Doomsday America

Chapter 102 You've let your guard down!

"What the hell are you talking about?"

At that moment, Gavin sat in the car, frowning as he looked at his walkie-talkie.

The car interior was not large to begin with, and when all three intercoms were on at the same time, the sound seemed to echo and lingered for a long time.

Madison and Nikita stared at Gavin with wide, incredulous eyes.

Nikita hesitated before asking Gavin.

"We must have heard correctly, right?"

"So Eugene really wet his pants?"

Madison, sitting in the passenger seat, made a comment, then suddenly burst into an astonishing laugh!
"Hahaha, Eugene actually peed his pants!"

While laughing, Madison turned on the walkie-talkie and shouted rapidly into it.

"Pfft, redhead, you actually wet your pants once? Steve, tell me the details!"

"Wait, what do you mean I also wet my pants sometimes? Have you ever wet your pants too?"

As soon as Madison finished speaking, Eugene pulled out his walkie-talkie and shouted into it with a relieved expression.

He swore he had never been so perceptive in his entire life!

Upon hearing Eugene's question, Madison was stunned for a moment and immediately retorted with a string of curses.

"No, you shit, how could I... I..."

"Alright, tell me the details!"

Gavin raised his hand to interrupt Madison, and at the same time spoke to Eugene and the other man on the intercom.

"I'm Gavin. The three of us just delivered the tractor back to the estate with a small amount of seeds and potato sprouts, along with a few bags of rice, flour, and chilled vegetables."

"We have just left the manor and plan to continue exploring beyond the farmland, clearing out the scattered zombies and opening up safe paths to other nearby small farms."

"So we're very close to the estate now, and you're near the estate too, right? I just met old Bert, and he said he saw you heading towards the composting plantation."

"What's going on? Do you need any support? If the accident happened near the composting site, we can get there within five minutes!"

At this point, Gavin put down the walkie-talkie and waited for the two men's response.

He talked a lot, and also introduced the work of his group, because Gavin wasn't actually worried.

Whatever Eugene and his companion went through, the consequences were certainly not so severe while they were still joking around.

Meanwhile, at the composting plant, Steve picked up the walkie-talkie and continued speaking.

“Boss, Yu Jingang and I delivered the second truckload of cow dung to the composting site, but Yu Jingang made a rather unusual discovery while he was using the toilet.”

And so, Steve gave Gavin a detailed explanation of the zombies that were lying in ambush on Eugene and the environment around them.

His description was exceptionally detailed and vivid, interspersed with Eugene's angry curses over the walkie-talkie, while Gavin's car was filled with Madison's laughter.

After Steve finished speaking, Gavin pondered for a moment, then turned the car around and drove towards the composting site.

He spoke to Madison and Nikita as he adjusted the direction.

"I need to go and see for myself; their situation is making me uneasy!"

"indeed!"

Nikita nodded in response to Gavin.

"Judging from what they're saying, those patients...zombies, it seems they're not all the same!"

After saying that, Nikita frowned and looked out the left window.

After taking one look, she raised her binoculars and whispered a reminder.

"Sir, there are two zombies in the direction of the forest!"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Nikita's words, Gavin stopped the car, picked up his binoculars, and glanced at the forest area further out of the highway.

Nearly two kilometers beyond the two rivers, two zombies were indeed stubbornly moving from the direction of the farm town toward the manor.

It appears they had only just emerged from the forest.

After confirming the presence of the zombies, Gavin took a deep breath and turned the car around again, rushing towards the zombies.

As he drove, he frowned and muttered to himself.

"It's only about four kilometers from the manor. Judging from the direction the zombies are heading, they seem to have been led to the town in the forest by us."

"In just one night, zombies have already left the forest and gotten so close to us, all because of their aimless, shuffling steps?"

At this point, Gavin floored the gas pedal, drove the car across the two rivers, and positioned it horizontally towards the zombies.

After parking the car, Madison and Nikita rolled down the windows and aimed their guns at the zombies more than 300 meters away.

The zombie had already sensed the car's approach, so it rushed towards it at high speed, and then died less than thirty meters away from the raptor.

With only two zombies, Madison and Nikita both chose to engage in close combat.

After dealing with the zombies, Gavin lit a cigarette and said to the two of them.

"Let's wait two minutes and see if there are any other zombies nearby."

"I'll listen to you, boss!"

Madison put away his trolls and said to Gavin with a smile.

As the apocalypse continued, Madison's mindset actually became much more stable than at the beginning.

If in the past he only believed that Gavin could lead him to the trophy, then in the last two days he has begun to believe that Gavin can lead him further and further into the apocalypse.

