18 Floors Above the Apocalypse



From the moment Jasper lobbed the grenade, Stella had already darted into the safety of Arcadia. She stayed hidden for only a few minutes before reemerging silently. Nearby, a small squad of armed men murmured as they searched, "Damn it, where'd they go?"

Without a sound, Stella and Jasper sprang from behind, swiftly and efficiently snapping their necks. Even with their caution, a slight noise gave them away. From a distance, the relentless chatter of a machine gun ripped through the air again. It seemed they were split into countless squads, and any hint of movement was met with a barrage of bullets regardless of who was hit.

Stella could breathe easier now. When the gunfire died down, she tossed a shoe into the distance. Another round of gunfire followed. A few minutes later, a handful of figures approached stealthily. She threw another shoe. After repeated friendly fire incidents, the enemy was thoroughly infuriated. "Son of a gun, everything's been shot to hell, and the enemy is still not dead?" Ammunition was running out.

Anger makes people rash. This time, Stella didn't throw a shoe; she threw a vial of ether. It was met with the same result: riddled with bullets. Before long, the sound of heavy bodies hitting the ground could be heard. Unsure if it was a genuine knockout or a feint, Stella pondered how to safely finish the job when the ceiling and blinding lights suddenly came to life.

The space was vast and open, resembling a sports arena, with dozens of bodies strewn across the floor. Laughter echoed from above, a voice speaking fluent English with a hint of surprise, "A superhuman? No wonder so many of our men died by your hands." The voice was arrogant and conceited.

Stella didn't deny it, her voice cold, "Where's my wolf?"

"Join us, and not only will we return your wolf, but we'll also wipe the slate clean of past grievances."

Stella was surprised, "Even after we've killed so many of your men, you're sure you won't pursue it?"

The voice was authoritative, suggesting a high rank within the facility, but with a clear thought process, "We need the strongest allies. Those who die by your hands are nothing but trash." They were adept at winning people over, "If you join us, we can offer you a seat among the Five Eyes Alliance." But the threat was naked and clear, “Otherwise, you will pay with your lives here."

"I've always liked making threats," Stella said with a slight sneer, "but I don't appreciate being threatened."

That settled it-there would be no negotiations.

"Ha, prepare to be dissected," the proud leader spoke bluntly, "The new game begins now. I hope you don't regret this." As his voice faded, a distant door swung open with force, and the sound of synchronized footsteps filled the air. Out stepped a band of towering, muscular men... identical decuplets.

Stella played dirty; she raised her gun and fired without hesitation. Bang, bang, bang... She hit her targets, but they didn't fall, not even a drop of blood was shed. "What the hell, are these advanced combat robots?" When attacked, the

muscular figures returned fire

bullets whizzing everywhere Had Stella and Jasper not ducked behind a pillar in the nick of time they would have been shredded. These were no ordinary brutes; armed to the teeth, they advanced with a firepower that threatened to bore through concrete. Luckily, their ammo was limited, and just as they neared the pillar, their guns clicked empty.

Then, unexpectedly, they switched to a fair fight-a one-on-one showdown. A showdown? It was laughable-nothing more than a ploy to capture her intact for dissection. As Stella slowly rose to her feet, she suddenly lobbed a grenade at them. The grenade hissed through the air, smoking, and exploded on impact. But one of them rushed forward, leaping into the air and kicking the grenade away with a two-meter-high, picture-perfect jump. Clearly, they were robots.

They seemed to have x-ray vision, scanning bones and muscles to predict the next move. No matter how fast you were, they were faster-by billions of cycles per second. First bioweapons, now artificial intelligence—what chance did humanity have? Stella refused to believe in such curses and turned a machine gun on them again. This time they didn't even bother to dodge, allowing her to fire relentlessly. Bullets sank into synthetic flesh, leaving them unscathed.

Fine, they were just robots, right?

Damage their circuits, fry their chips, and it would be over. Stella went all in, pouring a bucket of sulfuric acid over them.. Damn it, their silicone skin was acid-resistant-they were completely unaffected! As Stella racked her brain for a solution, Robots #1 and #2 charged at them, launching an assault. Neither she nor Jasper backed down, engaging in combat with rapid, lethal moves. Yet their opponents had 360-degree perception, anticipating and

analyzing every move, and delivering counterattacks. Even Jasper, as skilled as he was, stood no chance against the precision of artificial intelligence.

Stella was in a tight spot, hoisted by her neck and suspended in mid-air. She had never been so challenged since the calamity began. But she wasn't about to give up. The suffocation triggered a fierce will to survive. She couldn't die yet not before helping Cooper find his spouse, not with Rosie waiting for her at home, not before seeing the disaster through to the end and reuniting with lost loved ones...

In her hand materialized a fire

extinguisher, which she swung

viciously at Robot #1's head. One hit,

two hits... What was a robot but a human creation? And what could be made could also be destroyed! After several brutal strikes, #1 raised an arm to block the extinguisher.

Seizing the moment, Stella meBelongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

conjured

a weighty coil of steel rebar, smashing it down upon him. Too close to avoid and caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of the rebar, #1 was pinned to the ground under its heavy weight. Unlike ordinary humans, Stella had the assistance of Arcadia, which meant a simple gesture could produce a paper-thin slice or a ring of steel rebar-beyond the predictive capabilities of any smart robot.

A bug in the system! Stella was exploiting the bug! Pinned under a weight of several tons, Robot #1 struggled to rise. “Crawl, you piece of junk, crawl!" Stella fumed, raining down another coil of steel rebar. Under the crushing weight, Robot #1 was immobilized, alarms blaring, and countless protocols failing to execute. The robot's power drained rapidly. Stella coughed violently, gasping for air.

Seeing Jasper slammed to the ground by the perfect Robot #2, she erupted in fury. How dare it lay hands on her partner? Rushing forward, Stella swung at Robot #2 with all her might. Seeing Number 1 toppled by a steel beam, Number 2, who aimed to strike Jasper's weak spot, instinctively dodged out of the way. Little did he know, Stella's move was just a feint. She seized the moment to haul Jasper up from the ground and asked, "You

okay?"