Chapter 46
Ste stepped into the kitchen and grabbed some freshly boiled eggs. She made a batch of pickling
liquid and pour it over the eggs. "It’s done." she stated.
...
Just as she was about to take a nap, there came a knock at the door.
The residents of 1801 and 1803 were heading out, even Rosie was donning her raincoat. Jasper
wanted to take these two out for some real-world experience. With Cooper''s unbridled enthusiasm,
Ste thought about it and didn''t refuse, "Wait here."
She went back to retrieve her makeup box, selecting a dark color and began to apply it on Rosie''s
face. It wasn''t wrong to let Rosie see the harsh reality of the post-apocalyptic world early on. Still,
she was simply too rosy-skinned, making her an easy target if she ventured outside.
After some retouching, Ste finally finished applying the makeup to Rosie''s face making her look
more weathered and rugged. The dog nudged over as well; he wanted to be painted too.
Ste scoffed at the idea. The dog''s face was ugly enough as it was. Cooper, whose confidence
was severely dented, huffed and without looking back, left with Jasper.
When Ste woke up from her nap, she began preparing to perform acupuncture on Katie.
Katie took out a cloth-wrapped baked potato from her pocket, "Ste, my back is feeling much
better. Thank you."
The potato was still warm, but Ste refused, "I have charged for my services. You keep it."
She wouldn''t take anyone''s survival chances away. Food was life.
Katie, however, insisted on giving Ste the potato. Suddenly, there was another knocking sound
from downstairs.
"I appreciate your kindness," Ste told her, "but if you insist on giving it to me, you can use the
potato to pay for your future treatments."
The knocking continued. After a while, someone started shouting, "Hey, girl from the 18th floor, I''m
here for treatment. Open up!"
Judging by the robust voice, what illness could they possibly have?
Annoyed by the noise, Ste went downstairs and asked coldly, "What''s the problem?"
N?velDrama.Org owns this.
A middle-aged woman approached her, quickly putting on a smile, "You''re Dr. Ste, right?"
"I''m not a doctor, just a medical student."
"Dr. Ste, I have a headache and a fever. Could you please take a look?"
"I charge for my services."
Hearing this, the woman''s smile froze, "What? It''s just a headache and a fever. Just give me some
pills."
Ste retorted, "Are you a shoplifter or something? I don''t have any medication here, nor can I treat
you."
"No medication? Can you at least give me acupuncture?"
"Acupunctureis five pounds of food per needle."
"What? There''s no cost for you to do acupuncture. Why do I have to give you five pounds of food?"
The woman was furious, "You can''t just take advantage of people like this. We are all neighbors. We
should help each other. You''ve already taken so much, and now you want our food too? You''re
heartless!"
Ste took a step forward, brandishing her knife, "Say that again."
The woman yelped in fear, "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me? I have connections in the
police department. If youy a finger on me, you''ll regret it."
Ste, fed up with the noise, swung her knife towards the woman.
"Murderer! Murderer on the 18th floor! She''s gone crazy."
The woman''s screams echoed through the building. Ste coldly retorted, "Keep shouting. Look at
you, all plump from overeating. Come here to pick a fight now that you''re full?"
Ste remembered her, the one who came from out of town with her grandson, selfish and love to
take advantage. She would go through the trash cans in every building to pick up things, even
asking for beverage bottles that others hadn''t finished drinking.
The woman''s face turned pale, and her voice significantly weakened, "I... we have no food at home.
We''ve run out."
There was indeed a good amount of food stored at home. When the storm first hit, she went
knocking on doors to borrow food from neighbors, and she managed to acquire quite a bit. Little did
she know that her intentions would be revealed.
She had also heard there were medicines on the 18th floor and wanted to get some. She had no
idea this young girl would be so difficult to deal with.
The woman''s voice became noticeably weaker, "We really don''t have any extra food. If we had any,
we would have given it to you in exchange for medicine."
Ste warned her, "If you dare to mess with me again, I won''t hesitate to break down your door."
The woman, terrified by Ste''s menacing re, quickly retreated and left.
Back upstairs, Ste resumed her acupuncture session with Katie.
"Ste, don''t let that woman get to you." Katie advised, "She''s a real piece of work, always trying to
take advantage of others. Even her kids are spoilt, always grabbing things that aren''t theirs. We
stopped letting them into our house a long time ago. Oh, and be careful with the girl next door.
She''s been spreading rumors about you."
"The one whose hair was cut off?" She was referring to Sadie.
"Yes, she''s been asking around about you, trying to find out if you have any medicine."
Katie was not oblivious to Sadie''s intentions, "I told her you didn''t have any, but she didn''t believe
me. She''s even managed to turn some of the others against you."
Katie, having seen much in her life, worried for Ste, "This disaster has made people desperate
and cruel. I know you''re capable, but you must still be careful."
Ste, who had already experienced death once, was always on guard. She was selective about
her patients; not everyone who came to her received treatment.
She had seen the dark side of humanity in this very building in her past life. Those she chose to
help were the ones whose conscience hadn''t yet been destroyed, even though many of them
eventually died.
Thinking of Sadie, Ste narrowed her eyes, "Katie, what exactly has she been saying about me?"
Katie tried to recall, "She didn''t say anything specifically but kept insinuating that you''re hoarding
supplies."
Katie then remembered something else, "She''s also been trying to flirt with that handsome guy from
your floor, but he didn''t even give her a second nce."
Flirting with Jasper?
Katie continued, "She even tried to fake a fall in front of him, but he didn''t spare her a nce and
just walked past."
Katie sighed. This world had indeed changed. Some women were even willing to exchange their
bodies for a packet of instant noodles.
Mikey had also been harassed, but thankfully Katie''s strict upbringing kept him from straying.
Ang and the others returned just before dusk. They brought back a lot of firewood and even
managed to drag back arge stainless steel water tank.
Cooper, ever the eager beaver, dragged arge tree branch upstairs, following Rosie who was
carrying firewood, "Ste, we''re back."
Cooper was excited, constantly jumping at Ste, getting her all wet.
Rosie had a scrape on her face, probably from a tumble or a scrape, but her eyes shone
exceptionally bright when she smiled. She leaned over to whisper into Ste''s ear, "Ste, there''s
meat. Cooper found it, and Jasper hunted it."
Ah, no wonder the dog had a smug look on his face. He was waiting for her praise. She rubbed the
dog''s head and even gave him a peck.