18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 266

It was not just that he had seen her before. She had even suffered his pettiness back in the auto club. He was a real handful, to say the least. If it wasn't for the sake of capturing video content to gain followers, she wouldn't have put up with him. Stella smirked, "Are you trying to hit on me, Bran?"

Wait, what? That threw Bran off balance.

Sure, she was attractive and had a strong personality, standing out like a thorny rose in the dull post-apocalyptic world. But let's get one thing straight: while Bran welcomed a challenge, he wasn't desperate.

People saw him as a ladies' man, but ever since he had spent 80 million on a pink diamond, he had planned to settle down. Unfortunately, his girlfriend had gone missing during the apocalypse.

Thinking about it, it had been a while since he had been with a woman.

"Sorry, I'm spoken for," Stella said, holding Jasper's hand. "And it's been three years since the apocalypse, and your pick-up lines could use some work. I'm not interested in you, so could you please keep your distance in the future?"

A young girl jumped out, her small face flushed with anger. "You're a bad man. Stella belongs to my brother."

"Woof!" Cooper growled, his eyes filled with fury, ready to tear him apart, his tail standing up in anger. Surrounded by hostility, Bran was speechless. Who gave them the idea that he was interested in her?

By the time he came to his senses, Stella and her group had already walked away. Wait, were they messing with him?

Turning around, he saw the security team was still there. Bran took a deep breath, suppressing his temper, and asked the head of the security team, "Who knows what's going on with unit 50?"

Despite being responsible for the security of the entire neighborhood, the head of the security team knew who the real boss was. "Samuel, step forward."

So, Samuel was left behind.

Bran was satisfied with the head of the security team's performance and said with a smile, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience today. Collect your five pounds of food later."

"Thank you, Mr. Bran."

After the patrol team left, Bran lit up a cigarette. "Do you know the people in Building 50?"

"Yes."

"How do you know them?" Bran asked, suddenly interested. "What's their story?"

"They moved into Eastwood Eden during the heatwave. I don't know exactly where they came from, but they know martial arts, and they exchanged their skills for the right to live in an independent building. Mr. Jasper, other than teaching classes, never interacts with us." "Mr. Jasper?" Bran squinted. "Is he a soldier?"

"I'm not sure, but he has taught us military boxing. We call him our coach. He never answers any questions outside of class, so we stopped asking."

Bran had been around the block a few times. He could tell that the young man was lying, or at least hiding something.

The people from unit 50 seemed to be more interesting than he had thought.

Bran didn't give him a hard time and left with a wave of his hand.

Samuel sighed in relief. The values of the rich were really something else. He didn't understand why they were so against Stella? Fortunately, Mark had warned him not to mention too much about Jasper or Stella's affairs, especially what they had done to protect Eastwood Eden. It was a secret that had to be kept.

He didn't understand why heroes didn't want to be recognized before, but now he knew. The world was complicated.

Just as Bran was about to leave, a man and a woman in the yard called him over. "Bran, let's continue playing."

"No thanks, enjoy yourselves," Bran said, leaving with a cigarette in his mouth.

The party was supposed to be in Bran's honor, but he wasn't interested. After what happened with Julia, the enthusiasm of the privileged youth was completely gone. They were deflated, like airless balls. What was the story behind unit 50? Even Bran had to tread carefully around them.

When she returned home, Stella was lost in thought, the image of Julia unwittingly surfacing in her mind, causing her to feel restless.

Jasper made her a cup of hot tea. "Worried about Bran causing trouble?"

Stella shook her head. As long as the cars were in Arcadia, no one would know.

"Is it because of the woman who keeps the alpaca?"

Stella still shook her head, remaining silent.

Jasper sat down next to her. "Stella, no matter what happens in the future, we won't start trouble, but we won't avoid it either."

Stella leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes to rest. Her hand was a bit cold, and Jasper covered it with his own.

He had a good idea of what was bothering her, but since she didn't want to talk about it, he didn't ask.

Austin contacted them through the walkie-talkie. "Stella, are you okay?"

Sleeping with the curtains drawn would make everything seem like a bad dream when she woke up. Stella cheered up. "Thank you for your concern, Austin. I'm fine."

After today's incident, they had undoubtedly offended the rich in the neighborhood again, making the conflict even more apparent.

Stella never fought unprepared. "Do you know anything about the family that keeps the alpaca?"

While there were many people in the neighborhood and Austin didn't know all of them, the one with the alpaca was unforgettable.

"That's the Riley family. They made their fortune in the appliance industry. Do you remember the fresh water and ice during the heatwave? That was bought by the Rileys for their daughter's pool party."

A pool party? How could Stella forget? If it wasn't for the expansion of Arcadia, that deal would never have happened. It seemed that the Riley family was quite powerful.

"They're on their last legs," Austin said without hiding anything. "After the apocalypse, the Riley family gradually declined. The reason they splurged on a pool party during the heatwave was just to show off and replace a good match for their daughter."

To replace a match for Julia? Stella thought of Julia's flirtatious behavior towards Bran. Indeed, Bran was a golden bachelor. But it seemed like she hadn't hooked him yet.

Stella wanted to ask more about the Riley family, but in the end, she didn't.

For the next few days, she didn't leave the house.

In Arcadia, the majority of the herbs had established themselves firmly. Those needing grafting were diligently grafted, those requiring division were carefully divided, and the ready for harvesting were promptly reaped. Stella busied herself, dividing the backyard greenhouse into two sections. One for raising chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits, and one for growing vegetables and grains.

The outside was taken care of by the Jasper and Rosie, with the dog often causing trouble on the side. Dylan would come over to help from time to time.

Sensing his love for small creatures, Stella gifted him a pair of rabbits. "Take good care of them, and if you have any questions, ask Rosie," she instructed.

Dylan's face lit up with joy. "Thanks, Stella," he replied enthusiastically.

The glasshouse on the rooftop served as a herb garden, filled with a variety of plants.

Stella had plans. Once the plants grew a bit more robust, she would try to move them to the backyard, testing their resilience against extreme weather conditions. Then, she would compare them to the herbs in Arcadia, checking for any signs of mutation. While having lunch, a piece of news caught their attention.