18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 25

Men's emotional expressions are quite different from women's. Instead of Stella or Angela accompanying him, it was Lukas who went in to chat.

They didn't get into specifics; they just mentioned that they had spotted him at the Griffith Hotel when they reached the neighborhood.

The conditions at the shelter were terrible, so Lukas invited him to the Sunrise Sanctuary, "We're staying next door to Stella's place. It's a three-bedroom apartment, and you can move in with us. We'll figure out the rest later."

Stella called Angela to a window at the end of the hallway. "What's your plan?"

Angela didn't really want any outsiders disrupting their lives, but these were exceptional times, and friends needed to help each other. Without Stella, she and Lukas would have had no other option but to stay at the shelter.

"Lukas is actually quite sentimental," Angela said. "He only has you and Cody as friends. Besides, who doesn't have difficult times? The flood will eventually recede. Let's let him stay with us."

Their food supplies would last two or three months. If they ran out, they'd find a way. Angela was a straightforward person who didn't overthink things. Plus, she firmly believed that the world would returned to normal.

As the two women chatted by the window, Lukas and Cody emerged from the room. Cody approached the two women with a forced smile, "Angela, I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Angela slapped his shoulder. "We're friends. After the flood recedes, just treat us to a good meal." ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

As they left in an inflatable boat, Stella handed Cody a package of cookies. Cody thanked her, tore open the package, and wolfed them down. The corners of his eyes were teary.

Lukas also offered the last of his crackers.

"I'm... I'm so sorry." Cody said.

"It's nothing," Stella said. "We've all had our low moments in these end times. There's no such thing as easy."

Upon their return to the Sunrise Sanctuary, everyone was utterly exhausted. Stella took out two pounds of rice she had bought from the supermarket and other items. "Cody, don't say I'm taking advantage of you. Once the flood recedes, you owe me a hundredfold. I’ll have a 1% cut on all deals."

Despite her mercenary words, her tone was teasing and familiar. She was the same Stella, showing no disdain for him. Cody let out a small sigh of relief. "I'll give you a 2% cut."

"What about me?" Lukas asked indignantly. "You're covering mine and Angela's brunch for a year."

"Deal," Cody agreed.

Upon returning home, they changed into sleepwear and fell onto their beds. Stella stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Unlike Lukas and Angela, Cody, who was used to dealing with business, was far more insightful. Stella had to protect Arcadia's secret and couldn't give anything away.

For the next two days, none of them left the house.

Stella, when not reading or training, spent her time in the house organizing their supplies. Exhausted to the point of breaking her back, she finally managed to sort out all the goods they had looted from the supermarket. The supplies piled up to the ceiling. She locked the large room and hid the key in Arcadia.

During this period, Angela came over once. While they were chatting, Stella asked about Cody, "How's he doing?"

"He hardly speaks. He just sleeps all day," Angela said with a sense of foreboding. "That woman really hurt him. And life is so hard right now. Do you think he'll ever recover?"

"He's been like this every time he's broken up with someone. He'll be fine in a couple of days," Stella said, rummaging through a cabinet. She pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "This is a gift from his company to their clients. He gave me one. Let him drink it and he'll be fine."

Men always needed to vent. Despite being an orphan, Cody had come from a tough background and was stronger than most.

Thinking about it, Angela agreed. "The storm has been over for a few days now. Why won't the rain stop?"

Not only did it not stop, but the water levels were rising, making them feel suffocated and anxious.

"Who knows," Stella said, "Maybe one day it will reach the 18th floor."

Angela was scared. That was a terrifying thought!

The next day, Angela knocked on Stella’s door. "Cody drank an entire bottle of whiskey last night. He was out cold all night, but he's better now. He wants to talk to us about something."

After changing clothes and shaving, Cody looked a lot cleaner. He looked at everyone seriously. "I think the apocalypse is here."

Stella's heart jumped at his words.

"Don't you think it's unnatural?" Cody asked, sitting upright. "An unprecedented storm, rain pouring like there's a hole in the sky.

"I heard a lot of news at the shelter. The government is working round the clock to salvage food from the wholesale market. Our bread and crackers are made from that food.

“Our country has enough stockpiled food to last two years without farming. So why are they giving us half-rotten food salvaged from floodwaters? And why are they only giving us enough to barely fill our stomachs while the rest is dried and stored?"

Lukas looked surprised. "It's been raining non-stop. They can't transport food."

"No, don't underestimate the power of the state," Cody said confidently. "If it was just the coastal areas affected, relief would have arrived by now. Unless..."

This was a national disaster, perhaps even a global disaster.

Before the internet went down, Cody had followed the news and browsed forum posts. Many other areas were also affected. Simultaneous disasters were happening everywhere. Wasn't this the apocalypse?

Even if the floodwaters receded one day, it would take a while for things to return to normal. This was probably why the government was urgently salvaging and storing supplies.

After hearing Cody’s analysis, Angela and Lukas were also concerned. "A lot of people have been scavenging lately. Should we try our luck?"

Cody looked at Stella. "Stella, what do you think?"

"The water is too deep. Even professional divers would struggle, let alone ordinary people without equipment." Stella immediately dismissed the idea. "Even if we're lucky enough to find something,

we may not be able to bring it back. Wouldn't it be better to find a way on land?"

"But the stores have been cleaned out. There's nothing left for us."

Stella reminded them, "We don't necessarily need to find food. As long as we have something others don't, we can trade for food later."

Lukas caught on. They needed to act before others did, but what would they look for?

"Medicine," Cody suggested. "Everyone is looking in stores and underwater. We should look in office buildings."

Office buildings were mostly companies, and they didn't have many supplies.

Lukas shook his head. "Some people in our building already scavenged the office buildings yesterday. The ones in the city are almost cleaned out. The office complex where my company is located is quite remote, and it's surrounded by a complicated network of waterways. Given the current water levels, even a rubber boat wouldn't cut it. Some people don't have the gasoline to power the motorboat, even if they have one. They're just stuck wandering the city."

Stella agreed, "Cody and I know the lay of the land. We could try our luck. If we manage to find the pharmaceuticals from his company, it'd make our lives a lot easier down the road.

The company's not a warehouse, but it does have a showroom. The amount of medicine won't be enormous, but for a small group like ours, it would be like hitting the jackpot. Moreover, it seems that building houses have more than one pharmaceutical company.

Even though Stella had stocked up beforehand, it was only around 50 thousand dollars worth of stuff. When it comes to medicine, you can never have too much. A single pill could be a lifesaver in a critical situation!

They needed to act fast if they were to have a shot at this before others caught on.

Hearing their plan, Angela and Lukas grew anxious. "Should we negotiate with the guy in 1801? He's got a motorboat."