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.

...

were finally long enough to be cut into two sections. Just

he could have some alone time with her. Today was one

have a choice. The Garden in Arcadia was fertile and the sweet potato 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. After finishing her chores, Stella sat on the couch, tuning the radio. The local government announced that the provincial base

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

years into the apocalypse, the bases were

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

the northern direction of the province. It was a semi-industrial city, boasting the province's most abundant water resources, Lincoln River and Echo Lake. It was around 300 kilometers from Griffith. The two bases were

only heard about the bases later. But what good did knowing do? She didn't even qualify

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

couldn't understand, "Why is

the lower class couldn't even afford 20 kilos of

government and jointly established and managed by various municipal governments. The military provides

military base, on the other hand, is arranged by the state. Soldiers establish and manage it entirely,

also known as Kindle Society, is humanity's last hope in a crisis. The 50 kilos of grain is only

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 other words, the military base

Survivors who enter will be under military management. Those who don't follow orders or

harsh, special times called

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