The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Chapter 157

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In a world like this, eating someone else’s food was basically taking their life, even if Zeph had more than enough.

Nicole waited until he finished before speaking. “I still need to apply medicine on your shoulder.”

Her technique was solid, but Zeph looked a little stiff. “Poppy can help me later.”

“I’ll do it,” Poppy chimed in right away.

Nicole let out a quiet breath, grateful for the save.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Jeremy and Hughie were there to learn how to make bamboo arrows. Seeing Nicole didn’t surprise them at all. If anything, they exchanged knowing looks behind her back.

Zeph’s shoulder wasn’t fully functional, but it wasn’t useless either, so he started teaching in the living

room.

First, he cut the bamboo to even lengths, then shaved them round and heated them over a flame to toughen them up…

They picked it up fast. Both of them worked hard, hands moving nonstop.

Jeremy frowned. “Crossbows hit hard, but with everyone bundled up like this in winter, it’s hard to actually get through their clothes.”

“That’s why you train your aim. Go for the eyes.”

Jeremy froze. That was insane.

Eyes were tiny, and moving. No way he could pull that off.

But what choice did he have? All he could do was keep training. That was better than sitting around,

waiting to die.

Nicole eased the pressure a bit. “Face shots work, too. Scarves are thinner.”

That helped. The two of them finally relaxed. “Nicole, you’re the best.”

“Don’t compare yourselves to me. I’m aiming for the eyes.”

Jeremy went silent. He might as well just die from the stress.

It was freezing outside, but inside, the mood stayed light. The three of them joked around like they always had.

Zeph added a word here and there, while Poppy played with Cola nearby.

Hughie suddenly asked, “Zeph, got any spare thermal layers? Give us a couple. We’ll make you a custom

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body armor in return.”

Zeph thought about it for a moment. “Alright.”

With more hands, the work went fast. Soon, they had a big bundle of bamboo arrows. But these things burned through quickly, so they would need to stock up over the next couple of days.

With his shoulder injured, sparring was off the table. Nicole went back home and started doing squats with Cola in her arms.

Halfway through, something felt off. She stopped and went straight back to Zeph. “I think Cola’s getting bigger.”

“He’s been training every day. Malinois build muscle fast.”

“No, not just muscle. He’s heavier. And bigger overall.”

Seeing she was serious, Zeph had Cola lie down and started checking him.

Cola was already an adult. His bones shouldn’t be growing anymore. Zeph had examined him before taking him in.

As he felt along the dog’s body, his expression tightened. Compared to a few months ago, something had definitely changed. 1

Not just the bones. His coat was denser. His paws were larger, the pads thicker.

Even Zeph couldn’t fully explain it. “When conditions get extreme, humans use tools to protect themselves. We layer up, take medicine. Animals don’t have that. They face it head-on, and their bodies get forced to adapt fast.”

Adapt… Did that mean mutate?

That clicked something in Nicole’s mind. 1

The giant cockroaches from her past life, the rats with razor-sharp teeth, the snakes that bred like crazy… Every single one of them had turned vicious.

A chill ran down her spine. No wonder Cola was eating more and getting more aggressive. “Will this change who he is?”

“Survival of the fittest. Most will get more violent, but animals with higher intelligence can still be guided, “Zeph said.

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