The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Nicole looked up. “Did the deal go through?”

At that, Jeremy’s expression turned complicated. “They want the fish, but not that much. Two pounds of fish only gets you one pound of rice. And they’ll only take up to 200 pounds of fresh rice. The rest, we’ll have to trade for other stuff.”

That made sense. Fish wasn’t exactly rare, and it had never been worth as much as pork to begin with.

Grain, though, was getting harder to come by. Prices were climbing fast. Dumping 800 pounds of fish on

the market all at once wasn’t exactly easy either.

Nicole nodded. “So what’s the plan?”

Other goods they could trade for included medicine, canned food, salt, cooking oil, clothes, and other random stuff.

Zeph spoke up, calm as ever. “If anyone needs grain more urgently, I can give up my share and trade it for meds or supplies instead.”

Nicole didn’t mind either way. Hughie’s group would definitely want rice. The three of them lived off

carbs.

The Goodmans needed it even more.

So Zeph and Nicole’s shares were split between Hughie’s group and the Goodmans.

The Goodmans even opted for broken rice. It was cheaper, and they would get more of it. They had a whole family to feed, after all.

Nicole cut straight to it. “Are we still catching more fish?”

“Of course,” Jeremy said without hesitation. “We can’t just leave it.”

Letting food go to waste felt wrong on a gut level.

Lydia had already been thinking ahead. “If they won’t take it, we’ll keep it. Fry it, smoke it, salt it, cure it,

whatever.”

There were many ways to eat fish.

On the way back earlier, she had noticed a stretch of wild arrowroot growing in the valley. They could dig it up, process it into starch, and use it to fill their stomachs.

Nicole went quiet for a second.

People really would find a way to survive, no matter what.

Once they had settled things, Victor switched the device on again.

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Chapter 106

+15 Bonus

They kept catching and scooping, but after a while, Jeremy frowned. “Feels like there are fewer fish now.”

Nicole took a slow breath, trying to stay under the radar.

Zeph explained, “The ultrasonic waves affect them. Once they sense danger, they move with the current and scatter.”

That tracked. Every living thing has a survival instinct.

Besides, even what they already had was more than they could handle.

After running the device a few more times, they pulled in over 1,000 pounds of fish before calling it.

Jeremy reeked of fish so badly that he looked ready to gag. “Let’s deal with what we’ve got first. Then we’ll figure out how to recharge the device.”

No one argued.

After eating, they started hauling the fish down the mountain.

With a shortcut, the path was easier this time.

Trip after trip, they moved everything into one of the hillside villas. Even after setting aside what they planned to trade, there was still over 1,000 pounds left.

Taking that back to the apartment complex wasn’t an option. The Goodmans would get targeted immediately.

Nicole caught Jeremy’s eye, then suggested processing it at the villa.

The Goodmans didn’t hesitate. “That works.”

So Nicole and Lydia stayed behind to clean the fish while the four men took a batch out for trading.

Nicole handed Lydia a heavy butcher knife, then crouched down and got to work, scaling, gutting, and chopping.

Cola dragged off a fat fish and happily settled to the side, chewing away.

There was still some propane left in the villa from the last time they had cooked. It wasn’t much, but enough for frying.

Using the excuse of searching for supplies, Nicole pulled out a small stove, along with oil and salt, from the old fireplace vent on the second floor.

Lydia stared, impressed. “You’re good at finding things.”

There wasn’t much oil, but enough to get through a few batches before the others got back.

Lydia clearly knew her way around a pan. Nicole kept working through the pile of fish.

The smell of frying grew strong, almost overwhelming. When Nicole glanced over, the fish in the pan had

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