18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 111

Jasper gently guided his sister, taking their time to follow behind.

Stella took in the sights as they walked, taking a while to compose herself. She noticed traditional medicine practitioners setting up shop, offering treatments for minor injuries and massages. However, due to the absence of medicinal supplies and the frigid temperatures requiring thick clothing, very few patients came forward. Those who did were there for consultations.

The market was vast, with a wide variety of goods for sale. The most common items being second-hand clothes. There were hundreds of pieces piled up together. They looked dishevelled and unclean, but that didn't stop people from inquiring. It was clear where these clothes came from.

Yes, indeed, they were stripped from the dead. Such practices were highly frowned upon, but the survivors had no other choice. If they didn't take the clothes, they would freeze to death.

Survival was of utmost importance.

After browsing for about an hour, apart from Stella, none of them bought anything. Yet, Cody and Lukas were in high spirits. The prices of tea, tobacco, medicine and alcohol had risen, especially the fever-reducing and antibiotic medications. A line of medicines could be exchanged for several pounds of food.

Everyone living on the 18th floor had medicines. As long as they stayed healthy and didn't fall sick, they could exchange for a substantial amount of food in the future. Having medicines in hand gave them a sense of security and confidence about their future.

Stella kept quiet, and Jasper didn't bring it up. The awkward incident with the condom was thus swept under the rug.

Three days later, the residents' committee released a notice informing the survivors to collect the protection grains that were stolen.

According to the criminals' confession, the allocation was based on the area affected. The areas hit harder received more, while those hit less received less. While it was impossible to achieve absolute fairness, they tried their best to ensure fairness for the majority.

Sunrise Sanctuary was one of the worst-hit areas, and each person could collect 2 pounds of grains.

The 18th floor had not been robbed, so when the survivors lined up to collect their grains, Stella chose to stay at home and play dead.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew that the 18th floor had not been robbed, and many were waiting in the shadows. If anyone from the 18th floor dared to come forward to collect the grains, they would secretly report them.

However, to their disappointment, no one from the 18th floor came out. Unexpectedly, they found the 'demons' to be rather conscientious, as they did not compete with them for the grains.

The Moore family did not collect the grains either.

The government had released several thousand job positions, but at the same time, they announced that the relief grains would only be distributed once every half month. The survivors lamented, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Having someone working internally, the news reached them faster than the others. Katie specifically came to knock on the door, "Stella, they are recruiting quite a number of people this time, including those with farming experience. Do you want to consider it?"

Katie was not good at many things, but farming was her forte. She had been a farmer before she married into the Moore family and moved to the city.

She was too old to labor, but she could teach these young ones. Finding a job was the right path.

The Chaos had been resolved, and with the joint efforts of the military and police, the criminal forces had been significantly curbed. The security patrol team of several hundred was fully staffed, carrying out patrols around the clock. The situation was no longer as chaotic as before.

Stella had no plans of going out. She planned to lay low and fatten up the dog.

Jasper had to take care of his sister and also declined her offer.

Cody and Lukas from Unit 1803 decided to stick with Jasper, to learn some life-saving skills. They wanted to rise and become real men.

"Thank you, Katie. We will come to you if we need anything."