All Chapters of The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Chapter 281 - Chapter 290

Nicole had secretly tested it before. Back when she tried collecting propane tanks, it hadn't worked. But now, she could put things into storage from inside a bucket of water with no problem.Whether she could store items underwater probably depended on depth, water pressure, and how much mental energy she could handle.So honestly, she had no idea."The earthquake last time flattened most of the cities," Zeph said quietly. "The bases won't be spared, either. If they want to rebuild and restart industry afterward, they'll need massive amounts of steel and construction materials. We should start preparing now."A lot of factories still sat submerged under floodwater. As the extreme heat continued, more and more of them would eventually rise back above the surface.Zeph wanted to start collecting supplies before anyone else got there, especially specialty metals and industrial materials. If they ever entered a military base later, he could quietly release some of it when needed.

Nicole stopped Beatrice before she left."The drought-resistant sweet potato seedlings are ready. Are you still planting yours?"Sweet potatoes took four or five months to grow, but the floodwaters would probably be gone within another month or two. Planting them outside now wouldn't make much difference.Nothing was going to stop Beatrice from going home."You guys can keep them," she said with a smile.After the others left, Nicole turned to Zeph. "What if we plant some inside the storage space?"Growing them outside meant constant work. They had to worry about the heat scorching everything, haul water every day, and keep moving the plants around. It was exhausting.Zeph thought it over. "Let's split them. Half outside, half inside."The soil inside the storage space was too fertile. If the crops grew too differently from everyone else's, selling or trading them later would only attract unwanted attention.This way, they could compare the results, too.Nicole agreed immedia

The next destination was only an hour away.Under the blazing sun, however, it felt endless.The 120-degree heat stalked them like a killer that refused to back off. Even with temperature-regulating clothing, sweat kept pouring from their bodies. The heat trapped itself against their skin until both of them felt drenched and half-boiled alive.Luckily, Zeph's sense of direction held up.Before long, the top floors of a four-story factory emerged from the receding floodwater.The building sat taller than the surrounding structures. The company logo on the rooftop reflected sharp metallic light beneath the sun.The two climbed onto the roof, then pried open the rooftop access door with pliers and a crowbar.The water had dropped over three feet, exposing stained ceilings with peeling paint. Huge stacks of finished goods and raw materials piled all the way to the upper floor.The company had clearly tried to save what it could. Employees must have organized emergency transfers and

At this point, there was no way to carefully pick through anything. Zeph and Nicole could only grab standard sizes and collect whatever they managed to find.Zeph ripped open boxes one by one, checked whether the contents were still usable, estimated the quantity, then called Nicole over to store everything away.The pressure underwater drained her fast. Whenever Nicole got too exhausted, she ducked into the storage space to recover.The plan was simple: collect as much as possible first. If the storage space filled up later, they could always throw out the less valuable stuff.By noon, they had hauled in thousands of cubic feet of inventory. Even after setting aside what they needed for themselves and what they planned to donate, there was still enough to last three generations.Well, assuming there even were future generations.And if not, that was fine, too. She could always save it as gifts for Poppy and Cola.Around midday, Zeph finally called for them to leave. Nicole

Whoever emptied the gas stations had done it professionally, leaving absolutely nothing behind.Nicole and Zeph weren't the type to give up easily, so they checked two more stations anyway. Both were just as empty.Zeph thought about it for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Probably the city government." Once the water level dropped, they would need fuel to restart transportation and basic infrastructure. They must've sent professional crews out early to secure supplies.If the city had already organized fuel recovery operations, there probably weren't many untouched stations left anywhere nearby.Nicole looked a little disappointed. "So what now? Go home or look for something else?"Zeph considered it briefly. "Let's try highway rest stops."The gas inside the city had already been cleaned out, but highway service stations were much farther from the city. There was still a chance nobody had gotten to them yet.The two of them traveled from sunrise all the way into th