The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 346

Chapter 346

Nicole felt a flicker of emotion. She hadn’t expected Gabrielle to keep her word like this.

Thank you.”

“No, we should be thanking you,” Gabrielle said, taking her hand. “If it weren’t for you these past two years, I don’t know what we would’ve done.”

Nicole came off cold, and her words could be sharp, but she was always helping behind the scenes.

If they hadn’t been neighbors on the 17th floor, there was no telling if the Goodmans would’ve made it this far.

Things weren’t easy at the institute either, but it was still better than most. They got monthly food rations and some fresh water. Not much, but enough to keep a family going.

Gabrielle pulled out a small paper bundle.

“I asked around and managed to find some vegetable seeds. If you plant them right, you can harvest them in about two weeks. Don’t eat them all. Save some to replant.”

There wasn’t much, just a small handful.

“We picked up some seeds while we were out,” Nicole said, not taking them. “When are you moving? Zeph and I can help.”

The younger ones had work, so Gabrielle didn’t refuse. “Tomorrow. I’ll have to trouble you again.”

There was still plenty of dried hay left. Nicole gave all of it to Gabrielle for the rabbits.

There was still water in the tower, treated with purification tablets and still usable. Nicole left that behind as well.

Back and forth, and in the end, it would just be her and Zeph. She wondered how Hughie and Jeremy were doing.

Nicole moved the rabbits upstairs and left them at Hughie’s old apartment.

The rooftop was stifling. She brought out ice to cool them down, along with fresh hay, greens, and carrots.

After mutating, the rabbits weren’t afraid of water anymore. They gathered around the ice, licking it happily.

When the sun went down, Zeph took Cola up to the rooftop to train.

Nicole went up later. When she saw Cola carrying a brick in his mouth, crawling low and climbing, she almost lost it.

His training methods had completely changed.

Nicole thought it over. “You’re training him for coordinated combat?”

On the way back earlier, she had already sensed something off about Zeph. At the time, she thought it was because of Poppy, but now it seemed like more than that.

Nicole asked, “The guys collecting tolls aren’t just small-time thugs, are they?”

Zeph didn’t hide it. “No. They’re a loose bunch, but they’ve formed a base. Close to 200 people.”

Nicole fell quiet. The way he said it so clearly meant he had dealt with them in his past life.

“You’ve taken them on before?”

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+15 8gnus

“They operate along the border between Westbridge and Grayport. They collect tolls and rob people. Survivors can’t move freely because of them. Last time, the Westbridge and Grayport police force teamed up and hit them hard. Took out two of their bases.”

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But not now. That would happen six months later.

After a major earthquake, things got even worse, and they became more ruthless, cutting off any chance for survivors to survive.

“Two bases?” Nicole frowned. “So the group collecting tolls in Grayport is also a base?”

Call it a base if you wanted. In reality, it was just a cluster of armed thugs getting bolder by the day.

Law enforcement was getting weaker. Most of the time, they couldn’t do anything about them.

Now that Zeph had wiped out one checkpoint, they weren’t going to let it go.

Lying low wasn’t going to be easy.

Nicole didn’t want trouble, but if trouble came looking for them, she definitely wouldn’t back down.

“It’s fine. However many show up, we’ll deal with them.”

He had given her plenty of homemade explosives and fuel bombs. If it came to that, she wouldn’t hesitate.

With people like that, the more you gave in, the harder they pushed.

Zeph looked at her. “Are you scared?”

Nicole let out a short laugh. Of course she was! Anyone would be. Still, fear didn’t change anything.

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