The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 628

Chapter 628

Nicole and Zeph prepared carefully this time, so there was a chance neither of them would get sick.

Going to the research institute, however, was another matter entirely.

Of course, Nicole was afraid of dying. If she wasn’t, she never would’ve risked so much to gather medicinal herbs or spent years carefully growing them.

The smog didn’t just arrive unnoticed during polar night. was also far more toxic and contagious than before. Zeph and Poppy wore masks whenever they went outside, but at home, they still opened the windows for fresh air.

If one person got infected, the rest of the household could easily catch it, too.

Nearly everyone staying in Weasel’s villa already showed symptoms, more than a dozen people in total. On the neighborhood channel, Nicole heard plenty of residents coughing between sentences.

By now, a large portion of the neighborhood was probably already infected.

Nicole had a bad feeling that sooner or later, someone in Villa 50 would get sick, too.

The situation was serious. If they had a choice, no one wanted to go outside. But could the researchers develop an effective antiviral treatment before the illness spread even further?

Zeph told her that in his previous life, the first wave didn’t seem especially serious. Most people assumed they had ordinary colds and never even considered the possibility of a new virus.

He kept working for another six months before he finally got infected, and it took even longer than that for an effective

treatment to become available.

Nicole had already supplied the two key medicinal herbs, which should speed up the research considerably. But there was no way to know exactly when they would come up with an effective treatment.

If she got infected before then, there was no guarantee she would survive long enough to benefit from it.

Nicole had never been the type to sit around and wait.

“The research institute might be one of the riskiest places to be right now, but it also has the best medical resources. If I can get in now and I do get sick, I’ll be where I can get treated the moment symptoms start.”

Risk and opportunity went hand in hand. There was still a chance to get inside now.

Once the already strained medical system collapsed under the number of patients, getting admitted might become impossible.

Zeph understood what she was thinking, but he still wouldn’t budge.

“I don’t want you to go.”

He had been through the illness once before.

The coughing was unbearable, as if something were tearing through his lungs and liver from the inside. Even his bones hurt. Calling it torture barely covered it.

Back then, he was alone. If he died, there would’ve been no one left behind to grieve him.

But things were different now. They both had people they cared about. If one of them died, the other would have to live with that loss.

And as long as the memories remained, so would the pain.

Zeph tried to reason with her.

+15 Bonus

“We’re both healthy. Neither of us has been sick in years. If we keep disinfecting everything and stay careful, there’s a good chance we won’t get infected at all. Don’t assume the worst before anything’s even happened.”

It was the first time since they got together that Zeph had pushed back this firmly.

Nicole thought about it and decided not to argue. Maybe she really was letting her anxiety get the better of her.

He was right about one thing: she wasn’t alone anymore. She had Zeph, Poppy, and Cola.

She slept badly that night, drifting in and out of restless dreams. Every so often, she thought she heard someone coughing. Whenever she opened her eyes, the house was completely silent.

The next morning, Nicole had barely stepped out of her bedroom when Cola trotted over, wagging his tail. Before he even reached her, he sneezed three times in a row.

Poppy was disinfecting the house, so Nicole didn’t think much of it at first. She figured the fumes irritated his nose.

But then Cola kept sneezing and started pawing at his snout over and over.

Nicole’s stomach sank.

She brought out three of his favorite drumsticks to test his appetite, but he only ate two.

Normally, Cola could gulp one down in a single bite without even slowing down.

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