The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

It was Oliver again. This time, he had a few other men with him.

Nicole didn’t respond.

Oliver kept knocking, muttering to the others beside him.

“Oliver, it’s dead quiet up here. Do you think something happened to them last night?”

The man’s voice was hoarse; he was clearly sick from the cold.

If something had happened to the people on the 18th floor, that would be perfect.

That was what Oliver was really thinking, though he kept it to himself.

Out loud, Oliver sighed like a decent person. “Don’t say that. Nicole and the others are young and in good shape. They’ll be fine. And even if something did happen, we should help out.”

“Come on, Oliver. You’re too nice. Haven’t you seen how they treat us?”

“We’re all in the same building. Looking out for each other is the right thing to do.”

“Wait, I think I hear something. Guess they’re not dead after all.”

There was a trace of disappointment in his voice. If the entire 18th floor had been wiped out, all those supplies would’ve been up for grabs.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Nicole’s voice cut in, cold and clear. “Not only are we alive, but we’re also all doing just fine.”

The sudden response made them freeze. They had been knocking for a while with no answer. No one expected her to speak up like that.

Awkward didn’t even begin to cover it.

Oliver recovered quickly. “Hey, Nicole, don’t take it the wrong way. We were just checking in. Glad you’re all okay.”

“Don’t worry,” she said flatly. “We’ll outlast you.”

That killed the conversation.

Oliver was annoyed, but his smile didn’t slip. “Good to hear. If you run into trouble, let me know anytime.”

The group lingered for a moment, clearly unwilling to leave, then finally shuffled off.

In times like this, people like Oliver were everywhere, wishing others dead so they could pick through what was left behind.

They were just clowns. Neither Nicole nor Zeph gave them another thought.

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Chapter 12

+15 Bonus

After running Cola through his exercises, Nicole had the dog put his temperature-regulating layer back

She followed Zeph’s advice and skipped the wool sweater, but the fur coat stayed. The dog still needed time to adjust.

“What about you?” Zeph asked. “Are you sparring today?”

“Yeah.”

If even the dog could stick to training, she had no excuse to slack off. Even in a deep freeze, she had to

keep pushing.

The anti-slip mats had stiffened in the cold, so Zeph laid down an extra layer of fabric.

There was a charcoal stove in the living room, but compared to Nicole’s setup, it barely made a dent. The

room was still cold.

Nicole took off her outer coat and stepped in.

Half an hour later, she was sweating.

Her temperature-regulating socks were smooth against her skin, almost too smooth. During a clash, she stepped back, but her foot slipped inside the sock.

Her balance gave out, and she went down backward.

Zeph reacted instantly, diving forward.

She hit the padded mat, and then he came down on top of her. Her lips knocked against his face.

A muffled grunt escaped her. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs, her vision flashing. Even her teeth felt like they had rattled loose.

He was big, and all that weight pressed down on her.

Zeph pushed himself up right away and helped her sit up. “You okay?”

That was when Nicole realized his hand had been cradling the back of her head the whole time.

“I’m fine. My foot slipped.”

“Woof!”

Cola came tearing out of Poppy’s room the second he heard the noise, lunging forward to grab Zeph’s clothes and yank him back.

Let her go!

“Cola!” Nicole snapped.

The dog didn’t care. No one would get to hurt his human.

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