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 dirty clothes in disinfectant

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

breakfast, Stella thought 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

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

late, lounging on the couch with

the evening, had dinner with Stella and Rosie, then left for his duty

finger injured by a rock, but it wasn't serious. He had

advised him, "You should take

heat. She quickly turned on the air conditioning and gave him plenty of iced lemonade for

rescue mission lasted three days,

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 the

didn't want to risk the lives of

They'd done their best.

hard, so go back and rest for a couple of days," Mark patted on the relief team members' back, while reminding them, "This earthquake was severe; few buildings remains standing. Many survivors have lost their homes, their supplies buried beneath

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 immediately started well repairs with his team. If the water source wasn't secured soon, the residents

after, Stella was chilling on the couch with a book when a loudspeaker downstairs announced,

Who could it

from her balcony,

a bunch

ominous. Did she

be?" Jasper was equally

you

what could they do to her? If they didn't have any business with her, she would give them a piece of