The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Now that Hughie was earning his own food, his confidence had skyrocketed.

“Yeah, we’re sticking with it. Next rotation, we’re on day shift, and the assignment’s not too far from the complex. We’ll see how things look after that.”

Thinking about Hughie getting slashed still made Beatrice nervous.

“If things get too bad, we’ll quit,” she said softly. “But while we can still earn, we should keep earning.”

The three of them had already done the math. Including the grain issued by their unit, they had earned close to 50 pounds of food total this month, plus canned goods and frozen potatoes.

They handed everything else to Nicole for safekeeping, hoping she could eventually trade some of it for

more grain.

Jeremy carefully packed away the cigarettes.

Those were useful at work, good for building connections with coworkers or buttering up supervisors. Maybe with enough networking, he could land easier assignments later.

Nicole took the supplies and left, letting the exhausted trio finally rest.

They slept straight through until afternoon, and the silent hallway finally regained some long-lost noise

and energy.

For some reason, Nicole suddenly had the strange illusion that life was peaceful again.

The weather kept getting colder and colder. Without temperature-regulating clothing keeping her alive, Nicole seriously suspected one breath of outside air would freeze her lungs solid.

Later, Beatrice knocked on her door, carrying two pounds of rice.

“It’s payment for watching over the 18th floor.”

Nicole refused immediately.

“Even if you guys weren’t here, I’d still be living here myself, wouldn’t I? Our floor already has a reputation. Nobody’s come looking for trouble this whole time. As long as there’s no conflict, I’m not

taking anything from you.”

She refused it, and Zeph refused, too.

In the end, Beatrice gave up and changed tactics.

“Then come eat with us tonight. Our treat.”

That, Nicole could accept.

Habits really were terrifying things.

1/3

+15 Bonus

Ever since Hughie’s entire group started working full-time, the 18th floor had become painfully quiet.

Nicole had to admit she was feeling lonely.

Sure, Zeph was technically another living, breathing human being, but he had always been quiet by nature. Sometimes he would try talking to her, but… It just felt different from talking with Jeremy and

Hughie.

Honestly, she never knew what to say around him. Things were just awkward between them.

Even during sparring practice, they barely exchanged more than a few words. Everything felt strangely

off between them.

That was probably the lingering aftereffect from that heavily censored incident before, along with the reckless questions she had asked him afterward.

Either way, Hughie’s group’s return made Nicole genuinely happy.

She carried over a frozen fish, only for Beatrice to refuse, no matter what.

“You don’t need to contribute anything. Just show up. Though, if possible, could you guys handle the cooking?”

Seriously, they were all sick to death of cafeteria-style meals.

Nicole had no objections.

After all, she wasn’t the one cooking anymore. She had already successfully trained a successor.

Zeph made tonight’s dinner: pot roast with pickled greens, and dried cabbage with sliced pork. The pickled greens and dried cabbage had both come from Nicole’s “trade runs” at the market.

“I traded for a few pounds,” she said casually. “If you guys like it, I can split some with you.”

Of course, the truth was that everything had come straight out of her storage space.

All she had to do was dry the mustard greens, pack them tightly into plastic bottles, seal them up, and let them ferment for three months. They came out tangy, salty, and surprisingly good.

As for the cabbage, there was no freeze-drying technology left anymore, so people just hung it out to dry. Once it was soaked and fried in plenty of oil, it still made for a solid meal.

It couldn’t compare to fresh vegetables, obviously. But being able to eat vegetables at all during this deep freeze was already unbelievably luxurious.

Beatrice’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, we’ll take however much you can spare.”

Anyone who hadn’t gone without vegetables long enough didn’t understand the true suffering of trying to

use the bathroom afterward

Jeremy looked equally excited. “How much can you get us?”

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