18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 292

They used to mock the people in Building 49 and Building 50 for their over-cautiousness, but now, they could only look with envy at their three-meter-high stone walls topped with electric wiring that screamed safety. Suddenly, many people turned to Austin, hoping to procure some building materials for their own walls.

But Austin was atypical this time, "Folks, I apologize, but all the available building materials have been confiscated by the authorities to build the new city. I really don't have any sources for this. Maybe you could try elsewhere?" He was no fool. If everyone's home was fortified like a fortress, what would happen when rioters indiscriminately attacked?

Besides, he wasn't lying. With more and more people coming to Griffith, building materials were indeed becoming increasingly scarce.

...

Stella woke up feeling groggy, her hands and feet growing colder. She pulled the blanket over herself, but it didn't help, the chill persisted.

Stella switched on the bedside lamp, and was surprised to replace it was already nine in the morning.

Damn, overslept again.

The room seemed darker than usual, so she pulled back the curtains, only to replace it pitch dark outside.

Stella paused, the perpetual night had come early. Two months early.

Jasper stirred awake, "What's wrong?"

The cold weather made it good for sleeping, and after an passionate night last night, the two of them overslept.

"The eternal night is here."

She checked the thermometer. The room temperature had dropped to freezing point. The house had been insulated during renovations, so it was probably around 20 degrees below zero outside. Jasper quickly got up and added blankets to Rosie's bed.

"Why is it dark outside?"

Jasper switched on the light, "Don't worry, it's just the eternal night."

Rosie, dressed in her thermal clothes, was only cold in her hands and feet, "Will Dylan and the others freeze?"

Jasper paused, "You care about Dylan that much?"

Rosie thought for a moment, "He's really good to me, obedient and helps with work. What if he gets sick from the cold?"

"Contact him with the walkie-talkie."

Rosie put on her socks and immediately dug out the walkie-talkie.

Jasper put on his clothes and, as per the community agreement, turned on the lights on the balcony of the second floor, dispelling some of the darkness in front of the villa.

Using a flashlight, he went to the backyard to check on the poultry.

The animals, too, had biological clocks. Used to constant brightness, now plunged into darkness, they huddled together in unease.

The glass shed wasn't as insulated as the house, and the poultry were shivering from the cold. Jasper switched on the heating lamp and spread the prepared straw in the shed.

Stella followed him, and feeling that it wasn't warm enough, brought more wooden panels from Arcadia to fortify the glass.

As for the vegetables in the planting shed, they were all stored in Arcadia for the time being.

After dealing with the backyard, the two went to the rooftop to handle the herbs being grown there.

Standing on the rooftop, they could hear the rumbling of engines as lights came on in other villas one by one. The light wasn't broad, and in the perpetual darkness, it seemed incredibly dim and insignificant. The security guards were still on patrol, and flashlights would light up on the road from time to time.

There was a knock on the door, and it was Samuel and his buddies, all from Eastwood Eden. "Stella, we're leaving."

Samuel hadn't expected the eternal night to come so soon, and they needed to rush home.

Stella frowned slightly, "Did you replace your replacements?"

"The captain said they've found some new patrollers."

"Okay, listen to Mark and hurry home. Stick together and be very careful on the road."

Samuel nodded, his expression suggesting he wanted to say something but was holding back.

Stella was confused, "What's wrong?"

Samuel pulled her aside and whispered, "Stella, I don't know if I'm just being paranoid, but I feel like the security captain and his crew are..."

He didn't know how to put it, but he felt like he had been excluded recently. The security captain and his crew would huddle together and whisper, but would quickly disperse when they saw them.

Yes, even small groups had their cliques. There hadn't been a problem before, and the security captain had been kind to them, but his attitude had taken a complete 180-degree turn recently.

When Samuel and the others wanted to quit, their resignations were put on hold. The interview process for new members was drawn out, but today, they suddenly agreed.

After listening to Samuel, Stella took a moment before responding, "Out of sight, out of mind, isn't it always like this? Don't overthink it, grab your wages and hurry home." "You guys need to be careful. We're leaving now."

After seeing them off, Stella's face immediately darkened. She posted a warm reminder, then electrified the stainless steel door and the electric net, and bolted the heavy wooden door with five bolts. Back in the house, Rosie had already cooked breakfast. Seeing Stella's serious expression, Jasper asked, "What's wrong?"

Stella shared Samuel's suspicions, "The eternal night came suddenly. The security captain shouldn't be letting people go at this time, in order to ensure the safety of the community."

"You're worried the security team has other intentions?"

Stella thought for a moment, "If you were them, would you take the chance?"

It wasn't that she was paranoid, but rather that people were unpredictable.

She had seen more than once, how the young and rich would spout off at the security team. Many of them didn't adhere to the entry and exit rules, and when security enforced regulations, they faced insults. In severe cases, there were even instances of physical abuse. If not for the wages, who would endure the humiliation and trampling of their dignity?

She remembered the time when the conflict started over the spit of a llama. The security captain came to mediate, only to be slapped and called a watch dog by the rich kid.

A conflict or two would've been okay, but there had been numerous confrontations over the past year. Even the rich families' servants would boss the security around, making them do all sorts of dirty and tiring work. There were even more outrageous instances, where they were called over to take out the trash, or made to walk pets.

The disparity in status was huge, but the security captain was always diplomatic, greeting even the most unreasonable demands with a smile.

How could anyone's psyche be okay after being in such an environment for so long? If an opportunity to turn the tables presented itself, would he take advantage of it?

Of course, all of this was just Stella's speculation, and it may well contain a bit of malice.

Jasper said, "We have no evidence, and what if they mean no harm? And even if we told others, no one would believe us."

Compared to the security, people were more wary of building 50.

Stella thought the same, "Regardless of what others do, we should take care of ourselves first."

However, she still warned Austin to not casually open the door during the eternal night, even if the person outside was familiar.

Stella warned him, "Don't ask me to open the door either. I definitely won't do it."

Austin laughed, "And here I was thinking of inviting you over for a game of poker. If I had known, I would've made a door in the wall, so we could move freely between our houses."

They were both smart people, so a hint was enough.

After bathing in sunshine daily, Cooper had grown unaccustomed to the dark, pacing restlessly whenever night fell.

With the advent of eternal night, the world seemed to abruptly hit pause.

Mansions, skyscrapers, factories, streets, survivors, crops... Everything was engulfed in the engulfing darkness.

And inherent to human nature was a fear of the unknown lurking within the dark.

Natural light and artificial light - both forms of light, yet they elicited vastly different feelings.

When sunlight bathed everything, pulling back the curtains revealed the entire view. However, artificial light couldn't do the same. When you pulled back the curtains, outside the window might have been a scary face or a villain wielding a knife.