Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

Chapter 429: Chapter 439: A Change in Attitude

By now, Selene Larkin had calmed down. She did not act rashly.

The more her opponent tried to provoke them into attacking, the more determined she was not to give her the satisfaction.

After all, this person was alone. It wasn’t worth paying a heavy price just to capture her.

"You’re wrong. I haven’t done anything. From beginning to end, I was simply fighting back."

Stella Sterling held up her hands in a gesture of innocence and looked at them helplessly. "You’re the ones who’ve been coming after me from the very start. I didn’t want any trouble, but your people attacked me first. We have to be reasonable here, don’t we? Otherwise, I might actually get angry."

’Stella Sterling felt she was truly innocent. All she’d wanted was to get by quietly these past few days without causing any trouble.’

’But as luck would have it, she’d just gone out for a stroll and run into that person who deserved to die.’

’And of all things, that person had to be connected to Sanctyr Base, and Sanctyr Base had to come looking for revenge, forcing her to reveal herself.’

’Could she be blamed for any of this? Absolutely not!’

Hearing this, Selene Larkin turned to Mr. and Mrs. Jennings beside her, her voice ice-cold. "Don’t you investigate your targets before you act?"

This person was clearly no simpleton. The two of them had provoked a major headache.

Mr. and Mrs. Jennings’s faces were grim. They hadn’t known the person who killed the attorney would be this formidable.

Besides, this entire region was Sanctyr Base’s territory. As long as their opponent wasn’t one of their own, who was there to fear?

This woman had killed their relative. Their first instinct was to capture her and get revenge. How could they have been expected to think it through any further?!

After all, in this area, who had Sanctyr Base ever been afraid of?

But unexpectedly, today they had run into just such a person—someone who truly held Sanctyr Base in contempt.

And she had the power to back it up.

"You’re the ones who provoked her. You figure out how to deal with this!"

Selene Larkin said coldly, tossing the headache back to Mr. and Mrs. Jennings.

Before she’d gotten involved, she never imagined things would get so thorny, or that this woman would be so difficult to deal with.

Had she known, she still would have taken action, but not so brazenly. She would have found a way to capture her from the shadows.

That way, she wouldn’t have been so thoroughly humiliated today.

The main issue was that she had made such a big show of confronting the masked woman, only to fail at capturing her. It was tantamount to slapping herself in the face in front of everyone.

Now that she was powerless against the masked woman, her only option was to toss the problem back to Mr. and Mrs. Jennings.

After all, this couple was the source of this whole mess.

Tripp Jennings’s expression changed the moment he heard her words. He and his wife hadn’t expected Selene Larkin to actually back down.

Within the base, their authority was nothing compared to Elliot Larkin’s. Selene Larkin could mobilize armed personnel, but he had no such power. He could only call upon the men he’d personally trained over the years, and they weren’t permitted to carry firearms within the base.

The people Selene Larkin had just brought couldn’t defeat that woman. How could his men possibly be a match for her on their own?!

Tripp Jennings said gravely, "This is no longer a personal matter. This concerns all of Sanctyr Base."

"You’ve seen how brazen she is. If we don’t capture her, what will become of our base’s reputation?"

"That’s a nice speech," Selene retorted. "I never said I was washing my hands of this. But you were the ones who stirred up this hornet’s nest, so you should be the ones taking the lead."

Selene Larkin didn’t fall for his ploy. Her stance was firm.

Then, she led her men to the side, her expression making it clear she was washing her hands of the situation.

Stella Sterling watched their little spat. She’d taunted them enough already. Shouting at them like that hadn’t provoked any reaction, and continuing would just be a waste of breath and energy.

It seemed her attempts to rile them up were no longer effective.

’She felt a pang of regret. ’Maybe I should have held back a little,’ she thought. ’I shouldn’t have been so theatrical. If I’d given them at least a sliver of hope...’’

’Then the situation wouldn’t have ground to such a silent halt.’

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, she rubbed her ear out of boredom. "So, are we just going to stand here, everyone? We should find something to do. Don’t you think this atmosphere is terribly awkward?"

Her tone was laced with mock exasperation.

Everyone else present was furious, but at the same time, they felt a sense of powerlessness.

They could only conclude that this woman was insane, actually wishing for them to hurry up and attack her.

Even for them, this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a scene.

They were being thoroughly and publicly humiliated, yet they couldn’t fight back. A counterattack would likely only lead to even greater shame.

There was no other word for this feeling but "suffocating."

Earlier, Mr. and Mrs. Cross had been the ones shouting the loudest. They were the ones most eager to capture Stella Sterling and torture her mercilessly. But now, they were the most silent of all.

They wanted revenge, and there was nothing wrong with that. But first, they had to actually capture the woman. Only then could they torture her to their hearts’ content. As for now, they had no intention of being the ones to stick their necks out.

So, no matter what Selene Larkin said, the couple remained silent.

"A pair of cowards!"

Selene Larkin spat on the ground. ’They started this trouble, and now they’re just hiding in their shells like cowards.’

If they hadn’t lured this person here, Sanctyr Base wouldn’t be facing such a great humiliation.

At this thought, Selene Larkin shot the pair a venomous glare.

Then, she took two steps forward, faced Stella Sterling, and conceded, "I admit it, you’re powerful. I lose this round."

"Truthfully, Sanctyr Base has no real grudge against you. This is all because of that man, Dylan Walsh."

"And I’ve heard the story. It was Attorney Walsh who provoked you first, and you were just defending yourself. So how about this: you’ve already injured many of our people, so let’s call it even. We won’t hold you accountable for what happened today. You’re free to leave."

Although she was seething with resentment, Selene Larkin had no choice but to yield.

She felt utterly suffocated.

She had wanted to force this woman to submit, but she never imagined she would be the first one to yield.

But even so, for the time being, this was the only choice she could make.

It wasn’t that capturing this woman was impossible; it was just that the cost, for now, seemed too great.

After some consideration, she decided it simply wasn’t worth it.

After all, before all this, it had just been a private grudge between this woman and Mr. and Mrs. Jennings.