18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 124

For a six-year-old, the kid was doing pretty darn well. Jasper's parenting was a success. However, in this situation, it seemed inappropriate to have outsiders involved.

Stella patted her belly, "I can't eat anymore. I am so full I could sleep. I gotta go lie down. See ya tonight." She grabbed her dog and made a hasty exit.

Rosie clung to her brother's arm, "I'm sorry, Jasper."

He comforted her, "You didn't do anything wrong. But things are different now. People are hungry out there. If they knew we had good stuff, they'd come to steal it with knives. We'd lose not just our goods, but your brother or Stella could get hurt. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Rosie was frightened and buried herself into her brother's chest, "I don't want you to die. I miss mom and dad."

"Don't worry. Even if mom and dad aren't here, I'll protect you."

Sometimes, pain was the best teacher.

Jasper quietly comforted her, all while teaching her a valuable lesson.

"I won't tell anyone about it, not even Cooper," Rosie promised.

As the temperature continued to drop, their routines consisted of staying warm and practicing survival skills. The potatoes that Stella had planted didn't require her constant attention; Jasper took good care of them.

Even if her secret base, Arcadia, was exposed, Stella had to keep up appearances. Jasper didn't know exactly what she had, after all. So about once a week, she would venture out, "Need anything?" "No, thanks."

Each time, she would return with her bag full of supplies and her dog in tow.

Just as she was about to head out this time, Jasper suddenly spoke up, "Let's go together."

Caught off guard, Stella tried to protest, "Shouldn't someone stay at the 18th floor? How about we take turns?"

"No need," Jasper dismissed her concern, "The Moore family is off today. We can just tell them."

up to them, "We're going shopping,

ready, there was no point in

of the 18th floor missing, they couldn't afford to let Cooper

home, or do you want to get in the

head, then turned around and fetched a large

thrilled about carrying a dog that weighed nearly 80 pounds through

loaded Cooper into the backpack, leaving a small opening for him to breathe,

hand,

family, they left the

job opportunities, those who lacked the skills or the will to rob

caught the attention of several watchful eyes. Stella was no longer the impulsive girl she once was, and with the improved security measures in place, killing was no longer an option unless absolutely necessary. With no security patrols around, Stella decided to take out her weapon-a high-quality plastic replica. Without saying a word, she scared away the first group of people, who fled

sudden turn of

her, "You're so cool,

the department store, Monkey, wrapped up in layers of clothing, ran up to them,

aback. They had already used over a thousand condoms? She firmly declined, "No

"You're my life savior. Can you find a way to

suppress her fear that Monkey would blurt out something about the

disappointed, but he quickly offered, "What do you need? I have all

of rice, flour, and oil, Stella found them too expensive. She turned to Jasper, "What do you need?" Jasper

was surprised, "What do

gazes hardened, "Do you have

pots are

large planting pots in Arcadia. However, Jasper probably wanted to plant a large quantity

other goods. Monkey did a quick calculation, "I have about 30 pots, 30*80

a lot. I'll need 5 bottles of the liquor." Stella

protested, "That's not

your inventory. If we don't want this, who are you going to

was frustrated, but Stella comforted him, "Don't worry. We'll come to you if we have any good