The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 226

Chapter 226

“You guys head back first. I just boiled some water anyway. I’ll bring a kettle over in a minute.”

Nicole shut the door, brushed her teeth, washed up, then carried a kettle of hot water over to Hughie’s apartment. Seeing how exhausted they looked, she also threw together a pot of noodles for them.

Only after finishing an entire steaming pot did the feeling finally return to their stiff, frozen bodies.

Jeremy let out a long sigh. “Your cooking really is the best, Nicole. The cafeteria food where we work is awful. There’s not even a trace of meat in it.”

“How’s the job been?” Nicole asked.

Jeremy raised his bandaged hand. “Almost lost my life.”

Those eight pounds of grain really weren’t easy money.

Jeremy handled it better than Hughie. He had already been out in society long enough to understand how hard life could get, so mentally, he’d been somewhat prepared for this kind of work.

Hughie was different.

For 20 years, he had never truly risked his life to earn food before.

If he and Jeremy hadn’t luckily ended up assigned to the same patrol team, he probably would’ve had a breakdown already.

All three of them worked night shifts, though Beatrice got assigned to a different squad, leaving Hughie. and Jeremy to stick together and survive however they could.

Daytime wasn’t too bad. Criminals still held back a little while the sun was up.

Nighttime was another story.

Once the darkness fell, people could jump out at you from anywhere. There were muggers, food thieves, even scavengers stripping people of whatever valuables or warm clothes they had left.

On their third day of work, the two of them chased down a robber blocking the road.

Hughie got slashed before he could react. If he hadn’t already been wearing improvised armor made from steel plating, his arm probably would’ve been crippled.

Danger lurked everywhere, especially on grain distribution days. Those were the truly terrifying ones.

Some people got careless, relying on their size and strength, thinking nobody would dare touch them. They would swagger out, carrying their grain openly, only to get hit by motorcycle thieves within seconds of leaving the building.

One unlucky guy got dragged across the frozen ground for dozens of feet after refusing to let go of his grain sack

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The only reason he survived was that the icy surface was slick.

If it had been concrete, his body probably would’ve been shredded apart.

“My grain! My grain!”

The giant, grown man cried like a child while tears froze on his face.

Security patrol work really meant gambling with your life.

Of course, the job also came with unexpected side income.

As long as nobody pushed things too far, the higher-ups mostly pretended not to notice. The work was dangerous enough that everyone understood.

Jeremy pulled open his bedding and revealed the stash hidden underneath: cigarettes, matches, gold chains, canned food, and several extra pounds of grain.

Hughie and Beatrice had similar hauls. Combined with their official rations, the three of them had done surprisingly well this month.

Every bit of it had come from criminals.

Sometimes, suspects dropped valuables while fleeing patrol officers, hoping the patrol would stop to pick things up instead of continuing the chase. Other times, the items came from searches after arrests.

If victims were present, their belongings were returned.

If nobody claimed the items, everybody silently split the spoils.

At first, Hughie’s group had honestly handed everything over.

Later, veteran patrol members gave them a few subtle pointers, and they finally understood how things really worked.

In the beginning, they struggled with the guilt. After realizing everyone else operated the same way, they slowly stopped resisting the temptation.

There was no helping it. The work was simply too dangerous. Without extra benefits, who would willingly

risk their life for it?

Survival worked differently for everyone. Nobody had room to judge.

Nicole looked toward Jeremy. “What happened to your hand?”

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