18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 30

As they ventured upward, they found the offices in a mess, littered with plastic and the occasional wooden desk - though these were simply sawdust and glue, certainly not fireproof and smelling of toxic fumes. The other office building was the same, yielding only forgotten fast food, a few cases of bottled water, and a minor amount of timber.

They returned to the building housing Cody's company. It was also ransacked, but the damage was less severe, likely because intruders had discovered the place had been picked over and made a hasty retreat to the other two buildings. Stella's hunch was right. As they climbed higher, evidence of intrusion became less frequent. She suggested a staggered search pattern, as each person might've noticed something different, perhaps overlooked areas.

Stella set about searching the area Lukas had combed through the day before, while Cody swapped places with Jasper.

Her motives had shifted. Yesterday, they sought medication and food. Today, with an additional 150 cubic feet in Arcadia, the overly cautious Stella wanted to fill it to the brim.

Books to enrich their minds, ornate vases from the boss' office, wooden desks, wardrobes, jewel ornaments, and mop handles from the janitor's closet.

Men seemed to lack the knack for scavenging. Stella, however, managed to find many overlooked snacks and suitable clothing and shoes after a thorough search.

She stumbled upon a jewel company. The counter was empty and showed no signs of vandalism. After a quick tour, she discovered the manager's office was locked tight.

After a struggle with the sturdy door, she found four safes inside. They likely contained jewels, so Stella stowed all of it in Arcadia. She also found some tea, cigarettes, and alcohol, and used a samurai sword to dismantle the office furniture. She also raided a sportswear company's local office, taking only sizes suitable for their group, while the rest were swept into Arcadia.

One company appeared to be planning a team-building event, leaving several large boxes of barbecue charcoal and camping equipment behind in their administrative department.

After going through four floors, Stella returned to the clothing company's live streaming office and gathered another batch of clothing, including women's underwear and bras that the men were too embarrassed to take.

She also revisited the home appliance company from the night before and quietly collected a batch of appliances that might've proved useful later, including a high-end massage chair worth several thousands of dollars. She stealthily sneaked into the places the others had scoured at different times, taking anything useful. She continued until the extra 150 cubic feet of Arcadia was filled.

To facilitate transportation, they dismantled all the wooden furniture and chopped it into similar lengths. It had fit neatly into two inflatable boats and three rubber boats. They returned home early, finishing the sorting and moving just after nine.

After today's events, the residents of the 18th floor had gained a notorious reputation. The other tenants viewed them with a sense of horror.

They didn't try to hide it, hauling their timber upstairs.

Once Stella closed the door, she immediately entered Arcadia. The safes were safely tucked away in a corner, but the living room, balcony, and toilet remained the same size. Could it be that the jewel company was selling fakes?

Unwilling to accept this, she opened the door to the master bedroom. A bathroom had appeared, about 10 square metres.

jewels. Disappointed to see only

have to keep looking then. In this

from downstairs. This was nothing unusual in the post-apocalyptic world, so

and ate two bagels and a donut for breakfast. She washed it down

green vegetables she had planted were turning yellow. Stella diluted some nutrient solution and poured it

Arcadia, but the timer had only increased by two hours. It

greens in the new 10 square feet of black soil. She wanted to stock up enough to last two or

fitness had improved significantly over this period, and she managed to save 15

She opened the door

seemed a bit embarrassed. "Well, you know Cody and I aren't as fit as the

on Lukas. Now, she was training

and Stella to protect

really need the

went back into the room and took out a black bag. "I found these in the office building. I thought

bag, Lukas looked embarrassed, then laughed.

knocked on Stella's door. He asked with a grin, "Do you know what happened

dead to

Sadie

"After making such a show with the supplies yesterday, they were targeted last night." Hector was staying in suite 802, which couldn't accommodate everyone, so

hadn't rushed up when they heard the commotion, Sadie would have been raped by several men. They managed to drive off the attackers, but when they

was taken aback. "A decoy?" Even bandits needed to use their brains

supplies on the 8th floor, but their inflatable boats and rubber dinghies weren't

the bandits were just farming them slowly and

injured, and they had the audacity to knock on our door earlier,

18th floor paid

another incident. This morning, two men from other buildings came over. "They wanted to pay us protection money, but Angela sent them

just defending themselves. How

a bruised face. "Are we going out

you need anything, you can go. I'll stay and watch