Chapter 50
It took two days of hard work, but all seven water towers were finally installed.
The guys from 1803 had three, Ste and Jasper each had two, ready to be used with just a twist of
the faucet.
Ste used water from Arcadia, but she still put on a show every day.
Before she knew it, two months had passed since the flood. The second batch of hydroponic
vegetables had been nted, Snowy seemed to be pregnant again, and the first litter of rabbits had
grown to over a pound.
Ang couldn''t sit still; as soon as her injuries were somewhat healed, she would asionally go
out. Ste was growingzier by the day, always pushing off tasks and fully embracing aid-back
lifestyle.
Even Jasper, who used to be tirelessly working like a machine, took a break. Apart from his daily
dog training sessions, he would spare two hours to spar with Ste, then it was time for cooking.
He was wless in every other aspect, but his culinary skills were subpar. Under Ste''s guidance,
his cooking was barely tolerable, a far cry from delicious.
"Not bad, congrats on your graduation."
Even though it was a bit heartless, Ste craved for some alone time. Arcadia had stocked up on a
lot of delicious food, which she couldn''t take out in front of Jasper.
Jasper, unable to repay her, handed her a walkie-talkie, "You can contact me if anythinges up."
Ste paused, why hadn''t she thought of stocking up on these? Maybe she hadn''t anticipated the
possibility of teaming up.
"Thank you." This was much more convenient; if anything came up, she could just buzz him - no
need to run around knocking on doors.
Jasper didn''t visit again, allowing Ste and her dog to enjoy a hearty barbecue. They guzzled down
soda, having a truly grand time.
In the morning, the walkie-talkie rang, and Jasper''s voice came through, "Ste, are you giving
Rosie her lesson today?"
"Yes, around ten o''clock."
"Why don''t youe over?" Jasper suggested. "While you''re setting tasks for Rosie, I can teach
you some stealth and infiltration techniques."
Stealth and infiltration, that’s the legitimate skills of an assassin, including silent killing, various
moves to strangle from behind, punching the throat, twisting the neck, and charging and pushing
down to strangle.
Ste was instantly interested. Her own living room was indeed a bit cramped, so she readily
agreed, "Alright."
Stealth and infiltration was closebat, involving physical contact and wrestling.
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Jasperid out some crash pads on the floor, and the first move was the neck twist that Ste had
seen earlier.
He stood behind Ste, suddenly closing in like a bolt of lightning, one hand reaching for her
slender neck, the other grasping her jaw. A fierce aura swept over her, and Ste instinctively
wanted to resist. But before she could, he moved in close, targeting her hamstring, holding her neck
and jaw steady with both hands. One strong squeeze, and her head would snap right off.
The sense of danger instantly transported Ste back to her past life, where she was on the brink of
death. She couldn''t die at the hands of those cannibals.
Just as she was about to fight back, a voice came from above her head, "Ste, don''t be afraid, I
won''t hurt you."
The voice was calm, deep, but resolute.
Ste shook off the chaotic thoughts in her mind, realizing that Jasper was touching the joints of her
neck, "Focus, don''t get distracted."
The memories of the apocalypse were too traumatic; even if everything started anew, she was still
extremely resistant to physical contact with men.
Ste kept taking deep breaths, telling herself not to confuse the past with the present. What she
was doing now was for her own improvement. Only by bing stronger could she prevent others
from bullying her.
Jasper had noticed Ste''s abnormal reactionst time, and promptly withdrew his hands, "I didn''t
mean to offend you."
"I''m sorry, it''s my own issue." Steposed herself and forced a stiff smile, "Let''s go again."
Everything was different now.
Jasper started again, grabbing her neck and exining the joints and pressure points. He did twist
her neck, but without much force.
After teaching her the key points, they switched roles. However, Jasper was too tall for Ste to
even dream of twisting his neck. Ste, standing at 5''6", was not short, but Jasper seemed to be
around 6''3", a whole head taller than her.
Jasper sat on a folding chair, "Go on."
This was the first time Ste was touching a man, especially this intimately. Her fingers glided over
the bones in his neck, "Here?"
She hadn''t gotten it right, so Jasper grabbed her hand and moved it a bit to the side, "Yes."
His jawline was sharp, easy to grip. Both of her hands started to applying force simultaneously.
