The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 229

Chapter 229

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Seeing Poppy look so distressed that she was practically about to cry, Jeremy instantly stopped teasing her, afraid Zeph might actually beat him to death.

“Alright, alright. Nicole’s part of your family.”

Nicole grabbed a throw pillow and smacked him with it. “You just have to stir people up, don’t you? Even

little kids.”

Jeremy caught the pillow and grinned shamelessly. “Sorry, my bad.”

Poppy scratched her head thoughtfully, then suddenly seemed to find a solution.

“Jeremy, I can draw them in, too.”

So she added Nicole to the picture, along with herself, Zeph, Cola, the rabbits, and a huge house.

Outside the house, she drew sunlight, trees, and green grass.

After hanging around Hughie’s place for a while longer, Poppy started looking reluctant to leave, like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite work up the courage.

Nicole waved her over. “Poppy, is there something you want to tell us?”

Poppy hesitated before nodding softly. “Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“Zeph’s birthday is coming. I want to make him happy the way everyone made you happy on your birthday.”

The problem was that she had no idea how birthdays were supposed to work, and by then, Jeremy and the others would already be back at work.

Zeph’s birthday?

Jeremy and Hughie instantly took it seriously.

The 18th floor had survived this far because of Zeph. Even their ability to use crossbows during patrols

and scare off robbers came from the training and guidance he had given them.

Unfortunately, all three of them had work shifts and couldn’t take time off to celebrate with him.

So each person contributed a can of food and asked Nicole to pass them along to Zeph on his birthday.

They even made birthday cards and specifically reminded her not to forget to include their blessings.

Nicole, who somehow ended up handling the entire operation, was speechless.

Hughie’s group still left before dawn as usual, heading out at 5 a.m. so they could make it to their station by 8 a m

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Meanwhile, Nicole found herself wondering how exactly she was supposed to celebrate Zeph’s birthday on behalf of the entire 18th floor.

It honestly gave her a headache.

She glanced at Cola.

“Your handler’s birthday is coming up. What gift are you planning to give him?”

The dog tilted his head left, then right, before suddenly bolting away.

First, he dug around on the balcony, then rummaged through the other room, before finally returning proudly with his food bowl in his mouth.

Inside sat half a bowl of bones.

Nicole nearly got taken out on the spot.

This dog really had some nerve. Wasn’t he afraid his handler would deliberately target him later?

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon, it was Zeph’s birthday.

After thinking it over, Nicole finally took the initiative and spoke through the walkie-talkie.

“Zeph, Poppy told me it’s your birthday today. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Zeph paused briefly on the other end. “Want to eat together?”

“Uh… Sure.”

Honestly, no gift could compare to a good meal these days, and Zeph already lacked for nothing anyway. An idea quickly formed in Nicole’s mind.

“What do you and Poppy want to eat? Birthday boy gets priority today. I’ll cook.”

“I’m fine with anything. What do you want?”

Nicole laughed lightly. “I’m fine with anything, too.”

With the weather this cold, she really didn’t feel like cooking.

“How about this? I’ll make something and bring it over.”

“Alright. I’ll come help.”

“No, no, I can handle it myself.”

After hanging up, Nicole went into her storage space to brush her teeth, wash up, and change clothes. She spent some time reading medical books until around noon, then took out a portion of beef brisket stew and transferred it into a pot to reheat over the gas stove.

Since Cola loved it as well, she made extra.

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The stew bubbled hot inside the pot, steam rolling into the air.

The pot was too hot to carry comfortably, so Nicole used the walkie-talkie to tell Zeph to open the door.

Unexpectedly, the moment she opened her own front door, she found Zeph already standing outside, waiting.

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