Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

His eyes turned cold. ’These people are out here doing such shameless things, and under the Caeluna name no less. Aren’t they just tarnishing our reputation?’

’Now they’re targeting us, using our own name to try and scare us. How ridiculous.’

The others figured out what was happening and sneered.

Stella Sterling watched the people in the distance with unhurried calm. "Oh? You say you work for Caeluna. In that case, do you have any idea who I am?"

"I don’t care who you are! Whatever your status, it means nothing before Caeluna! Caeluna is the greatest!"

The man’s voice was filled with both incredible arrogance and unwavering conviction.

Stella Sterling almost felt compelled to applaud him.

If they weren’t using the Caeluna name to commit crimes, and if they weren’t trying to rob *her* of all people.

She might have actually believed his words were genuine praise for Caeluna—after all, not even she, for all her confidence, would dare make such a bold claim.

But she knew they were just using Caeluna’s name to intimidate her group and mask their own insecurity.

She smiled. "You’re not wrong. Caeluna is indeed powerful."

Anyone who knew Stella Sterling would recognize that look. She was in a wicked mood, ready to toy with someone.

The men across the water, however, didn’t know her. They were taken aback by her words.

’They didn’t get it. Shouldn’t she be scared? Why was she agreeing with them?’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

But the leader pressed on. "Good that you understand. In that case, we won’t waste any more words. Seeing as one of you knows someone from Caeluna, we’ll cut you a deal. Just hand over half the grain on your ship. How about it? We’re being more than fair, right?"

"Yes, very fair,"

Stella Sterling nodded. Due to the distance, the men couldn’t clearly see her face or her expression.

They only heard her words and assumed she had agreed, their faces breaking into delighted smiles.

But in the next moment, they heard Stella Sterling add, "...except I don’t agree."

"You don’t agree? You don’t agree?! Are you trying to piss off Caeluna Base? Caeluna is just a short distance from here! All it takes is one of our men going back to make a call, and not a single one of you will get out of here alive!"

In response, Stella Sterling simply repeated her earlier question. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

’She was quite curious to see the looks on their faces when they finally learned her true identity.’

Before they could answer, she glanced at the water behind them. "No need to go get them. Caeluna’s people are already here."

The men didn’t have time to process her words before they heard a commotion behind them.

They whipped around to see several small speedboats charging in their direction.

Each boat carried two or three people dressed in matching uniforms, their hands holding machine guns and their expressions impassive.

Seeing this, the robbers’ eyes went wide!

’What was going on?’

The speedboats all bore the Caeluna Base emblem.

’These are people from Caeluna!’

’What were they doing here?’

The men exchanged glances, seeing the confusion mirrored in each other’s eyes.

’Who called them? We were just bluffing! We never actually planned on getting Caeluna involved.’

’Besides, they knew better than anyone that they had no connection to Caeluna whatsoever. They couldn’t have called for them even if they wanted to.’

’They also knew that if Caeluna Base ever found out they were using their name, there would be hell to pay.’

A wave of panic washed over them, leaving them flustered and unsure of what to do.

They looked so pathetic that Stella Sterling almost felt sorry for them.

"Boss, what do we do? People from Caeluna are really here! What if they find out about us?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? Calm down."

"The people from Caeluna Base don’t necessarily know we’re using their name. If we just play along, we might be able to fool both sides."

The leader spoke with forced calm. He stood on his inflatable boat, but his eyes were already scanning for an escape route.

’If things went south, he had to know how to get away fast.’

He continued his charade. "So, what’s it going to be? Our people from Caeluna are here. Once they arrive, you won’t be able to get away. If you know what’s good for you, hand over half your supplies now. I can still make the call to let you leave."

Stella’s group remained silent, simply watching him.

Stella Sterling applauded. "Impressive, truly impressive!"

Even the slow-witted pirates could tell something was off.

’The attitude of this group on the fishing boat was all wrong!’

The leader thought about the sudden appearance of the Caeluna patrol and felt a growing sense of dread.

He then recalled their repeated question—did he know who she was? A suspicion began to form in his mind, but he didn’t dare believe it.

’He couldn’t be that unlucky, could he?’

"Besides, Caeluna boats always had the Caeluna emblem. This fishing boat in front of him didn’t."

’He had to be overthinking things!’

He told himself to calm down.

Meanwhile, the Caeluna speedboats had arrived, stopping right behind the pirates’ inflatable rafts.

At the forefront were a young man and a woman in her early twenties.

Upon seeing the people on the fishing boat, both of their faces lit up with excitement.

They straightened up, their expressions turning solemn as they bowed respectfully in her direction. "Welcome back, Sterling!"

The pirates on the inflatable rafts were completely baffled by the Caeluna group’s reaction.

Then they whipped their heads back toward the fishing boat, their hearts suddenly POUNDING in their chests.

They saw the smiling woman standing casually on the deck. She waved to the newcomers from Caeluna. "On our own turf, someone is using the Caeluna name to try and rob me. Isn’t that interesting?"

By now, how could the men on the rafts possibly fail to understand? The leader’s eyes were practically bulging from their sockets.

’His guess had been right. These people were from Caeluna, and judging by their attitude toward that woman, her status was anything but ordinary.’

’They’d actually tried to rob someone from Caeluna, and they’d done it using Caeluna’s own name.’

’Weren’t they just asking to be killed?’

His legs began to tremble uncontrollably as he shouted, "A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding!"

He turned toward Stella Sterling and abruptly dropped to his knees. "A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding! I didn’t know you were from Caeluna, ma’am! If we had known, we never would have done this!"

But even to his own ears, the words sounded hollow and weak, completely lacking in conviction.