18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 423

It took a few minutes, but eventually, everything was settled.

Meanwhile, not too far away, a fishing boat was caught in a skirmish, punctuated by the sound of gunshots. Stella couldn’t see what was happening due to the obstructed view, but the fight dragged on for nearly twenty minutes before it finally stopped.

Hans was sprawled at the bow of the boat, retching for minutes before he waved to everyone, his face pale as a ghost. "It's all taken care of," he managed to say.

He wasn’t the only one feeling queasy; several of his comrades were also throwing up. Sensing something was off, Stella started searching for bodies near the submarine, but the masked corpses had already been carried away by the current.

Hans ordered the fishing boat closer to the submarine, stopping it between 1926 and 2688. Stella and Jasper paddled over in a dinghy, braving the choppy waves to board the fishing boat. The deck was a chaotic mess, covered in blood and bodies.

Seeing the corpses up close made Stella lean over the railing, fighting the urge to vomit. Acid churned in her stomach, but nothing came up. Jasper quickly put on a mask, his brow furrowed as he examined the dead. Their faces were unrecognizable, covered in boils and pustules—some the size of thumbs, others like ping-pong balls, many ruptured and bleeding. They were everywhere. These weren’t humans anymore; they were monsters.

The man who had hailed the submarine looked relatively normal except for the multiple stab wounds in his chest; he was dead. Stella noticed several katana swords and old wooden sandals scattered on the deck, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.

Hans joined her, his expression grave and angry. "These beasts, damn them."

"Eight-legged walk!" a body nearby suddenly turned over, struggling to get up, shouting furiously at them, "Eight-legged walk!"

A few soldiers grabbed ropes, intending to tie him up for interrogation. Stella immediately warned, "Careful, he might be contagious."

She couldn’t believe that after all these years, these beings hadn’t died off and were still causing trouble. The monster spat curses as he lunged at the soldiers. Jasper raised his hand and ended the creature’s struggle swiftly. Hans had wanted to interrogate him, but it turned out he was the last one.

Stella was serious, "Anyone injured, disinfect your wounds now."

The weapons used by the enemies were swords and iron bars. Two had been injured during the fight—one had internal injuries, and the other had an external wound from a katana slash, but it wasn’t deep. Hans’s face paled; the medicine was still on the submarine.

From the fishing boat's draft, he deduced there had been more people inside than the mere seven the fishermen had claimed. Noticing the enemy's trajectory, Liu Cheng signaled his team members discreetly. Medicine was precious, and Hans had only brought an empty medicine chest on board. The base’s disinfectant wasn’t as good as pre-catastrophe supplies, and going back and forth would take time, which wasn’t good for the wounds.

Stella took out her own medical supplies, "Use mine." The bottles from the base were filled with pre-catastrophe stock. The wounds were disinfected repeatedly, sprinkled with antiseptic powder, and carefully bandaged.

Hans explained with a heavy heart, "This ship is from Thailand, with over fifty people on board. We never expected to encounter these sea pirates. Not only was the fishing boat taken, but the survivors were…"