18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 80

In no time, folks with ill intentions started to stir, but no one dared to make a move.

Rosie's rare outing had her over the moon. With her older brother on her left and Stella on her right, she was oblivious to the bone-chilling cold, hopping around with sheer joy.

Most of the residents had come for their rations in the morning. By the time Stella and Jasper arrived, the queue had shortened. They waited for less than twenty minutes before it was their turn. They had to fill in their ID information and address, and upon verification, they received their rations in their own bags.

Stella had brought a flour sack, as a pound of ration didn't weigh much.

Cooper saw that both his instructor and Rosie had rations, and was perplexed and distressed. He had queued up too, so why was he left out?

Stella couldn't help but laugh. "You're a dog. There's no ration for you."

Cooper was outraged and glared at the volunteers. He thought, "I may be a dog, but that doesn't mean you get to ignore me!"

The volunteers were instantly smitten by this handsome dog, not expecting to see such a well-groomed pet in these conditions.

Not just the volunteers, even the police officers maintaining order at the scene couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Cooper. They had a dog in their team once, but unfortunately, it was no more. Perhaps that was the charm of dogs, their ability to draw people in.

After collecting the rations, they each carried one pound and headed back.

Cooper saw Rosie carrying her ration in her hand and insisted on carrying his own bag of rations too. Stella had to hand him a bag of rations to stop him sulking.

With a bag of rations in his mouth, Cooper finally cheered up and strutted next to Rosie. "Woof!"

Suddenly, two children playing on the icy ground rushed towards Rosie, snatched the ration bag from her hand, and ran off. Rosie was pushed down, falling hard on the icy ground.

Cooper acted quickly and pounced on the child who had taken the ration bag, knocking him down and causing the ration bag to drop.

Rosie didn't cry. She got up and rushed over to the child who had taken her bag and started throwing punches.

Did they regret stealing from her now?

One punch, two punches, she aimed for his face, causing the child to cry out in pain.

Cooper grabbed the other child's pant leg with his teeth. ‘This child needed a beating too!’

Remembering her brother's advice, Rosie was furious and didn't hold back.

With Cooper's help, Rosie not only gave the children a good beating but also retrieved her ration. Her face was flushed with anger. "If you steal from me again, I'll beat you to death!"

Jasper watched the scene unfold without intervening. Stella was caught between laughter and tears. No wonder he had brought Rosie along; he wanted Rosie to take practice.

"What are you doing?" A woman in a padded jacket rushed over, yelling out in rage. "They're just children! How can you bully them like this? Have you no conscience?"

Jasper remained silent, and his cold gaze was fixed on her.

Unfortunately, the woman didn't notice his gaze and continued her tirade, even attempting to pull Rosie away, only to be scared off by a snarling Cooper.

"Look at you, even your dog is bullying people! Everyone, come judge this!"

Stella stepped forward and kicked the woman to the ground.

The woman fell and was about to wail and throw a fit but found a sharp knife at her throat. "Seems like you don't act like an adult and let your children steal. Don't blame us for disciplining them on your behalf!"

Many adults didn't guard against children, and many parents took advantage of this loophole to let their children engage in such dirty acts. Even if they were caught on the spot, they could argue that the children didn't know any better and asked the adults not to take it to heart. If the children had any injuries, they could take the opportunity to claim compensation.

Don't ask Stella how she knew this. She had encountered it before, and more than once.