18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 401

Daniel looked at Stella Larson with a blend of hope and hesitation. "The best I can do is get you a spot in Project Phoenix," he said. "I hope you'll consider it."

Stella's response was polite but firm. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't need it."

She didn't even glance at the assessment report he offered; she knew Daniel wouldn't be wrong about something like this.

Family ties? They were absent when she needed them most. Now, they were just an unnecessary addition.

"There's no need for guilt or apologies," Stella said calmly. "You didn't raise me, but you didn't harm me either. So, I don't hold anything against you. In fact, as an outsider, I respect the contributions you've made to the base over the years."

"As for blood relations, they've lost their importance to me long ago. I won't carry that burden, and I don't want you to be shackled by it either. Let's just live our lives without interfering with each other."

Her words were cold and devoid of any resentment or self-pity.

Only when one is truly strong can they be independent of others.

Daniel felt a bittersweet pride. She had his blood in her veins, yet she was as good as a stranger.

But he didn't push the issue. As long as Stella was doing well, that was enough for him.

The conversation shifted to the matter of Lillian and her daughter. Daniel didn't consult Stella; instead, he made a unilateral decision.

Regardless of whether Stella acknowledged it, Lillian was her biological mother, the woman who gave her life.

Lillian's transgressions were unforgivable, but Daniel knew Stella's character well; she wouldn't let this mother-daughter pair off easily.

Simply exiling them from the base would only provoke Stella to seek a more permanent solution out of impulse.

It might seem like a release of anger, but in reality, it would be a lifelong chain to bear.

He didn't want Stella to bear the sin of matricide, so he had Lillian transferred to Goldbridge base overnight.

The official base would process the crimes committed by the women in Kindle Society following the standard procedure.

was in

slightly at his decision but said

a world ravaged by natural disasters, an instant death

protection; to live was the

seen many women, vulnerable and desperate, trading their bodies for sustenance, only to be treated like animals, abused and

an understanding of unspoken truths, Stella wouldn't acknowledge Daniel, and he accepted

a deep sigh. "Take care of yourself. This disaster will pass. Never

given one to

to him, tears streaming, begging him not to leave on his mission. Military orders were not to be

moment of deep affection, they had discussed marriage in secret, and Daniel promised to return from his mission and make it

he had given her the ancestral jade

before speaking. "That pendant was with me as I grew up,

loss of the pendant was unfortunate, but heaven had given him the

"It's okay. Your health and

shouldn't feel guilty because you've already given me the

not for the protection of Arcadia,

returning it was

the secret of the pendant, but the benefits

looked at Daniel and cleared her throat. "Don't always put duty before yourself. You're human too, and it's okay to think of yourself sometimes. Survive, live well, then

deep breath

she gazed out of the car window, lost

the balcony, sipping her homemade cider. "The pendant was a Larson

spoke up. "What's

She couldn't just extract Arcadia and give it back to Daniel. "I feel a bit uncomfortable,

well after sharing years of intimacy. She might not verbally acknowledge Daniel, but in her heart,

often appeared cold and ruthless, who

a yearning for

harsh, and Lillian was selfish, but Daniel was different.

care for his own. Yet, he did what he could from the shadows. Without love, he wouldn't have

Even if

he abandon his responsibilities to cater only to

couldn't do that, and Stella