The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 653

Chapter 653

Marcus didn’t hold back. He kept shoveling food into his mouth. “Damn, Zeph. You can really cook.”

Zeph wasn’t much of a talker, but he kept putting food on Nicole’s and Poppy’s plates.

Marcus watched them with a little envy. “You’ve got it pretty good.”

His girlfriend with the pink diamond used to put food on his plate, too. If the disasters had never happened, maybe they would already be married or even have kids by now.

But he never found her again. And even if he did, there was no telling whether either of them would still feel the same.

He didn’t even have to look outside the villa district to see how completely people’s lives had changed.

Rich kids who used to drive sports cars, party on yachts, and surround themselves with models now spent hours flattering wealthy older women just to earn a few pounds of food.

This damn world could really crush a person.

Seeing him sink into a gloomy mood, Nicole made a weak joke. “Cheer up. You’re depressing the chicken.”

Marcus gave a faint smile and took a sip of whiskey.

“We’ve lost a lot of people in the neighborhood. I heard several groups of refugees are heading south, and some of them will probably settle in Westbridge. If we wanna keep this place secure, we need more people. What do you think?”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

“Villa 42 has some capable people. Anyone else you’d recommend?”

Nicole thought for a moment. “No one comes to mind.”

Marcus gave her a thoughtful look.

“I went to see Mr. Landon today. He suggested bringing in some people from Oakhaven Gardens. If I remember right, you and Zeph used to live there. A few of the guards we hired for the neighborhood came from Oakhaven Gardens, too, and Zeph used to train them.”

“That’s right.”

Marcus thought it over. “You think they’d fit in here?”

With the smog still hanging over everything, he didn’t bother gathering everyone in person. He held the entire meeting over the radio.

There were two things to discuss: bringing in new residents and preparing in case the smog eventually led to acid rain.

After some discussion, they decided to bring in the people from Oakhaven Gardens.

They had lost some people over the years and now had around 70 left. Alex vouched for them, and their backgrounds had already been checked.

The homeowners didn’t object. Even if some of them had their doubts, they kept them to themselves.

Life was hard enough already, and most people barely had the energy to care.

At this point, some of them almost wished the Robinsons would just take over the neighborhood completely and handle everyone’s food, housing, and basic needs.

And if acid rain really did come, what were they supposed to do?

Most of them couldn’t even afford enough glass to protect their homes.