The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 89

Chapter 89

In the end, with the dog jumping in to help, Nicole won.

It wasn’t exactly fair.

Still, Zeph didn’t get upset about being betrayed by the dog he trained. If anything, he just reached out and rubbed. Cola’s head. “Good. If anyone ever messes with her, you protect her.”

Cola had gone all out just now.

Nicole frowned slightly. “Did it bite you?”

“No.” Zeph glanced at the dog with approval. “Dogs can tell right from wrong better than people. Cola knows his limits.”

Nicole nodded. That made sense.

Dogs could pick up on things people couldn’t, such as the way someone felt, the intent behind their actions.

Zeph didn’t carry any real hostility, so Cola hadn’t gone for him.

Days passed.

Nicole’s progress was obvious.

Beatrice heard she had been sparring with Zeph and pushed herself harder, too, dragging Jeremy and Hughie into daily training. You could hear them yelling all the time in their apartment.

After taking enough hits, Jeremy toughened up, while Hughie’s slim waist was long gone. Once they recovered, the two of them got a little too confident.

“Nicole,” Jeremy said, grinning, “how about we spar?”

Nicole smiled. “Sure.”

They set up mats in 1803. Nicole took both of them on at once. Beatrice acted as referee. Poppy and Cola sat off to the side, watching.

Beatrice blew a whistle. “One, two, three. Go!”

Thud.

Thud!

Nicole moved first.

One clean side throw. One knee strike straight into the stomach.

She was fast and sharp. No wasted movement.

Both men hit the mat and stayed there, groaning.

And that was it.

Jeremy clutched his stomach, eyes watering. “Th-that was dirty.”

Nicole’s expression didn’t change. “It’s the apocalypse. No one’s playing fair.”

1/3

+15 Bonus

Poppy had been ready to cheer, but it was over before she could react. She stared for a second, then ran back home.

“Zeph! Nicole knocked out two people in one hit!”

She was using what Zeph taught her. It was so cool!

Jeremy and Hughie lay there, speechless.

How was the gap this big? What about their dignity?

Beatrice, on the other hand, was furious. “Losing to me is one thing. You couldn’t even last one move against Nicole?”

She shook her head.

Clearly, she had been going too easy on them.

“From now on, whenever Cola runs, you run.”

Both of them froze.

Cola did 80 laps on the stairs. There was no way they could keep up!

“What, you can’t beat Nicole, and now you’re losing to a dog, too?” Beatrice shot back.

Cola wasn’t just any dog. He was a monster. It hadn’t even been that long, and he already had visible muscle.

Beatrice didn’t care. As long as they didn’t collapse, she would keep pushing.

The 18th floor was alive with activity.

Meanwhile, the rest of the building was getting restless.

When Nicole’s group went out, people were jealous.

When they stayed in, people were even more jealous.

If they hadn’t gone out for so long, it had to mean they had plenty of supplies.

Others were barely surviving, drinking rainwater just to get by, while faint smells of food drifted down from above.

Even so, none of them dared to go against Nicole and the rest. They all went to Oliver, pressuring him to talk to the 18th floor and demand they share.

Oliver didn’t want that kind of trouble, but starving wasn’t an option either. His kids at home were already looking weak and skinny.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify