Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Passage of the Flood

The man’s expression was gentle and his tone was polite. He looked as if he was having a friendly chat with Stella Sterling.

But his words meant something else entirely. He spoke with such entitlement, as if Stella Sterling was obligated to give him whatever he desired.

The smile on Stella Sterling’s face was even gentler than his, and her tone was casual and nonchalant. "Sure. But I’ve taken a fancy to your life. How about a friendly trade?"

"What?"

Before the man could react, alarm bells were already screaming in his mind. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately tried to back away—

But he was a step slower than Stella Sterling. "How can you not understand something so simple? Truly useless." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Stella Sterling’s tone was one of feigned exasperation. The large blade in her hand moved like a rapier, plunging into the man’s abdomen before she yanked it back out.

The man was surprisingly resilient. He wasn’t dead, and he even had the strength to try and run, though he was much slower than Stella Sterling.

Stella Sterling stabbed him again, this time in the heart. He was somehow still alive. Stella couldn’t help but marvel, ’This guy is tough to kill.’

He managed to stammer out a final question. "Wh-why? I... I just wanted your tent..."

He didn’t get an answer from Stella Sterling. His body collapsed, and blood pooled on the ground beneath him.

The others nearby, who were still searching for a place to camp, all witnessed the scene.

In the past two years, most had grown accustomed to life and death. They were much calmer now. No one screamed. They just stared at Stella Sterling with a newfound wariness.

They all made a mental note: this woman was not to be provoked.

From his high vantage point, Timothy Chase glanced in their direction. He looked slightly surprised to see Stella Sterling, but he quickly looked away and resumed talking with his companion.

"Whoa, she’s got such a pretty face, but she’s so vicious."

Not far off, Louis Grant clutched his chest, a note of fear in his voice.

For everyone else, the incident was just a brief interlude. With the sky about to turn completely dark, people found their own spots to camp and got busy.

’So annoying. My clothes got splattered again.’ Stella Sterling glanced at the corpse on the ground, her expression one of irritation.

She grumbled under her breath as she returned to her tent.

Many people nearby heard her muttering. They all gave her a slightly wider berth, realizing she wasn’t just powerful, but ill-tempered as well.

The recent spectacle served as an effective deterrent. For the time being, no one dared to cause trouble for Stella Sterling.

As a result, she had a relatively peaceful time, with no one coming to bother her.

Remembering she’d been soaked by the rain earlier, she decided to add a bowl of fish soup to her dinner.

The piping hot soup warmed her stomach, making her feel much more comfortable.

The rain began to fall even harder, and the sound of thunder became incessant. Flashes of lightning continuously illuminated the night.

Stella Sterling was reading in her tent, the space alternating between darkness and blinding light. She did her best to ignore it and focus on the book in her hands.

After some time, drowsiness began to creep in. Stella Sterling put down her book, intending to sleep.

Another tremendous BOOM sounded from outside, causing people to cry out in alarm.

Two voices were especially loud.

"Holy crap, I almost got hit!"

"This high ground really is a lightning magnet! Good thing I moved fast, or I would’ve been toast."

Amid the grumbling, one voice sounded familiar. It seemed to belong to one of the two men who had claimed the high ground earlier.

Hearing this from inside her tent, Stella Sterling raised an eyebrow. ’See? I told you the high ground was prone to lightning strikes. You don’t listen to good advice, you pay the price.’

With that thought, Stella Sterling confirmed there was no immediate danger and went to sleep.

The chaos outside lasted a little longer before things finally quieted down.

「In the middle of the night.」

In a state between sleep and wakefulness, she heard a noise and sat up, her eyes snapping open.

She saw someone creeping around in front of her tent, trying to sneak inside.

Seeing how flustered the person was, Stella Sterling decided to "help" them out by opening the tent flap herself.

Their eyes met. Stella Sterling’s lips curled into a slight smile. "Hi. Good evening."

The man stared at Stella Sterling as if he’d seen a ghost, then turned and bolted without a second thought.

Stella Sterling was about to chase him down and send him on his way to the afterlife, but before she could move, a massive bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, striking the man directly.

The man’s body convulsed violently for a moment before he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

In the darkness, Stella Sterling couldn’t make out the details, but she guessed it was a gruesome sight.

She was silent for two seconds, then remarked, "You really shouldn’t sneak around. Even the heavens find it offensive."

Since the man was already dead without her having to lift a finger, Stella Sterling didn’t give it another thought. She zipped up her tent and went back to sleep.

The rest of the night was peaceful, with no further incidents.

However, when she woke up the next day, she discovered several new corpses scattered around the area.

The peace had only been superficial. None of these strangers, who had only just met, were easy to deal with.

The rain had lightened considerably, and the thunder had faded. Many people emerged from their shelters, looking at the bodies on the ground and murmuring amongst themselves.

But most people were focused on the corpse not far from Stella Sterling’s tent.

The body was charred black, as if it had been struck by lightning.

And indeed, he had been. As everyone discussed it, they couldn’t help but feel a bit of relief. It was a stark reminder that you had to find proper shelter during a thunderstorm, or you could easily end up just like him.

"Look! What’s happening? The current is so fast!"

"It looks like a flash flood!"

"No, we can’t! If we get in the water now, we’ll be swept away instantly! We can’t leave the high ground—"

"God, look! There’s more water surging over there! Is this whole area going to be flooded?"

"Ah! My boat! My boat’s gone! It must have been washed away last night!"

"Mine too! I swear I tied it down securely, but the rope is broken! God, what am I going to do now?"

Amid a chorus of panicked and angry shouts, Stella Sterling rushed to the edge to see for herself. The previously calm water was now a raging torrent, flowing swiftly in one direction. Worse, a wall of water was rushing toward them from a short distance away.

Her expression changed. Forgetting about the speedboat she had moored nearby, she turned and scrambled for higher ground.

"Forget everything else! Run! The flood is coming! We’re all going to be swept away!"

Someone shouted, and everyone began scrambling for the high ground.

Seeing so many people rushing toward them, Timothy Chase and his companion couldn’t very well drive them all off. They could only stand there, their faces grim.