18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 492

Red-eyed gators were quick—too quick for Stella and Jasper to even think about dodging. In a desperate bid to avoid becoming prey, they ducked inside the Arcadia, barely making it in time.

The red glow outside intensified, and the rustling sounds grew louder by the second. Lookouts aboard the warship sensed something was wrong and started sweeping the area with spotlights. They didn’t spot any people, but fortunately, the gators recoiled from the yellow light, instinctively shutting their eyes when caught in the beam.

Despite the high beams revealing nothing unusual, the outside commotion grew louder, prompting armed sentries to step out into the darkness. One of them noticed flashes of red in the snow. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after blinking and focusing again, he saw even more red dots moving rapidly.

When he finally realized what was happening on the snowy ground, his face turned pale, and he shouted, “Fire!”

At his signal, the lookouts opened fire, unleashing a storm of bullets into the darkness. The rapid gunfire lasted a solid half-minute until the first round of ammo was spent. They felt confident—surely, not even steel could withstand such an onslaught, let alone flesh and blood.

They waited another two minutes for the dust to settle before opening the door to check outside. What they didn’t realize was that half an hour of continuous gunfire had left their eardrums buzzing, masking the ongoing rustling sounds. As soon as they opened the door and took a few steps out, a colossal shape lunged at them.

Screams echoed through the night as the snow turned crimson with spreading blood, yet more red-eyed gators surged forward. Stella timed it carefully, staying inside the Arcadia for 20 minutes before emerging. Gunshots and screams continued, now coming from the rear of the warship, while the ground beneath their feet remained a bloody mess.

Many red-eyed gators lay dead on the snow, evidence that their camaraderie had helped them breach the first line of defense. Donning balaclavas and night vision goggles, and armed with guns, Stella and Jasper moved cautiously forward. They weren’t in any rush to head to the front lines. Climbing to the warship’s lookout point, they saw only chaos and carnage, with body parts strewn everywhere.

They picked up weapons, made sure the coast was clear, and ensured there were no survivors outside to avoid being ambushed later. One unlucky soul had hidden in a cargo hold during the gator attack and didn’t dare come out. Hearing silence outside, he emerged trembling with his pistol. Just as he opened the door, Jasper ended his life with a silenced shot.

The warship had numerous compartments below, and it was uncertain if people or other weapons were inside. They locked what they could from the outside, using padlocks or jamming steel pipes across the doors. For automatic doors, they twisted a few wires and hung grenades as booby traps.

After securing the first warship, they moved quickly to the second and, to their surprise, found three shoulder-launched armor-piercing missiles. Stella couldn’t help but chuckle. Did they really think she had the strength of a giant, preparing such heavy artillery against her? Appreciating their generous spirit, she was determined not to let their enthusiasm go to waste.

Jasper remained vigilant, swiftly taking out three hidden enemies and repeating the process to clear the second warship of danger. Standing atop the warship, they spotted the entrance to the Union Base. The entrance, over ten meters long, resembled a kitchen extractor fan with a black door firmly shut.