The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 430

Chapter 430

After dinner, Nicole shut all the windows and settled on the couch. The four of them sat together, watching an offline movie in silence.

The radio crackled.

Zeph muted the sound and motioned for the little ones to stay quiet.

Alex’s voice came through. “Zeph, Nicole, are you free right now?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you. If you can, come down.”

There was something off in his voice, a hesitation that didn’t fit him.

Alex was usually decisive. If he could handle something himself, he wouldn’t ask. For him to reach out like this meant he had hit something he couldn’t solve alone.

Zeph glanced at Nicole. They exchanged a look, then he said, “Alright.”

They changed and headed downstairs.

After making their way through the layers of security, they stepped outside, Alex was already waiting, his expression tight.

Nicole spoke first. “What’s going on?”

Alex hesitated. “This afternoon, people from the city came by. They want us to clear out a few buildings to take in displaced survivors.”

On the way back from the quake, Nicole had already seen what was left of Westbridge and the crowds with nowhere to go. She’d had a bad feeling then.

The early warning had saved a lot of people. That was the good part.

The problem came after.

How were all those people supposed to live?

Food, water, shelter. The city had to deal with all of it.

Reconstruction hadn’t even started. They couldn’t leave people out in the open. That would only make things

worse.

Oakhaven Gardens had made it through the quake, and it wasn’t fully occupied. Of course, it drew attention.

Nicole frowned. “Did you agree?”

He cared, but he wasn’t reckless.

If they let people in, what then? It didn’t seem right to live comfortably while others struggled to survive.

Life in Oakhaven Gardens wasn’t easy as it was. At best, people were half full. Water was already tight.

The issue wasn’t just scarcity. It was imbalance.

They had just harvested sweet potatoes. Everyone still got a little water each day. The refugees had nothing.

1/2

+15 Banus

Once they were allowed in, would they ever leave?

Alex understood that better than most. Once the place filled up, God knows who would be in control.

Forget coexistence, they might not even be able to keep things safe.

“I didn’t agree,” Alex said, “but this isn’t something I can stop. Even if I refuse, the city can take the buildings and move people in anyway.”

They hadn’t said it outright, but he knew the process. Push back too hard, and it would go through regardless. So, he stalled and said he needed to discuss it with the residents, buying time.

But the residents were just ordinary people. If he couldn’t find a way, they wouldn’t either.

That was why he came to them.

From what he had seen, Zeph and Nicole weren’t ordinary. Maybe they would spot something he missed.

Still, he was giving them too much credit.

Neither of them could stand against the authorities.

From the government’s perspective, the decision made sense. Put in the same position, they might have done the

same.

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