18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 144

Stella's words made Lukas jump out of his skin, his hand instinctively touching his face. "Ouch..."

Getting attacked by a roach was disgusting enough, but to actually get bitten by it? Oh no, his face wouldn't be ruined, would it? His wife loved this face the most. Stella suggested, "Use some iodine to disinfect it, and take some antibiotics."

While disinfecting, Lukas voiced his fear, "Honey, if I become disfigured, you won't leave me, right?"

Angela replied without hesitation, "No."

Those watching this display of affection were left speechless. Roaches were crawling all over the place, yet these two were still showing their love for each other. After treating the wound, they continued their struggle against cockroaches, and the terrified inhabitants of 1803 sealed their balcony again.

There wasn't much steel sheets left, so Stella didn't offer any, but suggested, "You should seal all the drains and put roach poison and insecticide on the balcony."

The balcony couldn't be fully sealed. If the air stopped circulating, the top floor would turn into an oven. They'd be lucky not to get cooked alive. So they drilled tiny holes on the steel sheets which allowed air in but also kept cockroaches out. Living under such harsh conditions, they had to replace joy in their hardships. After finishing the task, they celebrated with a cold beer. With Cody and Lukas creating a lively atmosphere, it was hard to feel miserable. So they had another gathering. "Let's drink and be merry today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?" they cheered.

Stella brought over a big bowl of ice-cold tea.

The cold tea revived their spirits, making their bodies feel alive and refreshed.

Lukas drank two large bowls, "Stella's culinary skills are the best. We can't make it as good."

"That's because you guys don't know how to store the ingredients properly. They got ruined in the freezer."

Cody also praised Stella's cooking. Thinking about the ingredients left at home, he asked, "How did you make it?"

Stella shifted the credit, "It was Jasper who made it."

And so, the two fans began to shower Jasper with compliments. Little did they know, Jasper was also good at shifting the credit, "No, Stella taught me well."

Lukas winked at Stella, amused by how she had trained Jasper.

Before, Jasper was a tough guy who carried a gun. Now, he willingly cooked for her and even washed dishes. Lukas realized Stella was the true master at playing the game of love. And bending over for a woman he loved didn't make Jasper less of a man. On the contrary, it made him more attractive.

The conversation then turned to the heroic bunny army. Lukas, with his wild imagination, asked, "Do you think we can eat these roaches?"

Stella warned, "Roaches multiply and mutate quickly, and they crawl out of garbage heaps. They're full of viruses and bacteria. If you don't want to die, you better not."

Before she could finish her sentence, a shrill scream came from below.

They could only look down with binoculars from their room windows since the balcony was sealed. They saw a man desperately rowing an inflatable boat with a skeletal woman and a sick child.

Everyone felt a chill down their spine hearing their spat. Driven by hunger, the child had instinctively eaten the roaches he caught. They didn't know how many he had eaten. By the time his parents found out, he was already vomiting and convulsing.

The parents were helpless and could only take the child to the hospital. The hospital was out of medicines though. Even if they got there, how sure were they that the child could be treated?

Still as parents, they wouldn't give up if there was even a glimmer of hope.

Lukas had just made a joke, but he didn't expect a tragedy to unfold before his eyes. And perhaps, there were more than one child who had eaten the roaches. The previously cheerful atmosphere was suddenly heavy.

Stella changed the topic, "Why did you all shave your heads?"

"We had to. We sweat all day and our hair gets greasy and sticky. Washing our hair would waste a lot of water."

They were constantly sweating and had to keep drinking water to survive. So they shaved their heads to save water, especially since the heat was more intense than they had expected.

If they didn't have temperature-controlled clothing, they would probably have died from heatstroke.

This was no joke. Every day, people were dying from heatstroke and dengue fever. Either they were found in time and taken to the hospital, or...

Well let's not think about any further.

After leaving 1803, Jasper naturally followed Stella into 1802 and closed the door behind him. Cooper and Rosie were playing next door, so they had some alone time. They sat on the sofa, silently watching a comedy show to lighten the mood. Stella, tired from the cleaning, fell asleep on Jasper's shoulder. Jasper wrapped his arm around her, a smile creeping onto his face.

Compared to the beginning, she was much more relaxed. And so was he.

Jasper thought that moving into the 18th floor would plunge him back into the same darkness he had experienced in his past life. He wasn't afraid and had prepared for it. But he didn't expect to meet Stella and her friends. From the very beginning, he had guessed that her experiences were similar to his.

Because of his special occupation, even after starting over, Jasper was still more cautious and restrained. But Stella was just an ordinary person. Despite the cruel apocalypse she had experienced, she was still kind-hearted deep down. Especially when interacting with the people of 1803, she could still trust them and plan for them without leaving any traces. At first, he was puzzled, then attracted, and finally healed.

Yes, Stella was healing him. She might still have secrets, but they didn't affect him.

Before the apocalypse, this would have been damaging to their relationship. But in the apocalypse, people's hearts would change with their environment. Many kind-hearted people eventually turned into demons. Stella's caution was not only towards him but also her friends. She was even more vigilant towards strangers. This reassured Jasper.

When she woke up, it was almost dark.

Stella realized she had fallen asleep on Jasper, and he was holding her. She felt a little embarrassed.

Jasper had also fallen asleep, but he was a light sleeper and woke up immediately. His voice was lazy, "Awake?"

"Mhm." Stella quickly sat up, "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything is fine." He wasn't picky.

Cooking in extreme heat was a nightmare, but Stella brought a hearty pot of ribs and corn soup, a sizzling dish of green peppers stir-fried with beef, a serving of fresh greens, and white rice from Arcadia.

She called Rosie and Cooper back in and they all sat down to a shared meal.

The rabbits also made their way back, each one with a belly so full it was round, their spirits high and unusually not fighting with the dog for food. Stella checked on each one, and replaceing nothing out of the ordinary, she finally let out a sigh of relief. The room was cleaned and tidy, she thought that was it for the day. But the next morning, she found that the rabbits were again eating the cockroaches.

She was perplexed. Where on earth did the cockroaches come from?