All Chapters of The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Chapter 211 - Chapter 220

Zeph paused for a moment before answering, "I grew up with parents who cared about me. School went fine, I graduated, and got a job. Nothing out of the ordinary."That answer sounded clean, almost too clean. There was no way someone like him didn't have a story behind him.No one believed it. Not Hughie's group, and not even Cola. He gave a sharp bark, as if calling Zeph out.Still, no one pushed. Zeph's presence alone made people think twice, and with Nicole staying silent, the others had no courage to dig deeper."Eat," Nicole said, glancing at the table. "The food's gonna get cold."Jeremy immediately picked up on it. "Right, right, let's eat first."The moment they bit into the roasted pork, everything else faded. It was crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, rich without being greasy, and packed with flavor, the kind of dish that made them feel human again after everything they had been through.Hughie took a few more bites, slowing down as the satisfaction settled in.

The man had once been part of a local art association. Before everything fell apart, he took pride in his work. People used to seek him out for his paintings, and even a single piece never sold for less than thousands of dollars.Then the disasters hit.Everything he had once been proud of was suddenly worthless. He couldn't trade it for even a grain of rice.Things at home were already tight. If he didn't bring food back soon, they wouldn't even make it to Christmas.Nicole had plenty of rice and flour in her storage space, but none of it could be replaced. Even though she had planted a small patch of wheat, whether it would grow at all was still uncertain. She wasn't willing to part with what she had."One pound of potatoes?" she offered instead.Those, at least, were renewable. The next batch was almost ready to harvest anyway.The man froze for a second, then nodded quickly, relief washing over his face.He had asked for half a pound of rice or flour, leaving room to bargai

Knowing Nicole wasn't an ordinary buyer, Weasel chose his words carefully. "We slaughtered it this morning. I've got 200 pounds, bone and hide included."Their boss had traded a good amount of supplies through back channels to get it. It had only just hit the market today, and not a single pound had been sold.Just like she said, the rich didn't lack meat, and the poor couldn't afford it. Finding the right buyers wasn't easy. Even when someone did show interest, it was half a pound here, one pound there. Selling it all would take forever.Two hundred pounds sounded like a lot, but with the bones and hide included, the actual meat probably didn't exceed a hundred and twenty.Still, chances like this didn't come often. The longer things went on, the harder it would be to get any meat at all.Nicole didn't hesitate. "I want cuts from the legs up. Full 200 pounds."Weasel nodded, then hesitated. "Wait here. I need to check with my boss."Better safe than getting beaten later.He hu

The deal had turned out even better than expected. Weasel had been praised again by his boss. More importantly, he had managed to push the goods into the upper circles.He still found it funny. The same rich kids who used to throw money around without a second thought now lit up the moment they saw a condom. Prices doubled, even tripled, and they didn't even try to bargain.Who would have thought they would end up worrying about something like that?Nicole felt a flicker of interest at the mention of a whole cow, but her expression stayed calm. "Fine. We'll do it in batches.""No problem."It took several days, but they eventually completed the entire trade.Just as she was about to leave, Weasel spoke again. "Miss, we've got mutton, too. Interested?"Nicole did not bother hiding it this time. "How much?""One hundred fifty pounds total."After two large deals, she only had a little over 1,000 large condoms left. She decided to hold onto the rest. In a couple of years, they wo

Faced with everyone's questions, Victor could only shake his head. His expression turned heavy and uncertain."It could be ten years. Twenty. Maybe fifty or sixty. No one knows when it'll end."The mood, which had been light just moments ago, sank all at once. It felt like something pressing down on their chests.Nicole broke the silence. "This deep freeze we're dealing with, is it happening everywhere?""Not exactly," Victor said. "Different regions, different climates. The disasters won't look the same everywhere. From what researchers are seeing, the instability is only getting worse. Dry areas will get drier. Flooded regions will see even more water. Some places might even flip entirely, like deserts turning into oceans."That image alone was enough to send a chill through the room.Seeing everyone grow quiet, Victor quickly added, "But we don't have to lose hope. We should trust the state's response. The agricultural institutes are already working on it. Along with cold-resi