Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

In her bedroom, Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow when she heard that.

’I didn’t expect to wake up in the middle of the night for some juicy gossip only to find out it’s about me. How strange.’

’But what did their business have to do with her?’

She sat up in bed and strained to hear, wanting to get a clearer picture.

But it seemed that after Willow Young said that, the apartment across the hall fell silent. She couldn’t hear anything else.

Getting only the beginning of the gossip—especially a beginning that involved her—with no follow-up was rather annoying. She listened intently for a while longer, but when no further sounds came, she gave up. She got up, poured herself a glass of water, and went back to sleep.

She didn’t know that the reason it went quiet was because after Willow Young had shouted, her boyfriend realized how dangerous that was and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "Lulu, have you got a death wish?!"

A wave of fear washed over Willow Young after she shouted. Only then did she remember how terrifying Stella Sterling could be.

Just a few days ago, right outside her door, Stella had hacked someone to death and injured several others. She had even dragged one person into her apartment, and no one knew what happened to them.

When she saw Stella kill that person with her own eyes, she had been so scared she’d run back into her living room, trembling, not daring to watch any longer. Her boyfriend had watched the rest and told her what happened.

And so, the traumatic impression Stella had left on her psyche deepened.

She was afraid of her!

Right now, she was terrified that Stella had heard her and would fly into a rage, taking that murderous blade of hers and smashing down their door.

So she stayed silent for a long time.

Seeing that she had calmed down, her boyfriend finally removed his hand from her mouth.

Willow Young was much calmer, but she couldn’t stop herself from muttering under her breath.

"Stella Sterling, Stella Sterling... I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve brought her up lately!"

"You always tell me not to provoke her and to stay far away, but don’t think I haven’t seen the admiration in your eyes every time you mention her!"

"For the past two months, you’ve been constantly lecturing me while talking about how great Stella Sterling is. I don’t get what’s so great about her! She’s like a psycho!"

"Besides, she’s only so brazen because she has that knife, right? If I had one, I could probably be even more impressive than her!"

Her voice was full of complaint, but she instinctively kept it down to a whisper, so low that only her boyfriend next to her could hear.

She still had some sense left and didn’t dare to shout like she had just moments before.

Especially not with what she was saying; she couldn’t risk Stella Sterling overhearing it.

But her tone was filled with a sense of being wronged.

She feared Stella Sterling, but she was also jealous of her. They were around the same age, so why did Stella get to be so capable and feared by everyone, while she had to live so cautiously?

Before all this, she would have looked down on a cold-blooded, selfish person like Stella, but now she had to be so wary of her. It stung.

It was even worse when her own boyfriend kept bringing Stella up, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

Tears streamed down her face as she spoke.

Her boyfriend, sitting beside her, wanted to point out that Stella Sterling’s prowess wasn’t just because she had a long knife.

’That blade can’t be light, and it’s definitely not easy to control, let alone wield it as skillfully as Stella does. If it were my girlfriend... even if I just gave her the knife, it would be useless!’

But seeing her cry, his heart softened. He began to comfort her gently, trying to explain the situation.

Once she had finally calmed down, he said, "This is why I keep telling you not to antagonize her. I’ve been watching for a while now. Her methods might be a little harsh, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. At least, as long as you don’t mess with her, she won’t attack you."

Willow Young desperately wanted to argue. ’Someone like Stella isn’t bad? She kills without batting an eye! She didn’t even care when my own mother fainted on her doorstep! How is that not bad?’

But as if reading her mind, her boyfriend spoke before she could. "We don’t know the whole truth about what happened before, so let’s not judge that. But think about what’s happened since. Hasn’t it always been other people starting trouble with her? If she didn’t react harshly, she’d be the one getting hurt!"

"Besides, everyone says they’re scared of her, but look at us. We live right across the hall, and nothing’s happened. She’s never once given us any trouble."

Willow Young couldn’t argue with that.

"In fact, we should be grateful. The only reason we’ve been able to live this peacefully is because she’s our neighbor. Otherwise, someone would have probably targeted us by now!"

...

Stella Sterling had a long dream last night about her high school and college days.

And throughout the dream, there was always one person—a blurry figure she couldn’t quite make out, but she had a nagging feeling she knew who it was—

She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, placing a hand over her racing heart. She shook her head. ’It’s all water under the bridge. Why am I even thinking about it? It’s long over.’

She attributed it all to seeing that person yesterday. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought from her mind and didn’t dwell on it.

She took a shower, enjoyed a nice breakfast, and had a pleasant morning.

That afternoon, someone knocked on her door.

The knock was gentle and polite, a stark contrast to the rude banging from before.

’She was curious, though. Ever since she’d scared Willow Young and River Larkin had gone missing, almost no one had knocked on her door except for those begging for food.’

’And even they had vanished after her violent display a few days ago. So who could be looking for her now?’

She didn’t open the door, watching on her security monitor instead.

On the screen, a woman with exquisite makeup stood at her door. Dressed in a red coat with long, wavy hair, fiery red lipstick, and a curvaceous figure, she was utterly captivating.

Her clean face and clearly styled hair were a world away from the appearance of everyone else after two months of non-stop blizzards.

Stella raised an eyebrow. ’Someone who can still use water to wash and groom themselves... Could she be like me? Did she stockpile a lot of supplies beforehand?’

’To think there was someone like that in this complex. How did I never notice her before!’

’And why was she here looking for me?’

The woman looked vaguely familiar, but for the life of her, Stella couldn’t place where she’d seen her before.

The person at the door kept adjusting her clothes and hair, maintaining her perfect appearance. Even though Stella hadn’t opened the door, the woman showed no signs of impatience.

Seeing that Stella still hadn’t opened the door, the woman called out softly, "Hey, dear, it’s me. I’ve come because I have something important to discuss with you. Please open the door!"

The woman’s voice, combined with her vaguely familiar face, finally jogged Stella’s memory.

’It was the woman who had tried to seduce her, hoping Stella would let her go.’