Doomsday America

Chapter 100 The troops are divided into two groups
Nikita gave an exaggerated "yes," and then, without waiting for Gavin to urge her, she jogged up to the second floor to find Bella to take her for a walk around the armory and shooting range.

After Nikita left the hall, Madison and Steve came over again.

Gavin was just about to take a nap when he saw himself being shrouded in shadow. He looked up at the two of them and asked with a smile.

"That's strange, why isn't Eugene with you guys? Are you two planning to go racing again?"

"Boss, Eugene plans to take a shower and then take a nap. As for the two of us, I want to go out and learn how to ride a horse. Steve can take me."

Madison responded to Gavin, who waved and laughed.

"Okay, when you two are learning to ride horses, walk towards the forest and see if any new zombies are leaving. Otherwise, be careful."

"Don't worry, as long as we don't encounter more than a dozen zombies, we'll be in pretty much no danger. We'll be back before one o'clock."

Steve agreed and then walked away with Michael.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Gavin grinned, then turned over, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

While dozing off, he pondered many questions. This wasn't true sleep; he was simply lying down with his eyes closed, thinking.

In fact, he preferred Nikita to be a logistics staff member. Although the camp was currently lacking field personnel, it was lacking a logistics staff member who was capable of taking action, had decisiveness, and considerable combat ability.

William has the potential, but as long as his foot doesn't heal, he won't be considered a fully capable fighter.

Moreover, Gavin knew that once William recovered, he certainly wouldn't want to stay at home.

But Nikita chose the field work herself, and he couldn't stop her. Besides, the field work was indeed short-staffed, and they needed to put together at least two three-person field teams.

We're short-staffed! We're still short-staffed!
After considering the fieldwork issues, Gavin turned over again, opened his eyes, and looked out the hall window at Madison climbing onto horseback.

Actually, horses are not as safe as cars.

Horses, at best, could only be considered a supplement to vehicles.

On the one hand, Texas has a tradition of horseback riding and a cowboy culture. Even if people don't allow others to ride horses, people like Eugene are deeply passionate about horse racing.

Even though the saddle rubbed against his thighs so much that he had to scratch them constantly, he still rode the horse with great enthusiasm, and he didn't care at all when he fell off the horse once.

Besides, they can drive now, but in two or three years at most, they will have to have the oil that has been deposited for years treated again before they can continue to use the car.

To maintain the vehicles' status, they must allow the camp to develop a complete fuel handling process within the next three to four years.

After resolving this problem, they will still have to solve the car repair problem within about ten years. This problem is the easiest to solve; they just need to find two or three survivors who know how to repair cars. And spare parts for the car are now readily available all over the United States.

But what happens 15 to 20 years later...

If the camp wants to continue using the vehicles for an extended period of time, it needs to develop vehicle parts manufacturing and maintenance processes.

Gavin cannot estimate how air humidity will change across the United States in the coming decades, but given the inevitable expansion of plant and animal populations, air humidity will definitely rise significantly, and issues such as metal corrosion and road damage will inevitably worsen rapidly with the increase in vegetation.

Gavin had no idea how large his camp would grow in the coming decades, or even how long it could last.

But he was absolutely certain of one thing: unless he could gather at least five survivors with level eight fitter skills, he would be virtually unable to build a complete production line for vehicles and firearms within ten to fifteen years!

Thinking of this, Gavin sighed helplessly and couldn't help but turn over and continue resting.

So-called civilization is not the superstructure of this civilization sitting in offices talking about classical Chinese.

Rather, they are the middle and lower-level components below the upper level, constantly enriching and perfecting every detail of civilization through their own work and the technological knowledge they possess.

Gavin had considered the advantages of his camp, which currently lay in its wide terrain and agricultural production. The numerous small farms and scattered households around the camp would also greatly increase the chances of survival for the survivors.

But aside from the points mentioned above, their camp has virtually no industrial attributes. Even if many nearby farms have the opportunity to find more people, the people living on the farms would not be able to operate any machine tools.

Everyone has to find industrial books, and there have to be people who can read and learn from them.

While Texas has a strong industrial base, 80 percent of its industrial environment is concentrated on the East Coast, revolving around numerous nuclear power plants and major cities.

Even for the factory closest to Gavin's camp, any machine processing plant, Gavin would have to return to the Dallas metropolitan area and risk his life among countless zombies to find it.

Gavin's current survival needs are to first ensure his safety, then his food and clothing, and then recruit survivors to continuously expand the camp until the camp reaches a considerable size before he can set his sights on industry.

