The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 248

Chapter 248

In the darkness, Zeph wrapped his arms around her gently.

“How do you feel about me?”

Nicole’s mind buzzed blankly for a moment, her body stiffening instinctively, but she didn’t push him away. After a long pause, she finally muttered, “Y-You’re…okay.”

Zeph tightened his arms slightly.

“This is my first time falling for someone, and my first time treating someone this way. If there’s anything I’m not doing well enough, tell me. Don’t keep it bottled up.”

“I…” Nicole hesitated for a while before saying quietly, “I used to be pretty stupid. I chased after Edward for a while without thinking and even bought him gifts. Does that bother you?”

Zeph held her a little closer. “Did you love him?”

Nicole froze. She thought about it for a long time before finally answering.

“At the time, I thought I did. It was like I’d been hexed or something. Looking back now, I don’t think it was really love. I think I was just chasing the idea of it.”

People were like that. The more deprived they were of something, the more desperately they tried to hold

onto it.

Nicole had survived safely growing up, but her personality had never been healthy. She could be obsessive, negative, and closed off sometimes.

Edward had seemed like a beam of sunlight shining into the prison she had built around herself.

Once someone trapped in darkness glimpsed light, they instinctively ran toward it. Only later did she realize it hadn’t been light at all, just a mirage that toyed with people’s hearts.

Edward and Zeph gave off completely different feelings.

Around Zeph, Nicole could feel a steady sense of security. Standing beside him made it seem like she didn’t have to shoulder everything alone anymore.

Zeph knew she still had reservations, so he didn’t push for excessive intimacy. He only leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead before opening the bedroom door again.

Light poured back into the room, illuminating her delicate features, bright and vivid like a rose blooming alone in the snow.

Back in her own apartment, Nicole changed clothes and slipped beneath the blankets.

Her fingers drifted unconsciously to the spot on her forehead where he had kissed her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

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+15 Bonus

Before the potatoes were ready for harvest, Gabrielle came upstairs carrying a bucket.

“Hey, Nicole. Victor brought this back,” she explained. “It’s a growth catalyst. Mix it into the soil, and it speeds up the cold-resistant potatoes. They should mature in around two months.”

Victor had brought home an entire bucket, far more than their family needed, so Gabrielle generously poured half of it out for her.

“The neighborhood committee’s handing some out in a few days,” she added, “but you two planted so much, it definitely won’t be enough.”

A growth catalyst?

Nicole didn’t remember anything like this in her previous life.

Back then, the extreme heat had arrived halfway through the potato cycle. The plants withered almost overnight under the scorching temperatures, and when survivors dug them up, the potatoes were barely

larger than fingernails.

Not even enough to wedge between your teeth.

But this time, there was actually a catalyst. Which meant the authorities truly believed the extreme heat

was coming.

The researchers must’ve been ordered to find a solution, trying to help survivors harvest one last crop before the heatwave arrived. Otherwise, who knew how many people would starve to death later?

Nicole had originally planned to stop planting after this harvest.

Now, it looked like they could squeeze in one final round.

Nobody ever complained about having too much food, anyway.

Still, even with the catalyst, time would be tight.

Nicole dug up one of the potato plants to check.

The roots were already packed with potatoes. The black soil was nutrient-rich, and with Zeph constantly supplementing light exposure, the potatoes matured faster than expected. If they left them a little longer, the starch content would probably improve, too. 1

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