18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 224

The faint movement didn't set off the alarm.

Stella cocked an ear, recognizing the familiar footsteps. Jasper returned, Cooper trailing behind, both covered head to tail in dust and reeking of sweat.

"How'd it go?" Stella fetched a bottle of water for him to freshen up, "Did you manage to save anyone?"

"Yeah, over a dozen." Jasper stripped off his dust-coated shirt, revealing a muscular torso. "Mark organized it well, forced breaks every hour. Cooper was great. He detected the scent of survivors, which helped us focus our rescue efforts. Saved us a lot of time and energy."

Stella had assessed the dog as soon as he entered. He seemed quite energetic, and his anti-cut protective gear was intact. His paws were also uninjured.

Jasper chuckled, "Cooper's a clever one. He only does the searching, doesn't lift a paw more than necessary."

Stella gave him a playful shove, "Are you saying, like owner, like dog?"

"No, I just think he's doing a great job."

"I noticed you've become quite the smooth talker." Stella gave him a mock glare. "Our Cooper is so capable. How about Mark's Luna?"

Don't get him started. What could that little dog do? All it did was tail Cooper around. A pet dog without special training, how could it handle rescue work?

As Jasper bathed, Stella checked his backpack. All the water was gone, but he had not used any of the emergency medical supplies.

Seemed like he had the situation under control. Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

his shower, Jasper soaked his dirty

out a pot of chicken soup and some cornbread and biscuits for breakfast,

Jasper would rest and was about to leave the room to him, but he swiftly locked the door, scooping her up in his arms. Wasn't he tired after a whole night's

felt tired but strangely energized and relaxed. The stifling post-apocalyptic atmosphere could be

lounging on the couch with a cob of

evening, had dinner with Stella and Rosie, then left for

rock, but it

him, "You should take some

injuries, but was struggling with the heat. She quickly turned on the air conditioning and gave him

mission lasted three days, after

they didn't want to continue the rescue efforts, but for regular people, being without water for three days was already extremely dangerous. Additionally, the severe earthquake struck amidst sweltering heat, making it feel as though people were tossed into a blazing oven. Not only did they face high temperatures and dehydration, but also the risk of suffocation. What were

Mark didn't want to risk the lives of

They'd done their best.

couple of days," Mark patted on the relief team members' back, while reminding them, "This earthquake was severe; few buildings remains standing.

time. We can't harm people but we have to beware of people's intentions. It's likely to get chaotic outside, so it's best not to go out if it's not necessary, especially alone." After wrapping up the disaster relief, Mark didn't take a moment's rest and

Stella was chilling on the couch with a book when a loudspeaker downstairs announced, "Stella from building 5, someone's here for you at the

it

shouted from her balcony, "Who

a bunch of

ominous. Did

would it be?" Jasper was equally puzzled, "I'll

need, you

a few men, what could they do to her? If they didn't have any