18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 274

The smell was so pungent it was unbearable, the sight was even more nauseating. Bran had to cover his nose and keep a distance. Seeing his repulsed expression, Julia felt like dying. Worse, she couldn't even struggle as Stella had her pinned down.

Wearing a filtered mask, Bran cautiously approached. He had just gotten a new pair of slippers and didn't want to dirty them. As the president of the Homeowners Association, it was his duty to mediate the conflicts between the homeowners. "Are we going to settle this privately, or should I call the police?"

Once the police were involved, things would get out of hand. Tracy didn't want that. "Bran, there's been a misunderstanding."

Bran turned to Stella, "And you?"

Stella was confident that the Riley family didn't want to involve the police. She coldly replied, "We can settle this privately, but she has to clean my front door. With her tongue."

"Come on, it's wrong for her to vandalize your door, but look at how badly you've beaten her. Show some mercy."

"If I spare her, who will spare me in the future?"

Bran confidently reassured her, "I will. I'm the president of the Homeowners Association now. If anyone dares to bully you, come to me."

Stella refused, "I don't trust you."

"Stella," Bran sighed, "come on."

Bran's sincerity almost made Stella burst into laughter. It was rare to see the spoiled brat acting humble. Well, you live and you learn.

Since Bran had given her the chance, Stella decided to let it go. "Fine, I'll let it go this time. But if anyone dares to mess with me again, they won't get off as easily."

So, the security dispersed the crowd and Bran had Tracy arrange for someone to clean the front door of building 50. After that, Bran fled the scene, afraid of being contaminated by Julia's filth.

Julia watched him leave, crying her heart out. At that moment, she knew that she and Bran would never be together. It was all Stella's fault. Julia would get her revenge.

Tracy looked at Stella with a complex expression, then quickly led her daughter home.

On the way, Julia was crying and vomiting. "Mom, what do we do now? I don't even want to live anymore."

Tracy remained silent, lost in her own thoughts.

"Mom, are you listening to me? Do you despise me too?"

"Julia, stay in the house for a while. Don't go anywhere. People have short memories. In a few months, everything will be forgotten."

When Bran got home, he couldn't hide his joy. "Dad, do you know what happened?"

Shane shot his useless son a sidelong glance. "Did you mess with those people in building 50 again?"

"It was the Riley family. Julia commanded her people to vandalize building 50, but they got caught. She was beaten and forced to clean up the mess with her tongue." Bran was beyond pleased. "Dad, do you want a daughter-in-law who eats shit? Don't try to match me with Julia anymore. Just the thought of her makes me want to puke." Shane stared at him, speechless.

Stella, Jasper, Rosie, and Cooper sat in the car, watching the Riley's servants repeatedly clean the front door.

Stella was picky, making them clean the door with detergent, dish soap, and air freshener, over and over again. Only when she was sure there was no foul smell did she let them go. When they got home, they all took a thorough bath.

When Jasper came out of the bathroom, he found Stella drinking in their room. There were two empty beer bottles on the table, and she was drinking vodka straight from the bottle. He quickly took the bottle away from her.

Stella's face was flushed, and her eyes were blurry. She stared at Jasper and laughed. Jasper pulled her into a hug. "Stella, if you're feeling down, you can talk to me."

Talk? Stella didn't know what to say or where to start. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him passionately, starting to unbuckle his belt. "Wait, let me lock the door first."

They pulled the curtains and slept until the next day. When Stella woke up, she was calm again.

Rosie had brought the chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits back home and was taking good care of them. "Dylan, thank you for helping me take care of them. When they grow up and lay eggs, I'll invite you to eat." "Rosie, I've learned how to do somersaults these days. Come to my house later, and I'll show you."

"Okay."

"Dad gave me some snacks. I saved some for you."

"Thank you, Dylan." Rosie took out some dried sweet potatoes from her pocket. "These are sweet potatoes I grew. I made them into dried sweet potatoes. I want you to try them."

Jasper made breakfast in the kitchen and then went upstairs to wake Stella. "Are you tired? Do you want to sleep a bit more?"

She was tired, her body felt like it was falling apart, but she felt incredibly relaxed. She sat up and leaned against his shoulder. "Thank you."

Jasper ruffled her hair. "Don't mention it. Don't forget what you said last night."

"What did I say last night?"

"You have a family." Jasper reminded her, smiling. "You have a husband."

Stella blushed, "We don't have a certificate. It doesn't count."

"We're already living together. How does that not count?"

Stella found that Jasper was not only becoming more shameless but also more eloquent.

After getting up and having breakfast, Stella started to work. She sorted the medicinal plants she had collected, prepared nutrient solutions and growth promoters, and soaked the plants that had been damaged by the weather. Those in better condition were directly planted in The Garden and would be transplanted once they had grown stronger.

For the next few days, Stella didn't leave the house. She took care of the plants in Arcadia and tutored Jasper and Rosie in the basics of medicine.

Collin spent most of his time doing research in Swan Hill, but he would come to Griffith every week to give free lectures to qualified students and provide medical consultations for survivors.

He didn't want the tradition of herbal medicine to be lost, so teaching the students was free. The only requirement was that they had to be qualified.

He was too busy and could only selectively teach. As for those with poorer foundations, they were taught by the students. So far, Stella was the only student Collin had taken under his wing.

As for his clinic, he did charge a fee. It wasn't expensive, just a couple of cans of beans per patient. After all, he was only diagnosing and prescribing, not providing medication. Acupuncture, however, required a bit more - half a pound of dried goods.

Not only was he treating patients, but other doctors from the research institute were also involved. The collected food was used to maintain the operation of the greenhouse.

Collin had looked into Stella's background. To have self-taught herbal medicine to such an extent in a post-apocalyptic world was genuinely commendable.

Her foundational knowledge was already solid. What she lacked most was experience. So, Collin took Stella on house calls, giving her a few simple cases to handle.

And she did well, not only with prescriptions but also with massages and acupuncture, showing impressive proficiency. If they encountered more complicated cases, Collin would call Stella over and explain the treatment process to her.

Learning from a top expert who was willing to guide was indeed a great opportunity. Stella was all over the place, learning all day.

In the end, to thank Collin for his selflessness, she drove him and his team back to their Swan Hill research institute.