The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 291

Chapter 291

As the heat dragged on, the floodwaters dropped faster by the day. Survivors who had spent months hiding indoors finally started coming out around dawn and dusk.

To protect their secret, Nicole stopped going out altogether.

After days of leaving before dawn and returning late at night, the exhaustion finally caught up with her. She rested for several days before she started feeling human again.

Sitting in front of the cooling fan and eating frozen watermelon, Nicole started thinking about Hughie’s group and how to get them safely to Halloway.

Eventually, she pulled out a large batch of fresh vegetables from the storage space and handed them over to Hughie and Jeremy.

“Spread these out on the balcony and dry them,” she said. “I just harvested them. Once they’re done, seal them up tight and save them for later.”

Hughie stared at the vegetables, visibly touched. “You’re giving us all this? What about you and Zeph?”

“The seeds belonged to all of us in the first place,” she replied casually. “You guys have no idea what things will look like once you get there, so just prepare ahead of time. Zeph and I can just stretch what

we have.”

The three of them had grown up together. At that point, nobody needed to say thank you out loud

anymore.

Hughie and Jeremy carried the vegetables upstairs to dry them on the rooftop. The concrete floor was so hot that it almost burned through their shoes, and the fresh greens wilted visibly the moment they hit the ground.

By midday, the leaves had already turned brittle enough to crumble at a touch.

Once packed into bags, they looked more like crushed flakes than vegetables.

Neither of them minded in the slightest.

Other survivors were eating cockroaches and rats. They still had vegetables. That alone already felt like

a miracle.

Still, the worry lingered.

Hughie let out a long sigh. “Jeremy, do you think we can actually survive after we leave Nicole?”

Jeremy stayed silent for a few seconds before answering. “Whether we survive or not, we still have to try We can’t depend on her forever.”

Nicole wasn’t their caretaker. The fact that she had helped them this much already meant more than they could ever repay. Eventually, they would have to rely on themselves.

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Still, both of them understood what this separation probably meant.

Once they left for Halloway, there was a good chance they would never see each other again.

Just thinking about it left a heavy feeling sitting in their chests.

Over the years, both before and after the natural disasters began, the three of them had survived by leaning on each other.

They were all orphans. Real friends were hard enough to come by, never mind family. After more than a decade together, they had long since started seeing each other as family anyway.

But everyone still had their own path to follow.

Since deciding to leave for Halloway, Hughie and Jeremy had barely rested. Their top priority was finding a reliable vehicle and teaching themselves basic repair skills.

If the car broke down on the road and they couldn’t fix it, they were finished.

The moment they learned Zeph had repair manuals, they borrowed every book he had. Whenever they ran into something they didn’t understand, they immediately called him over the radio if he happened to

be home.

As more and more survivors started venturing outside to search for supplies, Hughie became increasingly anxious.

“Zeph, do you think we should go look for a vehicle now?”

By then, the water level had dropped below the second floor in most places. More survivors were diving underwater looking for supplies every day.

Zeph thought about it before answering, “Now’s not the best time to hunt for a car, but you can start collecting gasoline.”

As long as the disasters continued, fuel would only become more valuable.

Even if they couldn’t find a decent vehicle right away, enough gasoline could probably be traded for one

later.

Hughie and Jeremy immediately became interested and hurried over to ask questions.

The city had already emptied most gas stations, but there was no way officials had enough time to siphon fuel from every abandoned vehicle. Most cars still sat submerged underwater, so if they wanted gas, they needed to focus on higher ground instead.

By now, the floodwater around the highways and service stations had likely dropped enough to reach the stranded vehicles.

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