The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 639

Chapter 639

herbs came from a generous Westbridge resident in the first place, so why shouldn’t Westbridge get a bigger share of the medicine?

At this point, no one cared about pride. All that mattered was bringing enough medicine home.

But news traveled fast. Before Westbridge’s convoy even reached Grayport, the military base in Halloway and the government base in Jazenville had already sent their own teams racing toward the research institute.

Everyone wanted their share, and no one planned to wait politely in line.

Nicole wanted some, too.

The medicine was complicated to make, with too many precise steps to learn just by watching once. One small mistake could weaken the final product considerably.

After Wesley finally collapsed from exhaustion, Mitchell took over the research institute for the time being.

Nicole went to see him in private. As soon as the door closed, she got straight to the point.

“Dr. Chapman, I need enough medicine for 50 people. I won’t sell it or trade it. It’s for family and friends, and this is the only time I’ll ask.”

Mitchell didn’t answer right away. He frowned, clearly weighing the request.

Nicole saw his hesitation and immediately regretted asking. “If it puts you in a bad position, forget it.”

To a doctor, a life was a life. It didn’t matter whether the patient was a powerful official or an ordinary civilian.

But Mitchell also knew how scarce the medicine was. Once the government took control of distribution, regular civilians probably wouldn’t be first in line. Officials had their own system for deciding who got treated first.

Mitchell had family, too. If any of them got sick, he would want them treated as soon as possible.

He thought about Nicole, who was practically his student now. He thought about Zeph saving his life, everything the two of them had done for the institute, the supplies they donated, and the herbs Nicole provided under their agreement.

After a long moment, Mitchell nodded. “Just this once.”

Nicole wasn’t the only person who had come asking.

The surrounding cities had started moving the moment word got out. Some showed up with supplies, some sent medical teams, and others arrived with official orders in hand.

Everyone wanted to bargain. Everyone wanted preferential treatment.

Mitchell was a researcher and hated dealing with politics and favors, but he wasn’t naive. So he stopped meeting with them altogether.

The institute belonged to the Grayport government. He decided to let city officials deal with the pressure. No matter who ended up getting the medicine, at least it would still be used to save lives.

Nicole kept busy, too. When she wasn’t helping at the institute, she made time to visit Howard.

He had already taken the medicine and was resting while he recovered.

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Nicole planned to sit down and have a real conversation with him, but Valerie and mini Jason were both there.

She didn’t even need to ask what was going on. One look at Howard’s face told her everything.

Gosh… What a mess!

In the end, Nicole kept her thoughts to herself, exchanged a few polite words, and left.

A few days later, Mitchell handed her two bottles of medicine.

Nicole never found out exactly how Grayport officials divided up the medicine. Either way, the crowds of officials from neighboring cities finally disappeared from the institute entrance. Medical teams from the military and government bases also joined the institute, which sped up production considerably.

They also confirmed that the virus hadn’t mutated so far, and patients who recovered showed no signs of getting sick again.

With so many extra hands around, Nicole had less to do and wasn’t learning much anymore. She said goodbye to Mitchell and left with Cola.

Zeph drove, while Poppy and Cola played together in the back seat.

The smog was so thick that even with the headlights on, they could barely see the road ahead. One wrong move could easily send them into something.

Nicole put on her new night-vision goggles. They couldn’t see through the smog, but the built-in thermal imaging made it much easier to spot people, animals, and other hazards ahead.

Money well spent.

With the goggles helping guide them, Zeph was able to pick up the pace.

More than a month later, they finally made it back to the villa community. Nicole couldn’t tell whether the car’s insulation was muffling everything outside or whether the neighborhood really had become that eerily quiet.

A thick haze covered everything. Every house was dark, and all the plants in the yards had withered and died.

The volcanic ash was mildly acidic and had damaged the soil. Even the crops people managed to grow indoors under artificial lights during the polar night gradually stopped surviving.

They had barely pulled up outside Villa 50 when something suddenly came charging at Nicole.

It coughed up a mouthful of blood in her direction, then collapsed at her feet with a heavy thud.

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