Elizabeth, feeling the strain on her aging heart, decided she couldn't take the chaos anymore. After all, the madness wasn't confined to just one person in the building. She made the decisive move to relocate her family to the 17th floor. While the 18th floor had also seen its share of violence, it was always in self-defense. That kind of rationale made them far more trustworthy than the unpredictable, deranged residents of the other floors. The two families moving to the 17th floor not only hauled their belongings upstairs but also dismantled their stainless steel doors, hoping to replicate the fortress-like setup of the 18th floor. They planned to install three additional doors on the staircase for added security. However, lacking the proper tools, they knocked on the 18th-floor doors to ask for help. Nadia didn't respond right away. Instead, she looked toward Harrison, Caleb, and the others. She couldn't just pull tools out of her domain—it would raise too many questions.Harrison had a portable impact drill, and Unit 1803 had a small supply of acetylene for welding. But helping the 17th floor without limits could set a dangerous precedent, fostering dependence. The 18th floor wasn't a sanctuary for everyone—it was already hard enough to protect themselves. However, the added doors on the 17th-floor staircase would also benefit the 18th-floor, providing a buffer against potential invaders. Still, boundaries needed to be maintained in this new alliance. After exchanging glances, the 18th-floor residents quickly reached a consensus. "The drill's almost out of power, and we're low on acetylene," Nadia said. "We can lend them, but when will you return them?" Her blunt question left the 17th-floor families at a loss for words. Elizabeth, ever the mediator, spoke up. "Young lady, we're all neighbors here, and we need to look out for each other. These tools are indeed special, and we might not be able to return them immediately. How about we leave something valuable with you as collateral?" "Sure," Nadia replied. "Talk it over." In the end, Elizabeth offered a bracelet, the Xerri Family handed over a crystal angel figurine, and the former Unit 1703 residents provided a gold necklace. Nadia, representing the 18th floor, accepted their items and lent them the drill and acetylene. Caleb and Levi accompanied them as technical advisors, ensuring the doors were installed securely. The 17th-floor residents had another request: access to the rooftop to gather ice and snow for water. The rooftop was a shared space, and with the two floors now working together, denying them access seemed unreasonable. However, frequent trips to the roof posed a risk to the 18th floor's security. After some thought, Nadia suggested, "You can send one person at 4 PM every day. Decide among yourselves who it will be." The restriction of one person annoyed the 17th-floor residents, but they had no choice. With the 18th floor holding the upper hand, they eventually agreed and assigned the task to Austin. Once the doors were installed, Levi returned with three new keys. "Getting in and out is going to be a chore. We'll have to go through six layers of doors now." The 17th floor also gave the 18th floor a skateboard. Levi, eager to reinforce their defenses further, contributed three pounds of iron nails to weld onto the doors for extra security. Meanwhile, the Hadid family suggested a joint trip to gather firewood the following day. The extreme cold had made indoor survival without firewood impossible. Despite stockpiling supplies earlier, the rate of consumption from morning to night was alarmingly fast. Although they could last a while longer, the coastal south had few forests, and most of the burnable furniture and wood in the city had already been scavenged. The survivors now had no choice but to venture into the mountains for firewood. The closest was Firridge. Supplies there were limited, and it was a case of first come, first served. The distant Hillside Villa, surrounded by mountains, was an alternative, but it was simply too far—a round trip would take more than a day on foot. Levi and Caleb, fully aware of the danger, felt the urgency to stock up. "Nadia, are you coming?" Levi asked. Nadia waved him off lazily. "Not in the mood. Maybe in a few days." Harrison also declined, showing no interest in venturing out to chop wood. Unit 1803 decided to head out in full force. Levi had somehow acquired a collapsible mechanical saw and was eager to put it to use. Colby, however, wasn't so lucky. The excited dog desperately wanted to join the action, but Nadia had firmly vetoed the idea. When Nadia woke up in the morning, she stepped onto the balcony just in time to see the Unit 1803 team heading out, fully