18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 385

When Stella and Jasper strolled into the workshop, the staff member’s face lit up. “The test results are in, and I was just about to notify you guys.”

To their delight, everything had passed inspection.

Working around the clock, racing against natural disasters, they produced more boats, life pods, and submarines, all in a desperate effort to save as many survivors as possible.

After making sure all the delivery paperwork was sorted, Stella signed off with a flourish and stamped her approval.

With documents in hand, she headed to the points redemption center. The clerk’s eyes practically popped out as he double-checked the figures before inputting the nine-digit score into the system.

Impressive. Stella was now the wealthiest scavenger in history.

Actually, except for the top brass at the base, she was the richest person around.

The clerk, with a cautious smile, reminded her, “You’ve got a ton of points on your card; you might want to spend some of them soon.”

Feeling flush with wealth, Stella strutted through the streets with the confident swagger of someone who owed nothing to anyone, making her way straight to the official marketplace.

Her luck must have been out the door, for upon entering, she was greeted by Julia’s sour face.

Julia’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight of Stella.

This time, Stella was far from disheveled; her face was clean and pale, looking like she had spent a fortune on skincare. Even though Julia was over a year younger, the harshness of the disasters seemed to have left Stella largely unscathed.

Next to Stella, Julia, who usually prided herself on her superiority among colleagues, instantly looked like a haggard housewife.

And just her luck, the chatty coworker couldn’t help but gossip, “Julia, is this your sister? She’s so young and pretty, and she looks just like you.”

“I don’t know her,” Julia managed to say, frustration coloring her tone. “My mom only had me. Don’t spread rumors.”

“Oh my gosh, you two look so alike, though,” the coworker blurted out, oblivious. “But you know, she resembles Aunt Sonya even more.”

Lillian had just visited the marketplace the day before to bring Julia some sweets, sharing with all the colleagues, so her image was fresh in everyone’s mind.

The term ‘bringing sweets’ was just a euphemism for cleaning up Julia’s messes. Julia had managed to offend more than a few customers in her short time there.

The keen-eyed marketplace staff could tell something was amiss between Julia and Stella, suspecting there was a history of bad blood between them.

Three women in one drama; whether it’s the end of the world or just daily life, grievances and grudges are always there.

Despite their usual cheerful demeanor, they wouldn’t hesitate to stick a knife in when push came to shove, especially since Julia had stepped on her toes more than once.

Lola wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slide by. With exaggerated surprise, she exclaimed, “Oh my, I would have thought you two were twins!”

Julia, fuming, gritted her teeth, “I told you, I don’t know her. What are you implying?”

Tricia, from not too far away, shot a look sharp enough to cut, “What are you all gaping at? Didn’t you see we have customers?”

Quick on her feet, Lola warmly approached Stella, “Welcome! How may I assist you today?”

Stella cut to the chase, “I want a submarine.”

“A what?” Lola was taken aback, momentarily at a loss.

“Not selling?” Stella retorted, “But your advertisement on the screen says otherwise. Are you sure you’re not selling?”

“Selling, yes, of course,” Lola recovered, “But, you know, a submarine requires a nine-digit score.”

Without so much as a blink, Stella affirmed, “I can do that.”

The lavishness of the customer caught Lola off guard, and she quickly called over her supervisor, Tricia.

Tricia was composed, politely stating, “We do indeed sell submarines, but we’ll need to verify your points card first.”