18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 374

Freedom-loving and averse to being tied down, Stella, Cody, Lukas, and Jasper were far from the picture-perfect soldiers. Military life, with its ironclad discipline and stringent demands, seemed like an odd fit for them. Stella was skeptical that they could ever truly acclimate.

But it was Cody who floated the idea of enlisting. Around the campfire, he laid out his reasoning, "Stella, these natural disasters are getting worse every day. We were lucky to survive that last dust storm, but what about next time?" They couldn't face Mother Nature alone; they needed to lean on Uncle Sam.

The military wasn't just about firepower; it was about having the right gear to withstand the elements. Following orders could mean the difference between life and death.

Only a salesman would think of every angle.

Stella was relieved to hear they had a plan; she hoped they'd all come through this okay.

Curious, she asked, "So, do you get to pick your branch?"

"Yeah, the base is split between the Army and the Navy. We're with the submarine unit," Cody replied.

"Submarines, huh?" Stella feigned surprise. "Those things aren't easy to handle. We had just a few before everything went to hell. And now they're as common as cabbages?"

"I saw a notice in the main hall last night. Are we really trading subs now, or is that a joke?"

The friends exchanged knowing glances before Cody explained with a grin, "These aren't your granddaddy's subs. They're designed to handle tectonic shifts."

Stella's jaw dropped. "Tectonic shifts?"

The group had only learned about the threat upon arriving at the base. Just the thought sent shivers down their spine it was an existential threat to humanity.

But they were the lucky ones, having passed all the tests to enlist. From now on, they were in the hands of the nation. If the combined might of the country couldn't fend off the disasters, their fears were moot. Understanding this, their fear subsided.

Lukas tried to comfort Stella, "Actually, you shouldn't worry too much. The base has been prepping for this. Becoming submariners is just one part of the plan to counter the threat of tectonic shifts."

Stella, always looking for information, perked up. "What's the plan? Can you share?"

It was an open secret within the military. Everyone knew.

Without holding back, Lukas revealed, "The base has a port and a shipyard. They're working full tilt to crank out subs."

Stella frowned. "Subs can navigate the undersea world, sure. But if tectonic shifts happen, the seas will quake with tsunamis. No sub can withstand that kind of beating."

Any damage to the parts could be lethal.

Lukas, however, was optimistic. "They're not just subs; they're like hibernation pods..."

The new subs were designed to withstand unstoppable marine disasters. When faced with such a threat, all vulnerable parts could retract into the pod, letting the sub drift with the currents.

With a shock-absorbent interior, oxygen supplies, and provisions for six months, and an ultra-tough exterior that could withstand collisions with rocks or attacks from sea creatures, the subs were virtually indestructible. Stella pondered, "If the new subs are that powerful, why not have everyone escape underwater? Why bother with a land escape?"

Lukas explained, "A sub can only carry ten people. The base houses over 200,000. Even ignoring the shipyard's capacity, building subs requires special rare metals."

Nine years post-apocalypse, even pooling national resources couldn't ensure a steady supply of such materials.

Naval ships, merchant vessels, aircraft, land vehicles...

The scavengers had made significant contributions to the base's current state. Risking their lives, they scoured city after city for special materials.

As the disasters continued to wreak havoc, materials became harder to come by. Scavengers were coming up empty-handed, and even military efforts yielded little. Stella was skeptical, "If materials are so scarce, why sell the subs?"

"It's to motivate the scavengers to pull out all the stops in their search. Otherwise, the points for the rare materials wouldn't be skyrocketing."

Stella still sensed something off, "Building a sub takes a lot of resources and manpower, and in the end, it only saves ten people. Isn't that wasteful?"

The friends exchanged glances before Cody unraveled the mystery, "The base wouldn't invest so much into building subs just for an escape plan."

It was all about preserving the legacy of humanity-Kindle Society. Not just the continuation of life but also the preservation of culture and technology. Imagine the sub as a massive engine, not only ferrying people but also pulling along colossal storage containers.

Cody likened it to a tractor-trailer hauling a shipping container.

And those containers? They'd be filled with books, artworks, seeds, clothing, medical equipment, precision machinery-essentially, the pillars of human civilization.

If the disaster ended, these caches could help humanity rapidly recover or evolve.

But the base always prioritized human life; the containers would be moored to the subs, detachable in case of an insurmountable disaster.

Constructed from special materials, the containers could resist tsunamis and earthquakes. Regardless of whether the world became a sea or a desert, their design would protect the contents for two decades, all the while emitting a beacon signal. Military and government elites had receivers for these signals. Once the calamity passed, they could use these signals to excavate or salvage the containers and restore human civilization.

Stella was deeply moved.

She hadn't anticipated the military's extensive preparations based on the "prophecy." Maybe this was what national effort looked like.

And now, with massive containers being steadily constructed, treasures of civilization from across the country were being transported to the Kindle Society in the South.

Cody and the others knew there would be 3,000 containers, each about 400 cubic feet.

To the average person, these numbers were staggering. Yet compared to the nation's total cultural wealth, it was but a drop in the ocean.

This was their legacy for future generations.

Since joining Kindle Society two months ago, Cody and the others had been scouring for news every other day, hoping Stella and Jasper would show up.

And fortune favors the bold; they had finally arrived safely.

"Stella, what do you and Jasper plan to do now?" Cody asked.

Without hesitation, Stella knew, "We might become scavengers."

Lukas was taken aback, "With your skills, you'd have no problem enlisting. Scavenging is tough, and if the tectonic shifts happen, you'd be at the mercy of the base's plans, forced to flee by land."