18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 512

The visitor's story was pretty much the same as when the group had split up.

"Hang tight for a second," Jasper said, lost in thought.

He went back inside and filled Stella in on the situation. “There’s just one guy out there. He’s from Ocean Point Naval Station, looking for survivors from Australia. He flew in from a navy ship over a hundred miles away, but his plane hit trouble crossing the Arctic.”

When they had left, food was still scarce, and the base was barely operational.

Hadn’t they just left, and now they were already searching for survivors? Were they looking for regular folks or military bigwigs?

Stella couldn’t help but think of Daniel. Had he made it to Ocean Point Naval Station?

“Let him stay for the night,” she decided.

To avoid being recognized, they put on masks and scarves, wrapping up until only their eyes showed.

Jasper opened the door, and Stella hid her weapon behind her back.

The visitor was shivering, his lips a scary shade of blue, but he was definitely wearing an East Base air force uniform.

Living in a shipping container wasn’t an option, so Jasper led him to an igloo in the front yard, where they used crocodile dung to start a fire for warmth.

The man squatted by the fire, pulling down his mask. “Thank you, I would’ve frozen to death out here tonight.”

Stella sat down beside him. “Is it cold at Ocean Point Naval Station?”

“Cold, but only around ten below zero. The sea hasn’t frozen over.”

The water in the enamel mug boiled, and Jasper handed it to the man.

His name was Peter, in his thirties with a weathered face, but he wasn’t particularly thin.

Ocean Point Naval Station had a food processing plant that had dealt with the toxic glands of marine species, so hunger shouldn’t be a major problem anymore.

Stella pretended not to know. “You guys live at sea?”

Peter nodded. “The base has built several large sea platforms for living. Now they’re working on land reclamation. There’s already a bit of an island, and it’ll keep growing…”

He shared the basics about the base, then curiously asked, “How did you end up in the Arctic?”

Stella gave a wry smile. “Our boat ran out of fuel. We drifted with the ocean currents and somehow ended up here.”

Peter didn’t suspect a thing. “By your accents, you sound like you’re from the south?”

“Yeah, we’re from Guangdong Province.”

Hearing it was Guangdong, Peter brightened up. “There are quite a few survivors from the south at the base.”

“Military or civilians?”

“Both. There are over thirty thousand people there now.”

Stella added more crocodile dung to the fire. “Before the land sank, we lived at South Base, scavenging to survive. Once, we were nearly robbed by bandits on the road; if it hadn’t been for a high-ranking military officer passing by, we would’ve been goners.”

She talked about the southern military’s affairs before asking, “Are the senior officers from the southern military at the base as well?”

“There are a few, but not many.”

Stella described the insignia on the officer's epaulets. “I asked his name, but he didn’t share it.”

Peter deduced, “The man who saved you must have been a commanding officer from South Base.”

Stella looked surprised. “I had no idea his position was that high.”

Peter frowned slightly. “But he hasn’t arrived, and the base has been searching for him.”

One of the five Kindle Society leaders from Australia had been confirmed deceased, and two others were still missing.

In addition to searching for the high-ranking teams from the two bases, the mission of this voyage was to bring back ordinary survivors.

Stella paused, puzzled as to why they hadn’t been found yet.

After a decade of natural disasters, many survivors had lost their humanity.

And according to Peter’s observations, there were at least a few thousand survivors in the Arctic. Seeing the Australians being rescued, the desperate and unbalanced survivors might swarm them. How long could the soldiers hold out?

Regardless of the reasons, Peter hoped the navy ship would not land in the Arctic.

Stella listened with discomfort but had to be honest. “Sorry, we don’t know how to fix planes.”

Peter thought for a moment before inquiring further. “On my return flight, I saw several navy and transport ships frozen near here. Is there a base there?”

Stella nodded. “That used to be Union Base, led by China. It was later destroyed and occupied by Russia.”

“China’s military?”

Seeing his brows knit in confusion, Stella sensed something was off. “Uh, is there a problem?”

Peter gave a rueful smile. “China’s military has a base, over two thousand miles from Ocean Point Naval Station. Just two months ago, their military diplomats even made a special trip to Huacheng Base.”

Stella's eyes widened in surprise. "Russia mentioned it's the Chinese military, and they even have an underwater fortress. They seem to tussle with each other every now and then. It must be true."

"An underwater fortress?" Peter, who was on a mission, quickly pieced things together, "Yeah, they are indeed part of the Chinese military, but they're just a faction, and renegade ones at that."

So they were renegades, no wonder they seemed so amateurish. She almost thought she was invincible in the cosmos.

Suddenly intrigued, Stella asked, "How did they become renegades?"

Peter wasn't sure about the details, but one of his mission's objectives was to help China locate their naval ships and transport vessels, with specific models provided.

The military brass's negotiations were confidential, not meant for the public.

But with the knowledge of the Chinese renegade's underwater fortress, Peter had a rough idea of what was going on.

Australia's Hope Point was about constructing offshore platforms, reclaiming land to reconnect with the continent, while China's plan was to establish an underwater base.

However, the military vessels and transport ships carrying materials had seized the opportunity of a maritime storm to make their getaway...