18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 38

Casting a quick glance at the man, Stella turned to replace Lukas and his team, suggesting they try on mink coats. "The store only has ten of them in stock, and the sizes might not necessarily fit, but I honestly can't replace anything else to spend money on." Cody, trying on a coat, joked, "Feels like I'm being kept by a rich woman, doesn't it?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "Sorry, you're not my type."

Their banter was interrupted by the man approaching again, "Lady, if you really want it, we can negotiate."

The four of them were standing together, and he still dared to approach them again, so he was probably not a bad guy.

Stella explained the situation. Lukas and Cody were thrilled, even taking a bite to taste. "Feels just like what you'd buy in a store."

"You can rest assured. The quality is top-notch." The man seemed excited by having gained a big order. "I only brought 5 pounds with me, but I can arrange for more if you want."

The four of them stepped aside to discuss. Jasper had his reservations. "We can buy their food, but we should be careful in case we are scammed."

The safest way would be to conduct the trade in multiple batches.

After the agreement, Stella returned to negotiate with the man, "We'll take 250 pounds, but we want to get them separately. Fifty pounds a day, right here at the department store entrance."

The man hesitated, "I can't make that decision, but I can ask right away. Please wait." After saying that, he hurriedly left the store.

Stella set aside 500,000 dollars. She got everything she needed without spending it all, so she had to grab an extra mink coat to reach the amount. She brought plenty of vacuum bags. After paying, she packed all the clothes and blankets. Many people were starving, but here were the rich, spending 500,000 dollars in a blink of an eye. The sight almost made the cashier's eyes fall out of her head, as if she had met a spendthrift.

Just as they left the department store, the man, known as Monkey who had been waiting outside hurriedly approached. "Our boss agreed. We can trade." As he said this, he glanced at a masked man not far away, who was holding a hefty sack.

After an exchange of glances, they moved to a place out of everyone's sight. Jasper went over to check, confirming the quality before nodding at Stella. She handed over a prepared black trash bag to Monkey, which contained 100,000 dollars.

Monkey stuffed it into his backpack before checking quickly. The department store was guarded by the military, so no one would rob here.

With the trade completed and the time for the next transaction agreed upon, the four of them left in a speedboat loaded with goods. The boat was filled with supplies. Lukas and Cody were on guard, while Jasper took the less crowded route. The detour was longer, but the view was clearer and any approaching people could be spotted immediately.

Lukas, who had been holding a pair of binoculars, suddenly spoke up, "What is that?"

Cody looked in the direction Lukas was pointing, and saw something floating in the distance. "A corpse, perhaps?"

Stella took the binoculars, staring for a while. "Seems like... a pig."

A pig? Everyone was surprised and took a closer look. "It's a pig, and it's alive!"

They hadn't had pork for a long time. Dog meat was off the books, but pork should be fine, right?

The speedboat slowed down, turning towards the pig in the river. It was indeed a live pig, and judging by the size of its head, it was not small.

Pigs can swim, but they can't fight against the vast flood. They can only drift with the current. When it saw people coming over, it didn't appear scared. It even made "oink oink" sounds, as if asking for help.

They paddled the speedboat over, and used the oar to block the swimming pig. Cody leaned over to grab the pig's front leg. The pig struggled and squealed, but not too violently. It probably had been in the water for too long.

With much effort, they managed to pull the pig onto the boat. It was a large pig, but had lost a lot of weight, weighing around 200 pounds.

The pig lay on the speedboat, panting heavily, "Oink... oink..."

Suddenly, Stella pulled out a stun gun from her bag. After two screams, the pig was knocked out.

Jasper spoke up, "Find a place to slaughter it."

They couldn't take it back, because it would cause trouble if someone found out.

Cody quickly came back to his senses. "Let's go to the construction site where we found the materials. It's deserted and not far from here."

So, the speedboat headed in another direction.

About four miles away, several buildings under construction were half-submerged in water. They parked the speedboat. The three men carried the pig ashore, and Stella handed over a butcher's knife. She didn't participate in the slaughter, instead, she took the opportunity to walk upstairs.

The higher she went, the more construction materials she found. There were cement bricks and steel bars. Stella was not shy about taking them. The garden in Arcadia was over 1,800 square meters, and she needed to replace ways to fill it up. She took everything. These materials might not be useful now, but they would be indispensable for rebuilding after an earthquake.

Anyone could come to this place, so it was unlikely that Lukas and the others would suspect her once they found the materials were gone.

When she came down, the pig had already been slaughtered, with Jasper leading, Lukas and Cody assisting. They were now discussing how to divide the pork.

Except for Stella, all of them were a disaster in kitchen. Jasper was the worst. Although he was fearless in killing, he couldn't even manage to cook oatmeal. They decided to divide the pork and give all the offal to Stella. Stella didn't refuse. "Okay, I'll call you over when I cook it."

Lukas took half of the pig. The other half was divided between Jasper and Stella. Jasper asked Stella, "Which half do you want?"

"The top half, please."

Actually, the bottom half had more meat, but the pig's face could be braised and the skull could be used for soup.

Jasper felt like he had gotten a good deal, so he cut an extra portion for her when dividing the pig. Stella noticed but didn't say anything.

It was not convenient to do this at home, so she had them cut the meat into small pieces and pack it into black plastic bags. In this way, it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Lukas was a bit worried, "If we eat meat, won't others replace out?"

"We're on the top floor, and any smell would drift upwards. We'll keep the doors and windows closed when cooking. Even if a bit of smell gets out, it will be washed away by the rain. It won't be a problem." Lukas was pleased, "Alright, let's celebrate tonight."

They had been living a hard life for too long. It was time for something exciting.

"Why don't we cook together? If we cook separately, the smell will be too strong." Cody liked a lively atmosphere and was eager to improve relations with the aloof Jasper. "We're all one big family on the 18th floor."

Lukas chimed in, "Why don't Stella cook? You're the best cook among us."

Seeing that Jasper didn't object, Stella agreed, "I have seasoning. How about having a pork stew?"

Everyone agreed, and the mere mention of pork stew had their mouths watering.

As they returned to the Sunrise Sanctuary, the residents of the 18th floor once again caused a stir. A ship of goods was enough to make everyone feel jealous, but they had no other choice. Many wished to join forces with the residents of the 18th floor, but they simply wouldn't be accepted. Stella and others were well-prepared, stuffing their large backpacks with rice and pork, only revealing winter clothes and blankets. However, no matter how low-key they tried to be, there were still many green-eyed watchers.

But so what? The 18th floor was home to a band of ruthless folks, especially the young gal wielding a knife.