The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 732

By the same token, if people outside the base had something valuable, they could use these brokers to find buyers inside.

The profit on each deal wasn't huge, but it was much safer than scavenging. Over time, more and more people got into the business.

Of course, none of it happened out in the open.

Nicole thought it over. Supplies passed through so many hands that tracing anything back to the original seller wouldn't be easy.

So even if they traded rare metals and caught the military's attention, any investigation would take time.

The tectonic plates could collide at any moment, and they desperately needed those metals to build emergency equipment.

Some risks were worth taking. If the military ever found enough evidence to come after them, Nicole and Zeph could always take the submarine and leave.

After hearing her out, Zeph agreed the plan could work. Their first priority was getting the submarine.

Neither of them wanted to risk unnecessary delays, so they didn't rest for long. Early the next morning, they drove out.

They had barely left Zone B when several rough-looking men smoking cigarettes walked over.

"Hey, man. Pretty lady. Why don't we go somewhere and talk?"

One look at their clothes told Nicole they were part of a scavenger crew. She shut them down immediately. "We don't know you. Move."

Instead of stepping aside, one of the men launched into a pitch.

"We're with the Cyclone Crew, one of the top scavenging teams around here. We've got more than 100 members, and every one of them knows how to handle themselves.

"We've got connections inside the base, too. We only take in a few outsiders every year, so you two are lucky we came to you."

So that was what this was about. Recruitment.

Nicole figured someone saw her and Zeph come back with a full load the day before and decided they were worth approaching.

She had no interest in hearing the rest and walked around them. The second she tried to leave, one of the men reached for her arm.

The group didn't dare push their luck and finally stepped aside.

"Dean, are we really just letting them go?" one of the men complained as he glared after Nicole and Zeph.

"They just got here and already have their own courtyard. Then they went scavenging and came back with a full haul. Those two are definitely not ordinary. What if another crew gets to them first?"

"They're still just two people. What makes them so special?"

Dean Bishop was still seething over having a gun shoved into his stomach, and the humiliation only made him angrier.

"If they won't cooperate, we'll make them."

He turned to Kai Thompson, who spoke earlier.

"Take a few guys and follow them. If they find anything good, hit them on the way back and take it. If they come back empty-handed, teach them some respect."

Kai immediately rounded up several men and followed Nicole and Zeph.