As soon as they entered the building, people quickly noticed the dog and began drooling at the thought of fresh meat. Colby bristled, baring its teeth in a defensive stance. Its eyes flashed with fierce determination. Nadia drew her knife, declaring, "Whoever wants to eat my dog, step forward!" Everyone stared in stunned silence, wondering when someone on the 18th floor had started keeping a dog. The nerve of her—keeping a dog on the 18th floor when we can barely find enough food to eat! Feeding a dog while leaving the rest of us to starve? Anger quickly swelled among them. "Nonsense! That's just a stray from the outside. It's often lying across from the community—I've seen it several times." Someone with sharp eyes recognized Colby. "Yeah, I've seen it too. Once, it nearly bit my kid.""Let's kill it and split the meat." Nadia raised her knife and smashed a nearby garbage bin to pieces. "If you want meat, let's see if my knife agrees." Remembering how she could slice through heads like splitting a watermelon, the crowd backed away in fear. Yet, some were still unsatisfied. "That dog isn't even yours. You can't be so domineering about it." "It follows me, so it's mine." "We're all struggling here. How about a compromise? We'll kill it, give you half, and then split the rest among ourselves." The others nodded. "Good plan. Let her have the bigger share, and we'll settle for some soup." "I don't like dog meat. Your meat might taste just fine!" Nadia sneered, swinging her knife toward the man who made the suggestion. "Ah!" The man shrieked in terror, stumbling back and falling to the ground as his pants soaked with some unknown liquid. D*mn! She is ready to kill! Luckily, he hadn't been struck anywhere fatal, but his arm was slashed, and blood was pouring out. At this, even with lingering resentment, no one dared to ask for meat. They could only watch helplessly as Nadia took the dog upstairs. Just as Nadia fended off those wanting to eat the dog, Wayne recklessly provoked her, flaring her anger. "Nadia, you're truly heartless! Are you satisfied now? Ken is dead!" he shouted angrily from his doorway. Several others stood by the door, casting dark glances at her and not intending to stop Wayne. Before Nadia could speak, Colby suddenly lunged and bit Wayne's leg. Caught completely off guard, Wayne loudly screamed as he swung his stick at Colby's head. Colby nimbly jumped aside. Its eyes filled with murderous intent. It was Wayne who had called it filthy and flea-ridden, which led its owner to send it to the dog meat restaurant. It was also because of him that Nadia had cut off its food supply, ignoring it ever since. Holding a grudge, Colby lunged at him once again. Wayne, terrified, frantically swung his stick. Nadia stepped in with a swift slash, forcing him back several steps. "Nadia, are you seriously hitting me over a dog? Have you lost your mind? It's just a dog!" Wayne's fury was palpable, and his disheveled state revealed a hint of savagery. "It may be a dog, but you're not even acting human." "You think you're justified in killing Ken?" Nadia couldn't help but laugh at such twisted reasoning. "Was I the one who wounded Ken and watched him die without taking him to the hospital?" Wayne fell silent. He then retorted, "If you hadn't been so cold-hearted, refused to help, and refused to lend us money..." Nadia shot them a cold look. "Have some dignity, will you? If I were you, I would've gone after the person who wounded Ken. Kill one to avenge him. Kill two, and you'd be ahead. "Instead, you're all cowards. You won't even seek revenge, and yet you blame me for his death? You attack a woman and act like you're the victim. Do you enjoy being so dependent on others?" "Who the hell is living off others?" Nadia sneered. "How much you depend on others, don't you know? And who gave you the courage to keep causing trouble in front of me?" With that, her knife plunged deep into Wayne's thigh. Wayne screamed and collapsed to the ground while others rushed to his aid. "Nadia, let's talk this through. You've gone too far!" Nadia ascended the stairs, issuing a warning. "This time, it was your leg. Next time, it'll be your heart. Cherish the chance to stay alive." No one dared to approach her. Their faces were filled with resentment.Behind the door, Maya, her hair shorn, fumed with rage, seeing the others around her as useless fools. As Nadia reached the 17th floor, she was stunned by what she saw. The door at the top of the stairway looked like it was covered in porcupine quills. More precisely, the door was fortified with countless outward-facing iron nails. It wasn't just one door, but three in a row—each similarly reinforced. Not even a mouse could squeeze through. Three men and one woman worked energetically, welding with sparks that shot out in blinding flashes. When Caleb spotted Nadia coming up, he lifted his protective face mask. "Nadia, what do you think of our fortress?" In their search for materials, they encountered welding acetylene in the building and managed to bring back steel bars and nails. Together, they had transformed the 18th floor into an impregnable fortress, hoping to finally sleep peacefully at night without constant fear of intruders.Nadia could only give a thumbs-up, impressed by Caleb and Levi's ingenuity. Rumors about supplies on the 18th floor weren't baseless, and she knew Wayne and Maya had likely fueled them. Rather than live in constant fear, it made sense to construct a hard shell of protection. Maybe this is the strength of a team—three heads proving to be better than one brilliant strategist. She was genuinely pleased. She couldn't have come up with such a creative solution herself. "Wow, you brought a dog home?" Caleb's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said to Nadia. "Levi, tonight we're having stewed dog meat for dinner!" Colby immediately turned around, too exhausted to care anymore. He was done and just walked off. Nadia squatted down to comfort it, then looked angrily at Caleb. "This is my dog. If you touch a single hair on it, I'll stew you first." "When did you start keeping a dog?" Caleb asked in surprise. "This looks like a stray.""Isn't it that stray from the entrance of the community?" Levi added, recognizing it. "Nadia used to feed it all the time." "It saved my life once. I didn't bring it here for you to eat. If any of you harm it, I won't hesitate to deal with you," Nadia said, her expression serious. Despite having only beef jerky, cured sausages, and sausages, which they were carefully rationing, Caleb and the others weren't particularly fond of meat. However, in this harsh environment, many people resorted to slaughtering their pets for food rather than wasting precious supplies on them. Food was life, and every day, people starved to death. Not just Caleb and Levi—Jasmine also couldn't understand. Then, unexpectedly, Harrison spoke up. "This Malinois has a good build. With proper training, it could easily take on two or three adults at once." "You've got an eye for it. Just now, it was surrounded by seven or eight people, but they couldn't get the upper hand. It even capsized their rubber shafts," Nadia said, impressed.Both Levi and Caleb fell silent at Nadia's words.