18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 62

Bad news never came alone, and the others started to get nervous, especially the Moore family, who were not accustomed to such a fracas. They were all refined folks. But the end of the world was no place for refinement, forcing them to pull out their kitchen knives from their bags.

The speedboat revved up, and the tattooed men started to holler, while the others followed closely behind in their rubber dinghies.

When they saw the fish belly-up in the water, and the bags on Stella's boat filled to the brim with fish, their eyes gleamed with greed.

About thirty feet away, the speedboat stopped. A burly man brandished a large machete and barked, "Leave the fish, the boat, and the dog, and we might spare your lives."

To them, these two women and four men, apart from the tall man, the rest seemed totally useless.

Stella asked, "If we give you everything, how do we leave?"

"That's not our problem. If you're lucky, you can swim away without drowning."

"You're a pretty little thing. If you take care of us, you can stay."

Listening to their lascivious words, Jasper's brows furrowed. Stella, on the other hand, remained unfazed. "So, there's no room for negotiation?"

"Enough of your damned chatter. If you don't want to live, leave your life behind. I promise you'll enjoy tonight... Ahh..." Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Before he could finish his sentence, an arrow pierced his chest. He fell into the reservoir, arrow and all. Everyone was stunned to see Jasper holding a crossbow, its arrows razor-sharp.

Stella wondered, how many weapons did he have?

Regardless of her thoughts, she didn't hesitate to act. She picked up a nail gun and fired several shots. She didn't aim at the people, but at the speedboat.

The speedboat deflated instantly. The boat was carrying more than a dozen people, who soon started to panic. "Shit, they have guns and arrows!"

When Jasper took action, he aimed to kill. He fired several arrows, each hitting their mark. Screams echoed as the men who had just been threatening them fell into the depths of the reservoir.

The instinct to survive kicked in, and several people floundered in the water, even lunging at Stella and the others in a desperate attempt to seize their chance at survival.

Two were lucky, dodging the nail gun and the crossbow, and grabbing the rope on the speedboat. Just as they were about to climb aboard, they suddenly lost their hands. Severed clean off, the hands fell into the water with a splash.

They paused for a moment, then let out heartrending screams.

Facing Stella, who held a samurai sword and cut down people without changing expression, the Moore family was trembling with fear. They were witnessing a bloodbath! And it wasn't just one person, it was a boatload. Before the Moores had a chance to react, Jasper and Stella had taken care of them all.

They were usually easygoing and not prone to squabbles, so why had they suddenly turned into cold-blooded killers?

Lukas, who was used to such scenes, reassured the Moore family, "It's okay, you'll get used to it."

In just a few minutes, all the people on the speedboat were gone. The people on the other speedboat, who had been brimming with murderous intent, were shocked into silence.

The idiot driving the speedboat made a sudden stop, sending several people into the water and nearly capsizing the boat.

Damn, they were dealing with ruthless killers!

Everyone was stunned, and for a moment, no one dared to approach. But they couldn't bear to leave just like that, especially with all those fish for the taking. So, they decided to surround Stella and the others from their rubber dinghies.

"What do we do now?" Amber asked, distressed. There were still over twenty men, all armed. If they decided to attack, they would be in trouble due to their numerical disadvantage.

Stella scanned the area with a binocular. The people on the speedboat seemed to be members of a gang, while those on the rubber dinghies looked emaciated and desperate for food, likely forced to join the gang for survival. They had knives, swords, and clubs, but probably no guns.

The nail gun and the crossbow lost their accuracy and power at a distance, losing the advantage of the first strike.

Stella wasn't afraid of them rushing over. But if they decided to surround and not attack, that would be a problem. As she predicted, the tattooed men didn't dare to approach and instead drove the people on the rubber dinghies towards them.

They were afraid to die, but they were even more afraid of the hunger that had been torturing them. Slowly, they rowed over.

Jasper said, "As long as they don't come close, we don't need to deal with them. Continue fishing."

Lukas and the others snapped back to reality and started scooping up the fish in the water.

The reservoir was exposed, so today was the last chance to fish. They had to collect as much as possible.

As for the troublemakers, they could deal with them later after collecting the fish. There was no need to waste time in a standoff.

After the commotion, many fish had drifted with the current. The people in the rubber dinghies followed, scooping up the scattered fish.

"I got one. I got a fish. We have food!"

"I got one too!"

Many people broke into excited smiles, gutting the fish on the spot and using their knives to slice off chunks of raw flesh. The raw fish was pungent, but it was edible and a welcome change from gnawing on tree bark.

Many couldn't resist and started eating on the spot, as if it was the most delicious meal, even if their mouths were smeared with fish scales or blood.

Stella stood on the speedboat, her face stern as she watched them.

The fishing continued, with everyone focusing on scooping up fish, while Stella kept watch with her nail gun. The modified nail gun could hit targets 30 meters away, but its power significantly reduced beyond 15 meters.

The people were unsatisfied with just scooping up the scattered fish and wanted to approach Stella and the others.

Stella didn't say anything. When the first rubber dinghy entered her optimal shooting range, she raised her hand and fired without a second thought.

She didn't hit the heart, but the shoulder. The next shot was aimed at the rubber dinghy.

They were terrified and quickly backed away, not daring to approach again.

"Please, miss, we haven't eaten in days. Let us catch some fish? Our children are starving at home."

"We won't take your share. We'll just take a little for ourselves. We won't compete with you."

Stella coldly said, "Back off."

No matter how they pleaded, Stella remained unmoved.

Reluctantly, they backed off, but there were still fish to be caught.

The water was flowing strongly, and the fish that had been startled by the ultrasonic waves were scattered by the waves. The rubber dinghies gradually dispersed. They no longer approached Stella and her group, instead focusing on catching fish in the surrounding waters. Gradually, they managed to catch quite a few, with some quick-handed ones catching over twenty.

Whenever they got too close, they would quickly retreat to a safe distance.

The tattooed men on the speedboat were angry, but they couldn't do much about these people, eventually joining them in fishing. Meanwhile, they plotted to rob them once they had finished fishing.

One of the subordinates quietly asked, "Boss, should we go back and call for reinforcements?"

The boss glared at him, "And how do you propose we do that?"

With only a dinghy at hand, making a round trip would turn day into night. Moreover, those unruly servants had also caught a significant amount of fish. What if they were plotting to escape?

"Let's wait for them to reach the shore, then we'll figure out how to snatch them."

Coincidentally, Stella was also planning to get ashore to deal with them.