Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Be Her Underling?
He was utterly speechless.
When he first met Stella Sterling a year ago, she had seemed to be a drifter, trapped in the same place as him. In the end, it was Meridia Base that rescued them.
Back then, he found Stella Sterling to be shrouded in mystery, which had always drawn him to her.
But at the time, she was just an ordinary person, while he, at least, had parents in high-ranking positions at Meridia Base.
He’d thought back then that with his parents’ connections, combined with his own hard work and abilities, he would definitely make a name for himself within Meridia Base.
And now, over a year had passed. He hadn’t wasted his time; he had been working hard all along.
But in this post-apocalyptic world, there were plenty of capable and skilled survivors. He himself had been through several life-or-death situations just to scrape by and land a captain’s position, something he was actually quite proud of.
He never expected that in the same year, Stella Sterling had managed to build a base all by herself.
The thing was, this wasn’t some no-name, unknown base. Caeluna Base had recently become incredibly famous, and as its leader, she was a hot topic of discussion.
If this hadn’t happened to his own friend, he would have never believed it.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Stella Sterling’s abilities. But no matter how capable she was, building a base from scratch was a process. It required a long period of accumulation to reach this level; it wasn’t something that could be done in a short amount of time.
Major bases like Meridia Base and Sanctyr Base had started planning and organizing from the very beginning of the apocalypse.
Before that, they were also backed by substantial power and resources.
It was just that their internal structures had changed over the years, and the high-level personnel had been replaced.
’If other people knew Caeluna Base reached this stage in just over a year,’ he thought, ’they’d probably be even more shocked than I am.’
For a long while, Louis Grant remained silent.
He was calming his shock, digesting the news, and trying his best to accept this reality.
After a long time, only a few words came out of his mouth: "You’re freaking incredible."
"That’s you, all right. Always doing what others can’t."
Louis Grant continued excitedly, "The moment I met you, I knew you were special. It looks like my judgment was spot on."
"I said before that I wanted to follow you, but I was just joking back then. Now, I’m serious. Stella Sterling, what do you say I follow you back to Caeluna Base and work for you?"
’Somehow,’ he thought, ’staying in Meridia Base feels less promising than following Stella Sterling.’
As he spoke, he clapped Stella Sterling on the shoulder, a fawning smile on his face.
Stella Sterling shot him a sidelong glance. "You should just stay and develop at Meridia Base. It’s a better fit for you."
Louis Grant raised an eyebrow. "You’re not looking down on me, are you?"
Hearing this, Stella Sterling gave him a very serious, thorough look from top to bottom. She didn’t say a word, but Louis Grant felt as if he’d heard her answer loud and clear.
His expression soured. "Hey, hey, hey! Don’t tell me you really look down on me! I might seem a little unreliable, but I’m a top student from a prestigious university. I inherited my parents’ high-IQ genes, and my combat power is through the roof!"
Seeing his confident look, Stella Sterling didn’t actually doubt his abilities.
But the members of her base, after drinking water mixed with the strength potion, had all seen their strength double. Their combat power was off the charts.
In comparison, unless the people at Meridia Base also had some new research that could drastically enhance their physical abilities, Louis Grant’s strength was probably inferior to even the weakest member of her base.
’Except for the logistics personnel,’ she mused. ’He might be able to compete with them!’
Seeing the look in Stella Sterling’s eyes, Louis Grant nearly jumped to his feet. ’This woman is underestimating me way too much!’
He admitted he wasn’t as good as her, but he wasn’t weak either. He was more than qualified to be one of her subordinates.
’What’s with that look? Does she really look down on me?’
Louis Grant was getting genuinely angry now. He stood up and faced Stella Sterling. "You’re really underestimating me! Believe it or not, in a one-on-one fight, I could take down seventy to eighty percent of your base members."
Louis Grant said this with a confident expression, tilting his chin up. In his opinion, that estimate was already on the conservative side.
He felt that if a real fight broke out, eighty to ninety percent of the people in Stella Sterling’s base would be no match for him.
It wasn’t just baseless confidence. He had received special training since he was a child, and after arriving at the base, his good friend Ethan Young had been constantly helping him strengthen his physique.
Although his current position wasn’t very high, it wasn’t due to a lack of ability. It was simply because the system within Meridia Base was already well-established, and he had to climb the ladder one step at a time.
Many members of Meridia Base’s armed forces had extraordinary backgrounds.
As for Stella Sterling’s Caeluna Base... he didn’t deny that it was strong. But no matter how strong they were, their members had just been ordinary people before.
’How strong could they possibly get in just over a year of training?’
He was confident he could handle most of them.
But just in case, his claim of eighty percent was already very conservative.
He said it that way to leave himself some wiggle room and not speak in absolutes, while also trying to save some face for Stella Sterling.
Hearing him, Stella Sterling remained seated. She looked up at him, a playful glint in her eyes. "Are you sure?"
’Eighty percent,’ she thought. ’This guy really has some nerve!’
She figured he probably hadn’t heard about the incident that took place at the entrance of Meridia Base earlier today. Otherwise, Louis Grant wouldn’t be so blindly confident.
Louis Grant nodded. "Of course I’m sure. If you don’t believe me, you brought people with you this time, didn’t you? Just have one of them fight me, and we’ll see the result."
At this point, Louis Grant’s competitive spirit was fired up. He couldn’t stand the thought of being looked down on by Stella Sterling.
Having one of the people she brought with her compete against him should be enough to prove his point, right? After all, anyone she brought along couldn’t be weak. As long as he won, his strength would be proven.
Hearing this, Stella Sterling’s expression grew even more peculiar.
The people she had brought—be it Julian Fletcher, Seven Locke, or the newly joined Nathan Cheney—none of them were weak. They were all elites from her base.
’If Louis Grant fights any of them,’ she thought, ’barring any surprises, he’s going to lose badly!’
Unless... Louis Grant had also used some kind of enhancement potion.
