18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 42

The snub from the dog didn't discourage Jasper He leaned over to Cooper, "You're smart, and you've got a good fight in you. But the world out there is pretty rough right now. You're going to have to get stronger to protect yourself, and the people you care about."

"Yeah, yeah," Stella said, scratching Cooper's head to lighten the mood. "You're going to protect me, right, Cooper?"

The dog glanced back and forth between them, visibly torn. He liked his current owner, and he liked the people on this floor. He had just enjoyed a bowl of their pork stew. If he didn't become stronger, would he be kicked out? After giving it some thought, he finally gave in.

Cooper nuzzled into Stella's embrace, as if to swear allegiance to her. She couldn't abandon him now!

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "We're just separated by a wall. We can see each other anytime."

Back in the apartment, she found half a bag of dog treats and handed it to Jasper. "Cooper's smart and holds grudges. He's also stubborn. If he misbehaves, don't hit him or scold him. Just tell me, okay?" Jasper chuckled, "What do you take me for?"

He handed over Rosie, while Stella handed over the dog. Rosie was thrilled, while Cooper seemed a bit downcast.

Once they were back inside, Stella opened Rosie's backpack. It was filled with a variety of children's books and art supplies, which looked hastily gathered.

"Rosie, have you ever been to preschool?" Stella asked.

Rosie shook her head, fiddling with her fingers. "No."

A nearly five-year-old child who had never been to preschool. The mention of preschool seemed to deflate Rosie. "Am I dumb, Stella?" Rosie hung her head low. "All the other kids go to preschool, but not me." "You're not dumb, Rosie. You're the smartest," Stella reassured her.

Stella wasn't a teacher, but she had been tutoring since middle school. Those high school subjects, she knew them like the back of her hand.

She had never taught elementary school students, but it didn't seem difficult. After flipping through the books, she started planning lessons, starting with counting in English, 1234567. From 1 to 10, then 11 to 20, she taught not only how to write the numbers but also the patterns in numbers.

Rosie, who had never been to school, but had watched TV and interacted with people, caught on quickly. She sat down diligently to do her homework.

Jasper had thought of everything; he even prepared a pencil case with pencils and erasers.

Within half an hour, Rosie had learned to count to 100. Stella rewarded her with a piece of candy, "You're doing great, Rosie."

Next, they moved on to English alphabet.

Rosie was a quick learner. After the lesson, Stella assigned homework and then sat on the couch, leafing through information about hydroponic vegetables, hoping to figure it out soon.

Rosie didn't leave after finishing her homework but continued practicing her English songs while petting Smoky and Snowy.

When Jasper didn't show up at the usual time, Stella made some instant noodles with ham for lunch, which delighted the little girl.

After their nap, they heard the sound of a dog running around. Opening the door, they saw Cooper sprinting from the hallway to the rooftop stairs, back and forth, as fast as lightning.

Jasper stood at the doorway, giving hand signals to Cooper with a serious expression. Even though Cooper wanted to snuggle up to his owner, as long as Jasper kept signaling, he kept running.

Stella frowned, afraid of tiring the dog.

After about 50 rounds, Jasper finally let Cooper rest. Cooper kept panting and huffing, but he looked excited.

"Don't worry. German Shepherds are not only active but also have great stamina. They can run 30 miles a day without a problem. Letting him rest too much would actually be bad for him," Jasper assured her, crouching down to pet Cooper. "Good boy." After the training was completed, Cooper was rewarded with a stick of jerky.

But instead of eating it, Cooper brought it to Stella, 'Here, this is my treat. I want to share it with you'

Stella laughed, "Okay, I'll save it for you."

Cooper returned to Jasper's side, standing at attention, signaling the end of today's training.

At the handover, Jasper asked, "How is Rosie doing in her studies?"

"Rosie is doing great. She's learned all the numbers below 100 and the alphabet. You can quiz her when you get home."

Just as she was about to ask about Cooper's progress, they heard a commotion downstairs, getting louder and louder, so they looked down from the stairwell. It seemed like some people had returned from the shelter and wanted to set up camp in the hallway. However, the original residents disagreed.

As the floodwaters continued to rise, the shelter became increasingly crowded. People were constantly on guard against theft, and the living conditions were terrible. Being able to stay in the hallway seemed much more comfortable.

But of course, the original residents were unhappy. They were already dealing with a natural disaster, and now they had to put up with new occupants in the hallway, who ate, drank, and did everything right there. It was extremely irritating.

It felt like a pack of wolves was living right outside their door, ready to burst in at any moment. Who wouldn't be scared? After all, this kind of thing had happened more than once before the storm stopped, and everyone had learned the hard way not to do anything good so easily.

None of the residents were willing to accommodate the newcomers, so they kept moving up, soon knocking on the door to the 17th floor.

The family from 403 looked haggard, dirty all over, and it was really off-putting. Well, these people on the 17th floor were smart. They decided to send the refugees up to the 18th floor.

The family from 403 knew that everyone on the 18th floor was tough, but they had no choice. They knelt on the ground and cried, "Please let us stay by the door to the rooftop. We won't bother you."

"Your begging won't do you any good," Stella said. She had no intention of opening the door. "This building has a building manager, elected by everyone. If you have any problems, just go to him. If he can't solve your problem, he shouldn't be the manager."

The family from 403 went back to the 13th floor, refusing to leave. "I've lived here for over a decade. You can't make us leave!"

"We can't stay on the 13th floor? Fine. Tell the building manager to come out. He can decide where we stay. That's fair, right?"

A few minutes later, Drew rushed up in a rage and knocked on the door, saying that people from 403 wanted to live by the door of the rooftop on the top floor and requested the residents on the 18th floor to open the door.

But no one responded. The 18th floor was eerily silent. Drew was about to kick the door down, but he saw the sharp spikes on the door and swallowed his anger.

No one waw willing to give in, and in the end, the family from 403 had to stay on the 13th floor.

Days passed, and the floodwaters kept rising.

Under Stella's attentive care, the scabs on Cooper's body disappeared, his bony frame was nowhere to be seen, and with the devilish training from Jasper, he even began to show faint traces of muscles. Jasper drilled a hole in the hallway wall and installed a rope to train Cooper's jumping ability.

Wow, with a running start, Cooper effortlessly jumped more than two meters high, firmly gripping the rope and starting swinging. As long as Jasper didn't give a command, he didn't let go.

It was hard to ignore the fact that while Jasper might have no experience with kids, he was a pro when it came to training dogs. Not just the basic commands, but also the sheer presence and that gaze. Huh, it felt like the dog was becoming more and more like Jasper. That powerful aura, and the piercing gaze...

With a single look, or a simple gesture, they understood each other perfectly.

Stella couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. It seemed that Jasper had stolen her dog's heart.