18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 557

Years of surviving natural disasters had made everyone experts in staying alive. Stella, feeling her strength return, examined the seaweed closely. There were no signs of abnormal growth.

"Why don't we give it a try?" Amelia suggested.

No one objected; in fact, they were eager to try. They chose the healthiest-looking strand, washed it thoroughly, chopped it into pieces, and blanched it in boiling water for ten minutes. Then, they added a generous amount of salt and let it stew for a full hour.

An hour should be enough to kill any virus.

But when it finally came time to eat, there was a palpable hesitation. Jake, one of the team members, stood up decisively. "I'll go first."

With a bravery that bordered on recklessness, he grabbed a forkful of the seaweed and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing determinedly.

"How does it feel?" the others asked nervously.

Stella couldn't help but laugh. "Even if there were any viruses, they'd be dead by now. At worst, you might get an upset stomach, and I've got medicine for that. Don't worry too much."

Relieved, Amelia added, "Right, Stella's our medic."

After half an hour with no ill effects, Jake helped himself to another generous forkful. Another half hour passed, and he ate even more. After two hours without any sign of discomfort, Jake went for a whole bowl.

Stella finally intervened. "Moderation is key. Let's not actually ruin your stomach."

That night, Jake slept without any adverse reactions, and the group decided to have seaweed soup for breakfast the next morning. True to their plan, Stella and the others enjoyed a hearty seaweed soup the following day.

The Kindle Chest had been retrieved, and Cole proposed they collect seaweed as a supplementary food source. Most of the seaweed grew in shallow waters, away from the larger, more dangerous sea creatures, making it safe to harvest.

They didn't spend much time retrieving the Kindle Chest, and it was too early to return. Jasper agreed, "Let's spend some time gathering seaweed. It'll be a valuable addition to our supplies."

The task of collecting the Kindle Chest was light, so everyone volunteered to harvest seaweed. The eleven team members dove into the sea while three stayed above to collect the haul, spreading it out to dry on the deck of the nuclear submarine.

After two days of hard work, they had gathered over 4,000 pounds of seaweed. Since a pound of wet seaweed dried down to about four ounces, they ended up with roughly a thousand pounds of dried seaweed after all their labor.

Despite growing a bit tired of it, the seaweed was a welcome change to their diet and provided many of the nutrients their bodies needed, so everyone was quite happy.

After drying the seaweed, they set course for the second set of coordinates, over four hundred nautical miles away. The team members, all around the same age, quickly became familiar with one another.

The twelve single folks on the team would groan whenever their captain flaunted his sweet relationship, feeling like they were at a live 'rubbing-salt-in-the-wounds' show. Even in the face of disaster, the sweetness between the couple made everyone else yearn for a spontaneous wedding.

After days of observation, no one showed any unusual behavior, and Cole was particularly helpful in providing cover for everyone. During casual chats, Amelia and some of the others even speculated about the potential benefits the collected Kindle Chests could have for their base's development.

"I'm fine," Stella replied, feeling a bit guilty for hogging all the food. She wiped her mouth subconsciously, fearing there might be some grease left.

After another day's travel, the nuclear submarine had to stop. They had discovered a new land. They were still three hundred kilometers from the fourth Kindle Chest. The submarine couldn't dock in the shallows, so they stopped in deep waters. Stella promptly switched to the 2688, and the team continued forward. When the 2688 could no longer proceed, they switched to an inflatable boat to land.

After some discussion, Stella, Jasper, Cole, and Jake went ashore, while the others stayed behind to guard the submarine. With no other choice—the base's helicopter could only carry four people—and with plenty of edible kelp in the shallow waters for those left behind to gather and dry, it was the practical decision.

Once on land, the group surveyed the surroundings for any danger. Finding no signs of human activity, Stella brought out the helicopter, with Jake as the pilot. The four of them flew a thousand meters into the sky, heading towards the coordinates. Jake piloted the aircraft while Stella and the others kept an eye on the ground below.

After flying for over an hour across the three hundred kilometers, the helicopter finally descended. All around them were barren wastelands and ruins, with no end in sight. Standing atop a hill, they used binoculars to search the area, but there was no sign of the Kindle Chest.

"Could it possibly be buried underground?" Cole wondered, frowning.

No one had an answer, and they continued to search. They split into pairs and scoured the area around the coordinates, hoping the Chest wasn't buried too deep to recover.

Stella and Jasper had been scouring the landscape for over two hours when, through their binoculars, they barely made out a distinct angular protrusion in the distance. Rushing over, their suspicions were confirmed. There it was, the fabled Kindle Chest, but it was buried almost to two-thirds of its depth, its surface crowned with a hefty layer of mud, so much so that at a cursory glance, it could have been mistaken for a natural hillock.

This was a job that would require more than just their bare hands. Resigned to the task at hand, they pulled out their shovels and pickaxes. Soon after receiving the news, Cole and Jake hurried over, grasping their tools and feverishly began to dig…