Chapter 204: Chapter 204: All Are Old Acquaintances

"Old man, there’s nothing we want that we can’t get. It’s your lucky day we’ve taken an interest in your stuff. Hand it over if you know what’s good for you. Otherwise, I’ll smash your stall and you’ll leave with nothing."

Just then, a sudden, loud shout reached Stella Sterling’s ears.

Both the voice and its arrogant tone felt familiar to Stella. She turned to look and saw that quite a few people were also watching with interest.

At the center of the attention were two young men and a middle-aged man in his forties.

The two young men looked very similar, like brothers. One of them had a fierce, menacing expression. They stood in front of the middle-aged man, pointing at the goods laid out on the ground with an air of dominance.

Although she didn’t know what had led up to this, it looked like the two brothers had taken a fancy to something the middle-aged man was selling and tried to snatch it. The man must have stopped them, causing one of the brothers to fly into a humiliated rage and resort to harsh threats.

The people in the crowd looked like they were enjoying the show. Over the past two years, they had grown used to this law of the jungle—taking things by force. Even if they weren’t as blatant as the two brothers, they didn’t think there was anything wrong with their actions.

In fact, many were watching from the sidelines, considering whether they should do the same if the brothers succeeded.

This small mountain village seemed to have plenty of good things and abundant resources. But to get anything, you had to trade. Everything people had on them now was useful; if they could just rob someone, they would rather not make a trade.

Stella Sterling glanced at the expressions of the surrounding crowd before turning her gaze back to the main players in the drama.

She raised an eyebrow. ’Well, look who it is. Old acquaintances.’

The brothers were none other than Timothy Chase and his sibling, whom she had met before.

Aboard the Meridia Base ship, these two had tried to pull a fast one on her. But for various reasons, she hadn’t left the ship; instead, the two brothers were the ones who got kicked off.

She didn’t know what had happened to them after that. To think they were still alive and out here causing trouble—and now she’d run into them again.

As for the middle-aged stall owner being harassed...

The middle-aged owner looked at the two brothers before him without a trace of panic. He said calmly, "You two, we do fair trades here. If you like my things, you’re welcome to trade items of equal value. Even if you don’t have something of equal value, you can show me what you do have. If I see something I need, I will naturally trade with you. But if you’re thinking of taking them by force, I won’t allow it!"

As he spoke, he began to pack up the items on his stall.

Just then, a hand slammed down on the cloth, stopping his movement. Timothy Chase stared at him coldly. "Are you deaf? Or are you telling me you’ve got a death wish, old man?"

Beside him, Leo Chase said nothing. He just fiddled with something in his hands, but his eyes were just as malicious.

The middle-aged owner was about to speak again when a clear, cold female voice cut in. "It’s been a while, and you two are as overbearing as ever. I’m honestly surprised that people like you are still alive."

Stella Sterling’s words were blunt and full of malice.

It made all three people involved turn to look.

The difference was that the Timothy Chase brothers’ faces were dark, even filled with killing intent, while the middle-aged owner simply looked over with curiosity.

’He didn’t know who was stepping in to help. Do good people like that still exist nowadays?’

A flicker of curiosity crossed the middle-aged owner’s eyes.

"It’s you, you—"

After getting a clear look at the newcomer, a cold glint flashed in Timothy Chase’s eyes. He started to speak, then abruptly stopped, his gaze toward Stella Sterling a mixture of hatred and apprehension.

Leo Chase was also staring darkly at Stella Sterling.

’If it weren’t for this woman, how could they have been kicked out by the people from Meridia Base?’

Back then, they hadn’t known the true strength of Meridia Base. Later, however, they’d heard that the base practically represented the official authorities. If they had managed to get in, their futures would have been secure. With their skills, they might have even been given important positions.

They wouldn’t have to be drifting around everywhere like they were now.

’But shouldn’t this woman have joined Meridia Base? Why is she here? Could it be that people from Meridia Base are here too?’

Leo Chase mused inwardly as his eyes scanned the area behind Stella Sterling. After a long look, he confirmed that she was alone. There was no one else.

Stella Sterling didn’t care how much their gazes screamed that they wanted to kill her.

With a smile, she greeted them as if they were old friends. "We meet again. After you were kicked off the ship, I thought you’d be dead by now. Seeing you alive again... what a disappointment."

Hearing her words, the people in the crowd started to give her strange looks.

Even though relationships were hardly friendly these days, it was rare to hear someone speak so bluntly. This woman had some nerve. The brothers clearly weren’t good people, yet she wasn’t afraid of offending them.

It seemed there was bad blood between this woman and the brothers.

Stella Sterling’s words confirmed for the Timothy Chase brothers that she was indeed connected to them being kicked off the ship.

The aura around the two men grew heavier. They stared at her, their gazes deadly, and said coldly, "What do you mean by that? We don’t have any grudge between us, do we?"

The crowd was even more surprised. The woman’s words had been so harsh. Given how arrogant the brothers had just been, shouldn’t they be rushing up to give her a brutal beating?

But they didn’t. In fact, they seemed somewhat wary of her.

And so, the way everyone looked at Stella Sterling began to change. Apparently, this woman was a force to be reckoned with.

The middle-aged man, however, was now frowning as he stared at Stella Sterling. For some reason, she felt familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place her.

Although Timothy Chase was glaring fiercely at Stella Sterling, he didn’t make a rash move. Instead, he said with displeasure, "We don’t have any major grudge. Let’s just let the past be the past. This has nothing to do with you, so I hope you won’t interfere."

’If it wasn’t for the gun this woman carried, why would they be tolerating her like this?’

"Sorry, but what if I don’t want to let the past be the past?"

Stella Sterling waved a hand at them with a look of mock helplessness.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man tried to reason with Stella, "Miss, thank you for your kindness, but this is something we can resolve ourselves. There’s no need to get you involved."