The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 386

Chapter 386

“If they get their own water source, then things on our side will finally settle down, too. Don’t you think?”

Alex’s answer caught Nicole off guard.

After everything that had happened, he still chose restraint over force.

It was the right approach. Those townspeople were just survivors scraping by, fighting over what little was left.. You couldn’t solve that by mowing people down like a gang.

And when things got dangerous, Alex had stepped up himself instead of hiding behind his title.

That was probably why the residents respected him.

When Nicole and Zeph didn’t answer, Alex assumed they were still deciding and continued, “I didn’t expect you two to be this capable, and you helped us out today. How about this? I can lower the rent. Five pounds of grain a month. Sweet potatoes or regular potatoes are fine. What do you think?”

That was already a low price. Oakhaven Gardens distributed a fixed amount of water every day, and they had found a solar generator earlier, so residents could take turns charging flashlights and radios.

Nicole exchanged a glance with Zeph before saying, “I have some medical training, but it’s basic. Without proper medicine or equipment, I can’t really treat people. If something goes wrong, it could make things worse.

“We’ll still pay 20 pounds of grain a month, and we can help with patrols. But we’re not used to living in shared buildings. We’d prefer to stay in Building Five on our own. Would that be possible?”

“Building Five?” Alex looked surprised. “That one’s still unfinished.” 1

“That’s fine. We’ll make it work,” Nicole said, “but we’d like to keep it to ourselves until the other buildings are full.”

He hadn’t expected that.

Alex paused for a moment before replying, “You can have the whole building, but I’d like Zeph to teach some basic self-defense to the residents.

“The more people who can handle themselves, the safer everyone will be. It protects the whole community.

“It won’t take much time. Zeph won’t need to join patrols. He can just run sessions at the sales office.”

Nicole met him halfway. “Every three days?”

If they were going to build a reputation, they needed distance. Get too close, and people started expecting more. Better to keep a boundary, stay cautious, and live here quietly for a year until the new district was ready.

“That works.” Alex smiled and held out his hand. “Welcome to Oakhaven Gardens.”

He added, “There are some leftover materials in Building Five. I’m not sure what condition they’re in, but use whatever you can. If you need help, just ask.”

Hiring workers meant paying in food, but since Nicole and Zeph had stepped in before even moving in, he could arrange for residents to help with the renovations as a way of saying thanks.

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