Doomsday America

Chapter 167 William the Police Dog?

Honestly, if Gavin and his group hadn't been heading towards Richard Town...

And they had just caused a big incident in Richardtown that morning.

Li Qing wouldn't associate the direction of the zombies with Richard Town.

After all, the straight-line distance between Richard Town and the manor on the map is more than 50 kilometers.

Considering the winding roads and the nearly 65-kilometer journey, who would think that the zombies heading in one direction necessarily mean they're going there?
But the death of the aggregate happened just before Gavin returned home and had just shared the good news with everyone on the intercom.

The elimination of the threat in Richardtown was good news in itself, and Gavin would certainly use it to boost team morale.

Therefore, Li Qing at this moment did not draw conclusions based on observation at all; he made hypotheses based on association.

Upon hearing Li Qing's words, the aforementioned thoughts flashed through Gavin's mind, and he quickly turned the car around and sped home!

As he ran, he turned on his walkie-talkie and addressed everyone.

"This is Gavin. Everyone still outside the manor, go home immediately! Yes, everyone, go home immediately!"

"All you workers on the estate, immediately drop everything and drive all our cattle and horses into the barn, as soon as possible!"

"If zombies appear during the herding process, abandon the cattle and horses, go home immediately, and do everything possible to ensure your own safety!"

Do it immediately!

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin threw the walkie-talkie aside and sped off towards home.

Seeing Gavin's nervous expression, Nikita, in the passenger seat, raised her hand and pressed it against Gavin's wrist, using her warmth to comfort him.

At the same time, the bulldozers and heavy trucks following Gavin also began to turn around, and Eugene turned on the walkie-talkie and asked Gavin a question.

"Boss, are you sure that the zombie invasion of our farm is definitely related to the aggregate we killed in Richard Town?"

Upon hearing this, Gavin took a deep breath, picked up the walkie-talkie, and replied to Eugene.

"Whether we have connections or not, the current situation is that the farm is facing attacks from more than one group of zombies!"

“Under these circumstances, we must prioritize the safety of the farm, especially the estate. How could I possibly leave the farm, whose situation has suddenly changed, to continue working in Richard Town?”

"Moreover, what if Li Qing's judgment is correct!"

"Of course, this is just a hypothetical situation, but what would happen if it came true?"

"If the death of the aggregate truly caused everything that happened today, then guess where the entire horde of zombies will end up? Of course, there's only one option: the place where the aggregate died!"

"What will happen if we continue working in Richard Town? Damn it, we'll most likely be surrounded by hordes of zombies!"

"I'm so damn glad we had office staff patrolling the farm's borders, and we also have an exploration team combining office and office staff collecting daily supplies around the farm."

"Without the intelligence they gave us, not everyone could have spotted the horde of zombies in the wilderness, and we would have been much more likely to have died in today's accident!"

At this point, Gavin couldn't help but lick his lips.

Although they were driving armored vehicles, bulldozers, and heavy trucks—all seemingly powerful and capable of carrying heavy loads—it seemed unlikely that ordinary zombies could harm them.

But what?
If they encounter a horde of hundreds or thousands of zombies, can they really guarantee that they will be able to break through?

The car's body might withstand a zombie's impact for a while, but what about the wheels?

The wheels won't burst, but if the car runs over a few too many zombies, will the wheels slip, will the brakes get stuck, and will the car tip over?

It's important to know that blood's short-term lubrication is not much worse than that of lubricating oil. Once the wheels are covered with too much blood and flesh, even a heavy truck will veer off course and may even lose control, overturning in the midst of a horde of zombies.

At that point, how will they save themselves? Will they simply abandon the overturned vehicle and let the safer vehicles rush out on their own?
But what if there are no safe vehicles?
What if all the cars overturned?

Then they'll just have to wait to die!

Thinking of this, Gavin couldn't help but let out another heavy sigh, and then decided to put another task first!

He needs to install more walkie-talkie repeaters and place them around the edge of the farm to expand the reach of the walkie-talkies and enable team members to communicate to a greater extent!

