18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 491

Stella and Jasper arrived at the spot where Snowflake had been nabbed, only to find a chunk of pork dropped on the ground.

"Not again," Stella muttered. "Snowflake's been hoarding food again!"

After being scolded by Stella a few times, Snowflake had started hiding its stash even farther away, but never imagined it would lead to being trapped.

"Who still rides snowmobiles these days?" Jasper wondered aloud. "And who else could it be?"

Unable to get what they wanted openly, the culprits had resorted to kidnapping.

"Ha, typical of the shady Union Base," Stella scoffed.

With a hundred thousand worries racing through her mind, Stella didn't rush out blindly. First off, she couldn't catch up; second, there were others back home to consider; and third, it was likely a trap. Staring in the direction where the two had vanished, her heart ached so fiercely she could scarcely breathe, her hands clenching into fists.

"I'm going to make them pay," she vowed.

Jasper took Stella's icy hand in his. "They took Snowflake to get to us. Snowflake should be safe for now. Let's head back and plan our next move."

Rosie was guarding the home front, keeping a wary eye out for any diversionary attacks.

When she saw her brother and sister-in-law return, she blurted out anxiously, "Where's Snowflake?"

Not only was Snowflake missing, but Cooper was nowhere to be seen.

She opened her mouth to ask more, but the grim expressions on their faces silenced her.

Stella sat on the couch, her face set in a grim line of silence.

She remembered Ivans saying the main base of Union Base was an underwater station, primarily manned by military forces from Western nations. Their fleet of battleships, aircraft carriers, and transport vessels... The base housed over three thousand people and was much easier to defend than to attack.

"To put it bluntly, three people taking on a base with unlimited firepower was like throwing eggs against a rock," Stella thought.

Their previous victories had been a combination of the element of surprise and assistance from Arcadia.

Now that they had Snowflake as leverage, they were practically inviting her to walk into a deathtrap. "Waa... waa... waa..."

The triplets were searching for their grandma, hungry and fussing for attention.

Stella had a headache. With Snowflake captured, and possibly Cooper too...

She looked at Jasper and Rosie, turning away as she clenched her fists even tighter.

Snowflake's life mattered, but whose didn't?

Stella retreated to her room and quietly shut the door behind her.

Cooper returned, whining anxiously.

Jasper, his teeth latched onto his pant leg, refusing

he barged into Stella's

looked at him, her

and shooed the frantic Cooper

sat down beside her, saying calmly, "If you

"This isn't a joke. I'm afraid we might go

time it could be Cooper, or Rosie

humanity had all

animal instincts

Snowflake specifically. One group could

and it has nothing to do

wouldn't stand by and watch his sister fall into danger. So the choice was clear: either don't fight at all, or take the initiative before

They were family, inseparable.

to regret inaction," Stella resolved herself, her voice cold with

that, they

with Arcadia on their side, the fight ahead was fraught with danger, and there would be moments they

Should Stella and Jasper encounter danger, she could keep Cooper

for the battle plan, they would need to adapt to the situation and scout out Union

Cooper, unable to contribute much, howled

things. We'll come back

fell into their hands would be a bargaining chip against Stella

agreed, "Brother, sister-in-law, rest assured, I'll keep

her there, home

extremely careful," they

Stella couldn't shake her

dozen submachine guns and grenades,

materials and highly bulletproof, she instructed, "Rosie, if danger comes, don't try to be a hero." Rosie

submachine guns and

an hour,

up and surveyed their home through

Base lay 20

harsh

take the

day to reach it on foot-and

about being followed, the two didn't

dug a hole in the snow, crawled in to

only five or six kilometers away from Union Base, they could make out its outline through high-powered

several ships and transport vessels frozen in the glacier. There were many, and

into a trap, leaving

the fighting prowess of the red-eyed crocodiles. "What if we could lure them here, throw off the enemy's

Base's military might

formidable. Relying solely on