Doomsday America

Chapter 81 Fuel and Electricity

In the manor, old Bert stared intently at the telescope.

When he saw the raptor appear in the telescope, old Bert excitedly waved to the people on the first floor and said...

"Gavin went over, and they met!"

A little while later...

"They hugged! Haha, looks like we've gained another buddy!"

Hearing this, the three people in the hall instantly relaxed. William, carrying his gun, returned to the sofa facing the door, sat down, picked up a drink, and took a sip.

Winnie let out a sigh of relief, put Paige's pistol back in its holster, and then patted Bella's bottom.

"Bella, I'm going to help my mom with some chores. The boss will be back soon after meeting the new guy, right?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Winnie ran towards the kitchen without waiting for Bella's reaction.

Watching Winnie's figure disappear, Bella pursed her lips and sighed.

"The new little guy is packed with power."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bella tucked her gun into her pocket, picked up the clothes she had placed aside, and walked towards the room where the clothes were stored.

As she walked, she recounted the number of clothes.

There was no other way; she had to do more than just organize and gather supplies; she also had to keep records of all the supplies.

Bella felt it was necessary to keep a record of how many toothbrushes and face washes she had, so that field staff could replenish any shortages of supplies in a timely manner.

In the blink of an eye, William was alone in the hall again.

Looking at the three dogs lying on the nearby stalls, William sighed and called out to old Bert.

"Albert, how's your back? Do you need me to take over for you for a bit?"

"No need. I'll handle the mornings. You can take care of things after lunch, that way I can have a couple of drinks during lunch."

Old Bert greeted William, and then the people in the manor fell into a long wait.

After a long while, Doris had finished cooking and placed the food on the table.

Gavin and his group, however, have not yet returned.

Apart from old Bert, the other four sat around the dining table, looking at each other nervously.

To be honest, when Gavin was around, they didn't have any particular feelings about his presence; at most, they felt a bit of admiration and fear.

But once Gavin was gone, for some reason, even though there was no danger around the manor, they still felt that danger was everywhere!

Winnie was too young to understand the true nature of her unease.

But this unease still prompted her to keep stroking the table and speak.

"Mom, there are nine sets of tableware, right? We're probably one person too many!"

"Yes, I prepared nine portions."

"Is the rice ready? I just checked the library on the third floor; they have Chinese recipes. If the boss likes rice, he might also like Chinese fried rice~"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Doris was taken aback and quickly asked Winnie.

"Do we still have a library?!"

Seeing the sudden sparkle in Doris's eyes, Winnie couldn't help but roll her eyes and say something.

"There's no Twilight there that you always watch. Boss isn't someone who likes romance!"

"Tsk, that's not necessarily true. Gavin is a big star. He's probably slept with more women than we've ever seen!"

Bella interrupted Winnie, tapping the desk idly with her finger.

Normally, Winnie would have argued with Bella, but at this moment, Winnie suddenly sat up, rushed to the window, opened her mouth, and stared at the approaching figure with shining eyes.

Under the midday sun, Gavin, like every girl's dream cowboy, rode a steed that shone brighter than the sun itself, galloping out from the boundless grassland.

Why would a horse's hooves only tread on slightly dry weeds in February?
Meanwhile, noticing Winnie's actions, Bella hurriedly followed, and was also deeply impressed by the knight.

She opened her mouth slightly and clicked her tongue in disbelief.

"How is this possible? This... He truly lives up to his reputation. Beckham pales in comparison..."

"Shut up, don't bother me while I'm watching the boss, you idiot!"

Before Bella could finish speaking, Winnie interrupted her impatiently, then continued to stare at Gavin without blinking.

Bella glanced at Winnie, couldn't help but shake her head, and sighed.

"This is the end of the world. Otherwise, if a brat like you saw such an amazing guy too early, a tragic story of unrequited love would accompany you for the rest of your life."

"Shut up, you're so annoying!"

Winnie lifted her foot and gently kicked Bella. Bella retaliated by kicking Winnie's bottom lightly.

