18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 626

The force was brutal, like a tempest raging through the ocean. Realizing something was seriously wrong, Stella quickly pulled herself and the submarine into the safety of Arcadia. Everyone was tossed around like rag dolls, their insides aching painfully. But as they gathered themselves, everything suddenly went eerily calm.

It was as if time itself had come to a standstill.

Stella was thankful she was aboard the 2688, with its durability and collision resistance far surpassing that of a nuclear submarine. Otherwise, they’d probably be wreckage by now.

What in the world was that thing?

Even Cole, who had spent years exploring the seas and was intimately familiar with marine life, was at a loss. Nothing in his knowledge matched. But now it was night, and with underwater visibility hampered, they could only rely on sonar feedback to make any sense of it.

Stella’s brow furrowed as she took a guess.

A mutant species. Not from some ancient virus, but from nuclear radiation.

Jake was incredulous. “Stella, you’ve been watching too many movies, haven’t you?”

After he spoke, even he fell silent. The incident in Iran was a precedent; just a nuclear leak had caused the wolf-fish to grow several meters in length. They couldn’t dwell on it—thinking too much about it sent shivers down their spines.

“It should be fine, right?” Amelia chimed in, equally unnerved. “The land has been submerged for years now. If something like that was going to happen, we’d all have mutated long ago.”

Jasper tried to reassure everyone. “Nuclear material is heavily guarded. Leaks are not that easy, and even if they happen, they’re isolated incidents that have virtually no global impact.”

Jake nodded vigorously. “Right, it’s got to be that.”

Amelia’s thoughts wandered. “That thing we encountered must have mutated due to nuclear exposure.”

If mutations from nuclear radiation were common, they would have encountered them during their year-long journey.

“It’s definitely the mutations caused by the leak in Iran. Even in death, they don’t let us live in peace.”

As they discussed, Stella had already closed the observation window. Even though it was nighttime in Arcadia, it was better to be safe than sorry. Afraid of another violent toss, everyone quickly fastened their seat belts. Once they were secured, Stella took the submarine away from Arcadia.

The 2688 began to shake again, but the movements were manageable this time. Cole kept his eyes on the sonar equipment. The mysterious creature had vanished. It seemed that it had just been in a rampage, attacking anything it found disagreeable. Not daring to linger, the team immediately set out at full speed.

Upon reaching the Kindle Chest drop-off point, after the team had done their survey, Jasper accompanied Stella down to start the recovery operation. The depths of the sea were considerable, but with their advanced gear, it was within the range their bodies could handle.

They could barely make out the Kindle Chest when Stella, filled with joy, swam towards it... Suddenly, Jasper gave her a tug, his expression urgent as he pointed into the distance. Stella instinctively looked over.

Thanks to their year of wandering, collecting Kindle Chests and diving into deep seas, her mental strength had grown significantly, or else they wouldn’t have been able to handle the sea monster today. They had barely left when the Kindle Chest containing the mutated sea monster was nudged out by Arcadia. Stella really owed this old sixth Arcadia, which showed no sentiment, as the beast, grown in nuclear radiation, didn’t die even after being deprived of oxygen for half an hour.

Stella had no choice but to collect the genuine Kindle Chest into Arcadia. Just as she was about to drag in the sea monster for later, she noticed Jake and the others had come down. Seeing no sign of their companions, the team had no choice but to pull on the rope, only to discover it had been severed.

“Damn, something’s gone wrong!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, they dove into the inky depths for a rescue mission. Spotting the silhouettes of their friends, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly signaled, “What happened?”

Jasper signaled back: “Technical glitch, need about half an hour to resurface. Tell the others to head back up now.”

Jake and the rest, with their less advanced diving gear, couldn’t afford to linger underwater for too long. After the brief exchange, they ascended back to the surface.

Stella stashed the unruly Kindle Chest in the Arcadia and flopped onto her bed for a brief rest. When she emerged again, the sea monster had finally kicked the bucket for good, and there was no sign of it being booted out by the Arcadia.

Jasper, with Stella in tow, finally broke the surface of the water. Stella whipped out the transport boat. Upon seeing the two resurface, the rest of the team’s hearts, which had been in their throats, finally settled back into their chests, and they quickly pulled the pair aboard.

Cole inquired, “Boss, what on earth happened down there?”