The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 322

Chapter 322

The place sat five or six miles from the coast. People called it the Tomlinson villa, but estate would have

been closer to the truth.

Built into the mountainside, the property had guards everywhere. Even in the apocalypse, the place reeked of money.

The estate was huge, and security covered every inch of the grounds. After parking, they had to pass through a scanner. Any weapon would show up at once, and no one was allowed to bring one inside.

Nicole hugged the mini fridge to her chest and stared, at a loss for words.

When they entered the living room, a middle-aged man in casual clothes was already waiting, anxiety written all over him.

The medical team came forward immediately. “Do you have the vaccine?”

Inside the mini fridge sat a single chilled dose.

After checking it and confirming there was nothing wrong, the medical team nodded to the middle-aged

man.

The man turned to Nicole and Zeph. “Thank you for coming. As long as my father has no reaction after the shot, I’ll give you the yacht in three days.”

“Three days?” Nicole’s guard went up. “Mr. Tomlinson, the reward is one thing, but if you don’t hand over the yacht three days from now, that puts us in a tough spot.”

Jake thought for a moment, then gave an order to the assistant beside him.

Before long, the assistant returned with an elegant jewelry case. Inside lay a glittering gemstone necklace, the Ocean Star.

“This necklace is from my personal collection,” Jake said. “I bought it at auction for 24 million. I’ll leave it with you as collateral.”

Before the apocalypse, a necklace like that would have turned heads anywhere. Now, its value was nowhere near that of a yacht.

But Jake had already gone this far, and they were standing on his property. Nicole didn’t push it and accepted the necklace.

“Then I’ll trust you this once. Three days from now, I’ll come trade it back for the yacht.”

A gemstone of that quality was exactly the sort of thing her storage space liked. Either way, she wouldn’t be walking away empty-handed. 1

The medical team went into the room to give Fred the shot. After watching him for half an hour and confirming he had no bad reaction, they finally let Nicole and the others leave.

1/3

+15 Bonus

Once they were out of the Tomlinson villa, Sven seemed worried they might read too much into the delay. He reassured them, “Don’t worry. Jake has too much to lose to ruin his name over one tetanus shot.”

Nicole wasn’t worried. Even if they never got the yacht, this trip had already paid off.

On the drive back to the villa district, they spotted people waiting along the roadside again, just as

expected.

They ignored them and went home to keep cooking and storing food.

Poppy wanted stuffed rolls, so Nicole pulled out the stand mixer, made the dough, let it rise, punched it down, and started working on the fillings.

Before dawn, Zeph drove the water tanker while Nicole followed in the beat-up seven-seater to make the

trade.

They exchanged the water for 500 pounds of dried goods, packed the whole car full, and started back.

It was only 5 a.m., that dim stretch before sunrise. A pale glow had just begun to rise over the edge of

the sea.

At a bend in the coastal road, Zeph eased onto the brakes.

The road ahead was blocked with large rocks. Without night-vision goggles, they would have hit the

rocks and flipped the car.

The car rolled to a steady stop. Neither of them got out. They simply sat there and waited.

After nearly ten minutes, the people hiding there finally ran out of patience and began to appear from the

far end of the road.

One. Two.

More than 30 people came out in all, old and young, strong and thin. Some carried sticks, while others

held knives.

Their faces were numb and cold, but greed shone in their eyes. In the darkness, they looked like a pack of wolves waiting to close in.

Nicole got out and loaded her crossbow. Her voice was cold. “Move. I’m not in the mood to kill anyone

today.”

No one stepped aside.

“We don’t want to kill anyone either,” one of them said. “Leave the car and the goods.”

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