Apocalypse Rebirth: Crazy from Day One

Chapter 349: Chapter 349: Petty, Too

"And not only did you fail to get anything from her, you gave her our things, and then he..."

As he spoke, he pointed at the man in camouflage. The handprint on the man’s face was clear and distinct, a sign that he hadn’t held back on himself.

He had been stunned when he saw it happen from the car.

The woman hadn’t done a thing, yet his partner had ended up like this.

Once inside the car, the four of them were silent.

They were surprised by their own reactions, but for some reason, they felt no regret. Instead, they felt a sense of relief, thankful that they had acted as they did.

Just then, the driver spoke up tentatively, "Is that woman really that powerful?"

The man in camouflage nodded. "Yes, she is. Very powerful. We never saw her make a move, but she just felt incredibly dangerous!"

"You weren’t there, so you might not get it. It’s the kind of feeling deep in your gut, just screaming at you to get away from her!"

The driver was astonished to hear this.

They had been working together for a long time, always sticking together, and they all understood the principles they lived by.

Hearing them say that, he understood why they did it.

It was because the woman felt incredibly dangerous, and their years of survival instincts had kicked in, forcing them to back down.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t encountered powerful people before, people who also gave off a dangerous vibe. In those cases, they would simply make a show of goodwill and leave peacefully.

But never before had their reaction been so intense. It sounded... exaggerated.

In the past, the most they would do was change their plans and back off. Or they’d show they meant no harm and leave, avoiding a conflict.

But it had never been like this. They had never humbled themselves so completely. Not only did they change their minds and show goodwill, but they even handed over their own supplies. And on top of that, the woman did nothing, and they still punished themselves.

’Was that woman really that powerful?’

He couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt.

But despite finding it unbelievable, his years of trust in his partners won out. He still believed them. "If she really felt that dangerous," he said, "then she’s no ordinary person. You did the right thing."

"No matter what, staying alive is the most important thing. There’s no shame in backing down when you have to. Surviving is all that matters."

"Alright. Since she feels that dangerous to you guys, we’ll make a note of it. From now on, if we see her, we keep our distance. Don’t go looking for trouble with her again. The fact that you all came back safely this time is a miracle."

He offered a few words of reassurance, then started the car and sped away.

Even though their story sounded so exaggerated that he doubted its truth, he still thought it was best to leave quickly, just in case. If that woman suddenly changed her mind and decided to finish them off, they wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping.

No matter how skeptical he was, survival came first. After all, leaving just meant losing a few supplies. If they stayed and his partners’ intuition was right, they stood to lose a lot more than just supplies—they could lose their lives.

Meanwhile, Stella Sterling had already gotten into the car.

It was too hot outside. She took out a towel that had been soaked in water from her pocket dimension, wiped her face with it, and then placed it on her forehead to cool down.

Between that and the car’s air conditioning, the sweltering heat slowly began to fade.

Andrew Shaw watched from the back seat, feeling a little envious, but he was too embarrassed to ask her for a towel too.

But Stella Sterling hadn’t forgotten about him. She turned to look at him. "Why did you think I was going to kill them? Is that the kind of person you think I am?"

As she spoke, Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow, her tone unreadable.

Hearing this, alarm bells went off in his head.

’This woman isn’t just ruthless, she’s petty too.’

’I was just making an offhand comment, and she actually remembered. Is she going to make me pay for it now?’

A defiant part of him wanted to ask, ’Well, aren’t you?’

But the words only swirled in his mind; he never said them out loud.

’It’s not that I’m afraid of her,’ he told himself. ’I’m just being adaptable.’

He shook his head sincerely. "Of course not. The fact that you spared my life proves you’re kind-hearted."

"I thought of you as a righteous hero, so when we ran into those bad guys just now, I assumed you would get rid of them!"

Hearing him spout such earnest-sounding nonsense, Stella Sterling burst out laughing. "So you’re saying you don’t think I’m a righteous hero anymore?"

Andrew Shaw considered this seriously, then replied with a grave expression, "That’s right. But I think you’re better this way. You’re not blindly kind, and you’re ruthless when you need to be, but you’re not completely without principles. It’s a good way to be!"

He sounded far more sincere on that last sentence than he had before.

’This woman surprised him time and again, but he had to admit, from what he’d seen so far, she was incredibly perceptive.’

’People like her were the ones who survived the longest in the apocalypse.’

’And here he was, someone who’d survived 18 years in this world, yet in many ways, he wasn’t as clear-headed as she was.’

Stella Sterling didn’t care whether he was telling the truth or not.

After teasing him, she scanned her pocket dimension with her mind. She found that the new animals she’d seen earlier were still there; it hadn’t been a hallucination.

A smile touched her lips, and her mood brightened considerably.

Noting the time, Stella Sterling closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in her seat, a faint smile still on her lips.

As silence fell, Andrew Shaw heaved another sigh of relief. Only then did it belatedly dawn on him that she had just been deliberately messing with him.

’This person was truly mercurial,’ he thought. ’And her moods seemed a little unstable.’

As he watched her sleep, the thought of taking this chance to escape flashed through his mind.

But the thought was fleeting, and he immediately pushed it away.

Sitting in the back seat, he, too, eventually drifted off to sleep.