Chapter 195: Chapter 195: The First Person

Several more days passed. Stella Sterling continued her daily routine of going out a few times, exploring the entire vicinity and scavenging whatever she could.

After returning, she would also wander around the large mountain she was on, familiarizing herself with its terrain.

She found another spot in the mountains to plant the seeds she had gotten from Louis Grant, then specifically fenced off the area.

Additionally, she planted the remaining seeds inside her space.

’This is just the beginning,’ she thought. ’No need to rush.’

She had bought many seeds for her space before, and over the past two years, batch after batch of crops had ripened. She had also saved seeds from the grain grown in her space.

These ordinary seeds had now been modified by her space. When planted outside, even though they wouldn’t grow as well as they did inside, they would definitely be able to survive.

She was quite confident about this.

If she could successfully plant the seeds from her space in the outside world, her small faction would become self-sufficient, saving her a lot of trouble.

However, it was still too early for all that. She would make these preparations once things were more stable and she had enough people.

「Half a month passed just like that.」

Within that half-month, Stephen Lawrence had more or less finished surveying the terrain. He had a general layout in mind and began working on the blueprints.

Stella Sterling didn’t disturb him. During the day, she went out to search for supplies. At night, she would stay in her small cabin, watching the sky, listening to the rain, and observing the lightning and thunder.

After watching for a while, she got used to it and found it wasn’t so terrifying anymore.

But after half a month, besides Stella Sterling and Stephen Lawrence, there was no one else on the mountain. The notices she had left in Mirefall had probably gone unseen, or if seen, unbelieved.

So, for now, her faction consisted of just the two of them.

But Stella Sterling wasn’t in a hurry.

She could live very well on her own. With her current strength, few could challenge her, and she didn’t lack for food or drink.

If things really didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to just get by in this apocalypse with Stephen Lawrence.

Just as she was thinking this, a noise came from outside her cabin.

Someone was shouting outside, "Is anyone there? Hello? I saw the message and came to join!"

At that moment, there were only two simple cabins on the mountain; the rest was mostly empty land.

The voice came from outside the cabin. Stella Sterling’s eyes lit up. "Someone’s here!"

She got up from her reclining chair and went to open the door.

This was the first time in over half a month that someone had come to this place.

Outside the door stood a man wearing a short-sleeved shirt under a raincoat, with a black bag on his back.

The man saw Stella Sterling and glanced behind her. After seemingly confirming there was no one else here besides the person in front of him and the two cabins, he asked hesitantly, "Hello, are you the one looking for people?"

His tone was full of uncertainty. Deep in the remote mountains, with only two cabins and a single woman answering the door, this hardly looked like a recruitment effort.

As he spoke, he had already taken a few steps back, his guard up.

’I knew I shouldn’t have trusted a recruitment notice just scrawled on a wall.’

’I only came to give it a shot, but this result is really disappointing...’

He felt the sting of regret, thinking about the fuel he’d gone through hell to get, just to pilot a rickety little boat all the way out here for this.

"I’m the one recruiting. Why don’t you come in and have a seat?"

This was the first person to show up on his own initiative. Stella Sterling happened to be free at the moment, so she decided to handle it personally.

She saw the caution and wariness in his eyes, but it didn’t matter.

If he wasn’t vigilant in a situation like this, that would be the real problem. His reaction was that of a normal person.

Hearing her words, the man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped inside the cabin.

’This place is so remote. It took me forever to find it, and I nearly got lost. Now that I’m finally here, I can’t just leave right away.’

’Even if I do leave, I should at least wait until I’ve recovered some energy.’

But the moment he stepped into the simple cabin, his expression changed slightly. The cabin looked crude from the outside, but he was surprised to find it was quite well-equipped inside.

It was completely different from what he had imagined!

He felt a bit dazed. The interior decorations were almost the same as before the apocalypse.

If it were just that, he could have explained it away. Perhaps due to the local terrain, the area hadn’t been heavily affected by the cataclysm, so this cabin might have been built before the apocalypse, with its furnishings naturally preserved.

The problem was, he could clearly see an electric kettle boiling water in the corner and an overhead lamp that was on.

’A simple cabin like this has electricity? The apocalypse has been going on for two years!’

Even wealthy families with abundant reserves would be running low on supplies after two years without replenishment.

And even if they still had fuel, it would be saved for critical moments and important uses, not wasted on something as trivial as boiling water for tea.

In that brief moment, his mood had shifted several times. He had given up hope, but this small cabin had completely changed his perspective. Perhaps this place—so obscure he’d never even heard of it, a place that didn’t even have a name—might hold an unexpected surprise for him after all.

"Would you like some tea?"

Stella Sterling gestured for him to sit and went to brew the tea.

The man was still in a daze, but he nodded subconsciously.

The word "tea" sounded somewhat foreign to him now.

It rained constantly these days. When people got thirsty, they just collected some water to drink. Those without tools would simply open their mouths and drink the rainwater.

No one cared whether the rain was contaminated or not; they couldn’t afford to. As long as there was water, it was fine.

He never thought he’d have the chance to drink tea again.

As he waited, his eyes scanned the small cabin, and the more he looked, the more shocked he became.

Finally, his gaze settled on the woman brewing tea. She looked to be in her early twenties, about the same age as him.

But she carried an air of calm composure. Even though her face was a bit tan, her eyes were crystal clear.

She was different from the people he usually encountered. He couldn’t see in her the short temper that had become a common affliction for everyone these days.

Her aura was serene, as if she had never experienced the clamor and conflict of the last two years of the apocalypse, remaining detached from it all.

’Considering where I am now,’ he thought, ’and looking at her... it’s not impossible. She might have been living as a recluse here all along.’