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."

moment, he

grunts, the second for mid-ranking members and holding cells, and the third was the plush digs

the smoke. "You need an iris scan to access the third floor, and

and threatened to

don't believe me, I can take

maze of corridors, trying to escape at one point, only

are several checkpoints to

then the iris

password; he was just looking for a chance

was useless, Stella raised her gun to send him to meet his

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

thought of what Ivans had mentioned and the

icily. "Take

dared not play any tricks and obediently led them

massive and divided

skin color and gender, while the outer section 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 the pursuit

after being taken out for

burst into the base, she found some members still indulging in their sick entertainment, with the victims not yet returned

of the doors

corner, clutching himself silently. Despite the chaos outside and the unlocked

had

familiar face, yet lifeless like a tattered

rose sharply, and she sent the man to his God with a swift stroke of her

right? What God

into the prison, guided by the sounds

the room and flung

bed, her clothes torn

clear what had transpired before

Monsters!

newcomers masked, the woman's initial

frame made her belly appear all the more prominent, blue veins visible across

expression flickered with

never expected to encounter Julia in the

eyes sunken, scars marring her face

how Julia had made it from the Goldbridge base to the Arctic, only to end up imprisoned and tortured at Union Base. Stella felt no joy, nor

Julia's face for a moment, then turned