Today, Gavin received a walkie-talkie message before he even reached the power station, which is less than 15 kilometers from the estate.

But what if they've already arrived in Richard Town after setting off for the second time today?
Wouldn't they then be unable to receive their home intercoms, and if no one drove to them to notify them, they would most likely be surrounded by a constant stream of zombies from all directions in that damned Richard Town?
This was definitely not the outcome Gavin wanted, so he made a decision on his own.

The placement and maintenance of the intercom repeater should take priority over the establishment of the observation posts outside the camp, and should be done as quickly as possible!
What is the use of a walkie-talkie repeater?

Simply put, this thing is a signal amplifier, just like a cell phone signal needs a signal tower.

As long as Gavin finds a house with electricity and sets up a repeater in a suitable section of road between Richardstown and the farm, the farm's intercom signal can be transmitted directly to the surrounding areas of Richardstown.

This is only because Gavin doesn't understand communications. Otherwise, he could have done some work on the signal towers in the surrounding area, turning the abandoned towers into walkie-talkie towers, which would have greatly increased the signal coverage.

Of course, whatever he was thinking, that's all in the future.

Right now, he has to deal more with the immediate unexpected event, namely the zombie horde that has broken into the farm!

So, how should he deal with those hordes of zombies?
Like last night, should we take all the guys in the family and go head-to-head with the zombies?
What a joke!
Just as Gavin was thinking this, the convoy had already returned to the manor in tense silence.

Gavin and his group simply left the bulldozer and heavy truck on the nearby grass, while the War Shield drove into the garage. Gavin then led his group back to the lobby in a long stride.

Upon seeing Gavin arrive, the waiters in the lobby quickly surrounded him.

Gavin glanced at the number and faces of the men, and after confirming that he had seen Lee Qing and Adele, he realized that he had seen them.

He then spoke to Madison, who was stationed at the second-floor guard post, and asked him a question.

"Old Mai, did Feng's group send you back yet?"

"No, boss, they haven't come back yet!"

Madison quickly responded to Gavin.

Upon hearing this, Gavin turned to Thomas and asked.

"Thomas, who was Feng with?"

"And Kelvin, boss!"

Thomas readily agreed, and Gavin nodded in approval of Thomas's quick thinking before pulling out his walkie-talkie and asking a question.

"Old Feng, Kelvin, is your walkie-talkie working properly?"

"It's normal, boss. What's going on?"

Feng Minglu's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

Upon hearing this, Gavin frowned, picked up the walkie-talkie, and began to berate the staff in the lobby.

"Bullshit, isn't communication working normally? You guys are staying at home, haven't you even asked them why they haven't come back yet?!"

"Walkie-talkies aren't fucking decorations. Don't make me decide even such trivial matters. Madison, Thomas, William, you bunch of bastards, do you want to become fucking decorations yourselves too?!"

After finishing his rant, Gavin sat down on his sofa, pointed to the sofas around him, and gestured for everyone to sit down and talk.

A few curses, one person sat down, and a slap and a sweet date landed silently. Everyone immediately sat down nervously.

At a time like this, only Madison, who was on guard duty on the second floor, dared to offer any explanation.

He then explained to Gavin in a low voice.

"Boss, it's my fault. I should have asked more questions. I was just worried that when they're out there, they're constantly on the radio, which might put them in danger."

"You son of a bitch, are you worried about your mother? If the guys out there determine that the environment is dangerous, they should turn off their walkie-talkies. If they forget to do so and someone dies because of the sound from the walkie-talkie, then they deserve to die, including me!"

"Besides, if I were truly in dire straits, I would rather die listening to your voices than face despair alone!"

At this point, Gavin sat down with an air of authority, picked up the walkie-talkie, and quickly asked Lao Feng and the other man.

"I just gave the guys at home a good scolding, and now it's your turn, you two! Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you use the walkie-talkie to let your families know?"

"What? What's wrong? It's been less than ten minutes since we last talked, hasn't it?"

Old Feng was slightly taken aback, then rolled his eyes awkwardly and said to Gavin with a wry smile.

