The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 785

Chapter 285

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Chapter 785

Nicole felt lighter after dropping off the medicine.

She settled back into her routine, enjoying her food and drinks, working out every day, and going over their escape routes on the map.

They needed somewhere at a higher elevation, far from tectonic plate boundaries and major fault lines.

She and Zeph chose several possible destinations and put together several plans. But they could only plan so much. Once disaster hit, they would have to adjust.

Two months flew by. Nicole didn’t visit Arthur again, and Sophia didn’t stop by either.

Life stayed quiet, almost as if nothing happened.

Then one morning, a piercing air-raid siren jolted Nicole out of a light sleep. She had never heard one in person, and for a moment, she couldn’t make sense of the sound.

Zeph shot out of bed. “We gotta move! It’s happening!” A

They threw on their clothes while Nicole swept everything in the room into the storage space.

Zeph rushed out. “Poppy, get ready! Now!”

Each of them needed an earthquake emergency kit. Only a few beat-up tables, chairs, and stools remained in the living room, so Nicole left them behind. The four of them raced downstairs.

The siren blared across the base.

There were three alert levels: standard, severe, and emergency. This was an emergency, the highest level, and only the base commander could authorize it.

The tectonic plates were about to collide.

As they reached the ground floor, an announcement boomed over the loudspeakers. The base’s most advanced tracking system detected an asteroid hurtling toward Earth.

Based on its speed and trajectory, it would hit in two hours.

The asteroid would most likely hit the Eastern Hemisphere.

That matched Nicole’s memories. 2

The shock waves would spread from there, losing some force before reaching the Western Hemisphere. That explained why this part of the world escaped immediate destruction in her previous life.

An impact like that would dwarf a nuclear explosion and wipe out a city in an instant. The Eastern Hemisphere would take the first and hardest hit.

Two hours gave Nicole enough time to escape. But for the base, it wasn’t nearly enough.

The base was responsible for an area stretching dozens of miles, with more than 200 thousand survivors to evacuate. Even with vehicles, ships, and aircraft, getting everyone to the designated evacuation points would take far longer than 2 hours.

Fortunately, the base had plans in place. Survivors practiced emergency evacuations and kept their supplies ready

to go.

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Chapter 285

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Nicole thought she was quick, but by the time she ran out of the yard with Cola, everyone else was already on the

move.

The houses stood too close together. There wasn’t enough room to bring out the helicopter.

She was about to pull a vehicle from the storage space when the gate next door flew open. Several neighbors rushed out with their families, shouting, “Hurry! We need to catch the bus!”

If they got there too late, there might not be any seats left.

People flooded the street, weighed down with bags and supplies as they hurried toward the assembly areas. Some collided with others in their rush.

Within minutes, the normally quiet streets filled with people pushing past one another, desperate to get out.

If Zone B was this chaotic, the rest of the base could only be worse.

They would get farther on foot than in a car. Nicole and Zeph exchanged a look, then ran.

To keep them from getting separated, Zeph scooped up Cola while Nicole took hold of Poppy. They pushed through the crowd toward the edge of the base.

More than 200 thousand people scrambled to escape. No one wanted to die.

Fear drove them faster than they ever thought they could run.

But the farther Nicole and Zeph went, the thicker the crowd became. People slammed into one another, shoved their way past, and stumbled amid the screams.

A sudden surge nearly swept them apart, but Nicole caught Zeph’s arm and held tight.

They finally cleared Zone B, only to find the roads ahead even more crowded.

The detached houses were closer to the edge of the base than the dorms and apartment buildings. That also put them much farther from the main gate.

The evacuation points for vehicles, ships, and aircraft were deeper inside the military sector.

Everyone was heading toward those assembly points. Nicole and the others needed to go the opposite way.

They fought against a relentless tide of people, surrounded by shouts, sobs, and screams. Bodies pressed against them from every side, squeezing the air from their lungs.

Pushing against the crowd could set off a stampede. People would be trampled.

Nicole struggled to move sideways, trying to reach the edge of the crowd, but she barely gained any ground. If this kept up, they would get separated.

She took Cola from Zeph, freeing him to shield her and Poppy with his body and arms. He eased them sideways, inch by inch, toward the edge of the base.

More than 20 minutes passed before they finally escaped the worst of the crush.

All four of them gasped for breath, their faces hot from the crush.

Nicole’s radio crackled, and Arthur’s urgent voice came through. “Nicole, are you there?”

She paused, then pulled it from her emergency pack. “I’m here.”

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Chapter 185

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“Where are you? I’ll send someone.” His voice grew more urgent. “Come with me.”

Wo. I can get us out.”

“Nicole, don’t be stubborn. Don’t risk your life because you’re angry with me.”

She wasn’t being stubborn. She spent nine years getting ready for this.

“You already gave me the best thing you could. I’ll do everything I can to make it. Just take care of yourself.” She hesitated, then added, “You have to stay alive.”

Arthur went quiet for a moment. “Alright. You take care of yourself, too.”

He respected her choice, even though it scared him.

He hated letting her go, but he was out of time. The moment they all dreaded was here, and he had an evacuation to lead.

The radio fell silent.

Nicole’s eyes stung. Someone cared whether she made it out alive. Maybe this was what having a family felt like.

She sniffed, pulled herself together, and set off again with the others.

People still filled the road, but there was finally room to move.

They still couldn’t get a car through, so they ran the remaining miles toward the main gate as fast as they could.

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