All Chapters of The Apocalypse Survival Manual: Chapter 481 - Chapter 490

With only two days left, there wasn't a moment to waste. Zeph and Nicole tilled the harvested cornfields and replanted them entirely with wheat.With a seeder and Zeph doing the work, the planting was finished in no time.The day they wrapped up, Nicole drove to the new district. At the entrance to Oakhaven Gardens, she happened to run into Alex and Isaac, so she offered them a ride.Traffic between the city and the new district had grown much heavier, and the roads had improved considerably. The drive took just over an hour.After dropping Alex and Isaac off at the administrative hall, Nicole and Zeph headed for the villa district.Nicole clicked her tongue. The elite really did get special treatment. The villa district even had paved concrete roads, with landscaped green belts lining both sides.Even among the upper class, though, there were levels.Nicole hadn't noticed it before, but the 500 thousand-point villa occupied the very center of the development. The main house alo

Zeph and Nicole spent hours studying construction videos, learning as they built the wall one section at a time.They mixed cement and sand by hand, using hoes to stir the mixture.Zeph's perfectionist streak surfaced almost immediately. The first few sections weren't straight enough for his liking, so he tore them down and rebuilt them over and over until they met his standards.Nicole clicked her tongue as she watched from the sidelines. Good thing he only held himself to impossible standards. If he expected that from everyone else, too, living with him would've been exhausting.Just as the wall reached waist height, a large truck pulled up outside the villa. More than a dozen men climbed out, each carrying tools.The instant Nicole saw them, her hand instinctively dropped to the knife at her waist."Well, I'll be damned. You guys are renovating a little differently from everyone else."The man speaking sauntered over with a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, look

In less than a day, the ten-foot perimeter wall was finished.Next came the villa itself. The interior was still bare, so the walls needed plastering. Since the original walls were too thin, Nicole and Zeph decided on three extra-thick coats: a cement mortar base, a mixed mortar middle layer, and a white lime finish.The extra thickness wasn't for durability. It was for soundproofing.Before the apocalypse, Leon Jackson had worked construction as a renovation contractor. After the world fell apart, he started working under Sven as one of his traders. He wasn't living in luxury, but compared to most survivors, he had it good.Back in his old profession, Leon was completely in his element, confidently directing Weasel and the others around the job site.Unfortunately, he got a little too into it."Boss, that's not right. The plaster isn't thick enough."Sven didn't say a word. He smacked Leon across the back of the head."Are you telling me how to do my job now?"Leon folded i

Nicole took 30 fertilized eggs out of her storage: 10 chicken eggs, 10 duck eggs, and 10 goose eggs, then carefully loaded them into the incubator.Three years of disasters had nearly exhausted the eggs she had stockpiled before the apocalypse. Their reserves of chicken, duck, and goose meat were running low as well. It was time to rebuild the supply.If nothing unexpected happened, they could probably stay in the villa for another six or seven years. As long as they successfully raised the birds, storing away several more years' worth of poultry wouldn't be difficult.Zeph nodded. "Take out some lumber tomorrow. I'll build coops and keep them outside."Nicole smiled. "You know how?""Nothing I can't learn."Three years of surviving the apocalypse had transformed Zeph from a man who couldn't cook, grow vegetables, or manage basic housework into someone who could build walls, plaster them, and handle just about any construction job. At this point, there wasn't much left he could

"It isn't often Brandon gets along with someone this well. Have Poppy come over and play with him sometime," Sven said.Poppy needed friends, too. As long as she wanted to, Nicole had no reason to object.After Sven left, Nicole asked Poppy, "So, what do you think of Brandon?""He's nice, and he does what I tell him.""Do you want to keep playing with him?"Poppy thought for a moment. "Can I?"Nicole knew exactly what she was worried about. "It's fine to make friends, but never let your guard down. Just because you've known someone a long time doesn't mean you should trust them completely.""Okay! I'll play with him once in a while."Zeph got back right on time, and the four of them sat down for lunch."Tom says he can build it. He recommends beech. It's sturdy, impact-resistant, and hard enough to make a strong front gate."Beech?Nicole had no idea what beech wood looked like.She had plenty of lumber in storage, but most of it had been milled after the trees died. Aside