The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 701

Nicole ignored the spoiled rich kid, Vince Campbell.

He should consider himself lucky. On any other day, she would've dealt with him a lot less patiently.

When she didn't answer, Vince got even cockier.

"Hey, lady, wanna come aboard and have some fun? I've got food and drinks."

As he spoke, he casually waved the gun in his hand.

Nicole acted like he wasn't there and kept walking.

That only made Vince angrier. Women usually went out of their way to get his attention. The one time he approached someone first, she completely ignored him.

His temper flared, and he decided to go ashore and teach her a lesson.

"Vince, I don't think that's a good idea," his lackey, Jimmy Crew, said. "We snuck out. If anyone finds out, we're screwed. We've already been gone for a while. Shouldn't we head back?"

"Get us to shore. I'm dealing with her today, no matter what!" Vince snarled.

Jimmy reluctantly started looking for a safe place to pull in, but Vince kept snapping at him.

"Now! Pull over now!"

With no other choice, Jimmy steered toward the nearest stretch of shore.

Vince was about to step off when the motorboat suddenly rocked beneath him. The inflatable section under his foot sagged, and he stumbled, nearly losing his balance.

Jimmy's expression changed. "Damn it! We're leaking."

They had taken the boat too close to shore, and something sharp beneath the water punctured the inflatable hull. Air started rushing out fast.

Vince panicked. He couldn't swim, and the filthy water around them was full of floating bodies.

For all his usual arrogance, Vince still knew how to react under pressure. He grabbed the rope tied to the boat and threw it toward shore.

"Hey, miss, could you help pull us in?"

The rope landed at Nicole's feet.

Nicole glanced down at it, then kicked it straight back into the river.

Vince immediately changed his tone.

"Miss, I'm sorry. My dad's one of the leaders in Glenmere. I came here with him for disaster relief. Please help us. You can have all the food and water on the boat."

Nicole wanted to find somewhere to spend the night, but Poppy was still at the rescue area, and Zeph might already have been found.

She turned around and headed back, not reaching the rescue area until late that night.

As soon as she entered the camp, she saw that Poppy had started volunteering, helping receive and resettle survivors brought in by the rescue teams.

Poppy's eyes lit up when she saw Nicole, but when she realized Nicole was alone, the excitement quickly faded.

"Nicole." Poppy hurried over and handed her the thermos she was holding. "Have some water."

Nicole couldn't help asking, "Any news?"

Poppy shook her head. "No."

She volunteered because she wanted to be there whenever rescue teams brought survivors back, hoping she would spot Zeph and Cola among them.

But every time a new group arrived, she got her hopes up, only to be disappointed again.

Not wanting Nicole to keep thinking about it, Poppy quickly changed the subject.

"Beatrice woke up around noon. She went out this afternoon to look for the others, but she still hasn't come back."