Chapter 143


    In response to Ste''s words, Jasper felt a twinge of guilt, "No."


    He didn''t have a sweet tooth, and his drink of choice was coffee, "Actually, I feel quite bad for not


    being able to help you."


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    He was referring to the work at Arcadia farm - all back-breaking tasks. Because she needed to save


    time, he couldn''t step in to help and she had to do all the work alone.


    Jasper wasn''t exactly sure what the work entailed, but he knew it wasn''t easy. So he took over all


    the household chores, and Ste barely needed to lift a finger. The work he did was visible, but her


    workload was not. "Ste, remember to call on me if you need anything."


    "Mm."


    Having someone who saw her tiredness, cared for her yet knew the right boundaries felt good. At


    least in the few months they had lived together, Ste didn''t feel ufortable anymore. It was no


    longer as icy as before.


    Back at 1802, she closed the thick curtains and turned on the light to read.


    Feeling a bit peckish, she pulled out a pack of beef jerky, munching while flipping through the


    medical books.


    Just as she was about to take a bite of the jerky, Ste''s eyes widened.


    A cockroach!


    Judging by its body, it seemed to be underage, crawling slowly on the floor.


    That was strange. She had plugged all drains and fixeds to the balcony gaps. Where could it


    havee from?


    Ste instinctively picked up a slipper, about to squash it, but Smoky, her pet rabbit, suddenly


    pounced on it. Crunch.


    Yes, it ate the cockroach.


    Ew, cockroaches carried a lot of germs. Was Smoky trying tomit suicide after a fight with its


    wife, or was it simply fearlessly ignorant?


    Before she could stop him, the cockroach was crushed and swallowed by sharp rabbit teeth.


    Meanwhile, Smoky started looking around, seemingly searching for more food, and hopped into the


    kitchen.


    Ste shone a shlight over, and sure enough, there was another crunch. This time, it was a fully-


    grown cockroach, as wide as two thumbs.


    Realizing the danger, it spread its wings to fly away, but was caught mid-air by a leaping Smoky.


    Ste remembered how the cockroaches used to crawl and fly haphazardly, bumping into


    everything, and it gave her the creeps.


    The heat had just begun, and the cockroaches were growing incredibly fast. Thinking about what


    they might had been eating to grow sorge, Ste felt a wave of nausea.


    Not only was Smoky hunting, but his temperamental wife, Snowy, joined in the fun. The rabbit


    couple ran around the house, catching five or six big cockroaches to munch on, seemingly still not


    satisfied.


    Ste was worried they might get poisoned, so the first thing she did when she woke up was to


    check on them. Surprisingly, they were not only fine but seemed more energetic, digging around for


    more food with their offspring.


    Jasper called her over for breakfast as usual, but Rosie screamed in fright, "Ah, a cockroach,


    Jasper, there''s a cockroach!"


    Upon hearing Rosie''s scream, Cooper leaped up and ran over.


    Ste followed, only to step on something squishy as soon as she stepped out of the room. She


    lifted her slipper to find a squashed cockroach.


    Ste was taken aback. Looking around, she could see at least seven or eight cockroaches just


    with her naked eyes.


    They were on the eighteenth floor, and she shuddered to think what it was like for the lower floor


    residents.


    There were also cockroaches in 1801. Did they sneak in when they were young, or were there eggs


    in the apartment to begin with? She had no way of knowing.


    Jasper was a neat freak and kept his house clean and tidy, so there weren''t many cockroaches.


    When Ste left, she forgot to close the door, and the rabbits followed her into 1801, crunching


    away on more cockroaches. Even Jasper was surprised.


    After their feast, the rabbits hopped around the hallways and stairs. Ste didn''t bother with them.


    She had ced cockroach baits around, but they seemed to have no effect. True enough, the


    mutated cockroaches seemed immune to the poison.


    "Ew, it smells so bad."


    Rosie held a te she had washed the night before. There was a cockroach dropping in it, and she


    almost threw up when she sniffed it.


    Cockroaches loved dark corners and were more active at night. They also caused significant


    damage by chewing on clothes and spoiling food.


    Jasper cleaned the room thoroughly, folded the winter clothes, and asked Ste to store the food


    and other supplies in Arcadia.


    Sure enough, the cockroaches were excellent hiders. After she had stored things in Arcadia and


    walked out, instantly, a fewrge cockroaches were kicked out by Arcadia. Ste never thought that


    Arcadia could be used this way.


    Quick as a sh, she used her slipper to squash the cockroaches, sending them to hell.


    Don''t doubt the power of a slipper. It was the perfect weapon against cockroaches, and she had


    honed her skills since childhood. It was swift, ruthless, and urate.


    After cleaning up 1801, Jasper rolled up his sleeves to clean 1802.


    She wasn''t as tidy as Jasper, and with pets in the house, there was always a bit of smell, no matter


    how much cleaning was done. Ste felt a bit guilty, "Maybe, I should do it myself?"


    "It''s fine. It''s a special situation. We can''tpare it to before the apocalypse."


    Jasper wouldn''t impose his principles on others. Besides, after getting used to the stench from the


    lower floors, nothing much bothered him anymore.


    Not just him, Rosie also came over to help. They closed the door and started a thorough cleanup.


    Just as they finished, there was amotion next door, "Help, where did all these cockroaches


    come from?"


    "They probably climbed up the drains."


    The two went over to help, almost thinking they had walked into the wrong floor or the wrong room.


    They saw a bald head, no, two... Uh, three, to be exact.


    Cody and Lukas were bald. While Ang wasn''t exactly bald, her long, ck hair was cut super


    short, probably only a few millimeters longer than her scalp.


    1803 didn''t have a sealed balcony. During the previous storm and flood, they covered it with steel


    te.


    Considering that the weather was now hot and stuffy, and the lighting was poor which made the


    space appear dark and gloomy, they had to open it for venttion.


    Actually, they noticed the presence of cockroaches a few days ago, but they rationalized it thinking


    that all houses had a few when cooking was involved, right?


    However, overnight, they were everywhere.


    In their life, they had never seen so many cockroaches, and they were enormous in size as well.


    They were particrly fierce, fluttering their wings and pouncing in the air.


    Lukas''s face got hit several times and he felt like he was bitten.


    Uh, before he could finish his sentence, the rabbits had already rushed in, looking for their snacks.


    After a lot of effort, they finally managed to eliminate most of the cockroaches.


    Sweating profusely from fighting cockroaches, Lukas sat on the sofa catching his breath, Ste


    noticed that his face was somewhat red and swollen, and asked with concern, "Were you bitten?"