The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 720

Sometimes, scavengers traveled hundreds of miles, burning through fuel and supplies, only to come back empty-handed.

Most of them probably had no idea what they were supposed to do next, but one thing was certain: getting a regular job was out of the question.

They would rather die than punch a clock.

Once the administrative hall opened for business, Nicole went to the housing desk to ask about rentals.

With Poppy and Cola, an apartment wasn't ideal. The walls were close enough that neighbors could probably smell whatever they were eating, and crowded housing tended to attract unwanted attention.

So Nicole immediately decided on a detached house.

No one knew when the tectonic collision would happen. They might as well be comfortable for as long as they could, as long as they kept a low profile.

The detached houses weren't cheap, though. Rent was 50 pounds of food a month, with a minimum 6-month lease.

That meant Nicole had to pay 300 pounds of food up front.

They had just handed over 150 pounds of food the day before. Producing another 300 now would attract too much attention.

Nicole thought for a moment. "Can we pay with cigarettes or liquor instead?"

"Yes, depending on the quality."

Quality wasn't a problem, but she couldn't use anything too valuable.

That wasn't difficult either. Over the past two years, Nicole had gradually taken supplies out of her storage space so they could naturally pick up signs of age and wear.

Nicole asked, "Can we see the houses first?"

The staff member agreed and had an assistant show them around.

The assistant was probably related to someone in the military and seemed to be living fairly comfortably. Since Nicole and Zeph were easy to talk to, she chatted with them as they walked.

"There are only three detached houses available right now. You're actually pretty lucky. If you'd come a little earlier or later, there might not have been any."

Living next door to a military housing area would probably make most people feel safer.

But Nicole and Zeph didn't relax. If anything, it only reminded them to keep a low profile.

Zone B had 200 detached houses, and the assistant showed them the 3 that were available. None of the houses had fences. It was obvious they had been lived in before, but all three were clean and well maintained.

The layouts were identical, so after looking at all three, Nicole chose the cleanest one.

On the way back, she casually asked the assistant, "We're planning to work as scavengers, but we're new here and don't have much experience. Anything we should watch out for?"

The assistant looked surprised. "Why didn't you join the military? Even if you couldn't pass the enlistment test, the base could've assigned you a regular job."

Nicole put on a puzzled look.

"Is scavenging really that dangerous?"