Chapter 311: Chapter 311: The People from Crescentia Base Have Arrived
’He’s actually quite cautious.’
’I guess I underestimated him this time.’
Stella Sterling leaned back, a playful expression on her face.
’So he ran. It’s no big deal.’
’Even if he got away this time, it won’t be long before we meet again.’
’Things aren’t as fun when they go too smoothly. A few bumps in the road make it more exciting.’
She waved her hand at Shane Lawrence. "Alright, let’s just drop it. It’s not important, and it’s certainly no crisis. You don’t need to be so tense. Go get some rest."
"As for the men involved, don’t blame them. Just let them get a good rest. Oh, right, I’ve already had Stephen Lawrence arrange for extra rations for everyone today. You should go rest up too. We’ll all have a nice get-together tonight."
Hearing this, Shane Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded, and after discussing a few other matters, he took his leave.
After he was gone, Stella Sterling shut the door to her villa.
’All she wanted to do now was get some sleep without being disturbed.’
’As for dinner, someone would bring it to her. Or she could just grab something from her dimensional space.’
Fortunately, nothing else happened, so Stella Sterling was able to rest without any further interruptions.
She woke up midway through to eat dinner.
Someone from the base kitchen had brought her a meal. Seeing the situation, they knew she was resting and didn’t want to disturb her, so they carefully placed the food in the spot Stella Sterling had designated for deliveries.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, so the kitchen staff was already used to it.
Stella Sterling brought the food inside. Even though she’d already eaten, that didn’t stop her from polishing off this meal too.
After eating and drinking her fill, she didn’t go right back to sleep. She meditated for a cycle, freshened up a bit, and then went back to bed.
She slept soundly until late the next afternoon, waking up to a wave of hunger.
’You don’t feel it when you’re dreaming, but after sleeping for so long, your body is quick to remind you the moment you wake up.’
Stella Sterling quickly changed her clothes, ate a meal, and then pulled a popsicle from her dimensional space to eat.
While it wasn’t as deadly hot inside the base as it was outside, it was still uncomfortable. Despite wearing minimal clothing and having air conditioning, she couldn’t stop sweating.
In the afternoon, she took a stroll around the base.
The base members greeted her excitedly whenever they saw her.
In the evening, when the heat had subsided, she gathered the base members to test their progress and see how they were coming along with their various abilities.
Stella Sterling was very satisfied with the results.
The base didn’t have many members, but each one was an elite—and not necessarily because of how powerful their innate abilities were.
Instead, it referred to their capacity for learning and their drive to improve.
Even though life in the base was safe and relatively relaxed, they never once slacked off.
Their combat effectiveness had multiplied severalfold since they first joined.
Even in their downtime, they were always thinking of ways to better themselves and improve the base.
Stella Sterling was pleased, which made her treat them even better, and in turn, they worked even harder...
She spent two days at the base. Afterward, Stephen Lawrence came to inform her that the people from Crescentia Base had arrived.
Stephen Lawrence wore a strange expression as he said it.
Then he added, "That person from Crescentia Base..."
’He wanted to say that she knew the man. She had even been the one to send him away last time, ordering them never to let him inside if they saw him again.’
’But now the man was here as the leader of Crescentia Base. She had already arranged to meet with them to discuss a potential partnership.’
’So turning him away now wouldn’t make any sense.’
’He didn’t know what to do, so he figured he had to ask her and let her make the final decision.’
But before he could finish, Stella Sterling cut him off. "I know. Bring him in."
’Stephen Lawrence was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t even finished, yet she already knew?’
’Did she already know who the man from Crescentia Base was?’
At that thought, Stephen Lawrence decided not to say anything more.
’He recalled the man from last time. It was clear he was no simple character, and her behavior toward him had been... unusual.’
’He’d followed her for a long time. He knew she wasn’t one to be polite to anyone who got on her bad side.’
’But for some reason, that man had been treated completely differently. He had actually been allowed to leave her presence alive.’
’She had only knocked him unconscious. He got the sense that she didn’t dislike the man at all; on the contrary, she seemed almost exasperated with him.’
’Maybe there was something going on between them.’
’Besides, since when was she so kind? She’d sent the man away herself, yet she had specifically ordered him to make sure he was taken somewhere safe.’
Stephen Lawrence looked at the woman before him, sorely tempted to tease her a bit. But the image of her angry face quickly made him dismiss the notion.
Still, he was quite curious about the man who had managed to earn her special treatment.
Stella Sterling gave her orders: "Take him to the office. And prepare some fruit..."
She herself, however, waited a while before going to meet him.
When she saw the man waiting there, Stella Sterling wasn’t the least bit surprised.
Gordon Ford looked over at her and smiled. "Hello, Miss Sterling."
Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow and extended her hand as well. "Hello, Mr. Ford."
"You don’t seem surprised to see me at all," Gordon Ford said, a hint of surprise in his voice. He hadn’t told her who he was before, yet she didn’t look shocked in the slightest, as if she’d known his identity all along.
’So she knew all along that the person she was meeting was him?’
The thought made Gordon Ford quite happy.
Stella Sterling glanced at him before taking a seat. "Have you forgotten? When we met again after three years, the men you had with you... their uniforms..."
At her words, Gordon Ford laughed. He had forgotten about that.
He chuckled. "I thought you didn’t know. I was hoping to give you a surprise."
He hadn’t mentioned a thing during their last encounter, precisely because he wanted to see her reaction today.
He just hadn’t expected Stella Sterling to have already figured out his identity.
He felt both rueful and, at the same time, very happy.
’She knew the person she was supposed to partner with was him, yet she still agreed to the meeting. That meant she wasn’t opposed to seeing him anymore.’
’For him, this was another huge step forward.’
’At least she wasn’t treating him like she used to.’
’That was something worth celebrating.’
’One small step at a time. Getting a wife is looking promising!’
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t you two forget I’m here too, alright? Please, don’t act like I’m invisible!"
