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

savvy operators had even started companies to recruit like-minded hunters and conduct training in various skills, but this practice was eventually halted by the

years of hardship. Grown men wept like children in relief.

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

one with psychological scars; Jasper was also struggling. "I'll go with you," he

authorities hadn't given up on infrastructure. The edges of Swan Hill and Griffith were now

medicinal herbs, part of their cultivation contract due to the institute. Considering

street lights stretched down the road, offering courage and hope

Stella kept watch. They encountered military patrols and even a few bandits, but they arrived

Without 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

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

the guards made an exception

hour of waiting, Stella saw Dr.

faced several attacks during the

background, which would make her a

she had aged, but Dr. Collin certainly looked older and thinner.

was delighted. "We have books

doctors who had spent the last two years studying and compiling

make it