18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 83

The endurance of Cooper was exceptional. He was hitting his stride and bolting as if carried by the wind.

Cooper's robust body, and agile movements as he dashed freely across the icy fields, was quite the impressive sight. He was even skillfully dodging any frozen corpses that dared obstruct his path.

However, Cooper was clueless about the location of Griffith Mountain and was prone to getting lost.

Stella laughed at his poor sense of direction. "Remember where we chased the wild boar last time?" Ah, not only wild boars but also rabbits!

Upon receiving the hint, Cooper quickly adjusted his course, reaching the base of Griffith Mountain in half an hour.

They arrived early, and there was not a single soul in sight on Griffith Mountain. The bamboo grove was halfway up the mountain. Stella, not wanting to waste any time waiting at the bottom, led Cooper up the climb.

Bamboo wasn't particularly resilient to fire, so survivors would prioritize chopping down tree. However, in a short amount of time, the trees at the foot of the mountain had been entirely cut down. They even had the occasional encounters with frozen corpses. These corpses were either victim of ambushes during wood collection or had been killed in retaliation. Their bodies were encased in a layer of frost, a sight both eerie and terrifying.

But what could they do? Without firewood, they'd freeze to death, so survivors had no choice but to risk their lives.

The journey up the mountain was treacherous, with the snow compacting into ice. It took some time before they reached the bamboo grove, while pulling the sled.

The trees on the mountain had been frozen dead, and their branches were laden with ice and snow.

Wearing thermal clothing kept their bodies warm, but their hands, feet, and faces were still cold. Stella rubbed her hands together, contemplating using an electric saw from Arcadia to cut down the entire bamboo grove, then heading back to snuggle up in her warm bed. Unfortunately, people could come up the mountain at any moment. She decided against taking the risk, instead opting to use the steel saw Lukas gave her. She squatted down to slowly saw away.

Using a steel saw required skill, or the blade could easily snap. This was the group's only saw. If it broke, they'd be in a real pickle.

Most people didn't have the luxury of a hatchet or a butcher knife and had to make do with a simple kitchen knife.

to the bamboo, then slowly drawing the saw. Cooper,

away. "I don't need your help. Just stand guard and

multitasking dog refused, insisting that it could hug the bamboo and stand guard at

away, be careful then, or I might

wounded dog remained

into about two meters for

initial shock quickly turned into excitement, and their voices were almost

barked back. 'He

bamboo grove, and that she actually had a steel saw in her hand. They became even more excited. If they could get their hands on that steel saw, they wouldn't have to worry about chopping wood ever again. And this fat dog looked like it weighed at

their greedy eyes were exposed. Stella calmly pulled out a machete and flashed them a gentle smile. "Wanna guess why I'm alone and yet can raise my

raise her dog so well when

eyes scanned their bodies as if contemplating which part had the most meat.

is a bit picky. He only eats legs, and they have to

an attack posture, and its muscular chest was bulging as it

was right, he only ate legs, the kind that were fresh and bleeding.' Cooper was ready to fight anyone

on legs! The more timid ones could

woman. The tallest man was even dragging a little girl along. Geez, these three guys were brave,

just sit and wait for the two sides to

yes. But reality was often

preferably with both sides seriously injured, but the vicious dog that supposedly ate legs didn't bark at the newcomers. Instead, it wagged its tail at them. Then, the three men

to bother you!" With a touch of unwillingness,

looking a bit hurt. "Cooper, you

nuzzled her to soothe

chopping bamboo, Joey was puzzled, "Stella, bamboo is hollow and burns