Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

Chapter 388: Chapter 398: The Gap

Stella Sterling wasn’t particularly fazed by what happened to the others.

After all, she wasn’t very close to them; in fact, she’d had disagreements with many of them.

But they were all minor issues, so on normal days, they coexisted peacefully enough.

Still, Stella Sterling harbored no strong feelings for any of them.

But when she heard Felix Lawrence’s wife was gone, she couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

She wasn’t sad, nor was she particularly surprised—just a little wistful.

That was just how it was in this apocalypse. Once people parted ways, there was a good chance they would never see each other again.

She looked at Felix Lawrence and offered a quiet word of comfort: "My condolences."

Felix Lawrence gave a bitter laugh.

Then he shook his head, a little embarrassed for losing his composure again. "Sorry, I just couldn’t hold it in."

"Now that we’ve met again, I really didn’t want to talk about such sad things!"

Felix Lawrence said with some frustration. He was genuinely happy to see Stella Sterling again and didn’t want to bring up these painful topics.

But when old acquaintances met, it was inevitable they’d talk about the past.

And that meant bringing up old memories.

Even though he had already buried these things in his heart, turning them into motivation, he still couldn’t control his emotions when they were brought up.

Stella Sterling shook her head. "There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s only human. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for making you recall such painful memories!"

The two fell silent for a moment.

Then, Felix Lawrence changed the subject, talking about other things that had happened over the past two years.

And he would occasionally ask Stella Sterling questions.

After leaving Orilon Complex, he had headed straight north to try and make a life in Veridia.

So he knew nothing about what Stella Sterling had been up to. He didn’t know that a Caeluna Base had been established near Mirefall, nor that its leader was Stella Sterling herself.

Therefore, when Stella Sterling calmly and briefly summarized her experiences over the past two years...

Felix Lawrence’s jaw dropped.

He almost lost his composure in front of her several times.

Even now, he could hardly believe what he had just heard.

The words coming from Stella Sterling’s mouth made her seem like a stranger.

He was still struggling to process it all.

’Miss Sterling personally established a base in less than two years!!!’

He heard every word clearly, understood them individually, but when they were strung together, his mind went blank.

’This... this is too incredible.’

He didn’t know how large the base she’d built was, but anything that could be called a "base" couldn’t be weak.

What’s more, from her brief description, he could tell this base was likely anything but small.

He looked at the person before him, who was only in her early twenties.

Yet now, she was the leader of a major base. It was simply unbelievable.

If it had been anyone else standing before him, saying these things, he would never have believed them. He would have just assumed they were bullshitting.

After all, he was way over here. With how slow information traveled these days, he’d have no way of knowing what kind of tall tales she was telling.

She could say whatever she wanted. If he wanted to brag, he could make himself sound as impressive as he pleased, too.

But the person in front of him was Stella Sterling!

From what he knew of her, she wasn’t the type to do something like that. Besides, she had absolutely no reason to.

Moreover, the person before him was so calm when she said it all.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of showing off.

He was sure that every word she said was true—and that she was probably even holding some things back.

At this thought, he couldn’t stop the thrill of excitement from rising within him.

’She’s incredible. Simply incredible.’

He had always known she was formidable. Her skills were excellent, and she was decisive and ruthless in her actions—the kind of person perfectly suited to survive in this apocalypse.

And what made her better than others was that, despite her ruthlessness, she had her own bottom line, a kindness buried deep within her heart.

That’s why he had always made an effort to stay on good terms with her in the past.

He had never once underestimated Stella Sterling; in fact, he had always regarded her highly.

When they met this time and he saw that she was still alive, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Because with her abilities, no matter how hard things got in the apocalypse, as long as she wasn’t terribly unlucky, she was bound to survive.

He just never expected the surprise she had for him would be this big.

Establishing a base... that was on a completely different level from his own small-scale operation of gathering a dozen or so people.

’How on earth did she do it? It’s just too unbelievable.’

Upon hearing all this, Felix Lawrence exclaimed in amazement several times.

He felt a surge of relief, grateful that he hadn’t made a terrible mistake tonight. He had recognized her in time, and neither side had suffered any losses.

Otherwise, he was afraid his group wouldn’t have stood a chance against her.

And now he understood. The reason he was still alive wasn’t because of his own ability.

It was because Miss Sterling had gone easy on him for the sake of their past acquaintance.

"Thank you. And I’m sorry."

Felix Lawrence looked at Stella Sterling with sincerity.

Stella Sterling glanced up at him and chuckled. "We’re old acquaintances, after all. There’s no need to be so formal."

"Haha, you’re right, you’re right."

Felix Lawrence burst into laughter as well. He was a straightforward person by nature, not one to get hung up on formalities.

Hearing Stella Sterling say this, the nervousness he had felt facing her finally melted away.

He grinned. "If I’d known, why would I have even come north? I should have just stuck with you from the start and been one of your guys."

Stella Sterling laughed too. "It’s not like you’ve wasted the last few years. With your abilities, you could find your footing anywhere."

She wasn’t wrong. It was clear that Felix Lawrence was the leader of that group from earlier.

Back in the building, those people had all listened to his commands.

And after that group was gone, Felix Lawrence had managed to form another small faction.

That was actually quite an impressive ability.

As long as he didn’t provoke any powerful entities, he could get by just fine in this apocalypse.

Hearing Stella Sterling’s words, Felix Lawrence scratched his head again, speaking with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. "I used to think I was doing okay myself, but compared to you, Miss Sterling, I’m still worlds apart."

He shook his head at the thought. Before, he might have been able to compare himself to her. Now, the gap between them was only getting wider.