazes warily on the man with the gun.

Seeing his first shot had missed, the man gritted his teeth and fired several more rounds in Stella Sterling’s direction.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Gordon Ford, I think I hear gunshots over there."