The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131

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Hughie had those nosy, radar-like ears. “Sounds like they’re prying doors open. And there’s more than a few of them.”

Nicole’s expression turned serious. “The sudden temperature drop the night before last probably killed a lot of people. They’re likely breaking into the homes of the dead.”

“Th-that’s insane…”

Nicole gave a small shrug. “No choice. The dead have to make way for the living.”

If she had to guess, Oliver had already taken stock of the survivors and organized people to collect supplies from those who didn’t make it.

Hughie couldn’t wrap his head around it. “After months of flooding, people don’t have any food left. Some were boiling their leather shoes just to survive. Anything that could burn got chopped up for firewood. Even if they break in, what’s there to find?”

“There’s always something.”

It didn’t sit right, but no one could bring themselves to criticize it out loud. They had only managed to gather supplies through sheer luck. If they were in the same position, they might’ve done the exact same

thing.

Just like Nicole said, the dead had to make way for the living.

The mood felt heavy. After exchanging a few words, everyone went back home and crawled under their

blankets.

That short trip outside had nearly frozen them to death. Back inside, Nicole wanted nothing more than to press her hands against the space heater.

Snowy was nursing her babies, while Ash came out looking for food, circling Nicole nonstop.

Both of them looked lively enough, so she added some grass and feed.

Aside from daily sparring and archery practice, Nicole refused to step outside. She either stayed buried in her blankets, reading, or used her mind to work the land.

Finally, after what felt like forever, she managed to turn over about 1,000 square feet of soil, digging small pits to plant corn seeds before covering them back up. 1

The mental strain drained her fast, leaving her feeling completely hollowed out. She was starving.

Time for a Snickers!

Hughie’s group stayed proactive, going up to the rooftop every day to clear the snow. They also made sure to bring some down for Nicole and Zeph.

No one said it out loud, but everyone kept their own mental tally. Compared to Nicole and Zeph, they

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weren’t as capable when it came to survival or finding supplies. The two of them had contributed more, yet the group benefited from the shared resources.

So they made up for it by doing whatever they could.

Nicole told them to stop more than once, but Hughie’s group never listened.

She even thought about taking turns going up to collect snow herself, but they were always faster. Every time she opened the door, buckets already filled with snow were sitting outside.

Maybe this made them feel better about things. Nicole decided not to stop them anymore.

Water wasn’t an issue in her storage space. Once the door was shut, she dumped the snow into the black soil garden, treating it as irrigation.

Wasting her friends’ effort made her feel a little guilty, but there was no way she would ignore a better option. She could only feel a bit sorry about it.

The temperature kept dropping day by day. Sometimes, it was obvious, sometimes subtle, until it quietly reached -15 degrees.

Thudding noises echoed from downstairs every day. It went on for several days before finally settling down.

From the sound of it, even the 17th floor had been broken into. There had to be a lot of casualties.

After all, this was the coastal region. Whether it was building structure or cold-weather clothing, nothing here was built to withstand this kind of freezing.

That day, the sound of knocking came from downstairs again. This time, it was Gabrielle.

With the weather this bad, she clearly wasn’t here for needle therapy. They were all familiar with each other by now, so Gabrielle didn’t beat around the bush.

“Nicole, we wanted to talk to you about something.”

Seeing how worn she looked, worry written all over her face, Nicole frowned slightly. “Go ahead.”

Gabrielle suddenly broke down, gripping her hand tightly as her voice choked up. “You saved our lives.”

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