The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 593

Chapter 593

Once they had everything they needed, Zeph snapped the man’s neck and dragged the body into the brush.

He and Nicole returned to the others to go over the next phase of the plan.

Nicole pulled a glass bottle from her backpack and handed it to Diana.

“This is ether. Secure it to one of the firebombs. The heat will help spread the fumes faster, but make sure you keep your masks on.”

She found the ether in Felix’s study, but there were only 13 gallons of it, so they couldn’t afford to waste any.

Full-face gas masks were too bulky to pack in sufficient numbers, so Nicole gave the other four filtered respirators instead.

They synchronized their watches and agreed to launch the two attacks fifteen minutes apart.

Nicole and Zeph headed back around the mountain with Cola and settled in to wait.

At the agreed-upon time, Nicole pulled out a submachine gun and tossed a rock toward the cave entrance.

The guards, who had been dozing off, snapped awake and rushed outside with their weapons.

“Who’s there?”

Zeph didn’t miss. The second they stepped into the open, he dropped each of them with a single shot.

The gunfire echoed through the dark mountains.

Less than three minutes later, they heard footsteps as four or five men came rushing out of the cave.

Zeph held his fire and left them to Nicole.

Looking through her night-vision goggles, Nicole fired several quick bursts.

Two of the men were still alive, so Zeph finished them off with two arrows.

Seven or eight more men came charging out with flashlights and machetes, spreading out as they searched for whoever had attacked them.

To save ammunition, Nicole and Zeph switched to their crossbows and took down the rest within minutes.

Realizing they were completely outmatched, no one else came rushing out. The men still inside stayed put, listening for any movement outside.

Right on schedule, gunfire erupted from the other side of the mountain.

Panic immediately broke out inside the cave.

They continued deeper into the cave and soon reached the heart of the hideout.

Several rooms had been carved into the rock. Some served as sleeping quarters, others as common areas, while several had been turned into storerooms.

The storerooms were packed with alcohol, cigarettes, vacuum-sealed rice and flour, medicine, cooking oil, salt, sugar, dried seafood, sacks of rice, wheat, and other supplies.

Hughie and the others couldn’t help eyeing the supplies, but none of them let their guard down.

Nicole found a well-furnished room that reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke. The bed was still slightly warm.

By then, everyone in the cave who posed a threat had been taken care of.

Zeph soon found the wealthy hostages and immediately recognized Marcus among them.

He had been beaten to a pulp. He was bruised and battered all over, and his face was swollen almost beyond recognition

All the captives were sprawled facedown on the ground, unconscious from the ether.

There were nine of them.

That wasn’t right.