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.

wash the maggots clean and stuff them into their mouths when the boss isn't looking," Rosie recounted,

you do

pretended I didn't see

"Why?"

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

hunger, and that feeling

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

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

was just a case of turning a blind eye because it wasn't too

reason to expose them and bring trouble upon

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

if it's wrong, it's forgivable. As long as it doesn't affect you, sometimes it's okay to turn

her brother's approval, Rosie finally breathed

disaster. Survivors did whatever it took, and as long as

for a moment, "Brother,

our peace because others carry the burden. We have a base to live in, where we can defer rent

wait for others to do the work. What if the country

It's only through the hard work of every survivor that our nation

nodded with

if work gets tough or you're feeling down,

sister-in-law and I will help you find

even more determined, "Brother, I'll do

a job tomorrow. I need to set the right example for Rosie. Can't have her thinking it's okay to loaf around all

work hard outside, and she'd definitely enjoy

next day, Rosie still rose with the sun, and Jasper accompanied her, aiming to find a job with light duties and

the

up at nine to freshen up, eat breakfast, and pass the time

returned for lunch, her spirits were markedly improved, even cheerful, "Sister-in-law, I can take care of the maggots on my own now. I'm the fastest learner among the

mentally replaced them with the adorable image of

landed him a