geared. However, bundled up in layers upon layers, it was hard to tell who was who. Suddenly, shadows burst out from Building Eight, their intentions clear as they lunged at Levi York, trying to snatch his military coat, which had a mink lining underneath, a treasure in this freezing weather. Certainly, he wouldn't let them take it without a fight. Gripping a wooden club covered in rusty nails, he bellowed furiously, "Come on, you want a piece of me? Bring it on!" D*mn it! Do I look like the easiest target here or something? Watching from above, Nadia couldn't help but laugh. Levi's physical fitness had always been the weakest on the 18th floor, but months of harsh training had forged him into someone much tougher than before. Being the underdog on the 18th floor didn't mean he couldn't hold his own outside. The "sick rabbit" had learned how to bite. Caught off guard by Levi's ferocity, the attackers hesitated. Before they could regroup, Levi struck with wild abandon, his blows landing with surprising force. But it wasn't until Jasmine threw two punches that sent them sprawling that they decided to bail. "Run! It's those psychos from the 18th floor!" F*cking hell, of all the people, how did we end up picking this group of demons to attack?! Even the mildest personality would crack under the pressures of the apocalypse. And Levi? After months of being pushed around, letting out his pent-up frustration with a solid beating felt incredibly satisfying. It's just violence, isn't it? I can do it too! Once Unit 1803 was out of sight, Nadia returned to her cozy breakfast of warm milk and bread. Colby, whose appetite had grown noticeably larger, polished off its dog food and then begged for some bread. Initially, Nadia had worried the extra food would make the dog sluggish and overweight, but instead, Colby's lean muscles and shiny, dense coat continued to develop. Rubbing her stomach, Nadia noted that she was finally getting closer to visible abs. With the freezing temperatures making long periods of inactivity unbearable, Harrison temporarily paused Lily's lessons. This gave Nadia more free time, which she spent alternating between reading and tending to her domain. At her usual training time, she headed to Unit 1801 for her sparring session. When Levi and the others returned late in the evening, they were a mess. The trees they'd chopped had been cut into manageable lengths, bundled with rope, and dragged back. But the frozen wood was heavy, and the icy ground made the journey treacherous. Each of them had fallen several times, leaving them exhausted and battered. Seeing they'd made it back safely, Nadia opened her door and headed downstairs to help. Colby eagerly followed, with Lily hot on their heels. "Miss, Colby, wait for me!" called Lilly, her red polar suit making her look like a tiny bundle of joy. Her pigtails bobbed as she ran, her ears protected by soft, fluffy muffs. She was so adorable it was hard not to smile. Moving the wood inside was a challenge. The broken window in Unit 702 provided a shortcut, making it easier to bring the logs upstairs. Though Nadia disliked the idea of using the smashed window, the position of Unit 1803's wood pile made it the most practical option. Climbing through the window, Nadia couldn't resist glancing toward the distance. Piles of bodies were heaped together—gruesome evidence of the apocalypse. Some families had tried to grant their deceased loved ones dignity with proper burials, but many had resorted to tossing corpses out of windows, treating death as casually as trash disposal. Among the latter group was Wayne, who had unceremoniously thrown Eva's body, along with the ones she'd killed, to the ground below. Despite everything, that sc*mbag was somehow still alive. Unbelievable. The logs were heavy, requiring several trips to move them all. Colby dragged smaller branches while Lily carried lighter pieces, hopping and skipping as she tried to keep up with the dog. Despite her enthusiasm, she eventually lost her earmuffs in the chaos. By the time they finished, the sky was completely dark, and the icy air had grown even sharper and more piercing. As they finished unloading, Nadia grabbed a rock from her domain and hurled it at Wayne's window with all her strength. Months of training had sharpened her strength, and her aim—honed by daily crossbow practice—was dead-on. The stone struck with a deafening crash, shattering the glass into shards. The room beyond remained dark and silent. Wayne likely wasn't home. The sound caught the attention of nearby residents, but none of them reacted. In this world, murder was as common as breakfast, and a little property damage barely registered. As long as the chaos wasn't at their door, no one cared who lived or died.