18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 131

At age six, she was already catching on, especially when she kept her brother's words in mind and ended up not asking any questions. She saw her brother shelling peanuts and promptly brought over a folding stool, "Let me help."

"It's cold, wear a couple more layers of mittens."

The dog showed his competitiveness by biting with his teeth.

Stella felt awkward just sitting there, but Jasper wouldn't let her help. "You rest. Don't wear yourself out."

He wasn't sure about the specifics of what she did, but he knew it wasn't easy dealing with these things.

The garden soil was fertile, with about 160 pounds of peanuts harvested from 100 square meters. Stella seasoned them with salt and spice, boiled them in several pots until they were flavorful, and ate some while they were still hot. The remainder were stored in the pantry in Arcadia, ready to be taken out whenever they wanted some.

They boiled half of the corn to use for breakfast or snacks.

The wheat yielded a good harvest, but without a threshing machine, they had to resort to the most primitive method-rubbing the grains out by hand.

Thankfully, the force required to separate the grain from the chaff was weak, and with Jasper's hard work, it was all done in a day. Stella then collected the grains and stored them in Arcadia to dry.

After several days of hard work, they were feeling worn out. Stella felt justified in taking it easy.

Rosie hadn't asked any questions and seemed even more calm, as if she had accepted the inexplicable abundance of food, so Stella took out several bundles of vegetables from the pantry-lettuce, spinach, kale, and so on.

As she looked at the sudden appearance of the vegetables, Rosie's eyes flashed with surprise, but she still didn't ask any questions. She obediently helped her brother prepare the vegetables.

After they finished, Stella praised her. "Rosie, you're so good. Go play with Cooper and the bunnies."

Rosie stared at her brother with eager eyes and only ran off excitedly when he nodded in approval.

Once Rosie was gone, they shut the windows and doors, and cooked several pots of vegetables. Stella stored all of it in the pantry in Arcadia.

With the fresh green vegetables, Rosie's appetite improved significantly. She smiled contentedly, "This is so good."

When Stella took Cooper for a walk, Jasper called Rosie over to the couch. "Rosie, do you like Stella?"

"I do." She didn't hesitate.

"What if she and Cooper lived with us from now on, would that be okay?"

Rosie was excited, "Really? I like Stella."

And she liked Cooper and the bunnies, too.

Jasper looked at her, "We would have to share our food with Stella, okay?"

"Okay."

Relieved by her answers, Jasper asked, "Did you like the vegetables, corn, and peanuts we had these past few days?" "Yes."

"Do you want more in the future?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to know where they came from?"

Rosie paused, looked up at her brother, nodded, then shook her head vigorously. "No." She didn't ask because she thought it would upset him.

"They were given to us by Mom and Dad."

Rosie was taken aback, her eyes slowly reddening. "I miss Mom and Dad."

Jasper ruffled her hair affectionately."Don't be scared. Even though Mom and Dad aren't with us anymore, I will take care of you. They are watching us from heaven. And they also gave us these vegetables, corn, and peanuts to make sure I could take good care of you. There will be more good things in the future. But we have to keep this a secret. Nobody else can know, not even our friends like Cody. If they replace out, it could put us in danger. Understand?"

Rosie felt both happy and scared. She wished she could sew her mouth shut. "I won't tell." As long as she kept this secret, her brother would be safe, and she wouldn't go hungry. Without realizing it, this thought became deeply ingrained in her mind.

As Jasper and Rosie started planting the third round of potatoes, Stella used her consciousness to farm in Arcadia.

She estimated their supplies and found that the food she had stored would last her and Cooper a lifetime, while Jasper's would only last the three of them and Cooper, about five years.

This was only under normal circumstances, and it was uncertain what might happen in the future. For instance, what if Cooper's appetite grew larger, or due to the freezing weather, they'd need to consume more food to maintain their body temperature? What if one day, humans also mutated and developed larger appetites? With these considerations, their food supply might be barely enough.

Not to mention, to live well in an apocalyptic world, they were lacking many things. She needed to trade for supplies.

Non-renewable resources were absolutely untouchable, so she needed to grow more food.

That was why she decided to plant all potatoes, as they not only had a short growth cycle, but also yielded a high harvest.

The third round of cold-resistant potatoes only yielded about 100 pounds. The rest were stored in Arcadia, ready to be sold to the market in exchange for supplies once the survivors' crops were almost mature.

Cooper continued eating his meals and protesting. Whenever Stella and Jasper sat together, Cooper would forcibly wedge himself in between them.

As his owner, Stella could sense his intense unease. Whether it was being sold to the butcher's shop or living a vagrant life, these were painful memories that Cooper didn't want to face.

He had nightmares, in which he would howl mournfully and his body would twitch uncontrollably. When he woke up, he would be in a terrible mood, especially when he saw Jasper, his face would immediately turn sour.

Jasper wasn't harsh with him; he just intensified his training. "Come on, who knows, maybe one day you'll beat me."

Cooper, who was exhausted from the training, perked up immediately. He got up, ready for more training.

When he met his goal, the trainer rewarded him with a piece of jerky. "Good boy."

'Wait, why did he feel like wagging his tail? No, he couldn't be tempted by the enemy. The jerky must be poisoned.' Cooper spit it out, refusing Jasper's treat.

Stella, who was exhausted from training, fell asleep unknowingly with the warm fire crackling in the living room.

When Jasper returned, he fetched a blanket from his room and draped it over her. Stella's eyes snapped open, her gaze icy and guarded, with a dagger clutched in her hand. If she hadn't reacted in time, she would have stabbed him with the dagger. Jasper took the dagger from her and put it on the table. "Nightmare?"

Stella wiped off her cold sweat, "Yeah."

A single nightmare drained all of Stella's energy, making her look at Jasper as if he were a stranger.

Jasper frowned slightly, "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

It wasn't exactly that, but he was a factor.

Stella was used to being alone. She grew up without anyone by her side for over a decade, and had been alone for three years during the apocalypse. Now, with a sudden addition of a man by her side, who was consistently kind to her, it was challenging for her to adapt to the newfound care she had never experienced before.

But looking at it another way. There were also benefits.

Having someone to share the workload, take care of household chores, keep her company, and discuss problems with was somewhat enticing. After all, humans were emotional beings. Living alone was possible, but it left one spiritually barren. Otherwise, why would there be anxiety and panic?

"No, it's just that I'm not used to it. Just give me some time."

Stella was attempting to dust off the long-sealed doors of her heart, trying to let the sunlight in to illuminate the desolate darkness within.

Jasper held her hand, "Okay."

They had been together for a while, but Stella was still not quite used to this level of intimacy and instinctively wanted to pull her hand back. But he didn't let go.

Just as she was about to speak, he suddenly let her hand free. Stella looked up to replace Cooper squatting across from them. His intense gazes were fixed on Jasper, and he wore a mischievous grin, grinding his teeth as if to say: let go or face the consequences.