18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 600
Around mid-afternoon, Stella's convoy stumbled upon something unexpected: a military base. But it wasn't just any base; it was
a coalition, with several national flags waving alongside China's.
Concerned about being spotted, Stella swiftly guided their vehicles into the dense cover of Arcadia. They scoped out the area,
estimating there were a few dozen soldiers armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry.
Stella's eyes were drawn to a makeshift structure in the distance, resembling an igloo with black smoke billowing from it. Nearby,
soldiers were loading oil drums onto trucks.
Putting the pieces together, Stella realized China had struck oil and was already refining it. The blackened wasteland ahead
must be an open-pit oil field, and those primitive setups were likely basic distillation units.
The Chinese were known for their industriousness, but this was impressive.
Jake and the rest eyed the oil fields with envy, itching to take the site for themselves. Such a resource seemed wasted on China.
However, they remembered their primary mission: securing the Kindle Chest. The oil could wait.
They skirted around the base, planning to retrieve their Humvees once they were at a safe distance. By dusk, they were on track
to reach their coordinates by the next morning. Stella was about to suggest a rest stop when suddenly, the lead vehicle plunged

into a sand trap.
Jasper acted fast, slamming on the brakes and reversing. The Humvee, built for desert terrain, managed to escape the trap, but
they had to quickly prepare for an ambush.
Gunfire erupted, bullets harmlessly pinging off their bulletproof windows. These seasoned veterans could pinpoint the origin of
the shots. They returned fire using their vehicle-mounted weapons, quickly silencing the attack.
Cole and the others scrambled out of the sand, seeking cover. Stella, in her bulletproof vest, jumped into the pit to retrieve their
Humvee, only bringing it out once she found a concealed spot.
Armed to the teeth, they weren't leaving without the Kindle Chest. The armored vehicles flanked the enemy position, charging
forward.

Using Chinese weapons against the Chinese, Stella mused on the irony. But surprisingly, the expected barrage of return fire
never came, just a single bullet.
Suddenly, another shot rang out, hitting the weapon mount. The impenetrable steel stood firm. They fired a long-range rocket in
response, and as the dust settled, a group in tattered desert clothing retreated hastily, brandishing a mix of makeshift weapons.
Stella was dumbfounded; these weren't Chinese forces.
Erring on the side of caution, they didn't wipe out the retreating figures but instead closed in with their
armored Vehicles. The group wanet

quicklycornered, and under the
threat of heavy fire, they stopped, glaring defiantly at their captors, refusing to surrender. Jake,
a military megaphone, in English, "Drop
surrender and you
be harmed."
The response was a fierce refusal.
To Stella's surprise, a gaunt but tall woman seemed to lead them, her English
heavily accented.
They looked
desert sun, their skin cracked andet
weathered by the
making it hard to discern their
ethnicity.
Jake wasn't swayed by their defiance. "Keep it up, and you'll be ground meat."

They dared him to a one-on-one fight.
Jasper warned Jake of potential grenades, but Jake, confident in his skills, approached the woman.
The woman charged, but Jake was faster, disarming her and pointing his gun at her head.
"You really shouldn't play with these," he said mockingly.
As Jake restrained her, Stella intervened, recognizing the woman as "Angela." Angela looked shocked, staring back at Stella
through the dust and camouflage. Thinking they were facing Chinese forces, there had been no dialogue in Chinese. Not until
Stella recognized Angela's familiar fighting style did she realize the truth. Jake was surprised, "Stella, you know her?"