18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 139

Angela and the others were either stationed at a point or stuck during an outing patrol. Stella sat on the speedboat, waiting, with her crossbow aimed at those survivors the whole time. She remained silent, her eyes icy and intimidating, like a sharp blade ready to fly out at any moment. The crowd felt uneasy, but subconsciously sensed that this woman wasn't someone to mess with. No one dared to cross her, but they all started grumbling among themselves.

Soon, news of the fierce woman in the inflatable boat spread quickly around the station.

After about 20 minutes, a voice echoed from the crowd, "Stella!"

Angela and the other two walked out, carrying clothes and bedding on their backs, each holding a crossbow.

Seeing that it was their friends from the security patrol, the crowd started chattering again. They asked Angela and the others to give them a lift. Some claimed they had elderly family members to take care of, and others said their children were starving at home. In short, they were trying to guilt-trip them. If they didn't give them a lift, they were deemed heartless.

Angela decisively refused. "I'm sorry, but I can't make decisions about the speedboat. It's not mine."

"We're colleagues. You could've shown some compassion."

If it were right when the natural disaster struck, Angela might have felt guilty, but after witnessing too many dark things over the past year, she considered it an achievement just to keep herself safe. She really had no intention of helping others. Besides, it was Stella's boat, and she had already done them a huge favor by coming to pick them up. How could Angela possibly agree to take on additional passengers without her consent?

There was the overbearing woman who had connections with the executives. She had always been jealous and had made life difficult for them. Although Angela became a team leader based on her abilities, this woman secretly reported her behind her back. Now that Angela had resigned, this woman had actually become even more unscrupulous by demaning them to send her home.

"Go to hell!"

In the past, for the sake of survival, she had to endure even if unwilling. But now, no one can stop her.

With a swift punch, Angela not only sent the woman flying but also knocked out a few of her teeth.

Lukas joined in, "Bullying my wife? You're asking for it."

So what if she had connections? They had quit!

They quickly shocked the crowd into silence, causing everyone to step back.

Stella took advantage of the chaos, driving the inflatable boat over. The three of them quickly loaded their stuff onto the boat, all the while keeping an eye out for any sneak attacks.

Everyone was too afraid to approach, so they could only watch as they left, stomping their feet in frustration.

Just as they were about to leave, a man suddenly charged at them. Without any hesitation, Stella pulled the trigger and an arrow whizzed past his ear.

"Ah!" The man screamed in pain, quickly covering his bleeding ear with his hand.

The crowd was shocked, quickly retreating to avoid getting involved.

By the time the man came to his senses, the inflatable boat was long gone, leaving him to curse and swear in impotent rage.

Back at Sunrise Sanctuary, they threw their luggage onto the shore. Stella asked, "What happened to your rubber dinghy?"

It was still there when they woke up this morning, but after they were away for just two hours, they found the locker door had been pried open and their rubber dinghy had been stolen. Cody also lost his bed quilt, and two pairs of his underwear went missing. The ground was slick with ice, making it impossible to walk without falling. The three of them had to stay to replace the thief, but they had no leads.

Stella reassured them, "As long as you are okay, that's what matters."

Lukas was frustrated, "They said they would let us go the day before yesterday, but they couldn't recruit more people, and recently, survivors have been searching everywhere for extremely hot supplies. The public security has deteriorated suddenly." Their boss pleaded, insisting that they must stay for another two days.

They thought that it would just be two more days. Who knew they would hit the jackpot and encounter extreme heat.

It was so hot that they were drenched in sweat climbing the stairs. When they got to the 17th floor, they happened to see Amber coming out, and only then did they realize that she had quit too. The body collecting team not only collected bodies, but also cleaned up regular garbage. The flood reoccurred and everything stopped again.

Everyone sighed, they would have to live with the stench of garbage in the future.

Hearing the sound, Cooper wagged its tail and went downstairs to greet his owner, whimpering non-stop in his mouth.

When they got back home, Stella tossed the assault boat into Arcadia, rinsed it once with clean water, dried it, and then cleaned herself from head to toe.

That night, just after dinner at 1801, there was a knock on the door. Before Jasper could speak, Rosie jumped up to turn off the air conditioner fan, pushed open the bedroom door, and quickly hid it.

Stella was shocked. Jasper did a good job of training Rosie; she had become very cunning. Not only did she hide things, but she also didn't forget to open the window to let the outside heat wave in.

Rosie blinked, "Shush, we can't let Cody and the others know that we have an air conditioning fan."

Stella was amused, "Alright."

Rosie even gave instructions to the dog, "Cooper, you can't say anything either."

The people who came to seek survival experiences from 1803 brought a bag of dog food that weighed 5 kilograms, saying it was to offset the fuel consumption of the assault boat.

Stella didn't want it, but Angela insisted on giving it, and in the end, Cooper bit the bag and dragged it to its side.

The three of them worked in the public security patrol team, and Stella and Jasper had always been guarding the 18th floor. Those in room 1803 felt awful since they didn't participate in the exchange of supplies for the extremely hot weather. "What's the big deal? I need it for myself, and I got some for you guys too. It's all bartering. If you want it, take it. If not, I can give it to someone else and it won't be a loss."

Of course they'd take it all; they were worried they didn't have enough stuff prepared.

The rooftop was really too hot, and everyone discussed how to deal with the increasing disaster. It was hard enough to survive the hot and humid sauna-like weather in the south coast in the summer, let alone the unknown extreme heat. Stella suggested, "Now that we're all here, why don't we disconnect the electric gate and use the extra electricity for fans or car fridges?"

The others agreed. After nearly a year of trials and tribulations, they were all confident in their abilities.

"What about showering?"

With the heat making them sweat even while breathing, showering was a priority.

Stella burst their bubbles, "Forget about showering. Just wipe down with some water every day."

Each person was allocated 4 tons of water from the 12 water towers. Once that was gone, they had no more.

The city government would come up with ways to purify the water, but it couldn't supply enough for the entire city's population. Even if they could, where would the water come from?

They all knew the answer.

Would they dare to use it? Would they dare to drink it? Stella didn't have the courage.

If they didn't bathe, their bodies would stink. But when it came down to it, there's nothing one could do but try their best to adapt.

As for the garbage problem, they would deal with it the same way they always had.

It was better to avoid flushing the toilets at home if possible. At minus seventy degrees of extreme cold, things like water pipes burst long ago. If they flushed waste into someone else's home, the neighbors downstairs would be livid. Moreover, the sound of rushing water would be a dead giveaway that there was a water source on the 18th floor.

As for other supplies, Stella pulled out the list, "We have mosquito nets, insecticides, water purification tablets..."