Chapter 401: Chapter 411: Being Extorted

「Another ten days passed.」

During these ten days, Stella Sterling spent most of her time in Felix Lawrence’s territory, occasionally sneaking into Veridia to gather information.

This was Sanctyr Base’s main encampment, after all. Although it lacked its pre-apocalyptic prosperity, it was still much better off than other places.

Many people even set up stalls on the street to trade, but safety was far from guaranteed. In the days since her arrival, Stella Sterling often saw people break into brawls right in the middle of a trade.

They’d fight until they were bloodied and bruised. Sometimes, both parties ended up dead, and their goods were simply snatched up by others.

Setting aside these violent and bloody scenes, the place was actually quite lively.

After some inquiries, Stella Sterling learned that Sanctyr Base had intentionally guided people to trade here, which was why the area had become so bustling.

The trading area itself had been designated by Sanctyr Base, and anyone who wanted to set up a stall to trade had to pay a fee to the base.

That in itself wouldn’t be a problem, but the issue was that while Sanctyr Base collected fees, they took absolutely no responsibility for the vendors’ safety.

Even when fights broke out, no one from Sanctyr Base would intervene. They just collected their fees and did nothing else.

Although many people were dissatisfied with this, no one dared to voice their complaints to Sanctyr Base.

After all, many of the supplies people gathered were useless to them personally, and they needed a place to trade for the things they actually required.

So, although they were incredibly frustrated by this practice, no one dared to complain, and many people continued to set up stalls here.

Everyone was just extremely cautious, and many people even operated in groups.

Stella Sterling made time every night to go out and wander around. She didn’t bring Andrew Shaw with her, choosing to operate alone.

She wore a mask every time she went out.

In this post-apocalyptic world, there were all sorts of eccentrics. Since it was also nighttime, someone like Stella Sterling wearing a mask wasn’t strange and didn’t attract any attention.

No one knew that she had come to Veridia.

She was doing this not only to experience a different way of life, but also to inquire about Black Swan’s group.

However, ten days had passed, and she still hadn’t seen any trace of them.

They had clearly set out before her, yet she had been here for a while, and they were still stuck on the road.

Stella Sterling felt a bit resigned. ’After all, not everyone is like me, with cheat-like strength and a spatial ability to rely on.’

’Considering the state of the roads she’d traveled, who knew how much time it would take for a large group like Black Swan’s to get here.’

’Come to think of it, it probably won’t be so easy for that so-called brother of mine to escape back to Sanctyr Base either.’

’With Evan Sterling’s frail physique, it’s questionable whether he could even make it back to Sanctyr Base alive without protection.’

’After all, Evan Sterling is very gifted when it comes to research, but he’s not physically strong at all. Who knows what dangers he might face on such a long journey. If anything happened, he’d be a goner.’

’And most importantly, with this scorching heat and no food or water, he would likely die on the road during such a long journey, even if he never encountered another soul.’

Stella Sterling, however, didn’t really care.

’He’s just an insignificant person. If I happen to run into him, I’ll deal with him then. If he croaks on his own, he’s even less worthy of my attention.’

"Hey, you! The one in the mask! You stepped on my stuff!"

Stella Sterling was walking through Veridia at night. In this particular area, people had set up rows of wooden platforms, and a large crowd was gathered around.

Seeing the commotion, she had come over to take a look.

She hadn’t expected to be stopped in her tracks. Confused, she paused and looked at the fierce-looking man who was glaring at her. She pointed to herself. "Are you talking to me?"

The man slammed his hand down on his goods and glared at Stella Sterling angrily. "Of course I’m talking to you! Who else would I be talking to? You just walked past here and crushed my item. Do you think you can just walk away?"

Stella Sterling followed his pointing finger and saw a shattered object on the ground in front of him.

She raised an eyebrow. ’It’s true that I just passed by his little stall, but I was at least half a meter away from him. How could I have possibly stepped on his things!’

’Besides, if I’d crushed something half the size of a palm, how could I possibly not have felt it?’

’This man is obviously trying to extort me because I’m alone.’

The man’s eyes flickered for a moment before he continued, "This item is a family heirloom! If life hadn’t gotten so hard, I would never have brought it out to trade."

"Now you’ve crushed it, so you have to compensate me. I’m not asking for much, just one catty of grain."

Grain was currently the main currency in the market; it was the true universal tender.

Those who didn’t have grain could only barter with other valuables or with items the seller specifically needed.

Normally, a tael of grain could be traded for a decent item. Yet, the thing on the ground was clearly worthless. The man really had some nerve, demanding a full catty of grain right from the start.

’The nerve of this guy!’

Stella Sterling looked up at the man, her expression calm.

Hearing the man’s demand, the surrounding crowd turned to look.

Someone called out, "Derek Walsh, isn’t that a bit much? A whole catty for that piece of junk? How is it worth that much?"

"Bah! Mind your own damn business! This is my family heirloom, and it’s worth this much! Back in the day, this thing could have sold for tens of millions! I’m only asking for a catty of grain now. If anything, *I’m* the one taking a loss here!"

The man who had spoken shook his head, shot Stella a sympathetic glance, and said nothing more.

Some of the others, however, looked at Derek Walsh with envy. It was obvious he was trying to scam the masked woman.

They could only chalk it up to her bad luck for running into such a scoundrel. ’But wait, why didn’t we think of that?’

The onlookers shook their heads, turned their attention away, and went back to their own business.

Stella Sterling, however, looked at the man and asked, "Are you sure I’m the one who stepped on this?"

She didn’t want to cause trouble, so she decided to give him one last chance.

The man nodded without hesitation. "I saw it with my own two eyes! How could I be wrong? Don’t even think about backing out of this. Otherwise, I won’t let you off easy."

As he spoke, he patted the large blade resting at his side.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.