The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 267

Chapter 267

When it came to love, Hughie considered himself an expert.

“Babe, I was hooked the second I saw you.”

Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Hooked? You were obviously just…”

She wasn’t stupid. Hughie hadn’t fallen in love at first sight. He had simply been stunned by how fierce

she was.

And as for why she had ended up liking Hughie…

Beatrice paused for a moment, finally understanding what Hughie meant earlier.

What Nicole felt for Edward wasn’t really love. He had something she lacked, something she had desperately wanted for a very long time.

The more someone lacked something, the more desperately they clung to it, sometimes to the point of

losing themselves completely.

Beatrice sighed softly.

“Zeph’s a good guy. I just hope he treats Nicole right.”

That night during dinner, Poppy kept scratching her arm nonstop.

Nicole looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“It itches.”

Nicole rolled up her sleeve. A huge, swollen bite covered Poppy’s arm, red and irritated from scratching. One glance was enough to tell it came from a mosquito.

The stagnant floodwater reeked and bred bacteria everywhere. The mosquitoes had started mutating along with everything else. Lower floors closer to the water were already crawling with them.

Once bitten, people developed huge, swollen welts that only got itchier the more they scratched.

Before long, pests would explode throughout the city completely. Huge numbers of people would end up infected with dengue fever. 1

The authorities were spraying disinfectant everywhere, but there was simply too much garbage floating in the water, and more appeared every single day. Completely controlling the outbreak was impossible.

Still, prevention mattered.

For example, recovering corpses from the water genuinely helped stop epidemics from spreading.

Mosquito nets alone weren’t enough anymore. The mutated mosquitoes already dared fly around in broad daylight, never mind at night. 1

1/3

+15 Bonus

Nicole applied medicine to Poppy’s arm. The mild plug-in bug repellent barely worked anymore, so she switched to heavy-duty bug spray instead.

At the same time, she radioed Hughie’s group to remind them about mosquito netting, insect repellent, and long sleeves and pants.

As for face-to-face visits, better to avoid them whenever possible.

Nicole showered every day herself, but she no longer dared to use shampoo or body wash because she worried Jeremy and the others would notice something strange. 1

She had even intentionally left two sweat-soaked outfits from training sessions with Zeph unwashed. If necessary, she could throw them on and keep people far away with the smell alone.

Honestly, that was probably why Zeph gave Hughie’s group the walkie-talkies in the first place. If something came up, they could talk over the radio instead of constantly knocking on the door. 1

They sprayed insecticide in every corner of the apartment. Everyone had to do their part to keep dengue fever from spreading. 1

Meanwhile, the extreme heat dragged on day after day. The walls still radiated heat long after sunset, only for the blazing sun to rise again a few hours later.

Thanks to their early preparations, life on the 18th floor remained barely manageable.

Hughie managed to fix the broken portable fridge and started freezing homemade iced herbal tea to help

beat the heat.

After making a batch, he immediately announced it over the walkie-talkie. “The fridge is out in the hallway. Help yourselves if you need ice.”

Nicole stayed busy too, pulling out supplies scavenged from the office building: coffee, hot chocolate mix, instant lemonade, and all kinds of instant drink packets. 1

Since the smells weren’t too strong, she watched tutorial videos while teaching Zeph how to make iced

coffee, frozen lemonade, blended hot chocolate drinks, and milkshakes.

Nicole only had to demonstrate once before Zeph picked it up. Then he took over and started teaching Poppy while Nicole lounged on the couch like a completely hands-off boss.

Seriously. Who said this guy had no talent?

Nicole drank a milkshake while staring at him suspiciously. “Were you pretending before?”

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