18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 70

The voice belonged to Drew, and he was surrounded by a few of his cronies.

Stella ignored him, but Drew continued to knock, chattering away to his buddies.

"Hey, Drew, seems like there's no movement on the 18th floor. Wonder if something happened last night?" The voice was hoarse, a clear indication of a cold. If something had happened to those on the 18th floor, it would have been a sweet relief to them.

Drew muttered curses under his breath but plastered on a benevolent smile. "How could that be? Stella and her friends are young and healthy. How could anything happen to them? If anything did happen, we would have to help."

"Drew, you're too kind. Didn't you see how they treated us?"

"We can't say that. We all live in the same building, and we should look out for each other."

"Huh, there seems to be some movement. They're not dead yet!" The disappointment was clear in his voice. If the people on the 18th floor had been wiped out, the countless supplies would have been theirs.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Drew." Stella's voice was icy cold. "We're not only alive, but we're also thriving."

The sudden voice caused the group to look at each other in surprise. They had been knocking for ages without a response; they hadn't expected a sudden answer.

This was awkward.

Drew was quick to react. "Stella, we were just concerned. It's good that you're alright."

"Don't worry, we'll outlive you lot."

The conversation was over. Drew was seething inside but kept up his friendly facade. "That's good. If you guys ever need anything, don't hesitate to tell me."

The group left with a bitter taste in their mouths.

In a post-apocalyptic world, people like Drew were common. They would wish for others' demise, hoping to scavenge what was left. But they were nothing more than fools, and Stella and her friends didn't take them seriously.

After training Cooper, Stella put on her thermal clothing. She had taken Jasper's advice and removed the cashmere sweater, but she still needed Cooper's fur coat to help him get used to the weather change.

"You?" Jasper asked. "Are we still training today?"

"Yes." Even Cooper was persevering in this cold, so she didn't have an excuse to slack off. She had to keep going, despite the freezing cold.

The training mat was stiff from the cold, so Jasper laid down a cloth.

The living room had a coal stove, but compared to Stella's stove, it was second rate. It was still quite cold. Stella removed her coat and began training with Jasper.

After half an hour, she was sweating profusely. Her thermal socks were silky smooth on the inside. During a collision with Jasper, Stella slid backwards, and because her socks were slippery, she fell backwards.

Jasper was quick to react, rushing to catch her. Her body landed on the training mat, and then Jasper landed on top of her. Her mouth bumped into his face. A muffled groan escaped her lips. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Stars danced in her vision, and her teeth felt loose.

He was so big, and he was lying on top of her.

Jasper immediately got up and helped her sit up. “Are you okay?”

Stella then realized that he had used his hand to support her head. “I’m fine, my feet were just sweaty and I slipped."

"Woof!" Cooper, who was in Rosie's room, heard the commotion and rushed out, grabbing onto Jasper's clothes, and pulling him away. ‘Let Stella go!’

Stella quickly intervened. "Cooper!"

It did not matter who Jasper was, but Cooper wouldn’t let him bully his owner!