Chapter 558 - 567: Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
After all, Miss Sterling had already helped them more than enough. She had no obligation to stay here and cooperate with him.
Stella Sterling nodded and said to him, "I understand Chief Ford’s situation now. I’ll figure something out as soon as I get back."
"Until then, you must watch him carefully. There’s something different about him compared to the others. At the very least, his strength is much greater than that of the other personnel. You absolutely cannot let him get out, or there will be serious trouble!"
Mr. Magnus also knew the gravity of the situation. He had just asked his men and learned that the mutated people outside didn’t possess Chief Ford’s immense strength, nor were they as difficult to deal with.
He didn’t know if it was because Chief Ford had been mutated for longer, or if there was something else different about him.
But he knew that Chief Ford was now critically important and must be watched closely.
So he nodded gravely. "Don’t worry, Sterling."
Stella Sterling nodded and turned to leave. But after a few steps, she suddenly looked back at Mr. Magnus and said, "If you get any news about Gordon Ford, please send someone to Caeluna Base to let me know!"
Mr. Magnus was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Alright!"
Stella Sterling left. Watching her retreating figure, Mr. Magnus shook his head.
’Seeing how cold she is, I thought she didn’t care about Gordon Ford. But now it seems that might not be the case. She’s just naturally reserved, but she still holds a place in her heart for that young man.’
After leaving Meridia Base, Stella Sterling didn’t delay and immediately headed back to Caeluna Base.
She directly entered the space, manipulating it to move toward Caeluna Base.
’Moving within the space now is nothing like it was before. The speed is much faster than traveling by normal means.’
’I sent Zane Xavier and the others back with a message so they could dispatch people to deal with any potentially mutated individuals in the vicinity first.’
’But I never expected the situation to be present inside Meridia Base already. It made me think of Caeluna Base... What about Caeluna Base? I have to go back and check on it right now.’
Stella Sterling breathed a sigh of relief when she returned to Caeluna Base.
Caeluna Base was not in chaos; everything was still normal. It seemed that what happened at Meridia Base had not occurred here.
However, Stella Sterling wasn’t sure if there were any hidden mutated personnel in Caeluna Base. It was very likely there were, but they simply hadn’t transformed yet and thus hadn’t been found.
She went straight to find Stephen Lawrence. He, Shane Lawrence, and a few other high-level members of Caeluna Base were gathered for a meeting.
When they saw Stella Sterling enter, everyone greeted her in unison.
Zane Xavier was shocked. "Miss Sterling, how are you back already?"
He was even more astonished by her speed. After Miss Sterling had told him to return to Caeluna Base with the message, he had taken the plane.
’So how did Miss Sterling get back to Caeluna Base from Meridia Base in such a short time?’
"There’s a situation at Meridia Base. They have mutated personnel within their ranks. I was worried about our base, so I hurried back!"
Stella said this as she walked to the head seat. She sat down and looked at everyone. "What’s the situation in the base right now?"
When Stella Sterling had previously sent the message with Zane Xavier, she had already mentioned that eating that meat would cause mutation. So when they heard Stella’s words, they all understood what she meant. But everyone was shocked; they hadn’t expected a situation like this to have already appeared inside a major base like Meridia.
Stephen Lawrence immediately replied, "Miss Sterling, our situation is relatively stable. We haven’t found any abnormal personnel. After receiving the message you sent back with Zane Xavier, we already dispatched teams to sweep the surrounding area!"
"All such personnel were eliminated on sight. We also conducted an immediate internal investigation and found no one like that. However, we did find one person who had been bitten. According to him, he got into an argument during an external mission and was accidentally bitten. But besides a slight fever, he shows no other abnormalities!"
Stephen Lawrence spoke quickly. After receiving the message from Zane Xavier, he remembered that she had once told him to keep an eye out for anyone in their base who might have consumed that kind of meat.
She had also spoken to him briefly about it back then, so after hearing Zane Xavier’s words, he immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
In addition to sending people out to sweep for already mutated individuals, they also immediately conducted a major investigation within the base.
Fortunately, they didn’t find anything serious.
Stella Sterling nodded. She had always made Caeluna Base keep an eye on this matter, so the situation was better than at Meridia Base.
She said, "The person who was bitten earlier, bring him to me so I can take a look!"
Stella Sterling was not someone who killed without reason. Although the man was bitten, it wasn’t necessarily by a mutated person. It had to be investigated thoroughly.
Soon, the man was brought in. Stella Sterling looked at the wound on his body. It was still a mangled mess of flesh and blood, showing no signs of healing. She closed her eyes for a moment and asked the man before her, "When were you bitten?"
"To answer you, Sterling, it was seven days ago!"
The man answered honestly. His face was a little ashen. With all the commotion in the base today, and now being brought here, he had already realized what was happening.
Stella Sterling looked at him and asked calmly, "Your existence now likely poses a threat to the safety of the base. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the well-being of everyone here?"
Hearing this, the others in the room grew a little agitated, but they quickly calmed down.
It seemed the matter was far more serious than they had imagined, and Sterling must have her reasons for doing this.
Hearing Stella Sterling’s words, a flash of fear crossed the eyes of the Caeluna Base member before her, and he took two steps back.
But as he looked at Sterling’s calm expression and thought about the news he’d heard earlier, he gradually composed himself. Aside from his pale face, his expression showed nothing else. He nodded at Stella Sterling. "Sterling, I won’t let our brothers fall into danger!"
After speaking, he pulled a small knife from his sleeve. Seeing this, Stephen Lawrence’s expression changed, and he immediately moved to block Stella Sterling. "Boss, watch out!"
But Stella Sterling pushed Stephen Lawrence aside. She looked calmly at the man before her.
The man gave a small smile. "Thank you for your trust in me, Sterling. I will absolutely not let you down!"
After saying that, he took the small knife and slashed it fiercely across his own neck. He quickly stopped breathing and fell to the ground.
Stephen Lawrence was silent. He had misunderstood the man’s intentions.
Zane Xavier and Arthur Shaw, who were standing to the side, were also shocked when they witnessed this scene.
Both of them looked at Stella Sterling in astonishment.