The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 735

When Nicole and Zeph pulled back the tarps, rows of sealed drums came into view, all caked in mud and rust. Some were badly dented, others bulged outward, and most looked like they had been through hell.

The staff member stared at them. What was in these things?

He hosed the mud off one drum and carefully scraped away some of the rust. A label slowly came into view.

Titanium.

He cleaned off several more.

Tungsten. Beryllium.

His eyes widened.

They were all rare metals!

The base had sent team after team out looking for materials like these, but no new source had turned up in a long time. Several factories were already close to shutting down.

The staff member's jaw nearly dropped. "A-Are both trucks full of this stuff?"

"Yeah." Nicole wiped the grime from her face, looking tense. "Can you actually use it? We went through hell to get this stuff and traded almost everything we had for it. If it's no good, we're screwed."

The drums were so old and beat-up that the staff member couldn't tell whether the metals inside were still in usable condition.

"I honestly don't know," the staff member replied.

Nicole's obvious anxiety was starting to make him nervous, too.

"Wait here. I'll call the inspection department and have someone come take a look."

He hurried into the office and grabbed the radio.

After explaining the situation, he added, "Yes, both trucks are full. Send someone over right away."

It was only two truckloads, but rare metals were used in small amounts across all kinds of industrial applications. By that standard, this was a massive supply.

About 20 minutes later, a vehicle pulled up, and several uniformed staff members got out. The moment they saw the two truckloads of sealed drums, they all stopped in surprise.

The leader recovered first. "Get them unloaded. Start taking samples."

Nicole already knew the metals hadn't deteriorated. The storage space preserved anything kept inside it.

Of course, she couldn't tell the testing staff that. All she could do was wait.

The four of them didn't just sit around. They joined the staff and helped clean the drums.

Everyone knew how valuable the metals were, so the staff handled each container like it was fragile.

When Nicole and Zeph set a few down too hard and even let one roll across the ground, someone immediately shouted, "Easy! Be careful with those!"

Anyone watching would've thought the heavy-duty drums were made of glass.

The staff didn't even stop for lunch. Everyone worked nonstop to meet the inspection department's requirements and get the cargo cleaned as quickly as possible.

With the entire trading center involved, word spread fast.

Independent scavengers and organized crews alike came over to see what was going on. The moment they saw two truckloads of rare metals, the envy on their faces was impossible to miss.

Those two had hit the jackpot.