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,

mid-ranking members and holding cells, and the third was the plush digs of the high-ranking

scan to access the third floor,

and

me, I can take

at one point, only to be shot in the

checkpoints to

for fingerprints, then the iris scan, and finally a voice

didn't even know the password; he was just looking for a chance

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 might

cells? Stella thought of what Ivans had mentioned and the Belarus

demanded icily. "Take

not play any tricks and obediently led

was massive

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

prisoners never returned after being taken out for these

still indulging in their sick entertainment, with the

of the doors to

himself silently. Despite the chaos outside

spirit had been forever

familiar face, yet lifeless like a

man to his God

God, right? What God would

into the prison, guided by the sounds

and flung

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

painfully clear what had

Monsters!

me..." Seeing the newcomers masked, the woman's

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

numb expression flickered with complexity, obscured

karma; she never expected to encounter Julia in the

sunken, scars marring her

only to end up imprisoned and tortured at

for a moment, then turned