18 Floors Above the Apocalypse



Stella and Jasper arrived at the spot where Snowflake had been nabbed, only to find a chunk of pork dropped on the ground.

"Not again," Stella muttered. "Snowflake's been hoarding food again!"

After being scolded by Stella a few times, Snowflake had started hiding its stash even farther away, but never imagined it would lead to being trapped.

"Who still rides snowmobiles these days?" Jasper wondered aloud. "And who else could it be?"

Unable to get what they wanted openly, the culprits had resorted to kidnapping.

"Ha, typical of the shady Union Base," Stella scoffed.

With a hundred thousand worries racing through her mind, Stella didn't rush out blindly. First off, she couldn't catch up; second, there were others back home to consider; and third, it was likely a trap.

Staring in the direction where the two had vanished, her heart ached so fiercely she could scarcely breathe, her hands clenching into fists.

"I'm going to make them pay," she vowed.

Jasper took Stella's icy hand in his. "They took Snowflake to get to us. Snowflake should be safe for now. Let's head back and plan our next move." Rosie was guarding the home front, keeping a wary eye out for any diversionary attacks.

When she saw her brother and sister-in-law return, she blurted out anxiously, "Where's Snowflake?"

Not only was Snowflake missing, but Cooper was nowhere to be seen.

She opened her mouth to ask more, but the grim expressions on their faces silenced her.

Stella sat on the couch, her face set in a grim line of silence.

She remembered Ivans saying the main base of Union Base was an underwater station, primarily manned by military forces from Western nations. Their fleet of battleships, aircraft carriers, and transport vessels...

The base housed over three thousand people and was much easier to defend than to attack.

"To put it bluntly, three people taking on a base with unlimited firepower was like throwing eggs against a rock," Stella thought.

Their previous victories had been a combination of the element of surprise and assistance from Arcadia.

Now that they had Snowflake as leverage, they were practically inviting her to walk into a deathtrap.

"Waa... waa... waa..."

The triplets were searching for their grandma, hungry and fussing for attention.

Stella had a headache. With Snowflake captured, and possibly Cooper too...

She looked at Jasper and Rosie, turning away as she clenched her fists even tighter.

Snowflake's life mattered, but whose didn't?

Stella retreated to her room and quietly shut the door behind her.

Cooper returned, whining anxiously.

He kept pawing at Jasper, his teeth latched onto his pant leg, refusing to let go.

Then he barged into Stella's room, barking insistently.

Stella looked at him, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Jasper came in and shooed the frantic Cooper out.

He sat down beside her, saying calmly, "If you want to go, I'm with you."

Stella looked up, her expression serious. "This isn't a joke. I'm afraid we might go there and never come back."

Jasper understood. "Even in peace, evil lurks. This time it's Snowflake, next time it could be Cooper, or Rosie after that. It could even be you or me."

In a world where humanity had all but vanished, this was the harsh reality.

Snowflake was new, and animal instincts don't just change overnight.

Moreover, Union Base wasn't after Snowflake specifically. One group could annihilate another on a whim, often without needing a reason.

As the saying goes, "I destroy you, and it has nothing to do with you."

Both knew that if Cooper was ever targeted, Stella wouldn't stand for it, and Jasper wouldn't stand by and watch his sister fall into danger. So the choice was clear: either don't fight at all, or take the initiative before it's too late.

They were family, inseparable.

"Fight now, or live to regret inaction," Stella resolved herself, her voice cold with determination. "I want them dead!"

With that, they began to strategize.

Even with Arcadia on their side, the fight ahead was fraught with danger, and there would be moments they couldn't cover each other.

Rosie was grown up enough to hold down the fort. Should Stella and Jasper encounter danger, she could keep Cooper and the triplets alive.

As for the battle plan, they would need to adapt to the situation and scout out Union Base's layout first.

Rosie wanted in, and Cooper, unable to contribute much, howled in protest.

"Rosie, more people would just complicate things. We'll come back safe," Stella assured her.

Whoever fell into their hands would be a bargaining chip against Stella and Jasper.

Unable to help, Rosie felt anxious but agreed, "Brother, sister-in-law, rest assured, I'll keep our home safe."

With her there, home would endure.

"Be extremely careful," they cautioned.

Still, Stella couldn't shake her worries.

She tidied up the house, leaving behind a dozen submachine guns and grenades, and brought out the escape pod.

Constructed from aerospace materials and highly bulletproof, she instructed, "Rosie, if danger comes, don't try to be a hero." Rosie nodded, "I understand."

The couple shouldered their submachine guns and stepped into the snow, moving steadily away.

After walking for over an hour, they reached another snowdrift.

Jasper climbed up and surveyed their home through binoculars. There was no sign of danger.

Union Base lay 20 kilometers away. In such harsh conditions, it would take the better part of a day to reach it on foot-and that's if they could maintain their strength.

Worried about being followed, the two didn't rest during the day.

When darkness fell, they dug a hole in the snow, crawled in to hide, warm up, and replenish their energy with food.

Now, only five or six kilometers away from Union Base, they could make out its outline through high-powered binoculars.

They couldn't see the entrance to the underwater base, but they did spot several ships and transport vessels frozen in the glacier. There were many, and their sheer number was intimidating.

They were all steel behemoths, and it was as if they were inviting them into a trap, leaving no opportunity for a surprise attack.

Hunkered down in the snow, they discussed viable strategies.

Stella thought of the fighting prowess of the red-eyed crocodiles. "What if we could lure them here, throw off the enemy's coordination?"

After all, they had once relied on a giant squid to wipe out Iran's forces.

But Union Base's military might was formidable. Relying solely on

red-eyed crocodiles wasn't goin.ne

to

cut it, they needed to draw some of the fire.

The crocodiles were savage, as evidenced by the fact that even touching their eggs could lead to a bloodbath.

Stella had the foresight to collect the eggs and carcasses.Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.

Jasper continued to watch the Union Base. "It's worth a shot."

And with that, they entered Arcadia.

It was still early, not quite the prime time to get things rolling.

Stella cracked open some alligator eggs and whisked them thoroughly.

Alligator hide was perfect for making handbags, belts, or jackets.

Jasper skinned them first and then shoved the meat into the grinder.

The stench of blood was overpowering, so they made sure to don masks and raincoats.

By the time they finished, it was deep into the night, and they moved under the cover of darkness. About 2 miles from the base, they took out a silent cutter and carved a large hole in the ice.

They scattered the egg mixture and alligator meat around the hole.

As they moved closer to the base, they spread more of the meat and egg concoction.

When they were about a mile away, periodic sweeps of light scanned the area.

The two hid in the snow, dodging the patrol lights and observing in secret.

The lights came from two military ships, outfitted with several turrets and guarded by heavy machine guns.

After several careful looks, Stella couldn't spot the entrance to the underwater base.

The ships were likely just sentinels; most of the personnel would be living in the underwater base.

With living currents moving below, it was much warmer than the icy glacier above. All they needed to solve was the circulation issue.

Jasper theorized, "The entrance to the base might be behind those ships, hidden from view."

So, they continued to advance stealthily, planning to circle around to the back.

As they walked, they heard rustling sounds from behind.

Turning around, they spotted tiny red dots flickering in the darkness.

"Reinforcements had arrived." Stella whispered, her voice a mix of hope and determination.