"It's my fault. I should have told you. We were just trapped between two hordes of zombies!"

"Currently, the two zombie hordes are each more than 1.5 kilometers away from us, moving south from our east and west sides respectively. I'm worried that there might be blood hunters with a keen sense of smell among those zombie hordes, so I haven't been acting recklessly."

"After all, we haven't been discovered by the zombie horde yet, which is the best news in itself. So maintaining the status quo is the best option. Once the horde has completely passed us, we can go home safely. At least that's what I think."

"As for communications, I admit I was genuinely nervous when I saw two waves of zombies, each with at least a thousand members. I was so nervous that I held my breath and forgot to say anything over the walkie-talkie..."

At this point, on the vast grassland, Old Feng and Kelvin sat on horseback, looking bitterly to the east and west.

The grassland was extremely open, and the two of them had nowhere to hide. They dared not move rashly and disrupt the zombies' current course of movement.

So, all they could do was stay put and pray that the zombies would never find them, while they were still hidden from the zombies.

Otherwise, if their reckless actions trigger a chain reaction of zombies, whether they can escape the zombie horde is a minor issue; the real big deal is whether they will cause the zombie horde to discover the manor!
At least that's what Lao Feng thinks!

In the manor hall, after listening to Old Feng's explanation, Gavin nodded knowingly and then stood up decisively.

He stood amidst the crowd, meeting everyone's gaze, and began to give instructions to them.

"Thomas, take some men to check the ventilation and drinking water in the basement. Eugene, take some men to count the amount of ammunition inside the manor."

"I see you've already driven the cattle and horses into the warehouse. Good job. Tonight, each of you will get an extra chicken leg. Consider it a treat from me and the cooks. The cooks did the work, and I'll just give you my damn mouth."

At this point, Gavin paused deliberately for a moment, and sure enough, a few suppressed laughs rang out from all around.

After dispelling the tension he had just created with a simple joke, Gavin clapped his hands and continued.

"Martin, Anthony, do you dare to come with me for a walk on the grassland? I need to observe the zombies' movements up close and, incidentally, ensure the safety of Old Feng's team. Are you two okay with that?"

"How could I not be able to do it!"

Anthony immediately raised an eyebrow at Gavin, then licked his lips and walked up to him.

As for Martin, he frowned and whispered to Gavin.

"Boss, Anthony and I are enough, or should we bring Adriana along?"

“You don’t need to come with us, your safety…” “Alright!”

Before Martin could finish speaking, Gavin raised his hand to interrupt him.

He spoke to Martin with a relaxed expression.

"I'm not some little baby you need to protect. I'm not a boss just because I have a mouth. None of you are my match!"

"Let's go for a drive around the grasslands."

"As for the family, apart from those who have jobs, those who are temporarily unemployed serve as temporary sentries, standing guard and observing in every direction of the manor."

"Notify us immediately if a horde of zombies appears around the manor and the manor is in danger of being besieged!"

“The distance from where you find the zombie horde is generally around two kilometers. The time it takes for the zombies to run two kilometers is enough for us to ride five to eight kilometers. There’s no way we’ll be completely trapped outside!”

With that, Gavin waved goodbye to everyone and then strode away from the manor with Foggin.

Hunter Martin and National Guard gunner Anthony followed closely behind. The three of them went to the warehouse, pulled out horses, mounted them, and left the manor, heading towards the eastern pasture of the manor where Old Feng was located.

Watching Gavin leave, Eugene immediately clapped his hands and shouted to everyone.

"Everyone in the field knows what they're supposed to do, right? All the women in the field, go stand guard. All the men, come with me to the ammunition depot to check and tally the supplies, and while we're at it, try to reload all the ammunition belts that were emptied yesterday!"

At this point, Eugene took a deep breath, feeling a chill run down his spine.

The machine gun fired nearly three thousand rounds of ammunition yesterday, and those were all real bullets.

Leaving aside how many bullets the heavy machine gun had left, let's just talk about the empty ammunition belts...

