18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 108

A shadow rushed over, babbling excitedly, "Max, my Max."

Stella looked up to see a girl in a gray down jacket and a red scarf running towards them. She was dressed warmly, but judging by her movements and demeanor, she was probably about the same age as them. Behind her were a group of men and a few heavily bundled girls.

Stella's heart pounded. This group was heading towards Cooper.

When she saw the girl rushing to embrace Cooper, Angela forcibly pushed her away, shouting, "What are you doing?"

Caught off guard, the girl was pushed to the ground by Angela. Several men immediately surrounded them, menacingly asking, "Why are you hitting her?"

"Hitting her?" Angela was not afraid, "You lay one finger on our dog, I’m gonna beat you up."

"Enough." The girl clumsily got up and explained to Angela, "This is my dog."

"Your dog?" Cody almost laughed, "There's no name on his forehead. How can you prove it?"

The girl didn't bother arguing with him. Instead, she bent over and beckoned to Cooper, her voice incredibly soft, "Max, it's mommy."

Cooper bared his teeth and retreated towards Stella.

"Max, why don't you recognize mommy?" The girl was heartbroken, her voice choking up, "You were just a little puppy when I brought you home. How could you forget me?"

"Back off." Angela was annoyed, "Our dog is named Cooper, not Max. Stop messing around or we won't be polite."

This wasn't the first time someone had tried to claim Cooper.

"This really is my dog. He disappeared while I was taking care of him. I even posted a lost dog notice." The girl insisted, "If you don't believe me, watch. He responds when I call his name."

Angela wasn't blind. She had seen Cooper's strange reaction, but Cooper was a stray. To put it bluntly, he was abandoned by an irresponsible owner. No matter who he belonged to before, now that Stella had taken him in, he was hers. He was an indispensable part of the 18th floor gang.

Both sides claimed Cooper as their own, and the situation quickly escalated.

Upon hearing that someone was trying to take Cooper, Rosie rushed over and held onto Cooper tightly, declaring her ownership, "Cooper is ours!"

Stella didn't rush to speak. Instead, she quietly observed the people in front of her.

Seeing Cooper's reaction, she knew that the girl was his former owner.

Cooper held grudges, but he didn't rush to attack her like he did with Hector, probably out of gratitude for her care. After all, there were feelings involved.

Cooper might be grateful, but did the girl truly miss Cooper? If she couldn't take care of him, she could have given him to a friend. Why did she sell him to a dog meat restaurant?

If it weren't for Cooper's clever escape, he would have ended up as a meal. Huh, now she had the nerve to claim him again?

Stella didn't miss the greed and urgency in the eyes of the people behind the girl - they wanted meat.

The girl in front of her kept calling "Max", but how much affection was there in her eyes? If Cooper went with her, he would end up in a steaming stew of dog meat.

"You say he's yours, so I should believe you?" Stella laughed coldly, "If I say you're an animal, does that make you an animal?"

"You...how could you insult me?" The girl was instantly angered, and shouted at Stella, "I haven't called you a dog thief yet. You stole my dog."

Seeing the girl yelling at Stella, Cooper showed his teeth and growled at the girl, "Woof!"

"Max, why are you mad at mommy?" The girl paused, then started crying, "Ever since you went missing, I’ve been looking for you every day. It's all my fault for not taking good care of you."

Cooper frowned, showing disgust, and his sharp fangs lifted.

Cody felt angry and took out a bat to drive them away, "Can't you see, this is not your dog. If you don't leave, we won't be polite."

The girl insisted that Cooper was theirs, and they would take him away today no matter what.

The situation escalated, with both sides pushing and shoving. If it weren't for the police nearby, weapons would have already been drawn.

As a fight was about to break out, a police car stopped in the distance, "What are you doing?"

The girl's group faltered, retreating several steps.

Two men got out of the car, one of whom was Evan, the middle-aged man who had just given a speech. He walked over, saying, "You're all young and full of life. Instead of figuring out how to survive, you're here causing trouble?"

Seeing the police, the girl acted as if she had seen her father, "Officer, you've come at just the right time. They stole my dog and won't admit it." Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

"What dog?"

Evan's sharp gaze fell on Cooper, and he was instantly amazed. What a beautiful German Shepherd, not only was his fur shiny and dense, but his physique was outstanding.

He had encountered countless police dogs in his youth, especially German Shepherds, who were intelligent and obedient, the most loyal and reliable partners for law enforcement. But even so, this was the first time he had seen such a large and strong German Shepherd.

Were German Shepherds this big? The muscles all over his body suggested that he weighed at least 70 or 80 pounds. Just by looking at his stance and gaze, it was clear that he had received professional training. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was a police dog.

Evan scanned the group, his gaze landing on Jasper. The young man was full of energy and he clearly had a military or police background.

He redirected his gaze to the sobbing girl, "What happened?"

The girl repeated the story, insisting that Cooper was her lost dog, "I have proof of purchase. I bought him for $1200, but I lost my phone. Otherwise, I would have pictures." Two men confirmed her story, saying they could vouch that the dog was hers.

Cooper had been missing for almost a year, and both parties insisted that he was theirs.

Evan looked at Stella, "Young lady, do you have any proof?"

Stella didn't answer him, but turned to the girl, "Are you sure you lost him, and didn't sell him to a dog meat restaurant?"

"I paid $1200 for him, I would be crazy to sell him to a dog meat restaurant."

Upon hearing the words "dog meat restaurant", Cooper's fur stood on end. If it weren't for Stella holding him back, he would have pounced on the girl. The girl was frightened by Cooper's ferocity and instinctively stepped back.

Evan watched but didn't say anything.

"Okay, if you say he's yours, do you know how many scars he has on his body?"

The girl responded quickly, "I treated him like a treasure. He didn't have any scars when he went missing."

She didn't know, but Stella did. He had been beaten, engaged in fights with stray dogs, and had over twenty scars on his body, especially a scar on his brow bone from a cut during the flood incident.

As she listened to Stella recount the stories behind each scar, the girl was left speechless, her words caught in her throat.