18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 155

With the prolonged high temperatures, the water level decreased rapidly. The survivors who had been staying inside started coming out in the morning and evening. Determined to keep her secret safe, Stella made a resolute decision to stop her outdoor excursions.

After several days of working from dawn to dusk, exhaustion took over, forcing her to rest for several days to recover her strength.

Sitting under the cool breeze of the fan, enjoying a chilled watermelon, Stella started to strategize for the 1803 group, planning how to ensure their safe arrival in Lincoln.

She took a batch of fresh vegetables from Arcadia and handed them over to Cody and Lukas to dry on the balcony. "These are freshly harvested. Dry them out and store them tightly. You can eat them whenever you want." Touched, Lukas asked, "Stella, you're giving all your vegetables to us. What will you and Jasper eat?"

"The seeds are meant to be shared," she replied. "We don't know what conditions you'll face there, so we're preparing some for you. We'll just eat less."

Having grown up together, words of gratitude were deemed unnecessary.

Cody and Lukas took the vegetables to the rooftop, where the concrete floor was scorching. The fresh leaves wilted visibly within moments of being spread out.

In less than half a day, the leaves crumbled at a touch. Once packed in bags, they resembled broken crumbs.

Not only did Lukas and Cody not complain, they treasured the dried vegetables immensely. While others were surviving on cockroaches and rats, they were fortunate to have vegetables. Expressing discontent would seem ungrateful. However, they had their concerns.

"Do you think we can survive without Stella?" Lukas asked Cody with a gloomy expression.

"We just have to try our best," Cody replied thoughtfully. "We can't rely on Stella forever, can we?"

Stella wasn't their mother. It was already commendable that she, as a friend, had gone to such great lengths to help them. They knew they would eventually have to fend for themselves.

Both of them understood what this separation implied. It might mean they would never see each other again in this lifetime. Just the thought of it weighed heavily on their hearts.

Whether it was their past or the two years of disaster, they had always supported each other. Having grown up as orphans, they had few close friends, let alone family. Over the years, they had come to see each other as family. Unfortunately, everyone had different paths to choose.

In preparation for their journey to Lincoln, the 1803 group didn't rest for a single day. Their immediate task was to procure a vehicle and learn auto repair skills on their own, in case the car broke down on the way? Knowing Jasper had books on the subject, they borrowed them for study. If they encountered any difficulties, they would ask Jasper via walkie-talkie.

As more and more people ventured out to search for supplies, Lukas grew anxious, "Jasper, do you think it's time for us to replace a car?"

The water level had dropped to the second floor, and more and more survivors were diving to salvage supplies.

Jasper gave them directions, "It's not time to search for a car yet, but you can start looking for gasoline."

As long as the disaster continued, gasoline would only become more scarce. Even if they couldn't replace a good car, having enough gasoline might enable them to barter for one.

The 1803 group showed interest and immediately sought advice.

The city authorities had drained gasoline from the gas stations, but they didn't have the time or energy to drain every car. Most of the cars were still submerged. To replace gasoline, they would have to go to higher grounds.

For example, the highways and service stations should be almost dry by now. They should first target the large trucks. If there was a large amount of gasoline or if they could identify the type of gasoline, it should be stored separately. If the amount was small and the type was unclear, they would have to mix it. When the time came, they could barter with it.

Stella quietly gave Jasper a siphon pump to facilitate Lukas and Cody's mission, so they wouldn't have to use their mouths to suck the gasoline out.

Jasper handed it over to them, "I happen to have a siphon pump. You guys can borrow it."

They didn't just borrow the siphon pump, but also the inflatable boat. Japser even taught them how to deal with anti-theft filters. They should use a sharp tool to puncture the filters.

Hence, it was the 1803 group's turn to work from dawn to dusk.

Stella reminded them, "Make some cooling tea to beat the heat."

Earlier, the people from 1803 found Jasper and Stella smelly; little did they know that they would return even smellier. The sour stench of sweat could be smelled from several meters away.

They had no choice. Their protective suits were drenched in sweat, and they could even wipe salt from their necks.

However, thanks to Jasper's tips, they managed to collect a considerable amount of gasoline on their first day - over 200 liters.

Regrettably, they couldn't identify the type of gasoline. And they didn't have enough containers, so they had to mix everything together. Regardless, gasoline was undoubtedly valuable. They decided to collect as much as they could first. Thus, they worked tirelessly every day, bringing back decent amounts of gasoline for several days.

The 18th floor served as a beacon, and soon people in the neighborhood started to notice their activities.

Even though they didn't talk to those on the 18th floor, they were not fools. Seeing the barrels, they understood what was going on. They quickly followed suit.

The underwater supplies had been soaked for nearly two years. Very little was still usable. Of course, they picked the most rare and valuable items.

More and more people realized what was happening, and as a result, Cody and Lukas started bringing back less and less. But they had already amassed more than a ton of gasoline.

Meanwhile, the city authorities announced that they would start collecting gasoline from the citizens to speed up the city's reconstruction.

Five liters of gasoline could be exchanged for a kilogram of food, or one liter of gasoline for three liters of water.

The announcement caused a frenzy, prompting countless survivors to disregard the blistering heat to collect gasoline. As a result, many fell sick. Some suffered from heat stroke, and some got tetanus from wounds caused by sharp objects in the water. But did the survivors have a choice? If they stayed at home, they would either starve, die of thirst, or get sunstroke. Either way, they would die. They might as well take a gamble.

The city authorities called on the survivors to collect gasoline in a rational and civilized manner through radio broadcasts all day long, but it was all in vain.

While the city authorities were collecting gasoline, many private bases and speculators were also doing the same, offering slightly higher prices than the authorities.

Stella feigned going out, then sent a message to the 1803 group, "Some private parties are collecting gasoline. They're also exchanging old gasoline for new. Three liters of mixed gasoline can be exchanged for one liter of new gasoline. Do you want to exchange?"

In reality, the outside world was taking advantage of the situation. Only high-quality gasoline would be traded at three liters for one liter. Lower-quality gasoline required five liters for one liter.

Of course, there were also unscrupulous traders who claimed to offer new gasoline, but in reality, the gasoline had been recycled numerous times. Ordinary people just couldn't tell the difference just by smell.

"Of course."

The 1803 group had more than a ton of gasoline. Even if they could only exchange one-third of it for new gasoline, they would still get six to seven hundred liters.

Lukas was ecstatic and asked Stella and Jasper to help them exchange the gasoline. They trusted them completely, as Stella always brought back valuable and cost-effective goods. If they tried to replace their own paths, they would likely be cheated or get a bad deal. So, Stella took the mixed gasoline collected by the 1803 group into Arcadia and replaced it with brand-new gasoline.

Meanwhile, she had perfectly timed not only to prepare two batches of kale but also to help with drying and bagging.

The water had receded to waist level, and in some higher areas, the concrete ground was already visible.

Many survivors teamed up and pushed the submerged cars to higher grounds, not only to collect gasoline but also to pry open the doors and look for supplies.

Angela and her group did the same, and they even nearly got into a fight with others over some gasoline.