The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 309

Chapter 309

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Zeph’s response scared the people scrambling in front of the van badly enough that they dove out of the way in panic, rolling across the pavement and crashing into the roadside dirt.

Once they got back up, they chased after the van, screaming curses and throwing rocks behind them.

Four wheels, huh? Fine! Hope you crash and die!

The van might’ve looked beat-up and cheap, but Zeph had rebuilt it tough. A few dents from rocks meant nothing, and the windows had already been replaced with bullet-resistant glass.

The closer they got to Grayport, the fewer survivors they saw walking along the roads.

At first, Nicole found it strange. Then, she realized people were climbing the mountains instead.

Not hiking. They were actually hauling luggage over steep mountain trails in the dark.

Visibility at night was terrible. At one point, someone lost their footing and tumbled down the slope, rolling all the way toward the roadside below before landing hard and going completely still.

Nicole had a pretty good idea how that ended.

Quietly, she let out a long sigh.

Right then, Zeph suddenly shut off the AC and rolled down the windows, letting the scorching air flood inside until the van instantly turned suffocatingly hot.

A few minutes later, lights appeared ahead.

The road had been partially blocked off with concrete barriers, leaving only enough room for one large vehicle to squeeze through at a time.

Beside it stood a small guard shack with huge red-painted letters hanging overhead.

Pedestrians: 5 pounds of food.

Cars: 10 pounds.

Trucks: 40 pounds.

Metal barricades sealed the road completely.

Pay the toll, or turn around.

No wonder so many survivors risked climbing mountains instead. This wasn’t robbery anymore. It was a death sentence for people already starving.

The moment they saw headlights approaching, five or six thick-necked bald men stepped out of the guard shack.

Some carried machetes. Others had baseball bats or riot poles.

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The leader had a gun.

“Stop the vehicle!”

Zeph braked and rolled the window down.

Nicole picked up a sack containing ten pounds of potatoes and handed it over.

Maybe it was the sour smell of sweat and dirty clothes drifting out of the van, or maybe Nicole and Zeph simply looked like easy targets.

Whatever the reason, the bald men stared them down with hostile expressions.

“Twenty pounds.”

Nicole frowned. “The sign says ten.”

The men casually waved their weapons around. “Prices went up.”

Nicole swallowed her irritation. Picking fights here would only ruin bigger plans later. Acting reluctant and uncomfortable, she slowly pulled out another sack of potatoes.

The man grabbed the full 20 pounds and tossed it into a nearby cargo truck like it was trash.

Nicole glanced inside. The truck bed was already piled high with supplies collected from travelers passing through.

They weren’t only charging vehicles heading toward the coast. They taxed people returning, too.

Just then, a water tanker came back from the Grayport direction. The bald men collected 20 pounds of salt and another 20 pounds of dried seafood from them.

Nicole noticed a painted symbol on the tanker’s hood, and the driver casually chatted with the guards for a while.

It was obvious they knew each other. The tanker got the friendly rate.

Regular travelers probably got squeezed a whole lot harder, depending on what the guards thought they

could afford.

It was practically free money. In a single day, these people could collect truckloads of supplies without lifting a finger.

After the metal barricade finally rolled aside, Zeph drove through.

Seeing Nicole stay quiet, he spoke first. “This kind of thing happens everywhere after a collapse. The police and military can’t control all of it, let alone ordinary people.”

Nicole understood what he meant and said nothing.

Instead, she pulled back the curtain behind them. Cola and Poppy had already woken up from the shouting outside, but thanks to Zeph’s usual training, they stayed silent and alert.

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Cola moved closer and nudged against Nicole’s hand.

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