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.

Jasper soaked his dirty clothes in disinfectant

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

the door, scooping her up in his arms. Wasn't he tired after a whole night's work? After a few rounds of passionate

but strangely energized and relaxed. The stifling post-apocalyptic atmosphere

woke up late, lounging on the couch with

woke up in the evening, had dinner with Stella and Rosie, then

a rock,

him, "You should take some

who had no visible injuries, but was struggling with the heat. She quickly turned

three days, after which Mark called it

a blazing oven. Not only did they face high temperatures and dehydration, but also the risk of suffocation. What were the chances of survival? The number of people rescued on the second day was half of the first day, and on the third day, none

heat, Mark didn't want to risk

They'd done their best.

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

survive, but the government can't arrange for so many victims in a short 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

a loudspeaker downstairs announced, "Stella from building 5, someone's here for you at the

confused. Who could it

from her balcony, "Who

a

that sounded ominous. Did

would it be?" Jasper was

need, you

do to her? If they didn't have any business with her,