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

members and holding cells, and the third was the plush digs of the high-ranking officials, complete with

"You need an iris scan to access

didn't buy it and threatened to

don't believe me, I can take you there," he

led them through a maze of corridors, trying to escape at one point, only to be shot

are several checkpoints to get to

for fingerprints, then the iris scan, and finally

even know the password; he was just looking

was useless, Stella raised her gun to

holding cells," the man pleaded, his voice barely

Ivans had mentioned and the Belarus survivors they had

she demanded icily.

dared not play any tricks and obediently led

massive

individual cells. Union Base members would randomly pick prisoners for their cruel amusement when they were bored. Their games were diverse,

prisoners never returned after being taken

indulging in their sick entertainment, with the

one of the

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

had been forever

hue, a familiar face, yet lifeless like

sent the man to his God with a

God, right? What God would

the prison, guided

and flung

on the bed, her clothes torn and body stained with blood.

clear what had transpired

Monsters!

help me..." Seeing the newcomers masked, the woman's initial fear

all the more prominent, blue

flickered with

about karma; she never expected to encounter Julia

eyes sunken, scars marring her face

base to the Arctic, only to end up imprisoned and tortured

a moment, then turned to