In the back seat, Nikita silently counted the bullets in the magazine as he holstered his gun.

They had already taken down eight zombies near the farm machinery warehouse in the cultivated land, and their ammunition was also running low.

Nikita had never used a magazine-fed shotgun before and needed some time to get used to the ammunition.

Shortly after, Gavin threw the half-burnt cigarette on the ground, got out of the car, and stomped it out.

The raptor continued toward the composting site and, about eight minutes later, crossed nearly ten kilometers and arrived at the entrance.

"Wow, this tastes amazing!"

Madison covered his nose in frustration, then pulled a mask out of his pocket and handed it to Gavin and Nikita.

Gavin paused for a moment, then smiled, looking at the mask.

"You even brought this with you?"

"Better safe than sorry."

Old Mai put the small mask on his big face, pushed open the car door and got out.

Gavin wasn't wearing a mask, and the smell of cow dung was something he was used to when he was a child.

Seeing the three get out of the car, Steve walked towards them alone.

When Madison realized that Steve was alone, he squinted and looked around, asking impatiently.

"Hey buddy, where's Red Hair? Where did Red Hair go?"

"Ha, you're too late. He's already gone to the cowboy break room at the compost yard to shower, and there are spare clothes for other cowboys there too. You won't see him in his disheveled state!"

Steve laughed and patted Madison's arm, then pointed to the wall marked by Eugene and continued speaking to Gavin.

"Boss, the zombies were originally there. I'll take you there."

"Ah."

Gavin nodded, followed Steve, and casually asked.

"Are you sure all the buildings at the compost yard have been cleared?"

"After encountering that special zombie, Eugene and I dared not relax. After he angrily cursed at me a few times, the two of us worked together to check the house, but we didn't encounter a second similar zombie."

Steve answered while letting out a breath.

He had to admit that the kind of zombies that weren't easily attracted and stayed in one place to ambush him did put him under considerable pressure.

After all, zombies are agile and extremely fast, and their waving and biting movements are also very quick.

If you were to encounter a zombie lurking in the shadows or around a corner that suddenly lunges at you, the danger would be no joke.

Seeing Steve's confident tone, Gavin nodded and silently approached the female zombie.

Madison and Nikita stopped behind Gavin. Nikita glanced at the zombie's corpse, then couldn't help but turn his head to look up at the sky. Madison shook his head, squatted down, and pulled the zombie's leather jacket down a little to cover its belly and furry body.

Gavin crouched down near the zombie's head and, without hesitation, used his gloved hand to grab the zombie's tattered skull.

Looking at the tattered junk in his hand, Gavin raised his head, pointed at the zombie's battered face, and asked expressionlessly.

"Did Eugene do this?"

"Of course, Eugene almost died at its hands. I can imagine how dangerous that must have been just by guessing, so he vented his anger."

As Steve answered, he nervously pursed his lips.

He had known Gavin for a long time, and he wasn't afraid of Gavin's smiling or furious demeanor.

Just like how Gavin yelled at him yesterday when the pack of dogs attacked, he didn't care at all, because he knew what Gavin looked like when he was angry.

The more he learned, the more he couldn't help but feel nervous when Gavin was completely calm.

Nearby, Nikita keenly noticed that Steve subtly tugged at the hem of his shirt at that moment.

After Steve answered, Gavin remained silent for nearly three seconds, then looked everyone over and said.

"Next time, try not to waste your energy on unnecessary things. We are all the same."

"If anyone forgets, remember to remind them, including me."

"With its head smashed like this, what can I possibly see? Can I check if there are any sparkly glass beads inside a zombie's head?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin waved to Madison.

"Old Mike, go find Eugene and tell him to hurry up. Stop acting like a princess. Does he need a bubble bath?"

"Okay, boss!"

Madison nodded quickly and ran out, rushing into the rest area in the direction Steve was pointing to search.

After Madison left, Gavin stood up and looked at the wall where the water stains still remained, asking a question.

"The zombie footprints are right across the street?"

“Yes, right across from the watermark.” Steve nodded repeatedly.

"Ha, that's quite a coincidence."

Gavin pursed his lips, walked away from the water stains, reached out his left hand to grab the wall and prop himself up, and jumped onto the wall in one leap.

He then turned and extended his hand to Nikita.

Seeing this, Nikita slung the shotgun over his back, pointed the muzzle at the ground, jogged a few steps toward Gavin, kicked off the wall, grabbed Gavin's hand, and was then dragged to the other side of the wall by Gavin.

Steve then climbed over the wall and jumped down.

