18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 134

The Moore family father and son were enjoying a much-needed rest when they were entrusted with the care of Cooper and Rosie. Stella, always the cautious one, reminded them, "Katie, the weather's been warming up lately. We're already up by a dozen degrees. You've noticed, right?"

Katie nodded quickly. "I was just about to tell you guys. The weather station reported that the deep freeze might be over soon."

Feigning surprise, Stella asked, "Did they say what kind of weather we can expect next?"

"It's hard to tell, but if it warms up, the ice will surely melt. We can't afford another hurricane or flood; we've had enough of that."

Stella, playing the innocent, said, "I feel like the snow has been lessening these past few days?"

Katie, the elderly one who disliked the cold, hadn't stepped outside in several days. However, Stella's words reminded her, "If the temperature continues to rise, the snow might stop. It'll be hard to get water then. We should stock up while we can."

"Right, we'll store some when we get back."

Once they left, Katie reminded her daughter-in-law, "See if you can get some water storage tanks or barrels. We don't know what's going to happen. We need to be prepared."

Also, she warned Joey and Mikey, "Don't just focus on work. Keep an eye on the weather. If we know about changes a day or half a day earlier than others, it might just give us a chance to survive."

Mikey promised, "The meteorologists predict it might be an extreme heatwave, but it's not confirmed yet, so they haven't made it public."

"An extreme heatwave?" Katie was taken aback. "Uncertainties can't be made public, otherwise, it will cause chaos among people."

Katie knew exactly how much supplies they had at home. She looked at her daughter-in-law and said, "With the rising temperatures, you can't continue your current job. Try to get some heat-relief items, especially disinfectants."

Once the ice melted, the bodies and garbage in the water would decay rapidly under the scorching sun. The possibility of an epidemic was high.

She had to try and survive, for what would happen to these three dummies if she were to pass away one day?

…

Stella handed Monkey a list of items. "Do you have these?"

"Whatever you need, I'll get it for you even if I have to climb mountains or cross seas." Monkey was always friendly, but when he saw the list, he was taken aback. "Oh god, what do you need these for? They're useless."

Stella just smiled at him, not saying a word.

Oh boy, he was blabbering again. He had a habit of chatting with people he was familiar with. But, second-hand fans, second-hand UBS car refrigerators, saltpeter, stainless steel screens, mosquito coils, pesticides, and water towers?

What the heck!

"I have everything you need, and I can even get you brand new ones."

"No need, I want second-hand."

"Okay." Monkey responded quickly. "The items aren't expensive, but they're scattered and hard to find. We'll have to spend time looking for them, so it won't be cheap."

Stella nodded. "We'll exchange them for potatoes."

Monkey extended two fingers. "At least this much?"

"2 pounds?"

Monkey was almost choking. "No less than 200 pounds."

Even a vampire wouldn't be as blood-sucking as she was.

Stella was just teasing him. "100 pounds."

Well, he couldn't do anything about it. Monkey conceded, "Fine, you're the boss."

It would take time to get the goods, so they agreed to trade in three days.

There was still time, so Jasper and Stella went to the trade street in the department store to see if they could find anything they would need in the future.

Despite the rising temperatures, it was still freezing at minus fifty degrees. There were only a few people on the streets, rushing to their destinations.

Jasper, wearing thick gloves, held Stella's hand as they walked forward. She wasn't used to such intimacy and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but he held on tight. So Stella didn't struggle anymore.

When they arrived at the trade street, they started to browse carefully. They unexpectedly found a small threshing machine that could thresh wheat, mung beans, soybeans, corn, and about ten other crops.

Stella liked it at first sight, not wanting to hand-thresh wheat anymore. Jasper inspected the threshing machine. The belt was well wrapped and not frozen.

Each machine cost 20 pounds of rice or flour, and there were two in total.

The small machine was worth only a thousand before the apocalypse, and now it was even less valuable. Without electricity, the ordinary people couldn't use it.

The price was acceptable, but if she gave it without bargaining, she was sure to attract the attention of those who would take advantage of her.

Stella put on her haggler's attitude, shaking her head without showing strong buying desire.

Seeing that she was about to leave, the stall owner became anxious. "How much do you want to pay?"

The threshing machine was something he had found when he was scavenging for goods. He didn't really have any use for it, and he just set up a stall to try his luck. Now that a potential buyer had shown up, he couldn't let her leave.

Stella started to bargain hard, using all kinds of hand signals and market lingo. In the end, they agreed on 10 pounds of potato for each machine.

The threshing machine wasn't heavy, and they could carry it by hand.

They moved away from the crowd to a secluded corner, made sure no one was around, and then, using Jasper's height as a cover, Stella put the machine into Arcadia.

They continued to browse, and Stella stopped in front of a tall.

It was an old acquaintance, the one who sold wreaths during Christmas.

His skill was excellent, but the survivors could hardly feed themselves, let alone appreciate art. The price was ridiculously low, only a pound or two of rice for each wreath, but still, no one was interested.

Stella glanced at a few pieces and was about to leave when the stall owner called out to her, "Young lady, I can see that you appreciate them. Why not buy a few?"

"It’s good, but not very valuable." Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

The man's expression was complicated. He forced a smile and said, "I have something valuable here, would you like to see it?"

"A collectible?"

The man lowered his voice, "It's a vintage snow globe"

Stella perked up immediately. She wasn't interested in it, but Arcadia was.

The man took out a bag, unwrapped several layers of cloth, and carefully spread out a sparkly snow globe

Stella had no artistic sense and couldn't say anything about it. It indeed looked old, but one shouldn't underestimate the counterfeiting skills in the pre-apocalyptic world.

She turned to the man next to her and asked, "What do you think?"

Jasper took a careful look and replied after a while, "I think it's good."

His grandfather was a snow globe enthusiast and had quite a few collections in his early years. He also made many friends among fellow collectors and would often gather to exchange ideas. He was young back then and learned a lot from those experiences. Although he wasn't an expert, he knew more than the average person.

Stella considered for a moment and asked the man, "How much do you want for it?"

"My lady, this snow globe cost me a whopping 5 million dollars at an auction a few years back." He presented the certificate of authenticity, his voice trembling with both exhilaration and heartache, "It's worth every single penny."

Stella just smiled, saying nothing.