18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 149

Before the big chop, Jasper made sure to snap a few pictures of Stella with his phone. As the buzz of the electric razor filled the air, a growing pile of hair littered the floor. Rosie scampered over, eyes widened as she took in Stella's newly shaved head. "Wow, Stella, you look like a boy."

Stella took a look at herself in the mirror, and... well, she didn't look bad. The buzz cut suited her, even. It gave her a certain edge, a dash of toughness she hadn't had before.

In this post-apocalyptic world, where smiles were far and few between, this new look gave her a certain 'don't mess with me' vibe. With her buzz cut, whenever Stella didn't smile, she looked like she was ready to throw down.

The next day, she went out to the rooftop to fetch some water and bumped into Cody and Lukas, who were popping some popcorn. Both of them were taken aback. "Good lord, when did we get a girl gangster on the 18th floor?" Stella decided to play along, flipping her water bucket at them. "Stick 'em up."

They handed over half a bowl of popcorn to her. "You know, Stella, that haircut really suits you. It's cool, badass, and refreshing."

"Are you guys just buttering me up?"

As the sun set, three buzz-cut figures were having a jovial time on the rooftop. Cody went downstairs and came back with three cold beers. They sat on the rooftop, enjoy beers.

As they drank, Stella noticed that Cody was downing his beer pretty fast. Lukas was a bit slower, but he too looked troubled. Having practically grown up together, Stella could tell when something was bothering them. "What's up?" She asked.

They didn't answer, and Stella didn't push.

...

sweet potato vines in The Garden for over a month. They were finally long enough to be cut into

learnt that Jasper had a sneaky side. He would often send Rosie off with Cooper, so he could have some alone time with her. Today was one of those days, with Cooper busy munching on popcorn

vines were thriving. It would be suspicious if she gave them to 1803 in such good condition. She decided to bag them and let them wilt a bit before giving them away.

a military one. Each base could accommodate up to 300,000 people. The first

the apocalypse, the bases were

the northeastern direction of the province. It was a typical mountain city with underdeveloped industries, focusing on green agriculture. It

water resources, Lincoln River and Echo Lake. It was around 300 kilometers from Griffith. The two bases were about 200 kilometers apart,

only heard about the

base, each person needed to pay 20 kilos of grain. The military base

couldn't understand, "Why is there such a big

lower class couldn't even afford 20 kilos of grain, let

official base is hosted by the provincial government and jointly established and

the state. Soldiers establish and manage it entirely, so there's a

Society, is humanity's last hope in a crisis. The 50 kilos of grain is

kilos of grain was just the price of admission. Whether you were low class or high class, if you were capable, getting 50 kilos of grain wasn't impossible. In

a clean record. Those involved in illegal activities or who have a criminal record won't stand a chance. Survivors who enter will be under military management. Those who don't follow

harsh, special times called for special measures. The military's mission was to help survivors live

300,000 people couldn't be managed without strict rules. Otherwise, it would inevitably lead to chaos. As the apocalypse worsened, the outside