This was already enough of a headache for them, because they didn't have a belt loader!
Some people say that a heavy machine gun can kill countless zombies, but putting aside the problem of machine gun overheating, the issue of ammunition belts alone is enough to give many people a headache.

When heavy machine gun bullets are taken out of the ammunition box, they are already loaded with ammunition belts, but reloading the ammunition belts requires people to do it one by one.

If you have a belt loader, it's fine, but if you don't, manually reloading can completely numb your hands!

Anyone who's actually used one of those things knows how troublesome it is to deal with thousands of heavy machine gun bullets. It's essentially like eating thousands of hard sunflower seeds – not only is it incredibly time-consuming, but you also have to use a bit of force to pop each one…

Regardless, as soon as Eugene finished speaking, the field staff immediately split into two groups.

Eugene led the men to the ammunition depot for inspection.

The women followed their instincts to Nikita, and then went to Madison's vicinity, where Madison arranged for them to go to various locations.

As for Thomas, there's no need to talk about the task board in an emergency; it's a task board, not a rigid one.

So he directly selected several guys who might know about plumbing and ventilation, such as the repairman Wells and the blacksmith Manus, and sent them all into the basement, leaving everyone else to Madison.

Madison continued to assign people to stand guard, with at least four people assigned to each side of the manor, standing in pairs at different points to observe.

Gavin, Martin, and the other two had only been away from the manor for about four kilometers when they spotted a group of zombies, numbering well over eight hundred, on their left!

Gavin frowned as he looked at the horde of zombies.

Because this could never be one of the two zombie teams that Lao Feng mentioned!

The location Lao Feng gave us over the walkie-talkie was much farther away than it is now!
Therefore, the situation where zombies break through the farm fence is not an isolated incident, but a truly widespread phenomenon.

As for the reason why the zombies are behaving this way, it cannot be definitively determined that it is due to the aggregates, but Gavin thinks that possibility is very high!

It's unclear how many zombies the death of the aggregate will attract.

Fifty kilometers is definitely an exaggeration, since the manor is already more than fifty kilometers from Richard Town.

But what about further away?

Sixty kilometers?

Eighty kilometers?

One hundred kilometers?
Even further?

Gavin felt a chill run down his spine. If the distance at which the aggregate's death attracted zombies exceeded one hundred kilometers, he simply couldn't imagine how many zombies would gather in Richard Town!
There might even be a massive horde of zombies there, numbering over 100,000 or even 300,000, and that place is only 50 kilometers away from the manor!
In addition, if the dead aggregates can attract zombies, then the living aggregates, unless they are killed by them beforehand, will also attract zombies.

Could the aggregates that survive to the end and mutate to perfection possess such abilities while still alive?
So, can the aggregate really become the zombies' information processor in some way?
Could he go even further and directly control the zombies' movement routes?

If so, what would his logic for action be?

In an instant, countless pieces of information that made his scalp tingle rushed into his mind.

Gavin frowned as he picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke!
"This is Gavin. Is ZT broadcasting? The most important purpose of broadcasting is to report the unusual zombie activity near the Richards District!"

"In addition, try to contact the flight crew that are still outside via radio, try to find them, tell them to check the surroundings when they come back, land at the airport northeast of the farm, and let them find a car nearby to drive back themselves, instead of flying the helicopter directly back to the estate to land!"

"Of course, they might not receive the broadcast, so Thomas, have someone call the flight crew every minute and a half on the walkie-talkie to ensure they are notified in a timely manner!"

"Thomas got it, Grandma Daniel will do the job!"

Thomas quickly responded to Gavin.

Upon hearing this, Gavin put down the walkie-talkie and then pointed to Martin's right.

"Martin, Anthony, let's bypass the horde of zombies and find Old Feng and his group first!"

"I'll listen to you, boss."

Martin and Anthony nodded in agreement, and the three of them immediately spurred their horses to ride a few more kilometers, making sure they had bypassed the horde of corpses before continuing toward Old Feng's location.

After walking another six kilometers to the east, they finally spotted another group of corpses.