Agriculture is given higher priority than industry.

After all, farming and animal husbandry are jobs that can be done by a few people, and even those who don't know how can learn by trial and error.

However, the term "industry" cannot be mastered by just a few dozen or a hundred people.

In short, raising horses is simple. Camp Gavin rarely has a shortage of horses. Even if it can't raise top-quality racehorses, it won't lack standard steeds.

However, car maintenance becomes increasingly difficult over time.

Didn't you see that Gavin is reluctant to drive the nice cars in his garage? Those nice cars are rarely driven now, and thanks to the not-damp environment in the garage, they can probably still look brand new after seven or eight years.

He even has a limited edition Dodge Mammoth in his garage, a top-of-the-line pickup truck that comes with 1,000 horsepower straight from the factory and doesn't need any modifications.

But Gavin couldn't bear to use it...

Once he gets his hands on a heavy machine gun, and with a few modifications to a bulletproof pickup truck like the Battle Shield, it will be a deadly weapon of war capable of killing hundreds of people.

If you don't drive those bulletproof cars often enough, they could very well still be usable twenty years from now...

Thinking of this, Gavin suddenly paused for a moment.

So he turned over again and said to himself.

"Are you thinking too far ahead?"

After reminding himself of this, Gavin decided to count sheep to get himself a few tens of minutes of sleep.

But at that moment, on the second-floor corridor...

Winnie, who was surveying the surroundings with binoculars, couldn't help but call out to Gavin.

"Boss, is something on your mind?"

"Ok?"

Gavin opened his eyes and looked down into the second-floor corridor, where he saw the little devil looking at him with concern as he tossed and turned.

So he shook his head and laughed.

"It's nothing, it's just that it's getting a bit bright, so I couldn't sleep very well."

"Actually, you can go back to your bedroom to rest. We're fine. It's most important that you get some rest, boss."

Winnie gave Gavin her serious advice.

Hearing Winnie's words of concern, Gavin smiled and nodded, then responded to Winnie.

“We can’t let the apocalypse adapt to us, kid. I have to adapt to the future.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin turned over to continue resting, and this time he fell asleep very quickly.

Around 1 p.m., Gavin Woods sat up from the sofa, his hand on the pistol at his waist.

About twenty meters away from him, Eugene, who had just arrived in the hall, rubbed his eyes and smiled at Gavin.

"You're still as sharp as ever, boss. Don't let me see you become complacent one day!"

"If I slack off, remember to remind me, in any way you like."

Gavin responded with a sound of agreement and glanced at his watch.

After confirming that there were still two minutes left, he got up, pushed open the gate, and led Eugene into the yard.

Leaning against the riverbank, Gavin squatted down and washed his face with the cool water. After Gavin finished washing his face, Eugene tossed him a towel, which Gavin picked up and asked.

"Have you ever used this thing to wipe your feet?"

"What a joke, I use my sleeve to wipe my nose, I've only ever used this thing to wipe my face."

"grass……"

Gavin really didn't know how to describe Eugene; saying he was clean or not was a bit of a problem.

He decided to put the issue aside, simply wiped his face with a handkerchief, then tossed the handkerchief back to Eugene, before looking at Steve and Madison riding towards him on horseback.

After practicing for about an hour, Madison's equestrian skills were still far from being quite good, but at least he could control the horse to turn.

As the two stopped their horses nearby, Nikita came out of the hall and waved to Gavin from a distance.

Gavin looked up at Nikita at that moment. She still had her own kukri tucked into her leg, but she had two FN57 pistols and a row of eight pistol magazines hanging from her waist.

In addition, she carried a Gen12 shotgun on her back, which looks very much like an AK47, and had six shotgun magazines hanging on her body.

Noticing Gavin's gaze, Nikita glanced at herself and then laughed.

"I didn't bring a rifle because I haven't used rifles much, and I still need to learn. However, the recoil of this shotgun is very close to that of the S686. After trying out two magazines, I felt that I could handle it quite well."

"I've also read the zombie response manual. It contains a lot of information related to zombies, some of which is very crucial. My mom will definitely like your style. If she had known you sooner, she wouldn't have scolded you at home about the football issue."

"Well, if that's the case, I regret not having met your mother sooner."

Gavin teased Nikita, then waved to the crowd, gesturing for them to come closer.

Then, Gavin quietly made the arrangements.

"As you can see, Nikita has chosen to join the field mission, and we are glad that we have another explorer."

