18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 243

Facing his persuasion, Stella held her ground, "Under the dire circumstances back then, it might have perished anyway."

But things were different now. After several rounds of natural disasters, all creatures had a moment to catch their breath. Even wild vegetables had started to sprout on the banks of the river.

Besides, even if they couldn't replace it, there might be other medicinal herbs worth looking for. After all, their stock of medicines was limited, and sickness did not discriminate. What if one day they fell ill and had no medicine at hand?

Lying around all day was getting boring. Going out would not only help them replace medicine but also let them stretch their legs. Why not?

Jasper agreed.

Stella opened the rabbit hutch, "You guys want to come with me, or stay home?"

Perhaps the bunnies had really become intelligent. Ever since she took them out last time, they had been ignoring her. In the past, they would have jumped at her feet, vying for her attention. Oh, well, they just ignored her and kept munching on their hay. Well, fine. In the past three years, she had stored plenty of rabbit meat. Whether it was roasted, steamed, or stewed, there was enough to last for a while.

Stella left them a few bundles of dried hay and clean water, and left with a peace of mind.

The journey was tough, but with Rosie and Cooper coming along, riding the scooter didn't seem safe. So, they took the Hummer instead.

The roads were cracked, ruins were everywhere. It was a difficult journey. Fortunately, the famous circular road in Griffith was their saving grace as it led them to their destination.

Whenever they encountered a cracked road, they took a detour. After a stop and go journey of 50 miles, they finally arrived after four hours.

During their journey, they encountered two groups of robbers. Stella, who was in the passenger seat, couldn't be bothered to waste words. She lowered the window and pointed her rifle at them.

The robbers were so scared that they not only retreated but also quickly cleared the roadblock. "Ma'am, safe journey," they said.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, they let Rosie and Cooper out for a breathe of fresh air and tucked the car into Arcadia.

Mount Greenwood hadn't collapsed, but the film city and shops at the foot of the mountain had all become ruins. Recalling the past glory of this place, one couldn't help but lament.

After walking along the winding mountain path for about half an hour, they suddenly heard a voice from afar, "Help!"

The voices, both male and female, were filled with panic.

Those who came to Mount Greenwood at this time were probably not ordinary people.

Stella took out her binoculars and spotted a few men and women on the other side of the mountain being surrounded by a group of thugs.

It had been three years since the apocalypse, and they were still naive enough to venture out in their daily clothes. They must lack survival experience.

Stella didn't say a word but handed the binoculars to Jasper. To her surprise, he took a quick look and immediately drew his gun and headed towards them. His quick reaction surprised Stella, but she swallowed her words just in time.

The thugs did have knives, but Jasper had a gun. Without much effort, the tables were turned.

Seeing that they stood no chance, the thugs surrendered and left. However, Jasper didn't give them a chance. He was too close, so a few shots from his nail gun did the job.

Jasper didn't rush back, instead, he chatted with them for about ten minutes and then brought them back.

"Stella, they are from Swan Hill, members of the Herbal Medicine Research Group at the Health Department," Jasper introduced.

The man leading the group, Collin, introduced himself, "Thank you for your help. We are members of the Herbal Medicine Research Group. Due to the sudden disaster, many herbs have become extinct. We came to Mount Greenwood to look for herbs to take back and grow indoors." "Herbal Medicine Research?" Stella was surprised, "So you guys are well versed in herbs?"

Collin nodded.

Jasper had been studying medical books for a few months now, and since he brought them here, he must have tested them. But Stella was still not at ease, "We are also here to look for medicine. We are looking for a life-saving herb for the rich, I think it's called Starthorn Leaf. Do you know its benefits?"

This herb was not common, and those not well versed in herbs wouldn't be able to answer.

Not only did Collin mention its benefits, but he also talked about how to use it, where it grows, and so on. It seemed like he really knew his stuff.

The group was physically weak and had come here out of pure passion. Thinking about it gave them the chills. "Since you guys are also here to look for herbs, why don't we do it together?"

Stella thought for a while, "Sure, we split the herbs we replace?"

Collin agreed right away, "Deal."

And so, the deal was made.

Instead of taking the tourist path, they started looking around the foot of the mountain, especially in damp places.

Walking behind them, Jasper whispered, "Collin was a student of the professor. They went to Mount Murray together in my past life."

No wonder Jasper, who was always cautious, brought them back so readily. Stella was amazed. What a coincidence!

She hoped that they could replace the other herb here, which could shorten the research time and avoid unnecessary detours.

Although these people didn't have much survival experience, they knew a lot about herbs. Everything could be made into medicine. Even the rock they accidentally stepped on was medicine.

Grateful for Jasper's life-saving favor, Collin and his team didn't forget to impart their knowledge of medicinal herbs to him while they were picking the herbs. "This is Stone Weir, and it's excellent for prostatitis." Jasper, who was in good health, fell silent.

Rosie and Cooper were on lookout duty, alert and vigilant.

Collin and his team were delighted. They even dug out the soil around the herb seedlings to increase the survival rate. "It's a good thing we came. With these, we have hope."

"Yeah, I hope we can replace more varieties this time and preserve the civilization of herbal medicine."

"Plants have a strong vitality. As long as there are no worse disasters, I believe they will recover quickly."

Stella thought that the worse was yet to come. Nevertheless, she didn't forget the purpose of their trip and quickly focused on replaceing the Dragonlily.

The foot of the mountain was quite damp, which was good for plant growth. It took them several hours to replace dozens of varieties.

For some varieties that were more common, they didn't dig up all at once. Instead, they left some to continue growing in nature.

There was no darkness during the polar day. Even though it was already evening, Collin and his crew had no plans of heading back. "Jasper," Collin called out to his companion, "we want to finish exploring Mount Greenwood before we leave. What about you guys?"