18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 412

Rocking gently, Stella kept her eyes shut and continued to sleep. Jasper pulled back the curtains, revealing a world swallowed by darkness. But if he craned his neck, he could make out the distant stars twinkling faintly. The stars were beautiful, but the world was in a terrible state.

After tucking Stella in with a warm blanket, Jasper closed his eyes to rest. They awoke in a haze, greeted by the faintest hint of dawn. Cooper, perched on the windowsill, gazed curiously into the distance, letting out an excited, "Woof!"

The sea was calmer today, the boat rocking less. Stella unbuckled her safety belt and joined Jasper, looking out at the thin mist hovering over the water like a mysterious veil. The sun, a fiery red orb, shimmered with golden light, slowly piercing the fog and painting the sea and sky in hues of red.

It was beautiful, yet utterly cruel.

After a good sleep, Rosie seemed much refreshed, quietly eating her breakfast sandwich and sipping on warm oatmeal. Stella muttered softly, "The waves are still pretty rough. Guess both yachts and cruise ships are out of the question. Can we use a submarine?" Jasper shook his head. "Subs are meant for the deep sea. With the land just submerged, we don't know the depths. We could easily run aground or damage the vessel."

With no other options, they settled for watching a comedy, munching on popcorn as they slowly lost track of time. When Rosie got up to stretch and peered through the glass at the world outside, her gaze suddenly fixed on a distant point. "A mountain! There's a mountain!" Human beings aren't exactly cut out for ocean survival, so the mention of land was thrilling. Stella joined her, and sure enough, there was a faint outline of a mountain in the distance.

A mountain standing alone in the midst of the ocean.

The sun cast its light upon the peak, giving it an ethereal glow. Feeling a call to the divine, Stella grabbed the binoculars to take a closer look. The mountain seemed massive, oddly familiar as if she had seen it somewhere before. Good Lord, I was the "Roof of the World"!

continued to drift, they would soon leave their home country behind. It looked close but was deceptively far. After two hours of drifting and still no closer, the waves grew fiercer, heralding a storm. As expected, wave after wave began a

rock. The tumbling ice crashed repeatedly, breaking into countless pieces, a cycle of destruction against the mountain. Glaciers turned to ice chunks, ice chunks to granules, and granules to

into innumerable fragments by the merciless hand of a demonic force. First came the violent tremors, then the explosion of

Creating monstrous waves.

as a moth to flame, were valiant but futile. The backbone of the Earth was effortlessly broken and silently sank into the vast ocean. No matter how hard one searched, it would never be

Stella witnessed it all, feeling as if she'd been stabbed in the heart. She had never climbed the "Roof of the World," but for humanity losing its land, this mountain was a symbol of spirit, a beacon in the dark.

a flicker of hope, which was now extinguished. She stared

...

to feel queasy again but kept it to herself. She saw a survivor, a person clutching a makeshift raft adrift at sea. From this distance, it was hard to discern their complexion, but it was clear they were weak, and it was uncertain

brother and sister-in-law, was incredibly fortunate. She didn't voice her thoughts, knowing

asleep, Stella still retreated to Arcadia for rest. Over the years, she had pondered whether to reveal the truth to Rosie. Although they had been cautious, with Jasper

Arcadia would become more frequent and the excuses harder to find. Stella even suspected that Rosie might already know the truth but simply chose not to speak of it. Despite Rosie's soft-spoken nature, her

a wolf

was also the type to turn the tables on others. Stella, however, harbored a nagging concern. Currently, the three of them shared common interests with no conflicts, but what about in a few years when Rosie might want to