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.

shower, Jasper soaked his dirty

pot of chicken soup and some cornbread

to him, but he swiftly locked the door, scooping her up in his arms. Wasn't he tired after a whole night's work?

but strangely energized and relaxed. The stifling

lounging on the couch

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

injured by a rock, but it wasn't serious. He had promptly disinfected and

him, "You should take

visible injuries, but was struggling with the heat. She quickly turned on the air

lasted three days, after which Mark called it

the severe earthquake struck amidst sweltering heat, making it feel as though people were tossed into a blazing oven.

decomposition of bodies in the heat, Mark didn't want to

They'd done their best.

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

but we have to beware of people's intentions. It's likely to get chaotic outside, so it's best not to

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

it be

shouted from her balcony,

know, a

ominous. Did she

was

you

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