18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 176

Based on the direction of the gunfire, Jasper pushed back the underbrush, revealing two corpses sprawled on the ground.

Stella shone a flashlight on them, illuminating two blood dots in the middle of their foreheads. From the way they had fallen, one had been shot dead on the spot, while the other had attempted to flee in panic. He was fast, but not faster than Jasper's bullet. To land a headshot in the pitch-dark night required an extraordinary level of marksmanship, and Stella was awed that Jasper had pulled it off without a hitch, making her own anxiety seem superfluous.

Jasper dumped the bodies into the ocean and wiped away any traces of the crime scene before carrying Stella and continuing their ascent.

Once they reached the coastal road, Stella didn't rush to get down. Instead, she leaned over and kissed Jasper's cheek, whispering, "Thanks for everything today." Without him, getting a hold of that cruise ship would have been impossible. Jasper looked surprised. "Do we really need to thank each other?"

Stella simply smiled, not answering as she fetched the car from Arcadia. Feeling utterly drained, she hopped into the passenger seat and started munching on a granola bar to replenish her energy. Jasper tilted his body to fasten her seat belt for her.

On the way back, they collaborated in the same way, with one driving and the other keeping watch. Once they passed the security booth at the villa district, Stella finally allowed herself to relax. "I'm tired. I'm going to take a nap."

By the time they parked at the top of the hill, she was already fast asleep.

Jasper turned off the engine and carried her out of the car. Cooper wagged its tail and greeted them with a worried whine, looking up at Jasper.

Jasper signaled the dog to quiet down, murmuring, "She's fine. She's just sleeping."

Barely awake, Stella was roused by the morning light filtering through the curtains. She instinctively rolled over, only to bump into a warm and solid form. Startled, she shot up and almost went for her knife, only to realize that it was Jasper. Talking about overstepping boundaries.

Jasper was a light sleeper, and Stella's movement woke him instantly. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Stella stowed her knife back into Arcadia. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone last night. I was worried something might happen."

Something happen? With him sleeping in her bed, she was surprised something hadn't happened already. Thankfully, he hadn't tried anything, or she would've had to give him a piece of her mind.

The sun rose early in the sweltering heat, and the light was particularly intense. By six in the morning, the temperature felt like midday.

The room was cool thanks to the air conditioning, but when Stella opened the door to the balcony for fresh air, she was almost knocked out by the heat. Taking a reading with a thermometer, she found that it was 59 degrees Celsius. The heat was not only unbearable but also suffocating.

Closing the door, she decided to rely on the air conditioning for survival.

A new day began with milk, bagels, and scrambled eggs.

Cooper and Rosie were enjoying their meal. Stella asked, while sipping her milk, "Should we continue supplying Aqua Base with medicine?"

They had agreed before the trade that if the other party tried to follow or double-cross them, the deal would be off.

Jasper thought for a moment before deciding, "Let's give it to them."

For one, he didn't want to put Austin in a difficult position; and second, Aqua Base's reputation was questionable. If they lost their ship and their people and still didn't get the medicine, they might just go berserk despite their breach of contract first. There was no point in inviting more trouble over 14 units of insulin.

Although Aqua Base had breached their contract, Stella thought Jasper had a point.

They planned to trade at 10 o'clock and decided to set out early to be safe.

Although they had the ship, they couldn't afford to let down their guard or remove their bulletproof vests.

When they reached the mountain security booth in their car, Rob came up to greet them. "Mr. Jasper, you've been living in the house for a month now. Time to renew the rent for next month."

To their dismay, the rent had been raised by 50 pounds of food. An increase of 50 pounds? That sounded like daylight robbery.

Rob explained apologetically, "There's nothing we can do about it. We're just following orders. There's been an influx of people coming to the coast. Many rich people can't replace a house even with food.

"The day before yesterday, a family came here and failed to replace a house. They had to rent a place in the fishing village and were robbed in the middle of the night. They were even stabbed. I heard that the eight-year-old boy was stabbed to death and even his body was taken away. Things are chaotic out there. If you guys don't renew the lease, there will be plenty of others who will take the house."

What Rob said made sense. Stella had noticed that the beach was becoming more crowded with each passing day since she arrived a month ago. People were everywhere, and fights broke out at the drop of a hat over resources.

The villa district was indeed a good place to live, but whether or not to renew the lease was something Stella hadn't decided yet. First, she needed to see the attitude of Aqua Base. If they were willing to trade the medicine, renewing the lease might be worth considering. After all, who would give up a beachfront villa to live in a tiny 18th-floor apartment in Griffith?

Just as Stella was about to say that she would consider it, she noticed that the sky seemed a bit darker and the light not as dazzling as before. The unpredictable weather of the apocalypse had honed her senses. She looked up and was shocked by what she saw, quickly tapping Jasper.

While the sky was clear and sunny on their side, dark clouds were gathering at the end of the sea. Countless white clouds were moving and turning black at a visible speed, slowly forming into a mushroom shape. It was becoming hotter, and Stella felt like she could smell the burning air.

Looking at the mushroom cloud, Jasper's face paled. "This isn't good."

He floored the gas pedal, and the car drifted on the spot before rushing up the hill with all its horsepower.

Rob, who was left in a cloud of exhaust fumes, stood there stunned.

Jasper drove at breakneck speed up the winding mountain road, his expression grave. "Stella, the weather is about to change."

Stella had a bad feeling too. If the climate were stable, this might not be a big deal. But in the apocalyptic world, even the flapping of a butterfly's wings could trigger unimaginable disasters.

After a few turns, the dark cloud at the end of the sea had grown even larger. Stella could see things clearly from a high vantage point, but the people in the fishing village and on the beach were completely oblivious.

Maybe some people had noticed, but they didn't think much of it. Some might even have hoped that the clouds would bring some relief from the heat or rain, praying for a chance to survive.

Jasper's driving was steady. The journey that usually took them about ten minutes was completed in just a few minutes this time.

They skidded to a stop, and Stella jumped out of the car. "Rosie, Cooper, pack up!"

By the time she reached the rooftop, the dark cloud in the distance had expanded twofold, and the sunlight at the beach was gradually fading. Without wasting any time, Stella quickly started to disassemble the solar panels, while Jasper shut down the power and hurriedly collected the electric net.

Rosie didn't understand what was happening, but seeing her brother and Stella in such a state, she started to pack up the kitchen appliances, clothes, and bedding.

Cooper wasn't an exception. He dragged the mop, vacuum cleaner, and his doghouse into the living room.

Jasper stowed away the tools, heading up to the rooftop to help Stella dismantle the solar panels. They worked in unison, casting wary glances towards the mushroom cloud in the distance from time to time.

Stella thought she saw a flash of lightning out of the corner of her eye. There was lightning in the mushroom cloud, and the dark clouds were constantly churning. She pulled out her binoculars, only to notice a wall of water rising in the distance.

"There's a storm brewing." Jasper's face hardened, "If we're unlucky, it could turn into a tsunami."

A tsunami? Stella felt a chill run down her spine. She might not have experienced one firsthand, but she'd seen enough in movies.

Suddenly, a sense of tightness gripped her heart.