After receiving a kiss from Ethan, Cola became so excited that he spun around in circles, his tail wagging furiously. He looked so happy that Ethan half expected him to pee himself on the spot.Not wanting to be left out, Poppy hurried over and clung to Ethan’s arm. “Ethan, it was really scary out there! There was water everywhere, and all the houses were flooded. But I wasn’t scared!”“You did great,” Ethan praised her with a smile.He rewarded both Poppy and Cola with a piece of candy before heading downstairs to help the others carry up the firewood.The water tank was enormous. Ryan, Lucas, and Caleb had to work together to haul it upstairs before finally getting it onto the roof.Once they had finished, they put away the motorboat and inflatable raft. Maya then unzipped her backpack and pulled out a plastic bag containing a snake and two wild rabbits.“We went quite a distance today,” she explained. “There’s a hillside neighborhood nearby with plenty of houses, though most of the

Everyone looked exhausted except Caleb. Poppy still had tears clinging to her eyelashes, and her face was so pale that she looked as though she had witnessed something horrifying.Nobody said a word. Caleb, Ryan, and Lucas moved in unison, working together to haul the enormous water tank.Ethan secured the boat, picked up a bundle of firewood, and headed upstairs. Maya walked ahead of him, stumbling as though she could barely keep herself upright.With both hands occupied, Ethan leaned sideways and steadied her with his shoulder.They continued climbing, but something about Maya’s steps seemed wrong. She was favoring one leg, and when Ethan moved closer, he caught the faint smell of blood.Had something happened out there?There were eyes everywhere in the building. This wasn’t the time to show weakness. The moment the other residents sensed that the eighteenth floor was losing its grip, they would swarm them like starving dogs.They finally made it upstairs.Maya dropped the firewood

Both sides remained on guard, wary of being double-crossed. Out on the open floodwaters, there was nowhere to hide, making it one of the safest places to conduct a trade.In the end, they exchanged 202 pounds of wild boar meat for an equal weight of good-quality rice. Before parting ways, they arranged to meet again at seven that evening for another exchange.Lucas, Ryan, and Caleb brought the rice back to Crownview Residences.Ethan had already packed everything they would need for the trip, including a frying pan, salt, seasonings, and enough supplies to stay overnight.However, he wasn’t comfortable leaving Maya alone to hold down the fort. After discussing it with the others, he decided that Ryan would stay behind with her.As they headed downstairs, they found Oliver waiting near the stairwell, wearing an unusually friendly smile.“Heading out again?” he asked. “Looks like you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. Why not let us help? With enough people, we could haul everything bac

It took another two days, but all seven water tanks were finally installed.Ryan and Lucas received three between them, while Ethan and Caleb each took two. With everything connected, turning a faucet now produced a steady stream of water.Ethan continued using water from his storage space whenever possible, but he made a point of using the rooftop tanks every day whenever others were around. There was no reason to let anyone suspect that he had access to a far more reliable source.Before they knew it, two months had passed since the flooding began.The second batch of hydroponic vegetables had already been planted, and the first batch had been harvested. Snowy looked as though she might be pregnant again, while the rabbits from her first litter had grown to over a pound each.Maya couldn’t sit still for long. As soon as her injury improved enough, she resumed going out with the others to search for supplies.Ethan, on the other hand, became increasingly reluctant to leave the apartm

In the end, with Cola jumping in to help, Ethan won.It wasn’t exactly a fair victory, but nobody could deny the result.Caleb didn’t seem upset about being betrayed by the very dog he’d trained. Instead, he reached out and rubbed Cola’s head approvingly.“Good boy. If anyone ever messes with him, you protect him.”Cola had gone all out during the fight, throwing himself into the struggle the moment he saw Ethan pinned beneath Caleb.Ethan frowned slightly. “Did he bite you?”“No.” Caleb glanced at Cola with approval. “Dogs can tell right from wrong better than people. Cola knows his limits.”Ethan nodded. That made sense.Dogs could pick up on things humans often overlooked, including changes in someone’s emotions and the intentions behind their actions. Caleb hadn’t harbored any real hostility toward Ethan, so Cola hadn’t actually tried to hurt him.The dog had simply wanted to help his owner win.As the days passed, Ethan’s progress became increasingly obvious.When Maya heard that