The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69

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Chapter 69

After dinner, they didn’t dump the leftover stew.

They would use the broth again tomorrow, toss in some pasta, and keep it going. In times like this, if it had some kind of taste, that was enough. No one cared about anything else.

The pork fat had already been rendered. The crispy bits came out golden and crunchy, a good five pounds of them. Enough to last a while.

Beatrice brought over the remaining pork to Nicole.

“How much salt should we use?”

They didn’t have much salt. Stretching it for a year would already be tight.

Use too much, and it would be wasteful. Too little, and the meat would spoil.

Finding that pig had been pure luck. Without it, they might not have tasted fresh meat at all. Still, they couldn’t just eat everything now and worry later.

Seeing how serious they were about preserving it, Nicole finally spoke up.

“The landlord’s car fridge is pretty big. I’ll render more fat when I get back. We might be able to fit your share in, too.”

She had thought about taking one out of her storage space and making it look used, but their solar setup couldn’t handle it anyway.

Jeremy and the others lit up. They offered to help.

They were all clueless, but they still wanted to pitch in. They didn’t want to look useless to her.

Nicole waved them off. “It’s fine. I’ll handle it. You guys smell like meat. Go clean up and get some rest.”

Back home, she tossed the extra pork into storage.

Then she filled her portable jacuzzi tub with hot water, hooked it up to a solar battery, and let soft music play as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

Cola dragged his bowl over, full of bones, and lay beside her, chewing happily.

Maybe because he had been accepted by the others, he seemed especially excited, crunching through the bones with loud, satisfying snaps.

Dogs are protective of food by nature.

But Cola liked Nicole, so he pushed half the bowl toward her.

“Woof.”

Nicole almost laughed.

“Thanks. You eat it.”

She tossed him a hot dog instead.

The next morning, she woke up naturally.

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Chapter 69

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Zeph, Jeremy, and Hughie had already gone out to trade for rice. It was a simple job, so they didn’t bother waking

her.

Nicole had ravioli for breakfast. After eating, she brushed her teeth, then even brushed Cola’s as well.

Then she grabbed the pig organs and headed to Beatrice’s apartment. She pulled up a stool and started cleaning them with Beatrice.

Poppy came over, eager. “I want to help.”

Nicole shook her head. “You’ll get your hands dirty. Go play with Cola.”

Since Cola arrived, the whole floor felt more alive. Any movement downstairs, he picked up instantly.

And what reassured Nicole the most was that Cola had rules.

Poppy tried sneaking him some crispy fat. He drooled, clearly tempted, but didn’t eat it. Instead, he looked at Nicole, eyes wide while whimpering.

Nicole smirked. “It’s poisoned!”

Cola dropped it instantly.

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