18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 13

Knowing that the tenant of 1801, Jasper, was aloof was one thing, but she didn't know he was prone to violence, especially towards children. Seeing Rosie's demeanor, it seemed like she had grown accustomed to the beatings. No wonder she was always running to Stella's apartment. Was she hiding from her abusive brother? "Why does he hit you?"

Even though it was someone else's family matter, child abuse was too much. Stella didn't ask Rosie about her past, but from her observations of Rosie's skittish gaze and her somewhat sycophantic personality, she couldn't help but recall her own unpleasant childhood memories, "Rosie, is he your real brother?"

That was why she didn't turn Rosie away.

"He teaches me to box." Rosie rubbed her bruised arm and gave Stella a sweet smile, "I got hit because I didn't dodge in time, and I fell a few times too."

Only then did Stella understand that Rosie had been practicing boxing for the past few days, for as much as five hours a day.

"Ma'am, let me show you my boxing."

Without waiting for Stella's response, she walked into a spacious area and assumed a stance. Rosie, who was usually a timid and shy little girl, suddenly became fierce when she started to box. Her posture was as if she had transformed into a completely different person. Her boxing style was military, her movements were standard and powerful, and her posture was particularly sharp, her eyes fierce and full of spirit.

Stella was dumbfounded. Rosie was even better than her. Stella complimented her, which made Rosie blush, "You're so nice." Her brother never praised her, no matter how well she did.

The number of bruises on Rosie's body indicated that she had been trained harshly. It was a hurricane day, and this high-intensity training for a four- or five-year-old child was alarming.

It seemed Jasper was preparing Rosie for something horrifying, for her to have self-defense abilities in the future?

Rosie's movements were precise, something that couldn't be learned from videos alone.

Stella didn't ask any further. She then applied some herbal wine on Rosie's bruises, "Soak it in hot water tonight."

kissed her pet

and people ready to physically harm each other at the drop of a hat. The terrible weather and living conditions

knives. When the residents of the 9th floor woke up early in the morning, they found that their house had been burgled and the little food they had left was gone. The hurricane

were huddled at their doorstep. If a thief

weren't just limited to the 9th floor. Other floors also had their

or two, but a group committing robbery. Even though there were people living in the corridor, they didn't dare to move in face of the shiny knife, their eyes complex and dark, even gleaming with a light of

dare to help, instead they barricaded their rooms with refrigerators or sofas, praying that they wouldn't

after dinner when it got dark, setting an alarm for midnight and then getting up to do various

herself against the door and listened, indeed

and crazy, with several groups knocking on the door during the day, asking if there was any food

potentially incite those starving to the point of desperation to swarm up and tear you apart. From Arcadia, she took out a butcher's knife, put

The man with the hook was silenced before he could scream, and his abdomen was

pushed him

over, and seeing the bloody knife in her hand, the man was shocked and instinctively tried to run, but

a sound, his neck was twisted and broken. Without even a chance to fall to the ground, his body was thrown out of the window. Stella looked up, a tall figure was efficiently killing and disposing of bodies. To her surprise, the knife brutally slit the second man's throat. The man clutched his throat tightly, opened his mouth

never expected that such a beautiful young woman was actually a

was him, the one who moved to 1803 in her previous life, the one who had tried to break into her apartment multiple times. This was the ugliness of human nature; even if given a second chance, he would choose

man who had stopped breathing to the

solemn, he said softly, "You did nothing wrong. These people are

he trying to comfort

killing and disposing of bodies calmly, his dark gazes