18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 69

Not only did Stella have an electric blanket, but even her dog, Cooper, had his own. She picked a small one for him, placed it on a recliner, and plugged it into a power bank. Then, she turned on two electric heaters and the room warmed up quickly. Smoky and Snowy, her rabbit, felt the warmth and crawled out of the foam box. It scampered onto the recliner to compete for a spot with Cooper.

At this critical moment, Cooper showed his alpha dog status and allowed Smoky and Snowy to huddle against his body and keep warm.

Stella checked the foam box and found that two rabbits had died. They were probably scared to death. The others seemed a bit lethargic, but the newly born bunny was blissfully unaware. Smoky and Snowy was probably roughed up by Cooper and had grown particularly bold. With its rabbit fur to keep it warm, it seemed unafraid and was not bothered about its little ones. Stella took the bunnies and placed it on Cooper's belly, then she chastised them both, "You two have to take responsibility for your offspring."

Cooper growled. 'Did you hear that? You have to take good care of them. You can't just abandon them!'

Regardless of his grumbles, Cooper didn't push the little ones away and dutifully cared for them.

As for the remaining adult rabbits, Stella took them to the bathroom, dispatched them with a stun baton, and tossed them into Arcadia. She planned to cook them when she had time. Feeding them was an issue, but the main problem was the smell.

Back in the room, Stella was staring at the glowing charcoal fire and seemed lost in thought. What was Jasper's intention?

He had nearly broken down her door, gave up his mink coat, and also provided a charcoal heater. His face was usually indifferent, and he didn't even flinch in the face of death, but his face was full of anxiety when he was knocking on her door. Could it be... he was afraid she would freeze to death and there would be no one to teach Rosie?

Late at night, sleepy and confused, she didn't feel like thinking. Sleep was the most important thing, and other issues could wait until tomorrow.

Stella took off her coat, crawled into her warm bed, and quickly fell asleep. In her previous life, she almost froze to death, wrapping herself in all the clothes she had. This time, her bed was as warm as spring, and she felt truly content.

The cold weather made her sleepy, and even at ten o'clock, she didn't want to get up.

The radio crackled to life. "Stella, are you awake?"

Stella reached out for it. "Hmm, I just woke up." Her voice was lazy, with a hint of nasal tone.

Jasper asked, "Do you have a cold?"

"No, I'm still in bed." Stella yawned. "How's Rosie?"

"I'm up, making breakfast for Rosie. Do you...want some?"

Stella quickly declined. "No, I'm not hungry yet. I'll eat lunch later."

Cooper jumped onto the bed and pawed at the radio. "Woof!"

"Oh no..." The radio was knocked aside.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, Cooper is making a mess." Stella quickly picked it up. "I won't keep you, bye."

"Okay, keep warm."

She turned off the radio, wanting to scold Cooper, but he was prancing around on the bed. He twirled, jumped, and finally, he rammed his head into Stella's chest.

"You little rascal." Stella tugged at his mouth. "Why are you so naughty?"

Cooper burrowed into the blanket. His bright eyes were staring at her, as he tilted his head to look cute. Stella wrapped him in a blanket, stroking his head. "Where were you at this time in your past life?"

With everything covered in snow and ice, and with people freezing to death, she couldn't imagine how he had survived. His skin was frozen off, covered in sores. Stella didn't want to remember that image, and her eyes got teary. "Cooper, it won't happen again in this life. I'll make sure you live well."

"Woof." What was wrong with the human? He pawed at Stella, consoling her. 'I'm fine, and you'll be fine too.'

She got out of bed around eleven and went into the Arcadia to brush her teeth and wash her face.

It was cold outside so she dressed warmly, but inside it was so hot she was sweating. Luckily, she didn't stay long, otherwise, the drastic temperature change might have made her sick. There were electric heaters in the room, making it feel like spring, but opening the door was like being hit by a ice dagger.

The heaters and power bank couldn't be taken out, but having the rabbits stay in her room all the time was not ideal.

She checked the rabbits, and one of the baby rabbits had unfortunately died. She cleared out another room, set up another recliner with an electric blanket, and moved the rabbits there.

At the same time, she reminded Cooper, "Cooper, keep an eye on them. No biting the wires, no peeing or pooping on the electric blanket, or else I'll have to cook them."

Cooper showed he understood, pinning down Smoky and growling as if to say, "Got it?"

She aired out the room, then lit the charcoal stove in the living room. Holding a hot rubber water bottle, Stella stood on the balcony looking into the distance.

The city, which was flooded just yesterday, was frozen overnight. Without the sound of rain, the silence was terrifying, as if even time had stopped. Even if she was experiencing it again, Stella was still filled with fear. Fortunately, the temperature didn't continue to drop, giving people a chance to catch their breath. But -19°C was still a disastrous calamity for the south, and she couldn't even turn on her phone.

She closed the doors and windows, turned off the heaters that had been working all night, and replaced them with two new ones to prevent them from breaking down from overuse. With the heaters and the charcoal stove, the living room finally had some warmth.

In such cold weather, it was good to have hot soup. Stella took out a stewed beef and radish dish, served it with veggies and rice and added freeze-dried canned food to the dog food. Sitting close to the heater, she enjoyed her meal.

After eating, she didn't feel like doing dishes, so she dumped everything into the Arcadia, planning to wash them later. She opened a window to air out the smell, then cuddled up with her hot water bottle to read a medical book. Angela knocked on the door to check in. After she confirmed that Stella was still alive, she hurried back to snuggle under her blanket without coming in. Cody had caught a cold from the freezing weather, but luckily he had medicine with him. Just as she was about to take a nap, the radio crackled to life. "Rosie won't have class today. Does Cooper want to exercise?"

Stella respected Cooper's decision. "Cooper, do you want to exercise?"

Cooper cocked his head, then finally got up after a while with a "Woof!" A day without running felt uncomfortable.

Stella cracked open the door and pushed Cooper out. "Off you go!"

Soon, the sounds of Cooper's parkour echoed from the stairs. She was a bit worried about him, so decided to go out.

Cooper had taken off his mink coat, which Jasper now held. After a few laps, Jasper helped Cooper take off his cashmere sweater. By the end, even the thermal coat was removed.

Stella was a bit worried. "Isn't he cold?"

Jasper explained, "He can quickly adapt to various harsh environments. Wearing too much is actually not good for their exercise."

His fur was very dense and provided great insulation against the cold. They heated up fast when exercising, but dogs didn't perspire as efficiently.

Stella stood by, clutching her hot water bottle, noticing that Jasper didn't appear bundled up. He was not even sporting a mink coat. "Aren't you cold?" "I'm cold."

Uh... now what?

Thinking about the principle of reciprocity, she handed over the hot water bottle to him. "Here, take this."

Jasper didn't take it, looking at her and saying, "What about you?"

"I have another one." She had dozens hoarded in Arcadia.

"Thanks, Rosie could use this."

Well, whatever, at least she had offered.

Suddenly there was a knock from downstairs. "Stella, Stella are you guys okay?"