18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 87

Stella had a worried expression, and Jasper comforted her, "Don't worry. Cooper is extremely intelligent and is man's most loyal companion. I trust he'll be fine."

Stella wasn't convinced, after all, the harsh winter lasted a year, and Cooper had only managed to save her from a deadly attack for three months of it. Back then, all he wanted to do was to protect her. He was so determined that he'd have rather died than let go of her. The scene was too gruesome for Stella to recall. All she could do was hold Cooper tightly. This time, it was her turn to protect Cooper.

Sensing her tense emotions, Cooper nestled into her arms, thinking, "What's wrong with you, human?"

"Don't worry, I'll train him well."

Train him? Cooper grumbled. Hadn't he graduated already?

Jasper petted him. "Training is a lifelong practice. As long as we're alive, we need to keep learning."

Cooper snorted, whatever!

Back home, Stella measured Cooper's height and weight and recorded all his data. Not just him, but Smoky and Snowy too. After checking them over a few times, she couldn't shake off the feeling that they'd somehow changed and were becoming braver. Over the next few days, Stella made over two thousand arrows, and her crossbow skills were improving. Unsatisfied with the distance in the corridor, they all went to the rooftop to push their limits. In the freezing -40 degrees weather, they bundled up like bears in hibernation.

Everyone wanted to rest, but no one dared, fearing that they might never get the opportunity to stand up again. But it was really too cold, and their hands were shaking like they had Parkinson's.

Cody saw how steady Stella was and couldn't believe it. "Stella, how do you do it?"

She was less bundled up than him, but she seemed unaffected by the cold. This was beyond his understanding!

Stella shot him a glance. "I'm not frail, nor weak, and I have a heart full of passion."

"Really Stella, even in a post-apocalyptic world, you don't forget to throw shade. What did

Even Angela said he

Lukas and Cody gave up resisting, especially since Stella had Jasper as her private

her skills constantly improving, but her

cold air seeped into their bones, making them feel as though their souls were

look at Stella, and look at

was also wearing far less than them. They envied

and they couldn't afford to be injured. They had to focus on improving their crossbow

days of rest, Jasper challenged Stella to spar. Stella was puzzled. "Your arm isn't fully healed

okay, I can manage with one hand. As

admitted she was being a bit naughty. She still retained some integrity and honestly didn't attack his weak points, even deliberately avoiding them. And Jasper, he was truly skilled, because even with

same time, his independence was

while making pie, Stella thought he would seize the opportunity to ask her for help or give some tips to Rosie. It was her fault after all, and if Jasper had asked, Stella

said nothing. He resolved everything

was still on her guard. If Jasper had asked, she would

had an ulterior motive, and it was

again, she wouldn't help but be suspicious of everyone's intentions. Moreover, she was privy to

knocked on her door again, and her

without a hitch, with a monthly salary of fifteen

but she successfully applied for the lowest-tier job of corpse collector. It may have sounded like a

rice, but it included one meal a day. The meal wasn't enough to fill them up completely, but it was enough for a

was a cunning old woman. She had her daughter-in-law secretly give two pounds of wild kudzu flour to the interviewer, and just like that, Amber got the job. "Stella, if any of you want to apply for a job, I can ask Amber

kids were too stubborn and wouldn't accept the idea of using connections or giving gifts. But jobs were essential