The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251

Nicole was bleeding Weasel dry at this point.

She teased him. “A hundred pounds.”

Weasel looked completely defeated. “Fine. You’re the boss.”

Getting the goods together would take time, so they agreed to make the trade three days later.

It was still early, so the two of them headed to the trading street by the department store to see if they could pick up anything useful for later.

The temperature had started climbing, but at -58, the cold still cut straight through people. The few pedestrians on the road hurried along with their heads down.

Wearing thick gloves, Zeph held Nicole’s hand as they walked.

She still wasn’t used to being that close to someone. Instinctively, she tried to pull away, but he refused

to let go.

After that, Nicole stopped resisting. 1

When they reached the trading street, they browsed stall by stall until they unexpectedly found a compact threshing machine about waist-high. It could process wheat, barley, oats, corn, and over a

dozen other crops.

Nicole took one look and immediately wanted it. She was done rubbing wheat by hand.

Zeph crouched down to inspect the machine. The belts were still intact and hadn’t frozen stiff.

The seller wanted 20 pounds of rice or flour for each machine. There were two total.

Before the apocalypse, these little machines only cost a few thousand bucks. Now they were worth even

less.

Nicole could afford the food, but handing it over without bargaining would paint a target on her back fast.

Without electricity, ordinary survivors had no use for it anyway.

She slipped into the role of a reseller, clicking her tongue and shaking her head like she wasn’t all that

interested.

The moment she turned to leave, the stall owner panicked. “Then how much are you offering?”

He had hauled the threshers back while scavenging supplies. They had been useless from the start, and setting up the stall was just gambling on luck.

After finally getting someone to ask about them, there was no way he was letting the buyer walk.

Nicole haggled back and forth with him like a seasoned middleman, tossing around trader slang and

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hand signals until they finally settled on ten pounds of potatoes per machine.

The threshers weren’t heavy. They could carry them out by hand.

After avoiding the crowd and slipping into a secluded corner, Nicole checked to make sure nobody was nearby. Using Zeph’s height to block the view, she stored both machines inside her storage space.

They returned to the market and kept browsing.

Nicole suddenly stopped in front of a stall selling sketchbooks and paintings.

It was an old acquaintance, the same guy who had sold paintings and Christmas decorations during the holidays.

His artwork was genuinely impressive, but survivors could barely keep themselves fed these days. Nobody had the luxury of caring about art anymore.

His prices were absurdly low. A painting only cost an ounce or two of rice, yet nobody even stopped to

look.

Nicole glanced over the pieces and was about to leave when the stall owner called out to her.

“Miss, you seem like someone who appreciates art. Not interested in taking a few home?”

“You’re talented,” Nicole admitted, “but these don’t have much practical value.”

The man forced out a strained smile, his expression complicated. “I’ve got something special. Would you

like to see it?”

“Antiques?”

He lowered his voice. “A Renaissance manuscript.” 1

Nicole instantly perked up. She personally had zero interest in this kind of thing, but her storage space

loved collectibles like these.

The man picked up a bag, carefully unwrapped layers of cloth, and took out a yellowed manuscript, unfolding it with extreme caution.

Nicole had no artistic eye whatsoever and couldn’t tell whether it was real or fake. The paper and ink looked genuinely old, but then again, counterfeiters before the apocalypse had been terrifyingly good, too.

She turned to the person beside her. “What do you think?”

Zeph actually studied it seriously. After a long pause, he finally answered, “I think it’s legit.”

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