18 Floors Above the Apocalypse novel Chapter 46

Stella stepped into the kitchen and grabbed some freshly boiled eggs. She made a batch of pickling liquid and pour it over the eggs. "It’s done." she stated.

...

Just as she was about to take a nap, there came a knock at the door.

The residents of 1801 and 1803 were heading out, even Rosie was donning her raincoat. Jasper wanted to take these two out for some real-world experience. With Cooper's unbridled enthusiasm, Stella thought about it and didn't refuse, "Wait here."

She went back to retrieve her makeup box, selecting a dark color and began to apply it on Rosie's face. It wasn't wrong to let Rosie see the harsh reality of the post-apocalyptic world early on. Still, she was simply too rosy-skinned, making her an easy target if she ventured outside.

After some retouching, Stella finally finished applying the makeup to Rosie's face making her look more weathered and rugged. The dog nudged over as well; he wanted to be painted too.

Stella scoffed at the idea. The dog's face was ugly enough as it was. Cooper, whose confidence was severely dented, huffed and without looking back, left with Jasper.

When Stella woke up from her nap, she began preparing to perform acupuncture on Katie.

Katie took out a cloth-wrapped baked potato from her pocket, "Stella, my back is feeling much better. Thank you."

The potato was still warm, but Stella refused, "I have charged for my services. You keep it."

She wouldn't take anyone's survival chances away. Food was life.

Katie, however, insisted on giving Stella the potato. Suddenly, there was another knocking sound from downstairs.

"I appreciate your kindness," Stella told her, "but if you insist on giving it to me, you can use the potato to pay for your future treatments."

The knocking continued. After a while, someone started shouting, "Hey, girl from the 18th floor, I'm here for treatment. Open up!"

Judging by the robust voice, what illness could they possibly have?

Annoyed by the noise, Stella went downstairs and asked coldly, "What's the problem?"

A middle-aged woman approached her, quickly putting on a smile, "You're Dr. Stella, right?"

"I'm not a doctor, just a medical student."

"Dr. Stella, I have a headache and a fever. Could you please take a look?"

"I charge for my services."

Hearing this, the woman's smile froze, "What? It's just a headache and a fever. Just give me some pills."

Stella retorted, "Are you a shoplifter or something? I don't have any medication here, nor can I treat you."

"No medication? Can you at least give me acupuncture?"

"Acupunctureis five pounds of food per needle."

"What? There's no cost for you to do acupuncture. Why do I have to give you five pounds of food?" The woman was furious, "You can't just take advantage of people like this. We are all neighbors. We should help each other. You've already taken so much, and now you want our food too? You're heartless!"

Stella took a step forward, brandishing her knife, "Say that again."

The woman yelped in fear, "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me? I have connections in the police department. If you lay a finger on me, you'll regret it."

Stella, fed up with the noise, swung her knife towards the woman.

Stella, who had already experienced death once, was always on guard. She was selective about her patients; not everyone who came to her received treatment.

She had seen the dark side of humanity in this very building in her past life. Those she chose to help were the ones whose conscience hadn't yet been destroyed, even though many of them eventually died.

Thinking of Sadie, Stella narrowed her eyes, "Katie, what exactly has she been saying about me?"

Katie tried to recall, "She didn't say anything specifically but kept insinuating that you're hoarding supplies."

Katie then remembered something else, "She's also been trying to flirt with that handsome guy from your floor, but he didn't even give her a second glance."

Flirting with Jasper?

Katie continued, "She even tried to fake a fall in front of him, but he didn't spare her a glance and just walked past."

Katie sighed. This world had indeed changed. Some women were even willing to exchange their bodies for a packet of instant noodles.

Mikey had also been harassed, but thankfully Katie's strict upbringing kept him from straying.

Angela and the others returned just before dusk. They brought back a lot of firewood and even managed to drag back a large stainless steel water tank.

Cooper, ever the eager beaver, dragged a large tree branch upstairs, following Rosie who was carrying firewood, "Stella, we're back."

Cooper was excited, constantly jumping at Stella, getting her all wet.

Rosie had a scrape on her face, probably from a tumble or a scrape, but her eyes shone exceptionally bright when she smiled. She leaned over to whisper into Stella's ear, "Stella, there's meat. Cooper found it, and Jasper hunted it."

Ah, no wonder the dog had a smug look on his face. He was waiting for her praise. She rubbed the dog's head and even gave him a peck.