Chapter 368: Demoralized
Chapter 368: Chapter 368: Demoralized
Stella Sterling held a submachine gun. She was dressed in camouflage with a bulletproof vest underneath and a helmet on her head. Her hair was tied up high.
She looked incredibly sharp and efficient, ready for the battlefield.
She had made all the necessary preparations.
She was confident in her own abilities, but it was better to be safe than sorry. There was nothing wrong with being fully prepared.
After all, her life was so good now. If she accidentally kicked the bucket, it would be a terrible waste.
As Andrew Shaw walked ahead, she followed close behind.
Suddenly, the little figure in front of her stopped and turned around. "Hey, you have any more of this gear? Think you could spare a set for me?"
He never would have guessed that Stella Sterling had things like this.
’This woman is no friend at all! I’m about to do something dangerous, and she didn’t even think to give me a set of this protective gear.’
He had been quite confident before, but seeing how cautious Stella was, his own confidence began to waver.
"I don’t have any more. Let’s go. Don’t worry, I have faith in your abilities. You’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll be right here providing backup. What are you so worried about?"
Stella Sterling gave him a casual glance, shook her head, and gestured for him to keep moving.
She wasn’t lying or deliberately teasing him.
’When I was getting this stuff ready, I was only thinking about my own needs. How could I have known I’d end up with a tagalong—an adult soul trapped in a little brat’s body?’
So naturally, she hadn’t prepared anything for a child.
Hearing Stella Sterling’s casual words, Andrew Shaw really wanted to scream.
He had some confidence in himself, but he was still taking tonight’s mission very seriously.
Even in his past life, he’d never tried to take on so many people alone.
He only felt slightly more at ease because he had this woman, Stella Sterling, with him.
’But just look at her! She’s kitted herself out completely, but what about me? All I got was a gun and a pair of night-vision goggles. Nothing else.’
’If Stella Sterling didn’t have any gear either, he could’ve accepted it. But no, she had to go and protect herself from head to toe.’
’She’s so heavily protected herself, yet she tells me not to worry? How could I possibly believe that?’
"Stop dawdling and hurry up. If you get spotted, your mission will be a failure before it even starts."
Stella Sterling warned in a low voice, waving him forward.
Andrew Shaw glanced at Stella Sterling. He couldn’t help but feel this woman seemed incredibly unreliable.
’Looks like I can’t get too carried away. The most important thing is to stay alive. If anything seems off, I’ll run first. No time for heroics.’
Stella Sterling continued to follow behind him.
She’d said she would leave this to him, and she meant it. She didn’t interfere at all.
She had assumed, given his earlier confidence, that he must have some ace up his sleeve.
But in the end, she discovered his entire strategy relied on sneak attacks—using the cover of night to fight dirty.
He was also incredibly cautious, running away immediately after taking someone out, not lingering for even a second.
And she had spent the entire night trailing him like a common thief, scrambling to hide in a new spot with him every time he took someone down.
Stella Sterling’s expression darkened.
’Since my rebirth, when have I ever been in such a sorry state, constantly on the run?’
’If this Andrew Shaw wasn’t still useful, I’d really just wash my hands of him and leave.’
Then again, she thought...
What else could he do? Whatever abilities he might possess, he probably couldn’t use them in this five-year-old body.
Other than these underhanded tactics, how could he possibly face those men head-on?
It made sense to rely on strategy when possible.
’I was overthinking things before. I thought I might see some other, different kind of ability from him.’
’For instance, would someone from the future have awakened a special ability? But now it seemed she had indeed been overthinking it.’
’If he really had that kind of power, he would have used it the first night they met. Why would he have been in such a sorry state in front of me?’
They had just ducked into an abandoned house to hide, and Andrew Shaw was panting heavily.
After all that running around, his current body was finally starting to give out.
After all, he was only five. His stamina was extremely limited.
Nevertheless, he was very satisfied with his results.
He turned to look at Stella Sterling, hoping to see a look of appreciation in her eyes.
But when he saw her dark expression, his heart skipped a beat. "What’s wrong? Was my performance tonight not good enough?"
Stella Sterling looked down at him and pulled a dry blade of grass from her hair. "What do you think?"
Andrew Shaw thought about it seriously. "Using this method, I’ve already taken out six people."
When Stella Sterling didn’t respond, he couldn’t help but defend himself. "Come on. I’m only five years old. Being able to do this much is already pretty impressive."
Stella Sterling took a deep breath and didn’t argue with him.
After a long pause, she said only two words: "Too slow."
More than two hours had passed. This result was definitely not what she had expected.
Besides, this group had nearly 100 people.
If they continued at this pace, how long would it take to eliminate all of them?
What’s more...
"Your method worked at first because of the element of surprise, but those men aren’t idiots. They’ll figure out something is wrong soon enough. Once they’re on alert, it’ll be much harder for you to take out even one more."
"And you’ll be easily exposed."
Andrew Shaw fell silent after hearing this.
He knew everything Stella Sterling said was true.
There was a significant gap between his expectations and reality.
And this five-year-old body... it was a much bigger hindrance than he’d imagined.
"Sorry. I overestimated myself."
Andrew Shaw finally let go of his inexplicable confidence.
This life was, after all, different from his last one.
The night’s events made him realize that even with a gun, his combat effectiveness wasn’t actually that high.
With a gun, he might be able to handle one or two opponents. But if he ran into a group, he would be helpless.
But in this post-apocalyptic world, how many people really acted alone? Most moved in groups.