The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 402

Chapter 402

This was how the apocalypse worked.

One moment, people were lining up early to collect holiday supplies, thinking that with a little food and water, they could hold on a bit longer. The next, a natural disaster struck, and bodies dropped where they stood.

The Harvest Festival was supposed to be a time for family reunions. Instead, they died on the eve of it.

But when staying alive was already this hard, no one had the space to grieve.

The more hail you gathered, the more days you might live.

When you could barely keep yourself alive, who had the energy to care whether anyone else lived or died?

Sometimes, death felt like a release.

“Help! He’s got a gun!” someone in the crowd suddenly shouted. “There’s someone here with a gun!”

Zeph had just started to leave when the police and security patrol rushed in. “Stop right there.”

They closed in around the three of them, cutting off every exit. “Possession of a firearm is illegal.”

Zeph lifted the gun slightly. “What about a toy gun? Is that illegal, too?”

It was true. The one Nicole had given him was a highly realistic replica.

One of the officers stepped forward and took a closer look. Relief flashed across his face when he confirmed it wasn’t real, but he still frowned. “This is dangerous. We’re confiscating it.”

“Dangerous?” Nicole shot back. “It’s plastic, but it’s saved us from nine robberies. Every time, we barely made it out alive. Just now, if we didn’t have it, we wouldn’t have gotten out at all.

“Those people weren’t armed, but they were desperate. They swarmed the medicine like starving animals. You weren’t here to hold them back.

“Without this, we wouldn’t have made it this long. So no, we’re not handing it over.”

The officer hesitated, then said after a pause, “Don’t use it against decent people.”

“Don’t worry. We still have a conscience.”

The police and patrol team moved off to break up the fight nearby.

“Mr. Dawson.” Isaac Prescott, Oakhaven Gardens’ deputy captain, ran over. “Are you all okay?”

Nicole glanced down at Poppy and realized the little girl had passed out. Her expression changed instantly. Poppy’s hurt. We need a doctor now. Gather the team and head back.”

“Got it. Go. Be careful.”

Zeph took Poppy from her and hurried out.

Nicole rushed after him. “Don’t panic. Keep her steady. Don’t shake her.”

Zeph’s eyes were red. “Nicole… What do we do?”

It was the first time she had seen him like this. A man who had once faced life and death without flinching now looked lost, on the edge of breaking. It tightened something in her chest.

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+15 Bonus

She understood. The only reason he had chosen a different path this time was because of Poppy.

If not for his sister, he would have walked the same road as before without hesitation.

Poppy was what kept him going. If anything happened to her, he would carry that weight for the rest of his life.

“Don’t panic. Let’s find somewhere private and go into the storage space.”

They left the community center in a hurry and turned down two streets. Only after making sure no one was around did they slip into an abandoned shop and, using the cover, enter the storage space.

The temperature inside was stable, the environment controlled. Zeph laid Poppy gently on the couch.

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