The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 411

Chapter 411

Ethan had traded several pounds of sweet potatoes for the squid. Isaac had scolded him for wasting food, but all he wanted was to give his dad a taste of meat on his birthday.

Afraid of wasting anything, he hadn’t even peeled off the outer purple skin, just rinsed it a few more times. He even held back when serving, hoping his dad would eat more.

Nicole studied the stir-fried squid, turning the tentacles over. “Dried squid?”

“Yeah. It was big. About a pound for the whole thing. I only used a quarter.”

A pound?

Nicole’s eyes narrowed.

Farmed squid, once dried, usually weighed only a few ounces. Even wild ones rarely got that large.

Flooding had wiped out aquaculture farms. Wild squid from the ocean wouldn’t grow that big, and even if they did, they wouldn’t make it into ordinary hands. Anything that valuable would’ve been taken and sorted long before it reached survivors.

Ethan shook his head. “No, the ones they were selling were all big. Some were over two pounds.”

Nicole’s chest tightened.

She remembered what Zeph had said. The extreme heat was melting polar ice. Ancient pathogens could be entering the ocean.

“Where’s the rest of it?”

Ethan rushed into the kitchen and brought it out.

Nicole froze.

The dried squid was several times larger than anything she had stored before. The purple skin on the tentacles was thicker.

Small raised nodules dotted the flesh. They were subtle when dried, but still visible if you looked closely.

She brought it closer and took a careful breath. It was still squid, but the smell was harsher, more pungent.

If she was right, the ancient virus had altered the squid, making it no longer safe for human consumption.

“Something’s wrong with this squid.” Her voice sharpened. “We need to flush his stomach. Now.”

Without proper equipment, they would have to do it the hard way, forcing water down his throat over and over

until he vomited. 1

At first, Isaac refused to believe it.

But Ethan broke.

“Dad, please listen to Nicole. Mom’s already gone. If you die, too, what am I supposed to do?”

Two years of natural disasters had forced Ethan to grow up fast. Yet now, he was crying like a little boy.

Isaac’s resistance gave way. “Don’t cry. I’ll do it.”

1/2

He forced himself to drink, then forced himself to throw up.

+15 Benus

Ethan stood there, lost. All he had wanted was to give his father a better meal for his birthday. Instead, it had come to this.

Alex’s expression turned grave. “Nicole, why do you think something’s wrong with the squid?”

Nicole didn’t hide it. She framed it as a possibility and explained her suspicion about ancient pathogens.

Alex went still.

Over the past decade, temperatures had been rising, and polar ice had been melting faster. Scientists had warned about ancient viruses, and news reports on the subject surfaced from time to time.

Most people, however, saw it as a distant problem. They would read the headlines, then move on with their lives.

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