The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 858

Chapter 858

Nicole remembered what the pilot told them before he died. The eastern military base was working to build a new home for the survivors.

They assembled a powerful fleet and developed exceptionally durable materials and equipment for building at sea, but during their search for a place to settle, storms struck and killed many of their best people.

The fleet must have passed through these waters and run into severe weather. Along with the lives lost, supplies went overboard, and they had no way to retrieve the sunken containers.

Nicole remembered the storms she witnessed at sea and struggled to imagine how the fleet survived. Even their best equipment and all their determination offered little protection against that kind of force.

Each of the 19 containers bore a different identification number and had an electronic lock that wouldn’t yield to a crowbar. Even without opening them, Nicole felt certain they held specialized building materials or equipment for construction at sea.

She had no use for those supplies, but the new settlement might depend on them. For now, she wasn’t sure what to do with the haul.

That night, Nicole brushed her teeth, finished her skin care routine, and turned off the light before climbing into bed.

Zeph slipped an arm around her waist. For a long time, he said nothing, then finally spoke.

“Nicole, what if we went to the new settlement?”

“You wanna live there?”

“Those containers might just be full of screws or rivets. Doesn’t sound like much, but if they’re missing the right parts, they might not be able to finish something they need.

“We don’t have anywhere in particular to go. We could at least take a look.

“If we like it, we’ll stay. If we don’t, we’ll drop off the containers and keep looking for a place of our own. What do you think?”

Nicole considered it for a while. “Alright.”

She understood how he felt.

They didn’t have to spend their lives taking care of everyone else, but they couldn’t stop caring altogether. Without that compassion, they would be no better than the Ardelonians.

“But we probably won’t be able to leave tomorrow,”

Nicole explained it to him.

“The eastern base must have sent out a huge fleet. If they got caught in a storm here, there are probably more containers down there.

“If we’re going, we should search the whole area first. If we leave something important behind, they’ll have to come all the way back for it.”

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Chapter 858

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Finding the containers again in such a vast ocean would be nearly impossible. Nicole only came across them by chance, and without her storage space, she couldn’t have recovered them.

Zeph drew her closer. “Alright. We’ll do it your way.”

Nicole gradually relaxed against him, soothed by his steady breathing and the beat of his heart.

They spent the next three days searching the surrounding waters in submarine 2688. Their persistence paid off.

Sonar picked up more than a dozen obstructions as they moved through the depths. They checked each one and found sunken containers at three separate locations.

Fortunately, none of the containers lay in especially deep water.

The shifting tectonic plates seemed to do more than break apart the land and send it beneath the waves. They also appeared to level out much of the uneven seabed.

In full diving gear, Nicole and Zeph swam toward the containers, one following the other.

Colorful marine life surrounded them. Smaller creatures scattered as the unfamiliar figures approached, while a

few bolder ones ventured closer, but none attacked.

Nicole pulled three containers into her storage space and was about to start her ascent when Zeph spotted a bull shark in the distance, heading their way. He immediately tugged on their tether to warn her.

She brought them both into her storage space, taking the tether with them.

They rested for about 15 minutes before venturing back out. By then, the shark was gone.