Gavin jumped off the wall and looked at the very indistinct footprints in the distance from a distance of more than ten meters.

For Gavin, hunting was just an occasional pastime; he didn't hunt professionally, nor did he immerse himself in learning about hunting.

In addition, Eugene and Steve had already destroyed the footprints, so he really couldn't see anything.

Fortunately, after Steve landed, he stood next to the footprints and pointed out the general location of the woman's footprints, especially the deep ones, to Gavin.

After carefully examining each point, Gavin pondered for a moment and then asked Steve.

"Steve, do you think she was like this from the beginning of the mutation, or did she wander around nearby for a while after the mutation and then suddenly turn into a motionless state?"

Upon hearing this, Steve shook his head and said with a bitter face.

“Boss, that’s what I’m worried about too, but I really can’t tell. After all, the female zombie and her male companion must have been active in the area for a while before the apocalypse broke out, because the footprints are really messy.”

At this point, Steve reluctantly took off his cowboy hat and rubbed his hair.

Gavin nodded in understanding.

The surrounding area is all grassland, and because of the excessive amount of compost a few hundred meters away, the grassland here is even denser than in other places.

If it weren't for the bent and broken hay leaving marks, it would be hard to say whether you could see the footprints, let alone the time period of the footprints.

At this point, Gavin continued to ask Steve questions.

"Are you sure she's not deaf? And you can't find any headphones, hearing aids, noise-canceling earmuffs, or headsets nearby?"

"earphone?"

Upon hearing this, Steve paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head.

"Sorry, brother, I didn't expect to be looking for those things. At that time... I..."

"You were too busy watching Eugene have fun, weren't you, my chief cowboy!"

At this moment, Gavin finally approached Steve and stared at Steve's face expressionlessly.

How could Gavin not be angry? He had just let two members he trusted more act independently, and then these two dropped a bombshell that almost reduced the team's total number of people by one-tenth!

Meeting Gavin's gaze, Steve instinctively took two steps back, licked his lips, and whispered.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed at him. I know I was wrong, boss."

"Then remember this well, Steve: we're not the cowboy brothers we used to be. We're survivors first, then play the role of the hunters!"

At this point, Gavin paused for a moment, then sighed and reached out to grab Steve's shoulder.

"Dude."

He then continued speaking to Steve.

"Cowboys don't risk their lives every day. For each of us, now and in the future, the connection between us is destined to be much closer than that of cowboys!"

"Next time, I hope that if Eugene or any of us are in danger, your presence will make the danger less dangerous!"

"This is the meaning of teamwork, and the reason why we must act in groups of two or three at a time!"

"You think you're wrong about joke Eugene?"

"Actually, this is really funny, but what's funny isn't that someone peed on themselves, but that an explorer almost died, and I didn't hear you during his near-death experience!"

“I don’t care that he peed, I only care that he almost died, so I know better than you where you went wrong. You let your guard down, you both let your guard down, Steve!”

At this point, Gavin sighed and gently patted Steve on the shoulder.

At the same time, Steve swallowed hard and nodded heavily.

“It’s my fault!” he said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing Steve's words, Gavin silently met his gaze until Steve's eyes involuntarily lowered to the ground. Only then did Gavin release him and gently clapped his hands.

"Alright, search the surrounding area to make sure there are no headphones, earbuds, or headsets."

"Boss, you guys are on the other side of the wall, right?"

As Gavin finished speaking, Madison's voice and two footsteps could be heard from afar across the wall.

Gavin understood why Eugene didn't speak, so he responded to Madison from a distance.

"You two don't need to come over. I have something to say to Eugene!"

"Fake..."

Upon hearing Gavin's voice, Eugene finally couldn't help but cover his face.

At the same time, Gavin waved to Steve and Nikita.

"I'll leave the search to you two. Don't miss out on phones, media players, and the like. I'll go back inside the Great Firewall and check the zombies again."

At this point, Gavin gave the two some pointers and then solemnly reminded them.

"Remember, never leave their sight, and always be ready to provide support!"

After saying this, Gavin glanced at the two of them one last time, then jumped over the wall back into the arena, strode over to the zombie's side, and lifted up the zombie's mangled head.

Eugene.

Gavin then waved his free hand at Eugene, who narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

What's going on? Did he call me just to make fun of me?

Confused, Eugene approached the zombie, spat out a mouthful of saliva with a "ha," and bent down as if to spit it onto the zombie.

"Get the hell out of here and spit out!"

Before Eugene could spit it out, Gavin let out a sudden low growl.

"Pfft? Ugh, ugh, ugh, holy crap, I vomited all over myself!"

(End of this chapter)