18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 61

Stella was more than willing to make the trade, her dog was a sucker for canned goods. Over a hundred pounds of fish was swapped for 20 cans of dried food.

Gordon was equally pleased with the fish from Joey and his group, fed up with dog food. The fish no matter how plentiful, could only last so long when shared among a lot of people in a neighborhood. “Joey, do you have any more?” Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Joey was cautious, “How much do you need?”

“How about we trade every three days, two thousand pounds each time?”

“No can do, either tomorrow or the day after. Time waits for no man.”

Given the overflow from the reservoir, many fish had been swept away. It was only a matter of time before others discovered the reservoir, so they needed to act fast.

The entire neighborhood feasted on fish, so there was no need for secrecy. Gordon and his group agreed to continue trading, “We meet here after dark tomorrow; we’ll take however much you have.”

Daytime was too risky;night was safer.

After the trade, they retreated.

Stella and her group were particularly cautious, making sure they weren’t being followed before heading back to the neighborhood.

With five hundred pounds of dog food and the supplies exchanged with Monkey and his group, today's harvest was quite abundant.

However, after the initial joy, they discovered a major problem. They were so focused on trading that they forgot to charge their fishing equipment.

“What do we do now?” Joey fretted, “We already promised Gordon and his group.”

Food was a precious commodity they couldn’t afford to lose.

Cody suggested, “Why don’t we ask The Monkey’s group to charge it?”

That group was ruthless. Charging equipment would cost 200 pounds of fish. The danger wasn’t in giving up the fish. It was letting them see the fishing equipment, which could lead them to the location of the reservoir.

Even though they had been reliable so far, it was the end of the world. People’s intentions could change in an instant. Monkey could be fattening them up for slaughter.

Stella had plenty of ways to charge the equipment, but she couldn’t reveal them.

To everyone’s surprise, Jasper stepped up, “I’ll take care of charging it. You guys don’t need to worry about it.”

His aura was intimidating, so no one dared to ask how he was going to charge it. Not to mention the Moore family, even the people from 1803 were afraid to ask.

Even if they did, Jasper wouldn’t answer. People were naturally drawn to mystery. Jasper was undoubtedly mysterious; everyone knew it was dangerous to pry. Their lives could be at stake if they broke the peace by asking too many questions.

Despite their casual demeanor, those in unit 1803 were aware of the boundaries. They didn’t receive the same treatment from Jasper as Stella did. Not only did they not ask, they even helped keep Jasper’s secret.

So the crucial task fell to Jasper.

It was late into the night, but they remained vigilant, silently hauling their resources upstairs.

The Moore family had the most fruitful harvest this time. They not only got over a hundred pounds of dog food, but also several pounds of rice and fried fish. If they rationed it, they could survive several months.

Katie was anxious, listening for any noises outside and quietly letting her son and daughter-in-law in. Upon learning that they received 1.5 shares of the haul, she whispered, “The people from the 18th floor are good to us. We must remember this kindness.”

“Mom, we know.”

They spent the night packing their goods into several portions, hiding them in closets, ceiling panels, and inside the range hood. People can be ruthless, and these supplies were their lifeline. They couldn’t afford to be careless.

Stella had it easy, just tossing everything into Arcadia.

Angela made a pledge, “Stella, we still have food. When Cooper runs out of dog food, feel free to come and get some.”

Stella didn’t beat around the bush, “Sure, I’ll trade you something for it when the time comes.”

After closing the door, she went into Arcadia for a hot shower with her dog. The fishy smell was unbearable.

The dog had been in a few times and was remarkably calm. Finding the spot where the fish was stored, Cooper’s eyes sparkled. So much food!

He couldn’t count, but he sensed a mountain of food. He could eat until the end of time with his owner.

Stella was equally satisfied. She would deal with the surplus fish when she had more time.

They were both exhausted. After a shower, they enjoyed hot chicken soup, grinning at each other.

Snowy, with its swollen belly, came over and sat quietly by Stella. Stella patted its round belly, wondering how much bunnies it would have.

The dog was jealous of the attention, silently baring his teeth in a threat—once the bunnies were born, he would eat them all.

They were out late the next day due to exhaustion.

Lukas replaced Cody, while Angela stayed home with the kid. She was anxious, feeling like she was freeloading.

Jasper somehow managed to fully charge the fishing equipment; everyone was curious but no one had the courage to ask. The key to survival in this world was keeping your mouth shut.

Gordon and his group said they would take however much they could catch, so today they were prepared to work hard.

Afraid that Jasper wouldn’t be able to carry everything, Stella decided to bring her own inflatable boat. The boat had an engine, and Joey offered to carry it for Stella, worried that she might not be able to handle it. Stella didn’t refuse, so the Moore family and Lukas took turns carrying the boat over the hills.

When they reached the reservoir, the water level seemed higher than the day before. They didn’t skimp on food before starting work, especially the Moore family. After eating meat, they felt stronger

than before.

They divided the work, Jasper and Mikey operated the fishing equipment, while Stella and the others scattered around to catch fish.

Mikey made two fishing nets overnight, which instantly improved their fishing efficiency.

Cooper stared at Mikey ominously. Damn! His owner’s chance to hoard fish was gone.

The dog’s intimidating gaze made Mikey uneasy. He asked Jasper, “Why is the dog always staring at me?”

Jasper was used to it, “If you didn’t stare at him, how would you know he’s staring at you?”

Mikey was speechless. Okay, focus on fishing.

With the previous day’s experience, they worked fast. In about two hours, they caught almost two thousand pounds of fish.

Just as they were about to continue, Cooper suddenly barked fiercely at something in the distance. Stella took out her binoculars, “Not good, people are coming.”

There were quite a few people, about twenty or thirty. They also spotted the reservoir, “There are people. People are fishing!”

"What do we do?" Amber's voice was laced with panic, "They've spotted us."

Stella remained composed, "Let them do their thing. We'll do ours."

Running wasn't an option with four thousand pounds of fish on board.

Soon enough, they were rushing towards the lake, armed not only with inflatable rafts but also two assault boats.

Upon careful counting, there were at least thirty of them, likely a team searching for resources. A speedboat led the way, with over a dozen armed men, some of them sporting tattoos, approaching the center of the reservoir with a fierce and menacing look.

Jasper's brows furrowed slightly, "Tie the assault boats to the inflatable rafts."

One assault boat for each raft, they would certainly be able to pull them along.

He unzipped his backpack and pulled out a nail gun, tossing it towards Stella, "Catch it."

It was fortunate that Stella had quick reflexes. Otherwise, they would have been in serious trouble if it fell into the water.