18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 289

Mikey's girlfriend also worked at the research institute, however, she was an administrative staff. Despite looking polished and delicate, she was shrewd and far more adaptable than these three dummies in Katie's mind. Her income wasn't high, but all her relatives had perished in the disaster, leaving her to live alone. Once, she was confronted by a thug after work, and by chance, Mikey was passing by and saved her using a taser. She had no family obligations, seemed genuine and honest, making her a suitable candidate for the Moore family daughter-in-law.

Seeing Mikey settle down would give Katie peace when her time came.

Enthusiastically, Katie extended an invitation, "We're throwing a wedding reception for them next Sunday,. If you and Jasper have time, make sure to come by."

Stella happily agreed, "Sure."

After a stroll in the square as the weather grew colder, they all got in the car to head home. Upon reaching the neighbourhood, they saw several cars parked outside the Porras family's mansion, with bodyguards hustling around, suggesting some kind of disturbance. Whatever it was, it was none of Stella's business as she sat on the passenger seat.

As they returned to their own villa, they found a body sprawled out front. To be precise, a dog's body.

The mastiff lay gasping, drenched in blood.

Cooper ran down to sniff around the injured dog, making distressed and mournful sounds.

Stella got out of the car to examine the dog, replaceing multiple injuries on its body, both blunt force and cuts, its fur wet with blood. No doubt about it, there had been a brutal fight.

Judging from the wounds, it didn't look like a fight with another dog, but rather injuries inflicted by a person.

Lying at the doorstep of her home, it either didn't want to die or wanted to see Cooper one last time before death. Given its condition, it was likely the former.

Dogs had feelings too, and since it had come to them for help, they couldn't just stand by and watch it die, could they?

Stella bent down to help Jasper lift the injured dog into the yard. She used bandages to clean and disinfect the wounds.

Anesthetics were precious, and it would take several doses to numb so many injuries. Stella couldn't bear to use them, so she used ropes to bind the Mastiff's mouth and limbs before starting the suturing process.

The dog seemed to understand that Stella was trying to help it, and despite the pain, it didn't struggle much, merely whimpering as Stella stitched and patched it up.

After bandaging it, she fed it a few expired pills, leaving its fate up to the higher powers.

Cooper dragged out his stash of half a bone and placed it in front of the Mastiff. Eat!

Stella sighed, and for the sake of her own dog, she prepared a half bowl of high-calorie food for the Mastiff.

After finishing its meal, the Mastiff didn't linger and limped back to the Porras family mansion. Stella watched it leave and then bolted the double doors before retreating into the warmth of the house.

It was too cold to venture out, so they decided to eat the food they had stored from Arcadia.

Just as the food was laid out on the table, there was a knock on the door, "Stella!"

It was the Porras family's butler, Derick, "Do you know any medical procedures?"

"No."

"But didn't you just suture the dog's wounds?"

"So?"

"Mr. Bran is injured. Can you help?"

"He is not a dog."

"We're out of options."

Skilled surgeons were becoming scarce, with the remaining skilled ones taken to the government base. Many of those left hadn't held a scalpel in years. The Porras family had a family doctor, but he was killed in a robbery a few days ago. "What happened to him?"

"He went hunting in the mountains and encountered cannibals. He barely escaped with his life. Please, Stella, can you help?"

Went hunting in the mountains? It was indeed incomprehensible how the rich thought.

Stella was speechless. Had he been living under a rock? He was practically begging for trouble.

She was about to refuse, but then she remembered the three radiation suits he had given her. Stella reconsidered, "I'll take a look, but I make no guarantees."

Derick finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you. I was worried he wouldn't make it."

If they couldn't replace a doctor soon, they would have to fly to the government base. But the Porras family had already left the government base, and going back wasn't as simple. Even if they managed to go back, they would have to negotiate with the higher-ups, and surgery wasn't something that could be done at a moment's notice. By the time they finished negotiating, Bran might have already bled out.

Concerned, Jasper accompanied Stella to the Porras family's mansion. The mansion was in chaos. Even before they entered the main hall, they could hear Bran's pig-like screams, "Ahhhh, oh, oh..."

His voice was full of energy, not like someone on the verge of death.

This was Stella's first time entering the Porras family mansion. The interior was a stark contrast to the exterior, with its five-star high-ceiling decorations, exuding an aura of luxury and opulence, from the massive chandelier overhead to the solid teak floor underfoot. The extravagance was so overwhelming it left Stella dazed; she was even considering whether her feet would tarnish the noble floor.

The living room was filled with over a dozen people, almost all members of the Porras family, from the young to the old, each with a different expression.

Bran's pig-like screams were unending, but the sight of the recently sutured Mastiff wagging its tail as it greeted Stella was somewhat amusing.

No wonder the butler had sought her out. It turned out the Mastiff had sold her out.

As Stella approached, Bran's wailing got louder, "Oh, oh, help me, please save me!!!"

After a brief exchange of nods with the members of the Porras family, Stella walked over, "What are you screaming for? If I had come any later, your wounds would've healed on their own."

Hearing her tone, the members of the Porras family frowned, but considering they needed her help, they didn't say anything.

Bran had been slashed twice, once on the arm and once on the leg. He must have dodged in time, because the cuts weren't deep and he had already received first aid.

However, Bentley, who was beside him, was covered in blood. His eyebrow, shoulder, arm... all had multiple slashes.

Bentley was truly impressive. Despite being so badly injured and pale, he clenched his jaw and didn't utter a sound.

Stella asked, "Do you have any medical supplies?"

"Yes, we have everything," Derick quickly had someone fetch the supplies, including sutures, surgical instruments, anesthetics, surgical gowns, etc.

The family was truly wealthy; their medical supplies were more comprehensive than a private clinic.

Stella checked the anesthetics, which were imported and had a long shelf life of five years.

She requested a clean room be prepared. Now, the question was, should she choose based on the severity of the injuries or based on personal feelings? Remembering that Bentley had chained up his girlfriend and broken her leg, she promptly wheeled Bran into the room.

Though Bran wasn't exactly a saint, he was after all the guy who had once extravagantly gifted her radiation suits, and she owed him for that.

As Bran opened his mouth to yell, Stella warned, "If you yell again, I might accidentally hit your carotid artery."

Bran immediately clammed up.

"You didn't even blink when you crashed your car." He had fought fiercely enough, but now he was as meek as a lamb.

"It's not the same."

The pain of the wound was one thing, but what really rattled him was the scene he had encountered deep in the forest. If it weren't for his bodyguards, he might not have made it back. The sight of those cannibals churned his stomach.

She stitched up the simple wound in half an hour. Stella patted his shoulder, "You're fine now. You can go back to hunting in the woods."

Bran grumbled, "Gee, I nearly lost my life, and you're making fun of me?"

"What's there to fear? So they're a bunch of cannibals, you, Bran, can take on a hundred of them single-handedly."