18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 135

As Stella looked unmoved, the man gritted his teeth, "10 pounds of rice or flour, and you can take it away."

He was reluctant to sell it, but his family was struggling to survive. If he waited any longer, lives could be lost.

Seeing Stella not responding, the man became anxious, "8 pounds, I can't go lower. 5 million in cash, no scam, I've cared for them more than my own children."

"All I have are potatoes."

The man paused, then said, "Potatoes work too, but it'll be 20 pounds."

His family was unlucky. They didn't win the lottery for cold-resistant beans the first time, and when they finally did in the second round, the harvest was still more than a month away. Stella nodded, taking out potatoes from her large backpack.

The man handed her the snow globe, reminding her of the preservation method, showing his deep love for the artwork.

The snow globe seemed to be stored in the bag, but in fact, it was thrown into Arcadia.

As she was leaving, the man spoke again, "I have more collections at home. Do you want them?"

Stella didn't rush to answer, but instead used her consciousness to probe Arcadia. Indeed, it swallowed the snow globe.

The second floor now had an extra bathroom. 20 pounds of potatoes was indeed a bargain.

Stella was overjoyed, but remained calm, "Alright, but they must be genuine."

Fearing for his safety, the man didn't bring everything at once, but his collection consisted of over 20 pieces of vintage jewels and artworks from different dynasties, valued at over 20 million. These were his lifelong collections, and many had coveted them, offering several times the price, but he was reluctant to part with them.

Yet now, he couldn't even exchange them for a pound of rice.

In prosperous times, antiques were valuable. In times of chaos, gold was valuable. In the apocalypse, food was valuable.

He tried to sell his collections to middlemen. At first, he could exchange them for supplies, but soon, even the middlemen stopped accepting them.

When he finally found someone willing to exchange food for them, he had to make the painful decision to part with them, his eyes revealing a hint of unease, "If you want, I can give you a discount." Stella pondered, "How do we exchange?"

The man thought for a while, "100 pounds of rice or flour, plus 100 pounds of potatoes?"

She and Jasper had quite a stockpile of rice and flour. But who knew how long they could survive? If they accidentally lived to be a hundred, there was a good chance they would run out.

"I can only give potatoes." Stella was unwilling to exchange non-renewable resources.

Even though she could exchange other items for rice and flour, after enduring extreme cold and heat, how well could food be preserved?

The man relented, "300 pounds, in batches."

He feared attracting too much attention if he did it all at once. He was also afraid of possible ill intentions from them.

Stella was more than happy to agree, "Deal."

On their way home, Jasper asked, "Does the snow globe make your Arcadia bigger?"

They had been holding hands the whole time, and Stella didn't hide it, "Gold, silver, jade, or other old items with spiritual energy can do that. After Arcadia swallowed the snow globe, it gained an extra bathroom." "Shall we ask Monkey if they can exchange some artworks or gold and jade artifacts?"

Stella was full of energy, "No rush, I already have a plan to exchange items."

She wouldn't trade non-renewable resources unless absolutely necessary.

The next day, they still left Cooper and Rosie at Katie's house.

Stella and Jasper went to the agreed location, and exchanged with the man on time.

The man came with his wife, trading seven pieces of artworks for 100 pounds of potatoes.

The last exchange was paintings, all collections from famous artists throughout the history. The man's heart ached as he held onto the painting of a royal lady, as if he was losing his soul.

Stella put it in her bag, and after a moment, she took it out again, "Since you hold this painting dear, it seems you're destined for it. Consider it a gift from me."

The man was stunned, "But the food..."

"You don't need to return it." Stella turned around and left nonchalantly.

What he didn't know was that the painting was a fake. Arcadia didn't swallow it. But judging from his expression, he likely just misjudged it and didn't intentionally deceive her.

300 pounds of potatoes expanded Arcadia by two rooms, which was a great deal. Returning the fake as a gift gave him something to hold onto mentally.

"Wait." The man caught up with her, "I have a friend who collects porcelain. He also wants to exchange for food. Is that okay?"

So they spent an extra 3 days outside.

These 3 days were worth it. Arcadia's third floor was built. When the third floor was built, it meant that the entire Arcadia was 3 meters taller, and the volume increased by a third. Stella hugged Jasper in excitement, "Don't you think I'm so lucky?"

This was the first time she initiated a hug. Jasper took the opportunity to hug her back, "It's all thanks to your good planning."

Stella looked up at him, "Thank you for always being with me these days."

Jasper retorted, "Shouldn't I?"

Stella laughed, not falling for his cunning trick.

Even though the extra room they got was quite big, their action was actually filled with danger. Those who were unscrupulous were also tough. Their eyes were like human scanners.

The two of them frequently appeared on the trading street and were soon targeted. The villains planned to slaughter them like fat pigs, following them secretly with weapons.

However, their surveillance skills were no match for Jasper's counter-surveillance. The gap in their abilities was giant.

If they were human scanners, then Jasper was a big data filter. They thought they were clever, but they had been spotted long ago.

After the exchange, the two suddenly went their separate ways. Jasper carried a big bag, while Stella was empty-handed. Not only did they go in opposite directions, but they also walked faster and faster. "Boss, who should we follow?"

They had finally caught a big fish, and they couldn't let it slip away. They had to hold on tight.

"Split up. You two go after the girl. You three come with me."

They pulled out their weapons and went their separate ways, rushing to catch up.

"Quick, the woman went into the office building."

Even though she was bundled up, you could tell from the way she walked that she was attractive. If they caught her, they could keep her for themselves for a few days.

The two men rushed into the office building, excitedly running up, "I let you have the last one. You have to let me go first this time."

"Bullshit, you only let me have the last one because you thought she was ugly. This girl is pretty, and whoever catches her first gets her."

Perhaps they thought the woman was easy to bully, and since they had already cornered her, the two men didn't hold back. To be the first to get a taste, they ran faster and faster. "Splash."

In the sharp turn of the corridor, there was no time to brake. One man crashed into a sharp object, his body pierced through.

The man behind almost ran into him, but luckily he was steady enough to stop in time. He saw the bloody sharp blade sticking out from the man's back, his pupils dilating in fear. Pressed against the wall, a figure slowly emerged, lifting a foot to kick the man beside her away.

As the body fell, an impassive face broke into a chilling smile. She was beautiful, but deadly like a viper.

Holding a samurai sword, grinning ominously, she was reminiscent of the black widow.

She was supposed to have left unarmed.

No, she wasn't just a woman; she was a specter crawled straight out of hell!

The man's face drained of color in an instant, not sparing a word as he bolted down the stairs.

Help!