18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

The new town was small, and it took less than five miles to get to the west side. Stella pedaled her mountain bike swiftly, reaching her destination in less than 20 minutes. The place was remote, surrounded by no signs of a skirmish - only an old car that was about halfway past its prime.

The two sat in the car. Kitty took a shot to the arm, the bullet still lodged inside. She had lost a lot of blood, her face pale.

Angela tied a makeshift bandage around Kitty's wounded arm to stop the bleeding. She, too, was covered in blood from multiple wounds but was not in immediate danger. In the backseat lay five male bodies. It seemed a brutal fight had taken place, with Angela and Kitty emerging victorious and driving away from the scene of the crime.

Now, the most pressing task was to remove the bullet from Kitty's arm and stop the bleeding. Otherwise, her life would be at risk.

Stella took off her backpack, saying, "I carry a few emergency medical supplies, but not much."

She took out some rudimentary surgical tools, disinfectant, cotton, and sutures.

Angela had been cut with a knife, but had managed to stop the bleeding. "My wounds are not severe," she said. "Just focus on saving Kitty."

The women were part of a local patrol unit, always ready with basic first aid supplies. But they hadn't expected a situation this dire where even the cotton and bandages weren't enough.

Cody and Lukas had been running hard to reach them. When Cody heard of Kitty's condition, he paled and nervously asked, "What happened?"

Angela explained their encounter with a gang conflict while on patrol. They had decided to intervene, seeing the ample resources at stake. After all, survival of the fittest was the harsh reality of their world. Unexpectedly, the opponent had been hiding his true strength, only revealing his gun at the very brink of life and death. Fortunately, both girls were skilled and risked their lives to win the gamble.

After half an hour of anxious waiting, Cody saw the car door finally open. "How is she?" he asked Stella nervously.

"The bullet is out," Stella replied. "But she's lost a lot of blood. Whether she makes it depends on her own now." Without a hospital nearby to perform a blood transfusion, they had to leave it to fate.

Cody looked at Kitty worriedly as Stella focused on treating Angela's wounds.

With limited anesthesia, Angela gritted her teeth through the pain as Stella disinfected and stitched up her wounds.

Once the injuries were taken care of, they had to deal with the bodies. They drove to a desolate area and dumped them in a forest. In a world where death was commonplace, no one would investigate.

In the trunk of their car, they found a box of medicine, a box of cured meat, and supplies of rice, salt, sugar, and half a box each of cigarettes and alcohol.

Stella prepared a sugar water drink for Kitty and Angela to replenish their strength. Then they drove back home, with Stella sorting through the medicine on the way.

As for how to handle the car, Stella wasn't foolish enough to ask.

Angela took out a few bottles of medicine and two packets of sugar, "Stella, thanks for your help today." This was for countering the consumption of anesthetics and other drugs. Since she had known them for so long, Stella didn't refuse and took the supplies and packed them into her bag.

Stella then returned home, where she found Jasper waiting for her. After explaining everything that had happened, she went to bed, exhausted but safe.

Kitty's willpower was strong, and she managed to endure it. Even Stella admired her tenacious vitality. After more than ten days, Stella went to help her remove the stitches, and at the same time, she didn't forget to give Cody and Lukas what they wanted most. She told Jasper about this. The condoms were collected by Stella, so Jasper had no objections, as long as he got to keep what he needed.

Stella didn't understand all of it, so she kept what seemed to fit for Jasper and took some of the rest.

Coming back from the brink of death was all thanks to Stella's help. Kitty's cold face softened a lot, "Stella, thank you."

"We're not strangers."

Disinfecting and stitching up was done quickly.

Cody and Lukas were both at work, and Angela was not around, so Stella had to give her two bags of condoms.

Seeing clearly what was in the bag, Kitty was especially indifferent, "This is not easy to find. What can I exchange for it with you?" She had looked for condoms and they were alarmingly expensive.

Stella told the truth, "We were harassed by gangs and almost got blown to bits. In a fit of anger, we raided their hideout. This stuff is a windfall. We can't use it all. If you need it in the future, just let us know."

The weather was too extreme to preserve it, so she only took enough for half a year, "The police don't know about this, so please keep it confidential."

"Don't worry. I'm not a gossip."

The car has been dealt with and a batch of materials has been received. Kitty took out two large boxes of sealed truffle, "There's nothing good, you take this."

Stella declined a few times before accepting.

It's only by giving and receiving that relationships can last long. Otherwise, once a habit is formed, it may actually be harmful to both parties.