18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 57

In the face of Sadie's insincere invitation, Angela remained unmoved. She gave her a firm push, easily sending Sadie sprawling two or three meters away, crashing into the wall. "Get lost. If I were a man, you'd be dead." Even after selling herself, she still had such abundant energy. She was like a succubus, stealing the vitality of men. She was shameless to the bone.

By the time the people in the 1202 heard Sadie's cries, Angela had already retreated upstairs.

Back on her floor, Angela vented to Stella, "Just hearing her cutesy voice gives me goosebumps. That woman's nothing more than a poisonous snake, always stirring up men to do her dirty work. I roughed her up a bit, and if she dares to step out and mess with us, we'll take the opportunity to get rid of her, otherwise, she'll cause trouble sooner or later."

Stella agreed, "We've got to come up with a plan."

Too bad Sadie's gotten smarter, hiding behind men and not easily exposing herself. Stella had no intention of killing Sadie; she preferred to see Sadie suffer more. But if Sadie remained stubborn and refused to back down, Stella wouldn't hesitate to take severe action. After all, she wasn't so soft-hearted.

Not long after, Mikey helped Katie upstairs. Without hiding anything, Stella asked him directly, "Can you make a fish trap?"

Mikey was taken aback, adjusted his glasses and pondered for a few minutes, "I should be able to make one, but I don't have enough materials."

He was a physics fanatic, his room packed with all sorts of components. Some had been purchased, others scavenged from junkyards. He had won a domestic innovation award and excelled in the national physics competition. He was a true prodigy. Stella asked, "Can you replace the materials?"

"There should be some in the lab,. I just have to modify them a bit."

The materials room was on the eighth floor, and it probably hadn't been flooded yet, but Mikey wasn't sure whether it had been ransacked or not.

The lab was not too far away, approximately 10 kilometers if they took a shortcut. Stella inquired with her eyes, silently asking Jasper if they should take on this task.

Jasper thought for a moment and then said to Mikey, "I can take you there."

Mikey, though nerdy, was not stupid. He knew that if the people from the 18th floor were willing to use their petrol to send him to fetch materials for a fish trap late at night, it was definitely not just for catching a few fish.

Their resources were dwindling, so he had to make a negotiation, "If I can make the fish trap, can I get a share?"

His request wasn't unreasonable, Stella would have done the same in his shoes. "The water's deep. Are you sure your fish trap can catch fish?"

"As long as there are fish, I can catch them." It was simply a matter of adjusting the ultrasonic frequency. That was easy.

For the sake of fish, Stella agreed, "Alright, but this has to be kept a secret."

After all they had been through, the Moore family had to be cautious about what they said and did.

"How long will it take to make?"

The construction of the fish trap wasn't complicated for Mikey. He had worked on a similar project in high school. "As long as I have all the materials, I can make it tonight."

The sooner, the better. Jasper went back to his apartment to get the inflatable boat.

The Moore family didn't belong to the 18th floor. Stella didn't want the rest of the building to know their little co-operation. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she sent Katie and Mikey downstairs first. Stella insisted on going along, to which Jasper had no objections.

She gave instructions to Lukas and Angela, to cut the fish into pieces and marinate them with salt. When she returned, she would coat them in flour and fry them. They could be kept for a few days without going bad. They had to skin and gut the rabbit, and store it in the car's refrigerator to eat later.

Stella quietly descended the stairs, and Mikey was already waiting on the sixth floor, carrying a bulky inflatable boat.

The people from 1202 were busy comforting the "injured" Sadie and didn't notice the movement from their neighboring occupants.

They quietly rowed out of the residential area, starting the engine, and headed towards the research and development company in the darkness.

After about forty minutes, the three of them arrived at the physics research institute. As expected, the place was a complete mess.

Mikey's expression changed as he dashed to the materials room on the eighth floor. The door to the materials room had been pried open, with all kinds of random items scattered on the ground. Mikey turned on his flashlight, continuously picking up items from the ground.

The research materials were precious to the staff, but not so much to the average survivor. They were neither edible nor drinkable. Most of the items that could have been used had already been taken. Mikey chose carefully, gathering a large number of components on the table. He took out his tools and started to modify them, "I'm still missing a few things. I'll go to the lab to dismantle them." There were several labs, and he dismantled items from some of the devices and machines. "These machines and instruments are very expensive; it's a pity many of them were destroyed by the flood." Mikey was usually a quiet man, rarely expressing strong emotions, but when he said this, you could sense his sorrow. Indeed, the flood not only consumed lives, but also the precious cultural heritage of mankind. Stella didn't understand physics, so she couldn't help. "I'll walk around and see if there's anything worth collecting."

In the darkness, Jasper wanted to accompany her, but he was stopped by Mikey, "I need a hand with this frequency converter."

Stella went upstairs, where the office desks and door frames that could be used as firewood had been removed, and the express delivery packaging was scattered everywhere.

She found a few plastic plant pots, not picky about it, and tossed them towards Arcadia.

The computers in the research room, as well as the instruments in the lab, these were all valuable assets. Stella might not need them, but someone might in the future, and they didn't take up much space anyway.

After walking through several floors, she had collected a lot of "junk" that others didn't want, along with some creative exhibits from the exhibition room. Research products were too far removed from daily life, and Stella didn't recognize most of them. When she returned to the eighth floor, Mikey had already assembled several components. He had somehow found an outer casing that resembled a frequency transformer.

He took out some components from his backpack that he had brought from home, and after tinkering for another two hours, he finally completed the installation.

The machine emitted a hissing sound that made Stella uncomfortable. She covered her ears and stepped back.

"The floodwater is deep, so I've increased the frequency and depth. It can reach a range of thirty meters when working. The waves are harmless to humans, but the fish will not be able to withstand it and will float to the surface upside down." The only drawback was that it was very power-consuming. It could only work for three to four hours before it drained the battery.

With the fish trap completed, Mikey asked, "Where are we going to catch fish?"

"You'll know tomorrow."

"Are there many fish?" Mikey was a bit anxious and explained, "If you need help, my parents can help."

Resources were scarce everywhere, but he knew that people from the 18th floor had capabilities, so he wanted to work more to get more.

No one could guarantee how many fish there would be. But they were going to need some help at home tomorrow. The flood has swept a lot of fish into the reservoir and they definitely didn't have enough hands."

"Tomorrow at five, we need three from your household. Meet us outside the neighborhood."

After finishing the fish trap, Mikey packed a considerable number of electronic components into his bag, as they might come in handy in the future. He came prepared, with a dozen or so bags, and swept up every salvageable item. Each person had their own area of expertise, and their own methods of survival. Stella and Jasper didn't object.

By the time they returned to the neighborhood, it was already past midnight. Angela and the others were all still awake, the dog bounding up to greet Stella.

Cody's stomach growled loudly. "Oh thank God, you're finally back. We almost starved to death."

Stepping inside, they were greeted by the mouth-watering aroma of fried fish fillets.

Stella looked perplexed. "How could you possibly starve with all this food?"

Angela shook her head, amused but exasperated. "You should ask Cooper."