After finishing up, Stella Sterling scoured the warehouse one more time.
And she actually found something good: a massive gold chain—the kind that makes you look like a tacky, new-money show-off the moment you put it on.
"Excellent. This is mine now, too!" Stella Sterling put it into her space. After a moment's thought, she placed it in the storage area rather than tossing it into the exchange zone.
Her space was unique. It had a storage area, currently five thousand square meters, a farming plot for her to grow crops, and an exchange zone that exclusively accepted special materials. When enough were collected, the space would undergo a special transformation.
The space had come from a blood bracelet that had bound itself to her. She'd found it at a flea market she visited with a coworker, who had laughed, saying it was obviously a fake.
And it turned out to be true. An expert appraisal confirmed that the bracelet she'd so carefully chosen was dollar-store quality.
But she liked it, so she kept wearing it. She never expected that when the apocalypse came, the blood bracelet would actually bind to her.
However, by the time the space bound to her, it was already three years into the apocalypse. She hadn't managed to stockpile any supplies, and seeds were controlled by a select few.
In her hands, the space was mostly useless.
This time, she was reborn with the space intact. What happened in her past life would never happen to her again.
This was an abandoned steel warehouse, filled with piles of scrap metal. Realizing this would all be a valuable resource later, she wasted no time and moved it all into her space.
Once she had stuffed everything she could into her space, she finally stopped looting. Time was short. Ignoring her own disheveled state, she planned to head straight for the wholesale market.
Just then, the bald thug's phone rang. The sound was startlingly loud in the cavernous warehouse, and it immediately drew Stella Sterling's attention.
She strode over to him. When she saw the notification that a million had been deposited into his bank account, a wide grin spread across her footprint-marked face. Without a second thought, she transferred the money to her own account.
If the circumstances weren't so inappropriate, Stella Sterling would have burst out laughing to express her overwhelming excitement—not just because someone had sent her money, but because she had been reborn.
She didn't know if her rebirth was related to her space, but since she'd been given a second chance, she was determined to cherish it.
In the end, all her excitement melted away into a soft chuckle. After seven years in the apocalypse, she had long since developed an unflappable demeanor.
Just then, a new message popped up on the bald thug's phone.
"The money has been sent to your account. Once you get it, take your men and get out of Mirefall. Lay low for a while, and don't contact me again unless you have to!"
Scrolling up through the message history, Stella Sterling saw several photos of herself.
In the photos, she was lying on the ground, as limp and helpless as a dead dog. Her body was covered in injuries from the beating, the blood at the corner of her mouth stark and jarring.
Seeing her own miserable state in the photos, the memories of the beating came flooding back. Her whole body trembled in pain, and for a moment she couldn't tell if the agony was real or just a phantom of her memory.
Her grip on the phone tightened. She took a deep breath to compose herself and kept reading.
The photos had been sent just moments ago.
They must have been sent when she was beaten unconscious, before she'd been reborn. The bald thug had sent them to his employer to show off his work.
The realization that the money she had just pocketed was the payment for her own beating soured her mood considerably.
'If I'm not happy, why should they be?'
Stella Sterling stood up. Her expression was calm, but a crazed light shone in her eyes. She raised the club high and swung it down between the bald thug's legs—
She put all her strength into the blow. The thug, who had already been unconscious, was shocked awake by the agony, breaking out in a cold sweat before the sheer pain made him pass out again.
"Consider this a down payment. I'll leave you alive for now so we can settle the rest of the bill later!" Stella Sterling said irritably, tossing the club aside.
'Leaving them alive is fine. I'm not afraid they'll call the police. These guys are all fugitives with priors. Unless they want to end up in jail, they won't dare to do anything to me, even after they wake up and realize I'm the one who did this.'
After venting her anger, she started to think. The profile picture of the person on the other end of the chat was very familiar. Stella Sterling dredged up a name from her distant memories.
Yara Sterling. Her so-called sister. The two of them had been switched at birth, and Yara had enjoyed over twenty years of the wealthy life that should have been hers. After Stella had finally returned to the Sterling Family, Yara had secretly worked against her at every turn.
But that woman had died at her hands in the third year of the apocalypse. Thinking of her now, the memories were already a bit hazy.
In her past life, she never knew that this kidnapping, which had nearly killed her, was also the handiwork of her "sister."
'How many other times had that woman plotted against me in secret?'
She thought about her past life—how Yara had repeatedly schemed against her, putting her in mortal danger, and how her own parents had defended the culprit every single time. Stella Sterling's eyes turned blood-red.
Not enough!
Not enough!!
'In my last life, I wasn't ruthless enough. Yara Sterling's death wasn't nearly miserable enough!!!'
She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the blood-red fury had faded, replaced by the hint of a gentle, smiling warmth.
But when that smile appeared on her footprint-covered face, it looked utterly bizarre.
'It's all right. I have a second chance now. If her death in the last life wasn't miserable enough, I can certainly make up for that this time around.'
At this thought, Stella Sterling's smile grew even softer. She took out the bald thug's phone, photographed the miserable state of him and his men, and sent the pictures to Yara Sterling with a simple caption: "You're next!"
After sending the message, she turned off the phone, tossed it into her space, and strode out of the warehouse.
'Oh, Yara Sterling... Before I come for you, I want you to savor your fear!'
...
Night had fallen. The warehouse was in a remote location, surrounded by weeds. No one ever came to a place like this. If she hadn't been reborn, she might very well have died here today.
In her previous life, she had survived by pure, dumb luck.
Outside, there was a beat-up old minivan. The door was open and the key was still in the ignition. Clearly, these guys were experienced criminals, always ready for a quick getaway.
'Perfect. This van is mine now. I need to go stock up on supplies, and this will make things much easier.'
After getting in, she found several large barrels of diesel fuel and a few machetes in the back. With a wave of her hand, Stella Sterling swept it all into her space, then slammed on the gas and drove off.
She didn't go home. First, she found and rented a large warehouse, then quickly cleaned herself up before heading to the wholesale market.
Everything here was cheaper than at a regular store, and the more you bought, the better the price. The money she saved could be spent on more food.
But when she arrived, Stella Sterling was stunned to find that nearly every shop was closed.
"I forgot! It was already after business hours when those bastards kidnapped me. With all the time that's passed, of course it's late!"
She slapped her forehead, exasperated. She'd been too hasty.
As she stood there, frustrated, she spotted a rice shop owner in the corner just about to lock up. She immediately rushed over. "Sir, wait! Don't close up yet! You're about to make a fortune!"