18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 535

Daniel's face was unreadable as he simply replied, "No."

Stella's expression softened as she began to recount her story. "With Russia and China both setting up bases in the Arctic, clashes were frequent, and casualties were a regular occurrence.

We ended up in the Arctic by chance and saved a few injured Russians. Little did we know, we'd ticked off China, who then kept trying to corner us.

We got lucky and teamed up with the Russians, managing to capture China's base, which scored us a share of the supplies. We've been doing alright for the past few years.

As the land started to re-emerge, we set out to find a new place to settle. We landed here a few times but didn't find a suitable base, just a lot of danger.

After wandering for a while, we ran into some bounty hunters who helped us find our way here. We've got more supplies than we can carry ashore, so we stashed our submarine and fishing boat in a hidden cove a few hundred kilometers away. We need to retrieve them quickly."

Stella chose her words carefully, not wanting to give too much away and risk slipping up near the base.

Arcadia wasn't lacking in resources, but now that they'd decided to stay, they had to go about things the right way.

Daniel's desire to make up for lost family time was genuine, but his life had always been country first, family second, and now he had a new family to consider.

He was the type to lay down his life for his country, an admirable trait for sure.

But who could guarantee he wouldn't sacrifice his daughter for the same cause?

Stella wasn't about to make a rash bet based on a brief encounter.

She was willing to share her past with him and had decided to stay in Griffith. Daniel couldn't hide his delight, "Do you need me to arrange protection for you all?"

"No need, we'll be quick. But..."

Stella hesitated, testing the waters, "We've got a fair amount of medicine and weapons. Would it be alright to bring those back?"

Medicine would be welcomed, but there were strict policies about confiscating weapons for the safety of the base.

But there were always exceptions for special circumstances.

Daniel wasn't sure how many weapons she had, but after a moment's thought, he said, "You can have gun permits, but no more than six weapons and no more than a hundred rounds of ammo. You'll need to register the specific models with the military."

knew this was the furthest he could bend the

base was in dire need of it, "We got our hands on a good amount of

post-disaster world,

illnesses went untreated, serious ones were a death sentence, not just for

trade, but the hospital will have its own terms. What are

house, at least a thousand square feet, with a fence no shorter than six feet. If there's anything left, I'd like to buy some land to start

by her foresight and high standards; she wasn't one to sell

their negotiations, Vanessa had

Daniel's relaxed smile, Vanessa knew Stella

Vanessa had seen him smile like

like a machine that never needed rest, working himself to the

was clocking out early for

two decided to leave the next day and

burden or cause for concern, volunteered to stay behind and take care of

bland, non-perishable foods, not

and Jasper rose early, following

shouldered their

reminded them,

to stay meant Stella knew she'd be leaning on his strength, and

to accept his concern.

felt strange,

down the road, but Stella suddenly turned to look back and saw Daniel, who should have been rushing off to work, still standing at

she glanced back, he waved goodbye with

mix of emotions swelled within

travel was on foot was inconvenient, to say the least. Even hurrying, it took two hours to reach the

retrieved their stored weapons and, under the watchful eyes of other survivors, made their

out an old, rusty bicycle and had Jasper pedal them along the

hats, and sun-protective clothing - Jasper's stamina was impressive, unfazed by the

off the bike a few times, forcing her to cling to Jasper's waist before playfully punching him, "You old

she

he knew how to make

to shelter