18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 156

Fortunately, all three of them were skilled, and they had weapons on hand, so they didn't suffer any losses.

The water reached around their knees when Jasper decided it was time to stop twiddling his thumbs. He and the others went out to look for cars to avoid any further delay. If any more cars were damaged, it would be a real pain to repair them.

They weren't the only ones being proactive. The city's management was also on the move.

Excavators and drilling machines were being brought in. Some were digging wells, others were constructing public restrooms. Everything was orderly and seemed to have been planned in advance.

The water evaporated quickly, and the mud accumulated in the Sunrise Sanctuary was cracked and dry within a day.

The midday temperature reached a scorching 53 degrees, feeling like being grilled on a hotplate.

Underground garages dried up quickly, filled with cars in disarray, coated in a thick layer of dried mud.

Jasper's Hummer, stripped to almost unrecognizable, was still there. Lukas and the others were awestruck, giving thumbs up after a long moment, "Jasper, you're the real deal."

They managed to push five or six cars back, all of them decent off-road vehicles. However, not only were they soaked, but they were also frozen. Many parts were damaged, and trying to salvage them was as difficult as performing a head transplant.

But the will to survive kept them going, and no one was ready to give up.

Jasper inspected his own car. Despite the grime and dirt, the damage was minimal thanks to previous special treatments, and he had disassembled all the parts that could be removed.

With Cody and Lukas, he cleaned the car and started tinkering with spare parts.

While the men were busy in the underground parking lot, Stella wasn't idle either. She chatted with Angela while making a pot of lemon tea, "Now that the water has receded, once the cars are repaired, you can leave. Lincoln has plenty of water resources, but it's not as industrialized as Griffith. They have a military base over there, so they've probably exhausted all available resources. Let me know what you need, and I'll try to get it for you in the next couple of days."

Angela didn't want to trouble Stella, but her offer was too good to refuse, "Stella, thank you."

"No need for thanks, we're friends."

Parting was imminent, and Angela was reluctant to leave, "It's a pity you're not coming with us to the base, otherwise we'd still be together."

Stella smiled, "Nothing lasts forever. No matter where we are, we have to keep going. Who knows, we may meet again someday."

That night, Angela discussed with Cody and Lukas.

Nearly two years into the catastrophe, thanks to regular exercise, the three of them had rarely fallen ill and their supply of medicine hadn't decreased much.

They sorted through their supplies, realizing that some of their medication was nearing its expiration date and some rarely used ones were of no use.

They gave the outdated and seldom used medication to Stella, along with a list of their needs.

Stella accepted the medication and looked over the list, "What you all need are common items, but meteorological researchers have warned that various extreme weather conditions may persist in the future. Once the extreme heat subsides, we don't know what comes next. Aren't you taking precautions in advance?"

That did remind Cody, and he quickly came up with an idea. "Stella, how about this? Whatever you and Jasper prepare, make an extra set for us too?"

Stella thought about it and said, "Alright, I'll check with Katie later to see if the Moore family has any leads on what kind of extreme weather might be coming. Then we can decide what supplies to prepare."

With that decided, they all returned to their work in the parking lot.

When Jasper came home that night, he smelled so bad Stella almost threw up. She quickly fetched two bathtubs full of water from Arcadia and urged him to take a bath, "You stink."

Jasper had been using the bathroom in 1802 since they returned from the ceramics factory.

He bathed and rinsed, washing himself clean from head to toe. When he emerged with a towel around his head, Stella had a chilled bowl of ambrosia salad ready for him, "How's the car repair going?"

"My car should be fixable." Jasper contentedly dug into the ambrosia salad, "The others will depend on luck. There are many damaged parts that we'll need to get from other cars. We'll sneak in some spare parts and see if we can piece together a working car."

Stella thought this was too hard, "Once your car is fixed, just help Cody and the others fix one."

Going out to salvage parts from junk cars was dangerous not only because of other survivors but also because of the risk of heat stroke.

People were falling ill every day, and with the current medical conditions, even the most fortunate couldn't be saved.

Arcadia had four cars. Unless there were special circumstances, everyone could have their own car, and they could even let the dog drive the extra one.

Jasper had a different perspective, "The cars you've collected are too new. They're too conspicuous, which is not necessarily a good thing."

Once Cody and the others left, it would just be him and Stella at on the 18th floor. Ordinary survivors might not dare to cause trouble, but what about those with malicious intentions?

The world would only make them more ruthless, with no regard for morality or ethics. Life was as cheap as dirt, and they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

Jasper had a plan, "Once my car is fixed, we'll find an old van to disguise, which would make our trips and transport easier."

Stella had no objections, "Sounds good."

After that, she mentioned the matter of preparing goods for 1803. Their supplies were pooled together, and they had jointly collected a lot of resources, so they had to discuss it.

Jasper thought for a while, "First, we go out and trade. If we can't find what we need, and we have surplus, then we can give some to them."

He needed to make sure he could protect the person he cared about most first. He would only lend a hand to others if he had the capacity to do so.

Stella agreed, "I'll go out and scout around tomorrow."

She intended to go early and return early, but she only found out when she got to the department store that the trading street was not only closed but had also been relocated.

It was now at Peace Square and only opened at night. With the weather being unbearably hot, people could only come out at night. This is the property of Nô-velDrama.Org.

Many government-run factories also changed their schedules to rest during the day and work at night.

Stella turned to leave, only to hear a voice behind her, "Hello?"

Ah, Monkey was really dedicated to his job, working around the clock. He shaved his head. With a naturally slender and short stature, he looked even more like a monkey wearing a short T-shirt and shorts.

"It really is you." Monkey was particularly pleased, "I thought I had the wrong person. What are you here for this time?"

True to his opportunistic nature, he was ready to drum up business.

Stella didn't hesitate, handing over a pre-prepared list, "Can you get everything?"

Monkey looked at the list, his brows furrowing, "Are you privy to some inside scoop?"

He still bore the bruises from the last time he crossed the boss over the water tower fiasco. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

"What inside scoop?" Stella rolled her eyes at him, "Are we in business or not? If not, scram."

"Of course we are." Monkey plastered on a grin, "It's hot enough without your temper flaring."

He'd been taken for a ride last time; he couldn't afford to let her pull one over on him again.