Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

Chapter 427: Chapter 437: Constant Provocation

She looked down at the other woman, her gaze condescending. Although she wasn’t as tall as Stella Sterling, her eyes held a lofty air, as if looking down on people from on high.

"I’ll give you one more chance. Take off your mask."

After a pause, she added, "While this won’t change your fate, it will allow you to suffer less."

"Oh? And here I thought you were going to say that if I took off my mask, submitted to you, and bowed my head, you wouldn’t kill me."

Stella Sterling cried out in mock surprise, then added discontentedly, "If the result is the same either way, why should I listen to you?"

Selene Larkin’s breathing quickened. She felt this woman was not just arrogant, but also had a real knack for getting under people’s skin. ’Does she not understand what I’m saying?’

If she didn’t obey her now, her end would only be that much more miserable.

’Does she genuinely not understand? Is she playing dumb? Or is this just an excuse to avoid bowing her head to me?’

After a long moment, her breathing calmed. "Playing these little mind games is useless at a time like this."

"You have two choices right now. One: Obey my command. Bow your head, do whatever I say, and you’ll live a while longer. You might even find a turning point. And once I’m in a good mood, I might just let you go."

"Two: Refuse my conditions. You can hold onto your pride, but that would be an incredibly stupid choice. The moment you do, my people will riddle you with bullets, and you’ll die without even a grave."

"When you’re dead, you’re nothing. What good is pride then? I trust you’re a smart woman. You know the right choice to make."

After saying this, Selene Larkin fell silent. She watched Stella Sterling indifferently, waiting for this so-called "smart woman" to lower her noble head.

A hint of a smile flickered in her eyes. She was anticipating it, anticipating the moment the other woman would bow her head to her.

’In this apocalypse, personal strength is certainly important, but the backing you have is just as crucial.’

’No matter where you are, human society has always been about banding together to survive. It’s true that she’s powerful, but her mistake was being alone.’

’Her even bigger mistake was being here, on our Sanctyr Base’s territory. In a situation like this, she should be the one to bow her head.’

Seeing the other woman’s supremely confident expression, Stella Sterling stroked her chin, affecting a thoughtful look.

Selene Larkin didn’t rush her, instead giving her time to think. She was confident about the choice the other woman would make—unless she had a death wish.

But from the looks of this woman, she didn’t seem like someone who wanted to die. Besides, the more capable and skilled a person is, the more they desire to live.

After a good while, Stella Sterling seemed to have made a decision. She looked at Selene Larkin seriously. "Can I choose option three?"

As Stella Sterling’s words fell, her figure suddenly blurred.

It wasn’t that she had vanished, but that her speed was too extreme—so fast their naked eyes could barely keep up, only able to see streaks of afterimages.

Then, they heard a series of thumps and bangs, along with a few pained cries.

Selene Larkin’s expression changed as she looked toward the men with guns in the distance.

The circle they had formed was now in complete disarray. Some had fallen to the ground, while others looked around in a daze, not yet understanding what had happened.

But without exception, the guns in their hands were now gone.

Selene Larkin’s pupils contracted. Her gaze swept around and she found that everyone who had been surrounding the masked woman was in the same situation—their guns had all vanished.

She was incredulous, even horrified, knowing the masked woman had done all of this.

Her eyes darted around, searching for her, before her gaze landed back on the spot where Stella Sterling had been standing. The masked woman had, at some unknown point, returned to her original position, and she was now holding a large armful of guns.

The eyes beneath the mask crinkled with scorn. "See? I did have a third option."

At that moment, Selene Larkin fell silent. Everyone else fell silent, too.

Their gazes on the woman were now tinged with terror. Her speed was just too fast—so fast that no one had even perceived her move.

And then, before anyone even realized it, she had snatched away all their guns.

Now that the men surrounding her had lost their weapons, they had lost seventy to eighty percent of their combat effectiveness.

It wasn’t that these men couldn’t fight without guns.

It was that this masked woman was so terrifyingly fast. If she could snatch their guns without them even noticing, didn’t that mean she was fast enough to kill them before they could even react?

At this thought, the disarmed men shivered, and their gazes toward the masked woman filled with dread.

"Good. Very good. No wonder you’re so bold. So you actually possess this kind of power. I’ll give you that. You really are formidable, and you have the right to be arrogant!"

After a long silence, Selene Larkin spoke again.

This time, the way she looked at the other woman had changed.

She was loath to admit it, but she had to: this woman was a real handful.

’I thought she was completely trapped, surrounded by all these men with guns.’

’But I never expected she could break the stalemate even in this situation.’ The atmosphere grew heavy.

’Though I still feel that no matter how powerful she is, she won’t be able to escape today.’

’Still, the fact that she could pull this off is giving me a real headache.’

Looking at the people before her, Stella Sterling tossed all the guns in her arms onto the ground with a clatter.

’These are weapons, sure, but with so many eyes on me, I’d better not just absorb them all into my dimensional space right now.’

’Besides, ever since I got the Weapon Replication Card, I’ve already stockpiled plenty of weapons. I’m not that desperate for these.’

She pointed a finger in their direction. "This handful of men isn’t enough. Why don’t you call for more? Maybe then you’ll be able to take me down."

"Once you’ve captured me, won’t I be completely at your mercy?"

Then, she pointed at Mr. and Mrs. Jennings. "That’s right, I killed your brother. The idiot didn’t know who he was messing with and tried to scam me. When that failed, he tried to kill me. He deserved to die!"

"You two, husband and wife, don’t you want to avenge him? Let’s see what you’ve got."

Mr. and Mrs. Jennings’s faces turned livid with rage. This was especially true for Queenie Walsh, who glared at Stella Sterling, her eyes promising a death by a thousand cuts.

She even thrust a finger at Stella, stammering, "You... You... You... You...!"

Her chest heaved violently, her emotions in turmoil.