The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 586

Chapter 586

Zeph was much calmer about it. “Everyone takes risks sometimes. Didn’t you do the same thing when you went around stockpiling cruise ships and yachts?”

“That was different.” Nicole rubbed her temples. “I had my storage space to fall back on. If things got dangerous, 1 could hide inside it. They don’t have anything like that. All they have are their own lives.”

This was practically suicide!

“But it’s still their choice,” Zeph said calmly. “Diana was already used to this kind of life. Beatrice went through hell with her family. Hughie and Jeremy have been through plenty themselves.”

The four of them were already risking their lives every time they went out on patrol. This time, they were just taking an even bigger gamble.

“They worked themselves to exhaustion and still ended up in the slums.

“They finally scraped together enough to buy a place of their own, only to spend every day packed into a cramped little apartment. Then the raiders came during the polar night, and now they can’t even go home.

“The four of them are packed into your place, while we’re over here living comfortably. You can’t expect that not to get to them.”

It wasn’t necessarily jealousy or resentment. They were just ordinary people who had spent five years surviving one disaster after another. No one could live through all that and come out completely unscathed.

When people felt like they had nothing left to lose, they were willing to take desperate risks.

If they failed, they would lose a life that already felt hopeless. If they succeeded, they might finally have a chance at something better.

Zeph had a point.

If Nicole truly couldn’t understand why they wanted to do this, she would’ve tried to stop them outright instead of simply asking them to reconsider.

She was worried because they were her friends, but even that concern felt hypocritical.

She couldn’t sit comfortably in a villa with plenty to eat and drink while telling them to settle for barely getting by and give up their chance at a better life. It was easy to preach caution when she wasn’t the one living that way.

Still, the thought of people she had known for years risking their lives, knowing there was a very real chance they might never come back, made her sick with worry.

“Everyone chooses how they want to live.” Zeph took her hand. “As their friends, of course we don’t want them risking their lives. But if they’ve really made up their minds, we can’t make that decision for them.”

If he were in their shoes, he would want to give his family a better life, too. He wouldn’t let an opportunity like this slip away.

Nicole spent the next two days on edge before Jeremy finally came over the radio.

“Nicole, the four of us went up into the mountains and scoped the place out. There are more than fifty people there. We’ve gone over everything and come up with a plan. We’re going through with it.”

That was Eric’s car. With everything the Robinsons were dealing with, why did he come here?

Nicole went downstairs and opened the door.

Peter opened the rear passenger door. “Ms. Floyd, Mr. Robinson would like to speak with you.”

Eric had actually come in person.

Nicole wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she got into the car. “What brings you here yourself, Mr. Robinson?”

Eric looked exhausted, as though he had aged years overnight.

Even after five years of disasters, the former richest man in the country and one of the most powerful figures in Westbridge still carried himself with the same quiet authority.

“Have you heard about Marcus being kidnapped, Ms. Floyd?”

“I’ve heard a little, but I don’t know exactly what happened.”

“We’ve organized several teams to search for him. Anyone who brings him back alive will get ten thousand pounds of grain. I know you and Mr. Dawson can handle yourselves. Would you be willing to take the job?”