18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 309

Stella waved Kitty and the others back, raising her arm and firing off a quick burst of shots. They thought they could fool her? Not a chance!

They were smart enough to have dressed up in the wealthy boys' clothes as a disguise, but in their haste, they had forgotten to change their pants and shoes. Screams erupted as three assailants flipped over and aimed their guns to fire - but Jasper was quicker, shattering their arms with precise shots.

The assailants' weapons clattered to the ground.

Recalling the words of those kidnappers who had gone to collect the ransom, Stella knew they had dealings with these thugs. So, she pulled out a handkerchief soaked in chloroform and clamped it over their noses, swiftly knocking them out cold. They wouldn't be waking up for at least 12 hours.

She tied them up tight, so no matter what tricks they tried, there was no escaping. Not just them - the rich kids got the same treatment to prevent any more surprises.

The room holding the captive women was quickly found; indeed, there were thirty of them. But instead of freeing them, Stella added two more locks to the iron bars. There was no rush - the goods could be moved first.

Kitty and the others were after the supplies. After sweeping the cave and ensuring the dead were truly dead, they swiftly gathered the weapons.

They hoisted the valuable items - spices, wine, medicine, and grains that could last 3-7 years well-preserved, whereas items like sealed flour and rice were likely spoiled.

Unable to carry much on their shoulders, they used ropes and poles to fashion makeshift carriers, heaping on the valuables.

Only four of them carried the load while Jasper shouldered the unconscious Bran. He meant one helicopter, which was the goal of this trip.

Stella just stuffed her backpack, leading the way and keeping watch. Cooper stood guard, his senses on high alert. The ransom collectors had likely run into trouble; they hadn't returned.

With their goods shouldered and carried, the group loaded up the vehicle and hid it in a secluded spot near the cave's entrance.

watch the car while Jasper, Cooper, and Cody went back to move more supplies. After only a few trips, the rumble of approaching vehicles could be heard in the distance. Stella, on high alert, scoped the area with binoculars. Expecting the kidnappers, she was surprised to see the military convoy rolling in. It was another case of someone swooping in for the spoils. Not daring

half an hour, the

it before the military arrived. If they had managed to move all the goods and rescue the wealthy captives, they could have even claimed a

all their goods in tow, where would they hide them? Not in their cramped apartments - even carrying a tattered bag home would

might have been fine, but now, even the wealthy were starving and willing

the goods for

they had risked their lives together. And since Stella's truck had remained hidden for so long,

the two vehicles slipped back into the city under the cover of night, splitting up at

parked the car in Arcadia, and walked back to

turmoil, but thankfully,

Hummer pulled up across from the police station, and Stella fiddled with another set of keys in her pocket, hesitating

kid still out cold in the back seat. Shane must have been some galactic supervillain in a past life to have such

was ablaze with lights. Upon

and angry, demanded,

gesturing for

expression and hurried over. Upon seeing Bran's disfigured face, she wailed for her son

to the ground

it was not like Bran was dead! Could it have been an overdose of chloroform? If he

quickly checked for his breath. "He's alive; he's still breathing," Stella exclaimed

look and, after a while, recognized his son despite the bruises. With the helicopter still in play, Stella tried to put in a good word. "Bran is one of the Porras. He refused to let his dignity be trampled by those villains and fought back hard. That's why

least

the unconscious heir inside,

son back, though the looks from the rest of the family were... intriguing. Stella took it all in, pretending not to notice. She understood the family dynamics;