The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 535

Nicole couldn’t be bothered with the lunatic. Instead, her attention shifted to the man beside Marcus.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with sharp, distant features and gold-rimmed glasses. His custom Armani suit was immaculate, his long legs barely fit beneath the table, and his polished leather shoes gleamed under the lights.

Jason Gibson carried such an intimidating presence that Nicole nearly forgot how to breathe.

Seriously? Three years into the apocalypse, and this guy was still living like this?

Apparently, the apocalypse was only an apocalypse for ordinary people.

The homeowners’ meeting was led by the vice president, Jocelyn. Dressed in a fitted silk dress and a fox-fur wrap, she looked every bit the wealthy socialite and spoke with polished charm.

Nicole remembered her. Jocelyn was the one who led the others in shutting her out and humiliating her before.

The meeting itself was fairly straightforward. The main issue was how the HOA fees would be calculated.

Wherever people gathered, conflict followed, and wealthy neighborhoods had hierarchies of their own. Several HOA members had already met in private and proposed charging by household, with each villa paying 20 pounds of rice or flour per month for the time being.

Naturally, some homeowners objected to such a one-size-fits-all policy. It wasn’t that they cared about the small amount of food. They simply resented Villa 50’s growing status and influence.

Instead, they proposed calculating the fees based on each villa’s square footage.

Even the Robinsons were keeping a low profile now, so Jocelyn no longer dared make decisions on her own. After discussing the issue among themselves, the board had called this meeting.

When Nicole continued to ignore him, Marcus crossed one leg over the other, exposing his hairy ankle, and casually struck up a conversation with the man beside him, who was apparently his cousin.

“Hey, can you get me a few off-road vehicles?”

Jason replied casually, “I have a Land Rover. You can take it.”

Marcus didn’t think a Land Rover was impressive enough. “At least get me a Unimog.”

Jason adjusted his glasses and gave him a sharp look. “Unless I’m mistaken, didn’t you already own a Marauder?”

It was the only one in the country, and Jason personally helped him handle all the paperwork.

That hit Marcus where it hurt. He clutched his chest as if Jason had stabbed him.

“Damn it! Some piece of shit stole both of my shipping containers.”

Inside were the three elite off-road vehicles he had always dreamed of owning, along with entire containers packed with top-of-the-line replacement parts. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to touch them.

Stealing the valuable stuff was bad enough, but they even took his slippers.

“Jason, doesn’t that seem impossible to you? The main entrance wasn’t tampered with. The only damage was a broken bathroom window on the second floor, but two enormous shipping containers somehow disappeared. How could anyone have moved them?”

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Jason didn’t even blink. “One of your employees probably did it. The broken window was just meant to throw you off.”

“No way,” Marcus said with complete confidence. “The entrance requires my fingerprint, facial recognition, and a retinal scan. All three have to match before the door opens. That place is a fortress. Nobody could’ve gotten inside.

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Jason looked genuinely concerned by Marcus’s lack of common sense. “All three security systems need electricity to work. So how did you open the door after the flood?”

Marcus looked personally offended.

Still unwilling to admit defeat, he abruptly changed the subject. “I heard someone broke into your office, too. Was that an inside job?”

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