18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 235

With lightning reflexes, Stella accelerated her mule, swiftly evading the threat.

Jasper, without hesitation, raised his crossbow and fired, the shriek from the debris pile echoed in the air. They didn't stop but kept moving.

As they approached the city center, the crowd thickened, the town hall was bursting at the seams.

The hall was packed with survivors, all drawn by the promise of a new city plan. Even amidst an apocalypse, the deep-rooted mindset prevailed, a home was not a home without a house.

Those wealthy enough hoped to seize an opportunity to secure a house. The less fortunate aimed to accumulate points to exchange for supplies.

The bulletin board was plastered with dozens of pages, all lists of various materials that could be exchanged for points. The hall also boasted a precious electronic display screen, scrolling through the same information. After half an hour, Stella and Jasper finished reading. Afterward, they exchanged a glance, and both felt uneasy.

Indeed, reinforced steel was expensive, but the price of a completed house was even higher. A two-bedroom house required 5000 points, a villa demanded 50000 points. Well, it was not exactly a villa. It was just a two-story detached house, and the two bedrooms were just that, without a living room or bathroom, only about 15 square meters. What did this imply? It wasn't that the government was being greedy, but resources were simply too scarce. Only by raising the threshold could some survivors be satisfied.

The absence of a living room was understandable, but no bathroom? Stella tugged at Jasper, hoping he could elaborate.

Jasper lowered his voice, "In the post-apocalyptic world, building materials are scarce. Without waterproof paint, you can build bathrooms. Any leakage could damage the quality of the house." Reinforced steel, after being exposed to extreme cold, had its quality affected to some extent. Building too many floors would be risky, five or six was already pushing it.

In the future, public bathhouses and toilets would be established to cater to nature's call.

Stella was shocked, so they would have to venture out to use the toilet in the middle of the night? Or keep a chamber pot at home?

After remembering the key details, Jasper led her away from the crowd to a quiet place, "A villa requires 50000 points and 2000 pounds of grain, but it comes with a yard and a bathroom."

He made some calculations. If they used all the steel and bricks they had accumulated, plus 2500 pounds of grain, they could afford a villa and a two-bedroom house.

"Why do they need so many points?" Stella frowned. "Were houses this expensive in your past life?"

Of course not, the price should at least be reduced by tenfold.

few, but this time, with the government's early warning, most people survived. This means resources are even scarcer, and the struggle for survival is even fiercer." "You mean the government deliberately raised the points required for a house to exchange for more resources

most of whom couldn't afford a house, the government had no choice but to increase the price of houses, taking a cut from the middle and

it was robbing

they had in Arcadia and shook her head,

area was also unsafe. For instance, during the polar night, the cost of committing a crime was low. What if the villa was

had an extra two-bedroom house, with Rosie and Cooper, and the need to raise rabbits, they wouldn't be able to manage. Therefore, not only did they need the villa, but they also needed at least two two-bedroom

that was the case, the building materials they

and as for the glass, it had to be saved for decorating the

can be

highest demand." Stella nodded, "Near Eastwood Eden is the Griffith River, as

wood, they could venture into the

was how to solve the transportation problem. But Stella had Arcadia to cheat, if they needed wood, they just had to go

some time. Stella didn't want to

friends in Griffith. Jasper suggested, "Shall we visit

but had they managed to endure

wasn't too far, so

research institute's residential building collapsed. The building where Katie lived, had collapsed. Stella stood in front of the ruins, feeling lost. A woman scavenging nearby looked up, "Young lady, who

after a while she said, "I'm looking for

"Mikey's family."

pointing in

meters away, tents and wooden houses were crowded together. Only one building of the research institute was left standing, but the research work had to continue, so the families had to make

woman sighed deeply, "My son was in the same group as Mikey's dad. A while ago I heard him mention

the pair

smeared some dust on her

and waste were everywhere, the survivors were disheveled, and discarded materials from scavenging were piled next to the tents

of the tent, boiling some herbal medicine on a clay stove,

"Stop wasting food to exchange for medicine. I've

the pit, "Don't think like that. If Mikey hears you, he'll worry. You're