18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 107

Stella sneaked a glance at Jasper, his calm demeanor unchanging as Rosie curiously gazed around from his arms. NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

Sensing her gaze, Jasper turned his eyes to meet hers. Stella immediately looked away, feigning ignorance as though it was all a figment of his imagination.

But when he looked over, she caught a hint of amusement in his eyes from the corner of her own. Was he amused by the fate of The Chaos, or was he simply greeting her?

Before she could ponder on this, Cooper snuggled into her arms: "Hug me, like Rosie is being hugged."

Holding the dog, she felt a comforting warmth, akin to a cozy fireplace.

Beside her, shivering from the cold, Lukas couldn't care less about the judgmental glances from others, "Honey, I'm cold." The two huddled together, holding each other tightly.

Next to them, Cody could only hug the air. He was so envious.

The loudspeakers echoed with bold accusations against the corrupt powers, each claim backed by solid evidence.

Time slipped away unnoticed. Before they knew it, an hour had passed. The survivors, tired from standing, shifted their positions. They were not interested in the crimes, only eager to see the fate of those in orange vests.

After thorough investigation by the police, the final count of those who would face death penalty stood at 386. Some of them, representatives, took the stage to describe their descent into crime, regretting their past actions, and urging the survivors to choose kindness. If given another chance, they promised they wouldn't make the same mistakes.

Stella could only laugh at their words, knowing that if given another chance, they would still choose to do evil without hesitation.

In the end, the authorities had seized 352,739 pounds of food, dismantled underground illegal workshops, seized over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, over 200 firearms, and numerous controlled weapons. They had rescued over 500 survivors, over 50 kidnapped women, and over 20 kidnapped children used for ransom or threat.

The list of crimes was endless.

The government decided to return the food to the people, distributing it through local community centers to the survivors.

With the large number of victims and the criminal group's extravagant lifestyle, it was unrealistic to return everything to each victim, so they decided to distribute it evenly.

Despite some grumbles, the survivors were grateful to get back even a part of what they had lost.

But there were always those who complained. They were silent in the face of the criminal group, but were vocal against the government, even attempting to storm the stage, "Why should it be distributed evenly? They took so much from me. Why can't I get it all back? You need to figure this out! I will not accept this!"

The police on the scene immediately subdued these individuals.

Chaos ensued, and it seemed as if those who made the biggest fuss would get the most. When the military raised their weapons, the commotion finally ended.

The environment had changed, and so had the way things were handled. If they were to follow the procedures from before the apocalypse, it would take years to assess and verify the losses of all victims.

If they didn't distribute the food immediately fast, it would lead to more deaths among the survivors.

Facing the protesters, Evan asked sharply, "What did they take from you?"

The man's response was laughable. He not only claimed loss of basic food items, but also 1982 Lafite wine and limited edition whiskey.

Evan finally lost his patience, "Take this troublemaker away for a thorough investigation. We won't tolerate such behavior."

With that, no one else dared to cause trouble.

After the commotion, the convicts were taken away to the Western Mountain coal mines, and the others were sentenced to death.

Scared and pissing their pants, some even fainted on the spot, but they still had to face their punishment.

The crowd stood around, some even on their toes to see the spectacle, while others covered their eyes in fear. Rosie buried her head in her brother's neck, too scared to watch.

Cooper, too short to see, kept tugging at Stella.

With no other choice, Stella crouched down. The dog quickly climbed onto her back.

With the thunderous sound of gunfire, the convicts fell one by one. Cooper, with his dog eyes wide open, saw so many fresh legs falling.

After the public trial, the survivors slowly dispersed, each worrying about their survival the next day.

Taking advantage of the outing, Lukas suggested going to the department store, hoping to find some useful supplies.

As the crowd dispersed, Cooper attracted many glances. His show of strength earlier had turned him into a local celebrity.

With such power on display, they weren't afraid of anyone targeting them, allowing Cooper to be the center of attention.

Cooper handed the leash to Stella, his tail wagging excitedly: "Come on, let's go for a walk."

With still quite a few people around, Stella's instinctive caution didn't allow her to fully relax. They were about to head to the department store and she couldn't keep her attention on Cooper all the time, so she decided to put him in her bag for convenience.

"Max."

A surprised and delighted voice called out. Cooper immediately stiffened, slowly turning his head.