Chapter 509: Chapter 518: No Chemistry

But not understanding was one thing; it didn’t stop her from sensing something was amiss. For the moment, she refrained from speaking again.

Her hand went to the gun at her back as she grew vigilant, bracing for a fight.

’If this woman really is up to something, then Black Swan’s relationship with her might not be what I thought.’

’Could Black Swan be under duress?’

’To be able to threaten Black Swan, this strange woman’s power must be considerable.’

Seven Locke’s eyes grew cold.

She shot Black Swan a meaningful glance, signaling her to be ready to dodge and coordinate their attacks at a moment’s notice.

Black Swan understood Seven Locke’s look.

After all, they had often worked in tandem over the past few months, so she easily understood the meaning behind Seven Locke’s glance.

’But what I don’t get is, why do we need to coordinate? Is Seven Locke planning to attack the Master?’

At this thought, Black Swan’s expression changed. ’Oh no, this is a huge misunderstanding.’

’It looks like Seven Locke didn’t get my hint. She’s mistaken the Master for an enemy.’

A flicker of amusement showed in Stella Sterling’s eyes. She hadn’t understood the meaning of Seven Locke’s glance, but she had seen Seven Locke’s subtle movements as clear as day.

Seven Locke’s hand was already reaching for the handgun at her waist. It looked like she was about to make a move.

She nodded with a smile. She was curious to test how much Seven Locke’s skills had progressed during their time apart.

So she raised a hand, stopping Black Swan from crying out to warn Seven Locke.

She looked at Seven Locke with an enigmatic smile, her voice laced with menace. "I came here for you all. I’m not leaving. And I’m very curious... if I don’t leave, what can you possibly do to me?"

Stella Sterling’s words were filled with provocation.

Black Swan watched from the side and palmed her forehead. The Master had ordered her to stay silent, so she couldn’t warn Seven Locke even if she wanted to.

’From the looks of it, the Master clearly wants to mess with Seven Locke a bit.’

’I want to help Seven Locke, but there’s nothing I can do.’

She retreated to the side with a sense of resignation. ’Forget it, I’m staying out of this. We’re all on the same side, and the Master won’t truly hurt Seven Locke. I’ll just let them be.’

Hearing the strange woman’s words, Seven Locke’s heart sank. ’This woman is definitely trouble.’

She glanced at Black Swan, only for her eyes to flash with bewilderment. Black Swan, who was usually perfectly in sync with her, was now acting as if she hadn’t understood her signal at all. She had even retreated.

Before she could dwell on it, the strange woman attacked, and she was completely bare-handed, not even carrying a weapon.

Startled, Seven Locke scrambled to meet the assault.

The woman was so fast that all Seven Locke could do was dodge continuously, without even a chance to draw her gun.

She was forced back again and again, looking utterly pathetic.

For the first time, Seven Locke felt that even with a gun, there were times it was completely useless.

’With her speed, I don’t even have an opening to draw my gun. If I hesitate for even a second, I’ll be done for.’

’And given the situation, even if I did manage to draw my gun, could I actually hit someone moving that fast?’

The mere thought of it astounded Seven Locke.

The next moment, she felt a cold sensation on her neck. Something was pressed against it. With just a little more force, her life would be over.

Engineer Locke’s heart sank. She had guessed the woman was strong, but she never imagined she would be *this* strong.

’I couldn’t even land a single blow.’

But what Seven Locke didn’t know was that Stella Sterling was holding back considerably. She only wanted to see how far Seven Locke’s skills had come, so she had been suppressing her true power the entire time.

Otherwise, with her current power, defeating Seven Locke would have taken but a moment, which wouldn’t have allowed her to gauge Seven Locke’s actual level.

It was only now, seeing that Seven Locke had reached her limit, that she decided to end it.

Seven Locke was sure she was dead. In that moment, she wasn’t particularly scared, just worried about the people from Caeluna Base. She yelled at those who were about to rush forward to save her, "Run!"

The woman’s abilities were too bizarre; it would be useless for them to try and help.

’Looks like I’m going to disappoint the Master after all. I failed to rendezvous with her, and now I can’t even be sure what fate awaits the people I brought with me.’

But a long moment passed, and the small knife pressed to her neck didn’t move.

’What does she want?’ she wondered. ’Is she planning to take me captive to threaten the others?’

Just then, a low chuckle reached her ear. "Not bad. You’ve improved quite a bit."

Seven Locke’s eyes flew wide open. The words had come from the woman in black before her, but the voice was completely different from the one she’d heard just moments ago.

This voice... it was so familiar, a sound she had etched into her very soul, one she would never dare to forget.

This... this... this...

Her eyes wide with disbelief, she cried out, "Sterling? Is it you, Sterling...?"

Black Swan slapped her forehead. ’Looks like the girl finally recognized her.’

’Or rather, not quite. It’s not like Seven Locke figured it out on her own; the Master revealed herself.’

A sense of resignation washed over her. ’Looks like my rapport with Seven Locke still isn’t good enough. I was giving her so many signals, and she still didn’t get it.’

’We’ll have to work on our nonverbal communication to make sure this doesn’t happen again.’

"Yes, it’s me."

Stella Sterling said with a beaming smile, pulling the dagger away from Seven Locke’s neck.

’Seven Locke’s skills have really improved. At least she managed to last that long instead of being taken down instantly.’

Seven Locke still found it hard to believe. The completely unfamiliar woman before her was actually Sterling.

’But then again, who other than Sterling would have shown me mercy just now?’

She laughed with excitement, finally understanding the reason for Black Swan’s strange behavior earlier.

She exclaimed, "Sterling, it’s really you! I thought..."

She trailed off with an embarrassed laugh. The thought that she had actually intended to kill Sterling made her feel even more mortified.

’It’s a good thing I didn’t hurt Sterling. Otherwise, I would never have been able to forgive myself.’

Then again, she quickly realized she was overthinking things. ’With my skills, how could I possibly have hurt Sterling? She was just messing with me.’

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.