Ste, being a medical student, had studied human anatomy. Once she overcame her psychological
barrier, she spent half an hour twisting Jasper''s neck.
Rosie, having finished her homework, opened the door, and Cooper dashed out. Seeing his owner
yfully twisting the instructor''s neck, the dog instantly wanted to join in, "Woof!"
He pounced on Jasper, pushing him with force. The dog seemed to say, "Human, hurry,e twist
my neck."
"Can a dog''s neck be twisted?"
"Yes."
The dog kept interrupting, making it impossible to continue the lesson, so Jasper squatted down to
feel the dog''s neck.
Cooper had a strong sense of self-preservation and sensed his ill intentions, instinctively baring his
teeth. Jasper put on a stern face and gave amand, "At ease."
Cooper put away his yful demeanor and stood at attention, ready to listen to orders, but his body
was resistant.
However, when Ste touched him, his body was as soft as cotton, his tongue hanging out as it kept
leaning into her.
Come on, owner, hurry up.
This dog didn''t seem very serious. Ste took him back to 1803 for istion. Cooper was important,
but she also needed to seize every moment to improve herself. Now was the end of the world.
Countless people, whether they were from this apartment building or survivors from the outside,
were bing more and more ruthless in the harsh environment. If she wanted to survive, she
would have to get ahead of them.
The lesson continued, and Ste quickly learned various ways to twist a neck. She was a quick
learner and could easily apply her knowledge.
After bringing the dog back from 1803, Ste quickly ate some cereal, then sat on the sofa to study
a diagram of the human skeletal structure.
Which bone should she target for a fatal strike? Which acupoints would make the body go weak and
limp if hit? These were all lethal moves.
"Woof!"
Ste snapped back to reality, only to find that the dog was throwing a tantrum. He refused to eat
his dog food and even had his butt turned towards her.
"Oh dear, who upset my Cooper?" She quickly put down her medical book, came over tofort
the dog, "My Cooper is the cutest."
Hmph, he turned his head away, ignoring her in a huff.
After petting Cooper’s head for a while and tempting him with some chicken drumsticks, the dog
finally forgave her and offered his neck.
‘Come on, keep twisting.’
It was then that Ste realized what had been bothering Cooper. The jealous mutt.
"Cooper, no matter who I meet or get along with, you''re always the most important one in my heart."
Such an insecure pup, Ste thought, pulling him into her arms. "Life is only going to get harder,
and the 18th floor isn''t a safe haven. I know you want to get stronger to protect me, but I want to get
stronger to protect you, too. Let''s grow stronger together, always protecting each other, okay?"
Cooper cocked his head to one side, perplexed but interested. Blinking, he rested his paw on her
hand.
What a warm and affectionate pup! Definitely deserving of a treat. Ste rewarded him with a hot
dog.
In the afternoon, Jasper trained Cooper for four hours., with various attacking and dodging
strategies, even running up and down the stairs increased to 80 rounds.
By the end of the grueling workout, Cooper was panting and flopped onto his dog bed, exhausted.
After thoroughly studying human anatomy and pressure points, and training under Jasper''s
guidance, Ste felt that she was making great strides.
Jasper was astounded at her improvement. He had never seen someone with such a high aptitude
for learning. In just a few short days, she had mastered everything, and even managed to surprise
him by using the moves unexpectedly during their sparring sessions, making it hard for him to stay
focused.
Jasper held nothing back. Not only did he teach her stealth and infiltration tactics, but also hand-to-
handbat and close-quarters battle techniques. In particr, during their close-quartersbat
training, they would get entangled on the training mat, making it hard to distinguish who was who.
This was apetition, and both of them were strong-willed and determined to win, their fighting
spirits high. Cooper watched them with keen interest, ready to jump in at a moment''s notice if Ste
was at a disadvantage.
Rosie was near tears. "Stop fighting, you two!"
She loved both of them, but who should she support? In the end, Rosie clung to Cooper in an
attempt to prevent him from joining the fight.
"Woof!"
Let go of him! Seeing Ste being pinned down by Jasper, Cooper bared his teeth, his eyes shing
with anger. He needed to get in therr. He had to save her!
Rosie couldn''t hold him back. Cooper broke free and lunged at Jasper.