18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 140

Stella wouldn't hesitate to give what they could. "I've got a secondhand fan, it's all yours. Got a portable fridge too, turned out to be broken when I got home. If you guys can fix it, it's yours. If not, I can give you the one I'm using." Lukas was confident about this, "I'll give it a shot."

As for the power supply, she suggested they divide it per person, with little Rosie exempted. She advised against pedaling the bicycle for long periods, especially in the excessive heat.

"Stella, can we grow vegetables?" Angela had been yearning for it for a year.

Upon hearing this, even Cody and Lukas were craving it now.

Stella had no objections, "With this heat, I'm not sure if hydroponics will work, but I'll give it a try."

Once they had decided on what they wanted, Stella took their belongings as payment. Clear accounts made for good friends; it was best to avoid future conflicts. She gave them a slight discount based on the market price outside. Angela and the others had no objections. They once again marveled at how wise it was to follow Stella's lead. They had saved so much trouble.

Just as they were about to leave, Jasper stopped them, handing them a walkie-talkie, "This will make it easier to keep in touch."

Lukas instantly understood, grinning as he said, "Thanks, Jasper. See you guys later."

At nightfall, the temperature dropped significantly. With the fan blowing, they slept soundly.

At around seven in the morning, the glaring sunlight seeped in through the curtain gaps. After a day and a night, the water had returned to room temperature, with the heat steadily rising.

Jasper came over and helped Stella secure the corners of her balcony with stainless steel mesh to prevent pests from crawling in.

As the weather warmed up, Rosie picked up her abandoned lessons again.

Stella tested her with some exercises to see if she forgot the things learned before, only to replace that she not only scored full marks but also completed them very quickly, "Stella, I've learned all of this."

As she spoke, she flipped through the textbook, "Jasper taught me."

Well, it seemed he could teach. The exchange of Rosie and Cooper was really... Was he lazy, or was he eyeing her from the start?

Rosie leaned in to whisper in Stella's ear, "Stella, I like it when you teach me. You make it very interesting."

Stella noticed that the chapters Jasper had skipped were all about moral education. These would have been fine before the end of the world, but now that law and order were gone, teaching these to Rosie could undermine her existing worldview. Which one was right? She had to admit. He was really thoughtful.

Stella prepared her lessons again, continuing to teach Rosie.

It was getting hotter and hotter, and the residents were constantly throwing their garbage into the water. The residents on the lower floors were soon to taste the bitter fruit. The smell was absolutely horrendous. Out of desperation, they were forced to move to the upper floors.

Of course, there were those without any decency, who flushed their waste down the drain.

Predictably, the survivors on the lower floors stormed upstairs, their furious fists landing heavy blows, "Damn you, do you think you are as awesome as those on the 18th floor and we're too scared to hit you? How many times have we caught you doing this, you heartless bastards!"

Not only did they assault people, but they also knocked over several large barrels of water they had hoarded, "So you have water, and you think you can disregard the people downstairs?" "My water, my water..."

As the clean water flowed away, the conflict escalated, with both sides fighting tooth and nail.

One refused to admit, while the other refused to let go. In their rage, they started swinging kitchen knives.

The residents on the lower floors had completely lost it, kicking down doors and shouting threats, "You flush their waste down again, and I'll chop you up and serve you as side dishes."

They stormed all the way up to the 16th floor, only to be brought back to reality by the impenetrable doors leading to the 17th floor. The raging man sat down on the stairs and started crying like a broken and helpless child. But nobody cared.

The heat was rising too fast, and before the sun could reach its peak, the temperature had already hit 43 degrees Celsius, with the indoor temperature on the top floor reaching 39 degrees. The fan was blowing hot air.

Cooper was completely worn out, lying on the floor with his tongue out. To keep the cold at bay, the dog had grown a thick fur coat. Now, transitioning from extreme cold to extreme heat, the only way he could cool down was through his tongue, and he was completely drained.

Stella made a tough decision and dragged the dog to the bathroom to shave his fur. Not only did the dog himself felt ugly, but even the rabbits were scared and quickly hid away.

She found the thermo-regulating clothes and promptly put them on the dog. At first, the dog was resistant, but... Oh, it was actually cool. Cooper was back to its energetic self.

The glass was so hot it was blinding. The oppressive heatwave hit them face-on, twisting the air.

Lukas was howling outside. He had gone up to the rooftop to fetch water, and his plastic slippers had melted. They were stuck to the concrete floor, and if he hadn't run fast enough, his slippers would have surely melted into ice cream. "Holy cow, this sunlight is toxic."

In just a short while, he felt a burning sensation on his face and arms. Looking down, he saw that his arm was turning red. Cody took out a thermometer to measure the temperature. My goodness, the ground temperature was 80 degrees Celsius!

This was the downside of living on the top floor. Even if they stayed indoors and just breathed, they would be sweating profusely.

When Stella opened the door, she saw the two clowns coming up the stairs with umbrellas, betting on whether they could pop popcorn.

They were just helpless. Angela wasn't even bothering to control them.

But when she came to 1803, she discovered that Angela was in no condition to do so. She had started her period, and her sanitary pads had long since run out. For the past few months, she had been getting by with ashes and tissue paper. The extreme cold was bearable, but now it was extremely hot. It was miserable enough just lying down, let alone dealing with a period.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Stella had plenty stocked up. When she went to the mall for scavenging, she had hoarded quite a bit more. She had more than enough for herself.

When she handed them to Angela, she couldn't resist a jab, "Why didn't you say something earlier? Luckily, I managed to trade for some during the cold spell."

It wasn't that Angela didn't want to say anything, but these items were too precious. She couldn't replace any even when she asked her colleagues in the patrol team. She did not realize that Stella had such wide connections. "Thanks."

"It's not free. Don't thank me." Stella took out her notebook, "I'll charge you the cost price. I'll take two gold rings and three packs of freeze-dried food."

"That cheap?" Angela was surprised, "Is there a chance to trade for more in the future?"

"We'll have to wait until the water recedes. We can ask around then."

As the two women were talking, Cody and Lukas, drenched in sweat, came down from the rooftop, "Come on, let's have some popcorn."