18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 453

Cooper sniffed Rosie's clothes and immediately backed away, shaking his head with a look of utter disdain.

"Ugh, no way I'm touching that!"

Rosie's heart shattered like a fragile glass ornament, her spirits plummeting to rock bottom.

Stella came over and tugged Cooper's ear, "Off you go, chill out elsewhere. Stop picking on Rosie."

After a brief scolding for Cooper, she turned to the sensitive Rosie, chuckling with a hint of exasperation, "There's no smell, neither your brother nor I can smell anything. Cooper's just yanking your chain." Rosie took another sniff of her clothes, and her mood brightened like a sun piercing through storm clouds, "Cooper, you're such a mischief-maker."

Cooper wagged his tail with a grin, playfully tugging at Rosie's pant leg.

"Come on, let's play!"

By noon, hunger struck like an unwelcome guest, demanding attention even when the appetite was half of its usual size.

Area B boasted a seawater filtration system, but fresh water was still a luxury, rationed to half a bucket per person per day, with strict timings for its availability.

For a shower, one had to hoard water, with communal baths and toilets on the first floor.

With water being such a precious commodity, using it for showers seemed wasteful. A quick wipe-down was a luxury, and any surplus could be bartered.

To save on Arcadia time, the trio and their dog had a pact - they'd digest their meal and then all head in together for a quick wash, wrapping up within thirty minutes, no exceptions. Cooper didn't need a shower; he had The Garden upstairs and downstairs to run and catch the breeze to his heart's content.

If he got dirty, they'd wash him afterwards, dumping the dirty water back into Arcadia.

Towel-drying her hair, Jasper asked with concern, "Rosie, how's the job?"

Don't ask. Just the thought brings up a stench with every breath.

Fresh into the workforce, Rosie's worldview was crumbling, "Brother, some folks in the Maggot Crew are sneaking bites."

"Sneaking bites?" Stella almost choked on her words.

mouths when the boss isn't looking," Rosie recounted, feeling queasy at the

didn't judge, "What did you do

hesitated, "I pretended

"Why?"

to steal food, but they're so thin. They must be starving every day." Rosie had her reasoning, "If they had a choice, if they

known hunger, and that feeling was

a life-or-death situation, who cares about eating maggots

her very first day, didn't it stand to reason the boss

of turning a blind eye

no reason to expose them and bring trouble upon

with Rosie's answer, "If these were peaceful times, their actions would be wrong. But in

forgivable. As long as it doesn't affect you, sometimes it's okay to turn a blind eye and not

her brother's approval, Rosie

equally relieved. Right and wrong had lost their significance in the face of disaster. Survivors did whatever it took, and as long as

a moment, "Brother, I can

easy. We enjoy our peace because others carry the burden. We have a base to live in, where we can defer rent or food payments, and receive

gives us a home, but we can't just lie back and wait for

to grow with our country. It's only through the hard work of every survivor that our

nodded with resolve,

course, if work gets tough or you're feeling down,

up, and your sister-in-law and I will help

her brother, Rosie felt even more determined, "Brother,

right example for Rosie. Can't have her thinking it's

work hard outside, and she'd

her, aiming to find

the doting brother continuing to mentor

a lazy morning, waking up at nine to freshen up, eat breakfast, and pass the

markedly improved, even cheerful, "Sister-in-law, I can take care of the maggots on my own now. I'm the fastest

Stella mentally replaced them with

news. His striking looks landed him a job at Area A's administrative center, maintaining law and order as a team