The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 757

Whoever broke into the house had been extremely careful not to leave any obvious signs, but Zeph knew exactly what to look for.

If anything had been moved or touched, he would notice.

Before they left, Nicole stored away anything important and only left behind a few everyday items.

Once inside, the four of them acted normal and chatted casually while quietly checking the entire place.

There were faint signs that someone had gone through their belongings, but they didn't find any listening devices.

Zeph gave Nicole a look. If the military was behind it, they would've been careful enough that even he might not have caught it.

They carried the groceries into the kitchen. Nicole had only bought a pound of pork belly, so she took several more pounds from storage, along with some vegetables, skewers, and her homemade sauce.

After a good meal, Nicole soaked in the hot spring to ease the fatigue. By the time she woke up, it was already evening.

She picked up the radio and tried Jeremy again. This time, he answered.

They hadn't been out for offshore training. Instead, they spent the day doing physical conditioning on land and taking classes in first aid and other survival skills, and had only just gotten back to the dorm.

They trained every day, so none of them knew much about what Nicole had been doing. When they heard that she and Zeph had brought back a huge haul from scavenging and no longer had to worry about basic supplies, they were genuinely happy for them.

That was Nicole. No matter how bad things got, she always found a way through.

"Alright. We'll come over."

Everyone was excited about the rare chance to get together. Nicole told them not to bring anything, but they still showed up with a few things of their own: a bottle of liquor, some cured meat, and a few pieces of candy.

Marcus arrived around the same time as Jeremy and the others. He brought something, too.

They had all known each other back at the villa community, so seeing one another again at the military base made the reunion feel especially meaningful. They greeted each other with hugs.

Compared with Jeremy and the others, Marcus had barely passed after his crash course and hadn't made it into the navy. Still, getting assigned to the army was already more than he could've hoped for.

Nicole was genuinely happy to see everyone. She took the things Jeremy and the others brought and set them aside.

"I made plenty of food. Let's have a proper dinner tonight."

Beatrice and the others didn't just sit around. They pitched in and helped with the prep.

Not long ago, they had spent two full weeks training at sea before finally coming ashore. Even then, there was no real downtime.

Besides the technical skills required by the navy, the base also taught them a wide range of survival skills and basic emergency medicine.

As members of the Ark Project, they needed all of it. The knowledge could help them survive now, and if the disasters ever ended, they could pass it on to others.

As they worked and talked, the others also gave Marcus a warning about military life.

"Being a soldier is hard. And it's not just the physical training. You have to keep improving your technical skills, too."