18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 16

Angela invited Stella to come downstairs and check out the situation. The flour was all gone, and though there was still a bag of rice, the gas had run out. All they had left was a few pieces of alcohol briquettes.

To conserve energy, they'd soak rice first, pour boiling water into a thermos, let the rice sit until it was cooked, and then eat it.

If they could, Angela and Lukas would go to the emergency shelter. The conditions wouldn't be great, but at least there would be enough to eat and hot water.

"The storm surge was worse than predicted," Stella said. "If we're flooded up to the third floor, imagine what it's like elsewhere."

She continued, "All the food is soaked. Who knows what's left on the surface? And with the water level this high, gyms and libraries are probably underwater, too. The government will probably have to commandeer hotels or office buildings as shelters."

Crowding into a shelter was a problem in itself; feeding and housing everyone would be a nightmare. Even after the hurricane had passed, the torrential rain continued. The flood could last for months.

In her previous life, many people from lower floors had moved to the shelter, but returned after a few days, saying that the conditions were overcrowded and unbearable. There was looting, theft, fights - it was chaos.

The government had to provide disaster relief but also had to find food. In the end, they had to fish for food underwater, but after soaking for so long, the food was spoiled.

Angela felt a heavy weight in her heart but decided to go check things out anyway. Who knew, there might have been good news.

Stella didn't go. She went to check on Rosie next door. Rosie was improving, which was a relief for her, an amateur doctor.

An hour later, Angela returned, looking defeated. The fire department was only rescuing people whose homes had been flooded, and they had no information about large-scale relief efforts. Stella tried to cheer her up. "It's okay, we'll just have to rely on ourselves."

Angela agreed, trying to rekindle her hope. "The hurricane has passed, maybe the heavy rain will stop soon."

Living required hope, didn't it?

But the rain didn't stop - instead, it got worse. The sky was ominously dark. By five in the evening, it was dark, and the hurricane had mostly passed. The city was eerily silent, save for the sound of rescue boats.

Stella ate an early dinner, then set an alarm every hour from ten in the evening.

Around one o’clock in the morning, the fire department finished evacuating those with no shelter. Sunrise Sanctuary was eerily silent, save for the sound of rain.

Stella put on her stab-resistant suit and felt the material. It felt similar to a thermal shirt. She took a knife and tried to cut the sample fabric - it didn't tear. The quality was top-notch.

Stella left her apartment quietly, navigating the empty, trash-filled hallways and the unbearable smell. She climbed out of a third-floor window onto a narrow platform and, in the darkness, pulled out an inflatable boat. She put on waterproof goggles and a lithium battery headlamp and began to paddle into the distance.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

The rain was heavy, and the current strong. The city was unrecognizable; only the tall buildings remained above the water, creating an unfamiliar sight.

Stella was prepared. She had been observing the water flow and had memorized the landmarks along the way. Despite this, she struggled to navigate in the rain. It took her nearly two hours to reach the large supermarket she had visited before the hurricane.

The supermarket had only two floors, but it was on higher ground, so the floors were higher than those in residential buildings. The floodwaters barely reached the second floor.

She managed to beach the inflatable boat on the driveway. After securing the boat, she followed the driveway to the rooftop parking lot. The parking lot was filled with luxury cars - Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini...

She guessed that the wealthy locals had parked their cars on the rooftop to protect them from the flood.

Stella took out her flashlight and swept it over the rows of cars. Her eyes landed on a large RV. The emblem indicated that it was an expensive, top-of-the-line model. The body and windows were bulletproof, the tires were explosion-resistant and wear-resistant, and it could run on both gas and electricity. It even had foldable solar panels on the roof.

In a post-apocalyptic world where fuel was scarce, this RV was a godsend.

Stella took out an electronic jammer from her bag. She had bought it on the black market for a high price. She placed the jammer on the door of the RV and pressed the button. After a few minutes, the lock clicked open.

The RV was luxurious, complete with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, two bedrooms, and even a washing machine. Except for some decorations, the RV was empty. It looked like it had been

recently purchased and hadn't been used much before the disaster struck.

Stella was satisfied. She took advantage of the darkness and stowed the RV in Arcadia. She didn't rush to the supermarket. Instead, she took out an oil extractor and a barrel and drained the fuel from the other cars.

The fire exit on the roof was locked, but she broke it open with a large pair of pliers and made her way down the stairs. She emerged in the clothing section on the second floor. The water was almost up to her knees, and many of the clothes were soaked.

Stella picked up some women's clothing and moved on to the other areas. She found discount items such as tissues, soda, cookies, chips, nuts, and bath products. She also found home appliances, small kitchen appliances, high-end comforters and duvets, sheet sets, pillows, sports shoes, and boots. She also picked up various brands of skincare products like masks, eye creams, and serums.

At the liquor and tea counter, she found Moët, Hennessy, XO, Martell, red wine, beer, cocktails, and countless other brands. All of these items would be valuable in a post-apocalyptic world.

After collecting everything she could from the surface, Stella used a window breaker to smash the glass of the display cases and cleared out the high-end cigarettes and teas that were soaking in the water. Everything was a non-renewable resource, so she didn't leave anything behind.

Just this section alone almost filled up ten cubic meters of Arcadia. But it was no big deal. Before she left, she had made a thorough sweep, moving the planters from the balcony, the indoor vegetable garden and fruit trees from the living room, and the firewood from the kitchen to her apartment, freeing up about 150 cubic meters of space.

The floodwaters were rising rapidly, and by dawn, all these things would be submerged.