18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 319

After years of sharing a bed, it was the first time Stella realized Jasper was having a nightmare, so she nudged him a few times to wake him up. Jasper's eyes shot open, and he gasped for air. His mind seemed foggy, and his expression looked lost and pained.

Stella waved a hand in front of his face. "Jasper?"

At that, Jasper seemed to snap back to reality, then suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace. "Stella, don't leave me." The usually composed and level-headed man was now a picture of panic and vulnerability. It seemed he also had his own demons from the past, and they had just never surfaced before.

Stella wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Bad dream?"

It was probably the haunting memory of Molly's tragic childbirth that had triggered this nightmare. In his dream, he saw Rosie as nothing but a skeletal frame, and then he found love with Stella, but in this cruel fantasy, Stella died giving birth to his child. "It's just a dream, good for nothing but forgetting," Stella reassured him.

Stella wasn't one to recklessly risk her life, but life was unpredictable, and accidents could happen out of the blue. What if one day, despite all caution, she fell pregnant?

Molly's miscarriage was a shock Stella hadn't been present for, so it hadn't hit her as hard. But Molly's death had struck her to the core.

A constant sense of crisis reminded Stella that she had many weaknesses to address and knowledge to acquire. Otherwise, if the time came, she wouldn't even have the chance for a last-minute prayer.

After breakfast, the radio broadcasted the latest news-the night market was reopening. After two years of silence, the market was back in business. With perpetual darkness, the authorities had adapted, christening it the night market.

This was a surprise for Stella; she hadn't expected the officials to implement such a policy, encouraging survivors to venture out and barter for needed supplies, but advising them to travel in groups rather than solo.

The government's bold move indicated a significant improvement in public safety during the eternal night.

her visit to the market, Stella noted the street lights were on, and there were no thugs to rob her. Clearly, treating criminals as walking bounties was a successful policy. Every system had its place, and over the past two years, bounty hunter groups had thrived, with the more

this practice was eventually halted by the authorities. During these extraordinary times, no private armed groups were allowed-if anyone attempted to form one, they would be treated as

who had endured two years of hardship. Grown men wept like children in relief. "Ha ha, ha ha

the night market, but she wanted to visit the Swan Hill Institute of Herbal Medicine

Jasper was also

darkness, the authorities hadn't given up on infrastructure. The edges of Swan Hill and Griffith were now connected, with military police at the city limits for security.

and Jasper set off. Before leaving, Stella didn't forget to bring gifts-a car full of medicinal herbs, part of their cultivation contract due to the institute. Considering the liver and lung diseases

road, offering courage and hope to those

patrols and even a few bandits, but

official permission, nobody was allowed inside the research facility. Stella hadn't expected such tight security, but it made sense for a special unit like

contract. Could you please contact Dr. Collin for us?" She opened the trunk

the herbs, the guards made an exception and contacted Dr. Collin with their

hour of waiting, Stella saw Dr. Collin rushed out in his military coat,

joyful, with a hearty embrace. The Institute had faced several attacks during the chaos of the eternal night, and the military presence was there to secure

affluent background, which would make her a prime target for thugs. Thankfully, they were both

and she wasn't sure if she had aged, but Dr. Collin certainly looked older and thinner. His temples were now touched with

delighted. "We have books on obstetrics and gynecology that you can copy

Institute had taken in a few doctors who had spent the last

if the unfortunate day arrived, even if they couldn't make it to the end, they would leave behind