18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 497

The gasoline fire spread like wildfire, turning the base into a blazing furnace. Flames hungrily consumed the circuits and surveillance systems.

In some control room, over half of the large monitors flickered and then went dark.

The boss was about to blow a gasket, cursing up a storm. "Get me that damn wolf!"

Explosions, flames, scorching heat, thick smoke, suffocation...

Base members flooded in non-stop. They navigated through the inferno-some aiming to attack Stella and Jasper, others choking on the smoke, and a few making a break for the outside.

Unity had never been their thing; they were a ragtag bunch held together by selfish motives. None had expected to miss out on the spoils while taking all the hits.

No one in their right mind would put anything above their own life.

And now, with the boss's legs chopped off, who was left to cling to?

Not to mention, this wasn't even the real boss, just one of his many stand-ins-a sub-leader who'd gotten separated from the main fleet during a massive storm at sea.

Separated? Who knew the real story?

After all, this fleet was under the command of the China National Defense Department, specifically tasked with transporting critical tech assets.

Despite the boss's formidable military might, internal strife within the faction was intense. The two parties would have gladly seen each other dead, while the sea, air, and land branches wracked their brains to swindle budgets from the congressional bigwigs. How else could you explain the exorbitant price tags on coffee cups and toilets?

Each department was its own little kingdom, with heads so powerful they wouldn't even listen to the head of state.

So it was very possible that this stand-in boss had intentionally gone AWOL with valuable assets in tow.

After all, why let someone else play king when you can sit comfortably on the throne yourself?

As the saying goes, once one starts running, others follow.

In the chaos, Stella and Jasper switched outfits, making sure to don gas masks.

The base was a melting pot of ethnicities, with plenty of Eastern faces, so in the confusion, those with slower wits failed to recognize the two.

Those who did recognize them, were swiftly dealt with.

They nabbed a high-ranking guy, trembling like a leaf. "Please, don't kill me, they're on sublevel three."

a life-or-death moment, he spilled

third was the plush digs of the high-ranking officials, complete with entertainment areas

smoke. "You need an iris scan to access the

it and threatened to

you don't believe me, I can

led them through a maze of corridors, trying to escape at one point, only to be shot in the thigh by Jasper. He howled in pain, crumpling to the

are several checkpoints to get to

another for fingerprints, then the

the password; he was just

Stella raised her gun to send him to meet his

to the holding cells," the man pleaded, his voice barely a whisper. "There are many people there; you might

Stella thought of what Ivans had mentioned and the Belarus survivors they had captured

she demanded icily.

play any tricks and obediently led them

was massive and divided into

had individual cells. Union Base members would randomly pick prisoners for their cruel amusement when they were bored. Their games were diverse, involving physical, psychological, and verbal cruelty, all in

returned after being taken out for these

the base, she found some members still indulging in their sick entertainment, with the

opened one of the doors to

cowering in a corner, clutching himself silently. Despite the chaos outside and the

had

a familiar face, yet lifeless like a

she sent the man to his God

believe in God, right? What God would condone such

deeper into the prison, guided

room and flung the

the bed, her clothes torn and body stained with blood. Her emaciated arms struggled

painfully clear what had transpired before their

Monsters!

the woman's initial fear turned to desperate pleading. "Please,

the more

expression flickered with complexity, obscured

she never expected to

eyes sunken, scars marring her

Goldbridge base to the Arctic, only to end up imprisoned and tortured at Union Base. Stella felt

for a moment,