The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 662

Chapter 662

Asoon as the smog started to clear, Nicole took three acid-resistant protective suits out of storage and left them at the villa. She could only hope Zeph, Poppy, and Cola stayed inside and remembered to put them on if they absolutely had to go out.

The suits she stockpiled were made of heavy-duty rubber and offered excellent protection. They could even withstand sulfuric acid.

The downside was that they were incredibly bulky. There was no practical way to carry one around all the time. Nicole barely slept that night. She woke up again and again to the steady sound of rain outside.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, it was still raining.

She had no idea how long it would last. At this rate, it felt like it could keep going for another week. Every now and then, the rain stopped for ten or fifteen minutes, but it always started again soon after.

The roads were already flooded. Even if the rain finally stopped, there was no way she could drive home.

Nicole couldn’t stand waiting any longer, so she chose the simplest option: she would walk.

There weren’t many government-issued protective suits, and they were shared equipment. Nicole couldn’t just keep one for herself. Besides, she didn’t fully trust how well they would hold up against the acid rain.

She returned the government suit and changed into one of her own.

Just getting the suit on took a lot of effort. More than 30 pounds of protective gear weighed her down. The face shield was bulky, and the boots were thick and oversized.

She switched on the oxygen pack and stepped into the acid rain without hesitation.

The suit offered excellent protection, but it was basically a heavy-duty hazmat suit. Worse, it was so bulky and cumbersome that she was already exhausted after walking only a few hundred yards.

She couldn’t feel the rain hitting the suit, but her breath quickly fogged up the inside of the visor.

Fortunately, the built-in desiccant cleared it within moments.

The alternative medicine research institute was more than 20 miles from the Westbridge villa district. By car, the trip only took about half an hour.

On foot, weighed down by the heavy suit and barely able to move at a normal pace, she probably wouldn’t make it home even if she walked all day.

If Nicole went over there, several of them would probably gang up on her and try to take the suit. Once they pulled her under cover, there was no telling what else they might do.

The man was lucky that acid rain was pouring from the sky. Otherwise, Nicole would’ve made him regret throwing those rocks.

She ignored him and kept walking.

Several hours later, she still hadn’t made it out of Grayport. Every so often, she passed bodies badly burned by the acid rain. After hours of exposure, some were barely recognizable.

Fortunately, Nicole had seen enough death by now that the sight barely fazed her. Otherwise, she probably would’ve thrown up everything she had eaten the night before.

Many survivors couldn’t afford proper housing, so they lived in makeshift shelters. Some had roofs made of wooden boards or thatch, while others used sheets of metal. Entire families crowded into those flimsy structures.

Under normal circumstances, they might have been good enough.

But once the acid rain started, they became death traps.

The thin metal roofs quickly corroded, while the wooden boards and thatch simply soaked up the acid rain.