18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 176

Based on the direction of the gunfire, Jasper pushed back the underbrush, revealing two corpses sprawled on the ground.

Stella shone a flashlight on them, illuminating two blood dots in the middle of their foreheads. From the way they had fallen, one had been shot dead on the spot, while the other had attempted to flee in panic. He was fast, but not faster than Jasper's bullet. To land a headshot in the pitch-dark night required an extraordinary level of marksmanship, and Stella was awed that Jasper had pulled it off without a hitch, making her own anxiety seem superfluous.

Jasper dumped the bodies into the ocean and wiped away any traces of the crime scene before carrying Stella and continuing their ascent.

Once they reached the coastal road, Stella didn't rush to get down. Instead, she leaned over and kissed Jasper's cheek, whispering, "Thanks for everything today." Without him, getting a hold of that cruise ship would have been impossible. Jasper looked surprised. "Do we really need to thank each other?"

Stella simply smiled, not answering as she fetched the car from Arcadia. Feeling utterly drained, she hopped into the passenger seat and started munching on a granola bar to replenish her energy. Jasper tilted his body to fasten her seat belt for her.

On the way back, they collaborated in the same way, with one driving and the other keeping watch. Once they passed the security booth at the villa district, Stella finally allowed herself to relax. "I'm tired. I'm going to take a nap."

By the time they parked at the top of the hill, she was already fast asleep.

Jasper turned off the engine and carried her out of the car. Cooper wagged its tail and greeted them with a worried whine, looking up at Jasper.

Jasper signaled the dog to quiet down, murmuring, "She's fine. She's just sleeping."

Barely awake, Stella was roused by the morning light filtering through the curtains. She instinctively rolled over, only to bump into a warm and solid form. Startled, she shot up and almost went for her knife, only to realize that it was Jasper. Talking about overstepping boundaries.

Jasper was a light sleeper, and Stella's movement woke him instantly. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Stella stowed her knife back into Arcadia. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone last night. I was worried something might happen."

already. Thankfully, he hadn't tried anything, or she would've had to give him a

and the light was particularly intense. By six in the morning, the

air conditioning, but when Stella opened the door to the balcony for fresh air, she was almost knocked out by the heat. Taking a reading with a thermometer, she found that it was 59

decided to rely

new day began with milk, bagels, and

sipping her milk, "Should we continue supplying Aqua

trade that if the other party tried to follow or double-cross them,

a moment before deciding, "Let's

was questionable. If they lost their ship and their people and still didn't get the medicine, they might just go berserk despite

had breached their contract,

planned to trade at 10 o'clock and decided to set out early to be

had the ship, they couldn't afford to let down

the mountain security booth in their car, Rob came up to greet them. "Mr. Jasper, you've been living in the house for

their dismay, the rent had been raised by 50 pounds of food. An increase of

following orders. There's been an

the middle of the night. They were even stabbed. I heard that the eight-year-old boy was stabbed to death and even his body

each passing day since she arrived a month ago. People were everywhere,

a good place to live, but whether or not to renew the lease was something Stella hadn't decided yet. First, she needed to see the attitude of Aqua Base. If they were willing to trade the medicine, renewing the lease might be worth considering. After all, who would give up a

that the sky seemed a bit darker and the light not as dazzling as before. The unpredictable weather of the apocalypse

side, dark clouds were gathering at the end of the sea. Countless white clouds were moving and turning black at a visible speed, slowly forming into a mushroom shape. It was becoming hotter, and Stella felt like she could smell the burning

mushroom cloud, Jasper's face paled. "This isn't

the spot before rushing up the hill with

left in a cloud of exhaust

at breakneck speed up the winding mountain road,