18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 143

In response to Stella's words, Jasper felt a twinge of guilt, "No."

He didn't have a sweet tooth, and his drink of choice was coffee, "Actually, I feel quite bad for not being able to help you."

He was referring to the work at Arcadia farm - all back-breaking tasks. Because she needed to save time, he couldn't step in to help and she had to do all the work alone.

Jasper wasn't exactly sure what the work entailed, but he knew it wasn't easy. So he took over all the household chores, and Stella barely needed to lift a finger. The work he did was visible, but her workload was not. "Stella, remember to call on me if you need anything."

"Mm."

Having someone who saw her tiredness, cared for her yet knew the right boundaries felt good. At least in the few months they had lived together, Stella didn't feel uncomfortable anymore. It was no longer as icy as before.

Back at 1802, she closed the thick curtains and turned on the light to read.

Feeling a bit peckish, she pulled out a pack of beef jerky, munching while flipping through the medical books.

Just as she was about to take a bite of the jerky, Stella's eyes widened.

A cockroach!

Judging by its body, it seemed to be underage, crawling slowly on the floor.

That was strange. She had plugged all drains and fixed nets to the balcony gaps. Where could it have come from?

Stella instinctively picked up a slipper, about to squash it, but Smoky, her pet rabbit, suddenly pounced on it. Crunch.

Yes, it ate the cockroach.

Ew, cockroaches carried a lot of germs. Was Smoky trying to commit suicide after a fight with its wife, or was it simply fearlessly ignorant?

Before she could stop him, the cockroach was crushed and swallowed by sharp rabbit teeth.

Meanwhile, Smoky started looking around, seemingly searching for more food, and hopped into the kitchen.

Stella shone a flashlight over, and sure enough, there was another crunch. This time, it was a fully-grown cockroach, as wide as two thumbs.

Realizing the danger, it spread its wings to fly away, but was caught mid-air by a leaping Smoky.

Stella remembered how the cockroaches used to crawl and fly haphazardly, bumping into everything, and it gave her the creeps.

The heat had just begun, and the cockroaches were growing incredibly fast. Thinking about what they might had been eating to grow so large, Stella felt a wave of nausea.

Not only was Smoky hunting, but his temperamental wife, Snowy, joined in the fun. The rabbit couple ran around the house, catching five or six big cockroaches to munch on, seemingly still not satisfied.

Stella was worried they might get poisoned, so the first thing she did when she woke up was to check on them. Surprisingly, they were not only fine but seemed more energetic, digging around for more food with their offspring.

Jasper called her over for breakfast as usual, but Rosie screamed in fright, "Ah, a cockroach, Jasper, there's a cockroach!"

Upon hearing Rosie's scream, Cooper leaped up and ran over.

Stella followed, only to step on something squishy as soon as she stepped out of the room. She lifted her slipper to find a squashed cockroach.

Stella was taken aback. Looking around, she could see at least seven or eight cockroaches just with her naked eyes.

They were on the eighteenth floor, and she shuddered to think what it was like for the lower floor residents.

There were also cockroaches in 1801. Did they sneak in when they were young, or were there eggs in the apartment to begin with? She had no way of knowing.