The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 438

Chapter 438

After working through the night, the authorities identified more than 30 ringleaders. Once the interrogations were finished, those men were taken outside the resettlement site and executed in public.

Gunshots rang out one after another, steady and unbroken.

That was only the leadership. No one else involved slipped through.

They had all been soaked in gasoline. Stripping their clothes made no difference. The smell clung to hair and skin, and without water, there was no way to hide it.

More than 300 people were rounded up and loaded onto trucks.

The coal mines were already at capacity. The rest were sent to other high-risk labor sites.

The unrest at Oakhaven Gardens wasn’t an isolated case. Trouble had broken out in other resettlement sites as

well.

Jasper had been running without sleep for two days, stretched thin. The incident from earlier that day still hadn’t been fully resolved.

With things under control here, he didn’t stay to dig deeper. He handed the situation over to the military and moved on to more urgent matters.

A squad was left behind. The rest were deployed to other resettlement zones or reassigned to maintain order across Westbridge.

After Jasper left, Alex contacted Zeph over the radio and gave a brief update.

He had told Jasper that the fuel had been stockpiled during Oakhaven Gardens’ earlier supply runs. They had reported warning signs from the resettlement site more than once, but nothing had been done in time. In the end, Alex had no choice but to organize a defense.

He had prepared for the worst. It just happened to arrive.

Jasper might have been a seasoned officer with sharp instincts, but Alex handled him without a misstep. Every response was measured, reasonable, and complete.

Once Jasper understood the situation at Oakhaven Gardens, he couldn’t help but feel a degree of respect. More than two years into the apocalypse, someone who could stay calm and hold a community together like this was

rare.

If there were more people like Alex, the police wouldn’t be stretched so thin.

With the military now stationed at the resettlement site, the residents finally relaxed. The constant edge was gone.

With soldiers nearby, anyone thinking about targeting Oakhaven Gardens would think twice.

After what happened the night before, the way people looked at Zeph and Nicole had changed. Gratitude and respect were written all over their faces.

The two of them had saved the entire community.

Nicole went downstairs to fetch water, but even that felt different.

Others in line barely received ten quarts. The man guarding the well handed her half a bucket.

1/2

She hesitated. “That’s too much.”

+15 Bhus

“It’s fine. You might need it,” he said, grinning. “You’ve done a lot for everyone here. No one’s gonna complain.”

People in line spoke up. “Yeah! If it weren’t for you two last night, we’d have been torn apart by those thugs.”

Nicole felt a little awkward. She grabbed the bucket and made a quick exit.

On the way back, she ran into Alex. He was bringing a well-digging specialist over to the resettlement site to see if they could help.

It was partly to keep things calm between the two sides and partly to ease the water shortage. If the refugees weren’t desperate for water, they might stop fixating on the community well.

Nicole had to admit that Alex was a master at handling situations like this.

After the earthquake rescue efforts, Cola’s days of hiding were over. He moved freely around the community now.

Even if people were tempted, they didn’t dare act on it. Two people holding off hundreds of attackers was enough to make anyone think twice about going after their dog.

However, freedom came with its own problems.

Cola quickly found himself a new kind of trouble.

2/2