"So, this afternoon, Madison, Nikita, and I will form a group. The three of us will head towards the farmland to explore, look for seeds, and try to drive an agricultural tractor back."

"Eugene, you and Steve are in a group. You two should first deal with the cow manure in the dairy farm area. Eugene can also learn how to operate a bulldozer from Steve."

"In addition, after you've dealt with the cow dung, the two of you continue to make wooden signs and then put them in prominent locations along the highway."

At this point, Gavin looked at Steve and Eugene with a serious expression.

This was the first time he had delegated a task that required traveling long distances to someone else, but it was something he would have to do sooner or later, since he couldn't be involved in everything.

Therefore, he specifically chose Steve and Eugene, who were relatively stronger in combat and action and more adapted to the farm environment, to act alone.

However, a two-person team is still not enough. If William recovers his health, the six field agents can be freely combined into three-person teams, and Gavin will feel more at ease.

Yu Jingang, standing to the side, was a little unhappy with Gavin's assignment and wanted to say something in protest.

After all, he preferred dealing with zombies to dealing with cow dung.

But as Gavin continued talking, he actually had the opportunity to go even further and have some fun on the highway outside.

Immediately, Eugene gave a thumbs up, patted Steve's arm, and laughed.

“I like this arrangement, boss. I’m absolutely fine with Captain America.”

"Okay, let's try to put the signs as far away as possible, hoping that some survivors will follow them to find us."

Steve nodded in agreement, and with that, the work assignment was basically complete.

However, before leaving, Gavin gave Steve one last reminder.

"Oh, right, Steve, remember to have William pin the zombie intelligence manual to a prominent spot on the sign."

"Regardless of whether the survivors want to join us, one more living person is always better than one more dead person. Moreover, we can later determine whether any survivors have passed by the signpost by checking whether the zombie intelligence manual has been taken."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin called to Nikita, and together with Madison, they walked toward the Ford Raptor.

As Gavin walked toward the driver's seat, Madison opened the car door for him and said something.

"Boss, let me drive."

“No need. I can be very accurate with a pistol with one hand while driving, so I can maintain my combat effectiveness. You can scout for me from the passenger seat.”

"OK then."

Madison obediently climbed into the passenger seat, while Nikita hesitated before climbing into the back seat and sitting there talking to Gavin as he started the car.

"I thought we'd be riding horses, but I... I can't drive."

"Can't drive?"

Hearing this, Madison turned around suspiciously and looked at Nikita, exclaiming dramatically.

"How is it possible that there are young people who can't drive?"

"I'm still a few months away from turning 18. How can a minor take a driving test and drive? My mom won't even let me touch a car!"

Nikita responded seriously.

Upon hearing this, Madison curled his lip, activated his Black racial instincts, and spoke in a rapping tone.

"My mom, my mom, I can't live without my mom, right? Right?"

"You've gone too far, athlete!"

Nikita yelled at Madison in frustration, while Madison huddled in the passenger seat and chuckled.

As for Gavin, he explained to the two of them as he drove away from the estate.

"That's enough joking around. This afternoon, we need to drive an agricultural tractor back, and we'll have to figure out how to disassemble a few multi-functional farm machines and bring them back with us."

"So we can't ride horses this time. You should keep an eye on your surroundings from the vehicle and look out for zombies and zombie animals in time."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on things around me~"

Nikita responded to Gavin earnestly.

At this point, the raptors had traveled far across the grassland, leaving only a few wisps of dust behind.

Watching the car drive away, Eugene grinned and raised his hands high in a cheer.

"Yo-ho, I'm free! I can drive out and have some fun now!"

"Yes, but we still need to deal with several hundred tons of cow dung first..."

Steve patted Eugene on the back, then looked towards the cattle pen and asked again.

"Didn't you say this morning that you wanted to set up a small shooting range? Looks like that plan has fallen through?"

"Damn it, I fought those cows all morning and barely managed to empty their bellies before you guys got back. As for the shooting range, I admit I overestimated myself, haha~"

Eugene laughed as he answered, and walked toward his horse.

After mounting their horses, the two raised their hands and waved to Winnie at the window, then headed towards the dairy farm.

When they arrived at the dairy farm, they came to the spot where Eugene had parked the bulldozer. Steve dismounted and got into the vehicle.

As Steve started the forklift, he shouted to Eugene from his seat.

"Take the horse a little further away. I haven't driven a bulldozer in a long time, just to avoid any accidents."

(End of this chapter)