18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Teddy had reservations. "Boss, it wasn't easy to get our base to its current size."

A scowl clouded Bryce's face. "Have you forgotten how Alpha Outpost grew strong?"

Their leader had connections to the big shots in Swan Hill, which allowed him to get supplies of firearms. In a short time, they gathered forces andeven dared to snatch resources from Silver Asylum.

If they continued to indulge in their power, their base would be swallowed up sooner or later. Perhaps they could put Jasper to good use? And if they were mistaken about him, they could always kill him later. Teddy pondered. "Boss, are you thinking of using Jasper to deal with Alpha Outpost?"

Bryce nodded, sitting on the couch, sipping his whiskey, his leg casually propped up on the table. "In this apocalyptic world, it's hard to get a clear picture of Jasper's background. But if I'm not mistaken, he should be from the military or police force, and holds a high rank. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to confront The Chaos. Using him against Alpha Outpost might be a breakthrough.'

Teddy looked worried. "He doesn't talk much, but he's definitely a thorn in the side. He knew that our people bombed the 18th floor and yet he joined us as though nothing happened. I think we should be careful."

Bryce laughed. "No matter how powerful they are, once they enter the Silver Asylum, they must follow our rules."

Indeed, Jasper seemed capable, but he was too young and his confrontation with The Chaos was all hot blood.

"Keep an eye on them at all times," Bryce said with a cunning smile. "They clearly want something from us. When the time comes, they will do their best to show their value. Once they take down Alpha Outpost, we can get rid of them." He wouldn't allow anyone stronger than him to exist in Silver Asylum.

Teddy hesitated. "But Alpha Outpost has strong backing. Can Jasper handle them?"

Bryce's smile was polite, but his eyes were cold as a snake's. "If he can, great. If not, we can use him as cannon fodder. We have nothing to lose."

As they were discussing how to use Jasper against Alpha Outpost, Piersen suddenly entered. "Boss, those bastards from Alpha Outpost have destroyed our guard posts."

"What?" Bryce sprang to his feet.

"They drove an armored car and flattened our guard posts and roadblocks. They killed seven or eight of our people. Only one managed to crawl back to report the news, but he lost too much blood and just died of heatstroke. Those sons of bitches even dared to send a message for you to 'wait for your punishment."

Bryce's face turned grim, his polite demeanor now replaced with fury. He picked up his whiskey glass and smashed it on the floor. "How dare they!"

......

Bryce had made a pretty speech, but the accommodation provided for Jasper was just a two-room apartment with passable furnishings.

Before entering, Jasper made a gesture to Stella and Rosie.

Rosie walked into the apartment, pouting unhappily. "Jasper, I want to go home."

"We can't live in our old home anymore."

"But I don't like it here." Rosie wriggled her fingers, looking a little aggrieved. "It's too small, unlike our spacious home."

Stella comforted her. "Rosie, we're going to live here from now on. It may be a bit crude now, but your brother will work hard to give us a better place to live."

"Jasper, I want to live in a villa with air conditioning."

"Bark!" Cooper agreed.

"Alright, we'll have a house, and we'll have food."

While chatting, Jasper checked every corner of the house. There were recording devices behind the living room sofa and under the master bedroom bed. There were no video surveillance cameras, probably due to a lack of equipment or expertise. The small room was for Rosie. Stella instructed the dog, "Cooper, you must protect Rosie."

"Bark!" Cooper accepted the honorable mission.

The master bedroom was for Stella and Jasper. They began to settle in. Taking advantage of a trip to the bathroom, the two slipped into Arcadia. Jasper took the lead. "What do you think of Bryce?" Stella scoffed. "He does not seem that capable to me."

He was a ruthless criminal who used the apocalypse to gather power. In order to distinguish himself from usual gangsters, he made himself look ridiculous.

"They've lost their humanity. We have to protect Rosie."

Ever since the last incident, Stella had suspected them of losing their humanity. Today, seeing Bryce offer a thirteen-year-old girls to Jasper, she realized that these were nothing but savage demons. "Are they beautiful?"

Jasper was taken aback. "What?"

"Are the girls beautiful?"

"I didn't notice." Jasper countered, "What do you think?"

Stella glanced at him. "I didn't notice either."

She really hadn't noticed. What kind of fate could these girls expect in a place like this? As a woman, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

Bryce could offer him a dozen girls at once. She didn't dare to imagine how many more women were in this base.

Silver Asylum was able to collect several carloads of supplies every day, enough to support thousands of people. Moreover, on the way in, they saw several large warehouses and more than a dozen large trucks, all of which belonged to Silver Asylum. Jasper thought for a moment. "Stella, do you think Bryce is afraid of death?"

He had security checks at the entrance and numerous bodyguards guarding the gate, yet he still wore a bulletproof vest under his pajamas. He must have done a lot of guilty things to be so afraid of revenge.

Not only was he afraid of death, but he also tried to sow discord. He tried to drive a wedge between her and Jasper the moment they met. He thought his tactics were clever, but they were actually clumsy.

With such a person in charge, it wasn't hard to guess the relationship between the high-ranking officials of Silver Asylum. They were all driven by self-interest.

After getting some understanding of Silver Asylum, Stella asked, "What's the situation with Alpha Outpost?"

Jasper had participated in the extermination of Alpha Outpost in his past life, but he hadn't paid attention to the final judgment, focusing instead on other disaster relief efforts. However, he was aware of their basic situation.

"Alpha Outpost was formed by a group of soldiers who had been dismissed from the army for major misconduct. They took advantage of the apocalypse to hoard weapons. They're all ruthless and brave. This time, they probably set their sights on the rich resources of Swan Hill and wanted to easily harvest supplies, which is why they clashed with Silver Asylum."

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Alpha Outpost had only been set up for a short while, they were by no means inferior to Silver Asylum. Aside from being armed to the teeth, they also put on a show of strength to the world, boasting about the big guns backing them up.

Bryce, despite being a bit of a chicken, wasn't about to spit out a piece of steak once he'd sunk his teeth into it. He'd already had quite a few scuffles in such a short time, you could say they were pretty evenly matched. Otherwise, Jasper wouldn't go about fanning the flames between them.

Stella wasn't fond of Bryce, "That Bryce guy is as crafty as a fox, always scheming and calculating, he doesn't even trust his own people, let alone us."

"We're just using him." Jasper said coldly, "No matter how deep the fox buries its tail, it will show up eventually. We just need to watch the show at the banquet."

The fire had been lit, Bryce hardly had any chance to keep tabs on them, unless he didn't mind getting his pants burnt.