18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 224

The faint movement didn't set off the alarm.

Stella cocked an ear, recognizing the familiar footsteps. Jasper returned, Cooper trailing behind, both covered head to tail in dust and reeking of sweat.

"How'd it go?" Stella fetched a bottle of water for him to freshen up, "Did you manage to save anyone?"

"Yeah, over a dozen." Jasper stripped off his dust-coated shirt, revealing a muscular torso. "Mark organized it well, forced breaks every hour. Cooper was great. He detected the scent of survivors, which helped us focus our rescue efforts. Saved us a lot of time and energy."

Stella had assessed the dog as soon as he entered. He seemed quite energetic, and his anti-cut protective gear was intact. His paws were also uninjured.

Jasper chuckled, "Cooper's a clever one. He only does the searching, doesn't lift a paw more than necessary."

Stella gave him a playful shove, "Are you saying, like owner, like dog?"

"No, I just think he's doing a great job."

"I noticed you've become quite the smooth talker." Stella gave him a mock glare. "Our Cooper is so capable. How about Mark's Luna?"

Don't get him started. What could that little dog do? All it did was tail Cooper around. A pet dog without special training, how could it handle rescue work?

As Jasper bathed, Stella checked his backpack. All the water was gone, but he had not used any of the emergency medical supplies.

Seemed like he had the situation under control. Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

After his shower, Jasper soaked his dirty clothes in disinfectant before washing them.

Stella brought out a pot of chicken soup and some cornbread and biscuits for breakfast, a comforting treat for the two heroes.

After breakfast, Stella thought Jasper would rest and was about to leave the room to him, but he swiftly locked the door, scooping her up in his arms. Wasn't he tired after a whole night's work?

After a few rounds of passionate lovemaking, he fell asleep.

Stella felt tired but strangely energized and relaxed. The stifling post-apocalyptic atmosphere could be eased by physical comfort.

She woke up late, lounging on the couch with a cob of corn, watching TV.

Jasper woke up in the evening, had dinner with Stella and Rosie, then left for his duty with Cooper.

The next morning, Jasper returned with a finger injured by a rock, but it wasn't serious. He had promptly disinfected and bandaged it.

Stella, worried, advised him, "You should take some antibiotics."

She also checked Cooper, who had no visible injuries, but was struggling with the heat. She quickly turned on the air conditioning and gave him plenty of iced lemonade for hydration.

The rescue mission lasted three days, after which Mark called it off.

Not that they didn't want to continue the rescue efforts, but for regular people, being without water for three days was already extremely dangerous. Additionally, the severe earthquake struck amidst sweltering heat, making it feel as though people were tossed into a blazing oven. Not only did they face high temperatures and dehydration, but also the risk of suffocation. What were the chances of survival? The number of people rescued on the second day was half of the first day, and on the third day, none at all.

With the swift decomposition of bodies in the heat, Mark didn’t want to risk the lives of the community members, so he pragmatically called it quits.

They'd done their best.