18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 345

Acid rain usually had no scent, but this cataclysmic downpour was different. The acidity index was so high it was lethal, eroding materials and leaving a foul stench in the air. Stella was busy disinfecting the house, then turned on the air purifier with a sigh of relief.

Confined indoors, she spent her time organizing the knowledge she had accumulated these past weeks, not forgetting to tutor the siblings in medical science.

Cooper didn't understand a word, but he might as well have thought himself human the way he stubbornly sat by her side, fighting sleep and refusing to leave.

Next door, bored out of his mind, Austin would occasionally buzz over the walkie-talkie, "Hey, Stella, fancy a game of cards? We're one short."

Stella, ever the spirited one, replied with a grin, "Sure, if you can make it over here."

The acid rain had been relentless for days, showing no signs of a break in the clouds. To everyone's surprise, Austin actually made it, decked out in a protective suit that was the same brand as Stella's. What a copycat.

It wasn't just the neighbors; Bran showed up too, asking, "Stella, got anything to eat?"

He was something else. Not only did he have a top-notch protective suit, but his dog did too, obviously custom-made.

Buddy, clad in his own gear, walked awkwardly but was still eager to see Cooper despite the acidic downpour. The two dogs played around downstairs while Rosie and Dylan practiced boxing on the rooftop. The card games were addictive, so much so that cooking was the last thing on anyone's mind.

Stella offered half-heartedly, "We've got some expired instant noodles, you want some?"

Bran, who had lost all his usual finickiness, replied, "As long as it doesn't kill me, I'm in."

"You'll find out if it's lethal once you've eaten it."

She wasn't kidding; the noodles were indeed a year past their prime, taken from a stash in her Arcadia hideout.

using the seasoning packets, Stella improvised. She threw in some dried mushrooms,

who never touched what he considered low-end junk food, now found himself relishing every bite as if it

shot him a look, "Your family owns a farm. Making your own instant noodles and seasoning should be

with glass domes, but who could

"Who knows? It's as if it's got a mind of

lack of reverence meant a

had been acidic from the start, perhaps fewer lives would have been lost. Instead, it lulled everyone into a false

waste a drop of his noodle soup, "Exactly. It's like it's

when suddenly, sunlight streamed through the windows. The acid rain had stopped, and the sun had broken through. The post-rain rainbow was exceptionally bright and beautiful, enchanting like something out of a fairy tale, tempting the

from the rooftop as people

wasn't celebrating. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and cursed, "Have you all lost your damn minds? Didn't you learn anything from last time? Wanna bet

and sharp. Those who had lost their senses to excitement might have resented his words, but no one dared to

than half an hour later, the acid

was surprised; Bran had matured. Had he not stopped

was spared, but as for the outside

the skies cleared, people should not

and off, a new

wasn't enough. The community's water supply was dwindling fast, and even if it didn't run out, it would spoil. Boiled or not, the water was undrinkable, and everyone's digestive systems were painfully aware. The community's pleas for water echoed across the

and no one was willing to part with it, not even if they

requests, and the shameless ones had nothing to do but call out names one

Eventually, everyone played dead.

Stella did the same.

square for residents to collect. Everyone cheered at the