From a distance, Gavin looked at the horde of zombies through his walkie-talkie. This horde was smaller than the previous one, but the line looked longer.

The long line of zombies only indicates that their physical abilities vary greatly, and this type of zombie horde is more likely to originate from a relatively aging community or town.

Upon seeing the horde of zombies, Gavin pulled out his walkie-talkie and spoke to Old Feng.

“Feng, this is Gavin. We’ve spotted a zombie horde that stretches for nearly 300 meters. The horde is very long, with a lot of space between the front and back, and there aren’t many of them. Do you think this could be the zombie horde that’s blocking your way?”

"That sounds right, boss. That's roughly how the zombie horde to our west is. The frontmost zombies are only about three kilometers away from the road that runs across the farm?"

Old Feng speculated as he spoke to Gavin.

Inside the manor, upon hearing the two's conversation, Cao Xinyan, who was standing guard holding her child, burst into tears.

She cried for only a moment before quickly wiping away her tears, taking a deep breath, and continuing to look at the distant scenery.

Noticing Cao Xinyan's condition, Teacher Haila took a deep breath and then grabbed Cao Xinyan's wrist.

Although a few days is far from enough for Teacher Hela to teach Xiao Cao English.

But over the past few days, they've been talking past each other while trying to understand each other's meaning, which has at least helped them develop a little bit of tacit understanding in their communication.

Feeling encouraged by Teacher Haila, Cao Xinyan pursed her lips, hugged her child, and nodded heavily.

Seeing this, Hela smiled reassuringly and then patted Xiao Feng's head.

Everything is understood without words...

and many more……

Thinking about this, Hela suddenly froze. Had she gone astray?

She was clearly trying to teach Cao Xinyan to speak, but somehow she ended up making herself mute instead.

This is not real education!
In a moment of inspiration, Teacher Hela silently prepared a new teaching method in her mind.

And the two of them stood silently facing each other at a sentry post.

At another outpost, or rather, at the original outpost of the manor.

William leaned against the terrace, breathing in the faint, rotten smell wafting in the air, and his expression suddenly changed.

"Madison!"

He immediately spoke to Madison.

"Did you smell anything? It was faint, like someone farted. Or maybe it smelled like a piece of cheese that had completely gone bad, not like blue cheese?"

"What? What did you smell?"

Upon hearing William's words, Madison was startled for a moment, then quickly sniffed hard, but he felt that he could not smell anything.

But just as he was trying to stop William from making such a fuss.

Woof woof woof! ! !

Suddenly, more than one dog barked from the direction of the botanical garden!

Upon hearing this voice, Madison was startled and said to William in shock.

"I was just telling you not to sniff around, how could there be any weird smell, and then the dog started barking!"

"William, are you a policeman or a police dog? Is your nose even more sensitive than a dog's?!"

At this point, Madison patted William on the shoulder with a wry smile.

William then pulled out a walkie-talkie and addressed the entire team solemnly for the first time.

“This is William, guys. Our dogs are barking like crazy, and I can smell a faint stench of decay. Judging by the wind direction, it's blowing from our northwest. I suspect there are zombies passing by!”

"Roger that, damn it, boss, did you guys hear that? There might be zombies approaching the manor. You five better get the hell back here right now!"

Eugene, who was in the ammunition depot, immediately took the walkie-talkie and yelled at Gavin.

Upon hearing this, Gavin tightened his grip on the reins on the grassland. Then, he looked at the zombie horde ahead and spoke to Old Feng.

"Feng, did you hear that? Don't fucking wait for the zombies to cross the border. Let's run parallel to the zombie horde and head towards the farm border where the zombies are coming from. We'll bypass the zombies, meet up with them, and then get back to the farm as quickly as possible! Hurry!"

"Understood, I'll do as you say right away. Hopefully, the zombies won't find us, otherwise we might lead them to the manor!"

Old Feng quickly responded, then exchanged a glance with the fisherman Kelvin, before desperately urging his horses to try and safely avoid the horde of zombies and reunite with Gavin.

(End of this chapter)