18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 410

They had grand plans, but before they could even act, the staccato of gunfire shattered the silence...

Bullets sprayed back and forth, relentless.

Blind in the darkness, they stood no chance against Stella and her crew, who were armed with night vision goggles, taking them down with deadly precision. They didn't even have time to draw their weapons before they fell, one by one.

Stella pushed open the electronic gate, her samurai sword gleaming as she stepped out.

Several lay writhing, begging in horror, "Lady, I ain't ready to die, please spare me!"

Under the cloak of night, Stella stood amidst the swirling dust, her cold laughter echoing like a harvester of souls.

No loose ends; she made sure of that with her blade, leaving no room for future threats.

She didn't return to the RV; instead, she headed for the camp a mile away.

Jasper walked alongside her in the dark.

They weren't far off, and even with the howling wind, the sound of gunfire had reached them.

Panic ensued at the camp, voices of men and women frantically blaming each other, "What do we do now? What the hell do we do?"

Stella had given them a chance, considering the survivors who'd made it through the Plate Tectonic Collision and the efforts of the official bases over the years. But they hadn't cherished it.

Strike once and be done; there would be no third chances.

From behind a tent, Stella opened fire, then lobbed an incendiary grenade...

The gasoline burned long into the night before it finally died down.

Stella counted heads, making sure no one was missing before she left.

to bother with the bodies outside, she headed back to wash

next day, she found Jasper had already

was arid, day and night temperatures varied wildly, and the fierce winds meant there was no worry of plagues. To any future survivors, this would

after, each filled with hope at the sight of the RV, only

but at the sight of

were intense, the air dry and thick with dust, necessitating the constant use of humidifiers and air purifiers. The land was sinking, wooden stakes drove easily into the ground, sometimes feeling soft even with a

endlessly, its sinking land unmistakable. Sometimes, a jolt

patrolling daily on her electric bike over the stony, arid terrain. Initially, the rough ride left

stopped, her gaze landing on a green sprout among

yet

plucked the sprout and brought it back to her

survival experience, examined the plant gravely, "Stella, this place is

nodded, "We need to

rare high-altitude landscaping grass, combat desertification

highland basin at the end

here they were, sprouting

rain had fallen, but the soil was damp enough to germinate the withered

be forming beneath, releasing a

the earth, finding the soil wet just thirty

Stella noticed a

by a chill tinged with the

the ocean in Swan Hill; it was unmistakable. Today, the

entire basin reeked of the

down to inspect the RV, noting how its weight had

signs pointed to one thing: they couldn't afford to overlook

into Arcadia and pulled out the escape pod, along with four life jackets that they wore at all

their dog set up a tent, taking turns keeping watch by day and sheltering in the

was nudging the ground with his nose,