’Those two have potential. They’re still weak now, but once they’ve grown stronger, they could be a major asset.’

’Helping them before they get strong is the perfect opportunity to win their loyalty.’

Stella Sterling liked being a lone wolf, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed charging in recklessly. The longer this went on, the harder it would be for individuals to survive. Everyone had to band together.

In this life, if she had the chance to build her own faction, she wouldn’t let it slip by.

She quickly threw on her coat, zipped it up, took out her large blade, and headed downstairs.

’A simple blade is more than enough for a few small-time thugs,’ she mused. ’I don’t even need a weapon, really. I’m just bringing it to scare them and make things easier.’

As she descended, somewhere in the teens, she spotted a familiar figure from behind. Hearing the noise, the person turned around—it was Lily Pence.

She was hiding outside, constantly stuffing food into her mouth. When she turned, her cheeks were still bulging; it was obvious she was eating.

But when she saw Stella Sterling, and saw her coming downstairs with a large blade in hand, her mouth fell open. She forgot to even chew, and crumbs kept tumbling out. It was a pathetic sight.

’It’s over! She’s here to kill me!’

Lily Pence was terrified. The memory of Stella chasing her with a blade that day made her heart pound relentlessly.

After that day, she had been worried for a long time and didn’t dare go outside, afraid she would run into Stella Sterling and get cut down in an instant.

She had only relaxed after it seemed Stella didn’t even remember her.

But now—

"Aah, help—"

After a long moment, she finally managed to make a sound. With the fastest reflexes of her life, she ducked inside and slammed the door shut in one smooth motion.

She didn’t dare to look back at Stella Sterling, not even for a glance, terrified that if she did, she’d see Stella standing right behind her with that massive blade.

Stella Sterling just gave her a cold look for a moment before ignoring her and rushing downstairs.

As for the other woman’s terrified screams, she acted as if she hadn’t heard them at all.

’It’s best if she’s afraid of me. Even better that she has this self-awareness. From now on, she’d better stay far away whenever she sees me and not get on my nerves.’

Carrying her blade, Stella Sterling hurried downstairs. On her way, she ran into several other residents of the building.

From a distance, they saw Stella Sterling rushing down like a whirlwind, blade in hand. Terrified, they immediately scattered to get out of her way, not daring to block her path and incur her displeasure.

They all hid far away, not daring to even breathe too loudly, afraid that if she got upset, she would just start hacking at people with her blade.

It was absolutely terrifying. They didn’t know what Stella Sterling was up to, but their gazes were filled with a mixture of awe and fear.

’What kind of normal person runs around with a blade? It seems the rumors in the building were true. That girl from the 28th floor is really crazy and emotionally unstable.’

Only after Stella Sterling’s figure disappeared from sight did their tense bodies relax. None of them dared to linger outside any longer; they scurried back to their own apartments and shut the doors, taking a long while to calm down.

This whole display from Stella Sterling left an even deeper impression on everyone.

Now everyone in Building A knew that the young woman on the 28th floor was not to be trifled with and was completely unhinged.

Invisibly, this saved her a great deal of trouble.

"Bastards! You fucking bastards, let her go!"

Woody Larkin struggled desperately against the two men holding him, but it was to no avail. All he could do was keep roaring, "Let her go! Let her go!"

"If you dare touch her, I won’t let you get away with it! I’ll kill you!"

Yana Larkin was also crying and struggling, but it was useless. The man had already ripped her jacket open with one hand.

In a fit of desperation, she lowered her head and bit down hard on his hand, refusing to let go.

The man yelped in pain and released her. Yana Larkin seized the opportunity to run, and a glimmer of hope flashed in Woody Larkin’s eyes. "Sis, run! Run—"

But she didn’t get more than two steps before he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back!

"AHH—"

Yana Larkin screamed in pain as she was thrown to the ground. The next moment, a heavy slap struck her face, leaving her dizzy and disoriented, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The man laughed angrily. "You dare bite me, you fucking bitch? I’ll beat you to death!"

Slap after slap rained down on her. Yana Larkin had already lost the strength to struggle, her eyes filled with despair and hatred.

"Go fucking easy on her! Don’t you know how to treat a lady? Don’t actually beat her to death, I still wanna have a taste!"

one of the men holding Woody Larkin said with dissatisfaction to the man hitting Yana Larkin.

"Pah—"

The man turned, spat in Woody’s face, and then punched him. "What are you staring at? Believe it or not, I’ll dig your eyes out!" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Stay put! I’ll have time to deal with you later!"

"A punk like you wants to kill us? With what? Are you gonna stare us to death? Haha!"

He laughed mockingly as he kicked Woody, who kept trying to fight back but was completely pinned down.

Just then, another man who had been quiet stared at Woody Larkin’s young, defiant face and said excitedly, "Bro, I think this kid’s got something going on too. Especially this kid... leave him some breath—"

"The hell? Didn’t know you were into that. You’re a pervert!"

Woody Larkin glared fiercely at the two men. If looks could kill, these men would have died a thousand times over. But unfortunately, they couldn’t.

In this situation, his anger was useless.

He stared in his sister’s direction, shouting, "Run, Sis, run!"

But Yana Larkin couldn’t hear him now. The man was dragging her toward a corner, tearing at her clothes as he went.

Her strength to resist had waned, rendering any struggle completely useless.

Gradually, the struggle and fear in her eyes turned to despair and hatred, and slowly, she stopped fighting back.

She hated them. Hated these animals. And she hated herself for being so powerless.

’If I ever get the chance... if I just get a chance...’

In her hazy consciousness, she felt herself stop moving. The man dragging her was still. Realizing this, her mind cleared a little. The next moment, she saw the head of the man in front of her fall off, rolling to a stop right before her. The two of them were now face-to-face.

Yana Larkin felt her heart stop for a moment, too scared to even scream. Then, an overwhelming, frantic wave of joy flooded her.

She knew. She was saved!!!

She propped herself up slightly and looked forward. A girl a few years older than her was standing there. She had just drawn back her blade, which was still dripping with blood.

The girl stood in the snow, snowflakes falling endlessly upon her. In that moment, Yana felt as though her savior was glowing.