Winnie had no time to play around with Bella. She was patting her jeans while pressing one hand against the glass, watching Gavin stop in the garden.

After stopping his horse at the confluence of the river and the meadow, Gavin jumped off and casually tied the reins to the railing of the small bridge.

In the distance, Steve deliberately tied Anne away from Octavian, speaking as he tied up the horse.

"I saw old Bert, he seemed pretty energetic, especially considering his back injury. Tsk tsk, he's probably been working too hard lately, hasn't he?"

"Haha, I don't want to know how he injured his back. I can't even bear to think about it; it's too spicy for my brain!"

As Gavin responded, Eugene and Madison drove into the garage, then got out and waved to Gavin.

"Let's go, time to eat!"

"Okay, let's eat."

Gavin agreed to take Steve into the manor, and the moment he stepped through the gate, Winnie came running to meet him at a speed far faster than the three dogs.

She opened her arms and threw herself into Gavin's embrace, shouting something to him.

"That horse is so handsome, boss! He's really too handsome, as handsome as an angel!"

"hehe."

Hearing this, Gavin chuckled, pulled Winnie off him, and shook his head as he spoke to her.

"I hope you're just praising Ma, you precocious brat, really..."

After a lighthearted remark, Gavin beckoned Steve over and introduced him to everyone.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Gavin learned that lunch was already on the table, so how could he possibly waste any more time?

The nine people simply sat down and started eating.

Gavin glanced at the food in front of him and casually pushed the rice away.

Unfortunately, fried clams weren't a good accompaniment to rice in Gavin's eyes, so he opted for more Chamich Rolls instead.

With a crunching sound, old Bert picked up the half-bottle of wine he had left over from last night and poured himself a glass with relish.

Gavin didn't interfere with Old Bert's drinking, and he wouldn't easily speak up even if the field staff had a couple of drinks.

A qualified leader will only tighten the red line that binds the team to the bottom line. As long as no one drinks to the point of being drunk all day and unable to get out of bed, then alcohol is just a tool to relieve stress and boost morale.

In just over ten minutes, Gavin devoured nine Chamwich rolls, savoring the feeling of being about 80% full.

He then glanced at the time, raised his hand, and tapped the table as he spoke.

"It's 12:10 now. The field crew will take a one-hour break and resume operations at 1:10."

"In the afternoon, the logistics staff will continue their work. As for the field work, we will first release the dairy cows, racehorses, and chickens, and then drive the dairy cows to the beef cattle area to release the beef cattle together." "After releasing the animals back into nature, we will go to the farm town to check on the situation."

“According to Steve, the farm town is probably more chaotic than we thought, so let’s work together.”

After saying that, Gavin didn't say anything more, but left the space to everyone else. He went to the sofa in the hall and found a comfortable spot to lie down.

Eugene laughed and called Madison and Steve, and they ran to the gun room first and then to the shooting range.

After expending some energy at the shooting range, Eugene and his two companions gathered in the garage, excitedly choosing a car from the available vehicles.

It's unclear what they chose, but about three to five minutes later, Eugene awkwardly approached Gavin, looked at Gavin who was taking a nap, and asked.

"Boss, are you asleep?"

"Even if I was asleep, you woke me up!"

Gavin opened his eyes irritably and spat at Eugene.

Then, Gavin turned to look at Madison and Steve next to Eugene and asked.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"Hehe, we'd like to take your nice car for a spin!"

Eugene said to Gavin with a shameless grin, and before Gavin could speak, Steve, standing to the side, added with a smile.

"Don't worry, brother, I'll keep an eye on them and also check out the oil depot to calculate the approximate amount of fuel remaining."

At this point, Steve put his right hand on his belt and pursed his lips with a smile.

"Besides, I'd really like to open all your treasures. When you're not around, the master won't let us touch your things at all."

"Ha, stop calling me 'master' or 'young master,' the more I hear it, the more I feel like a badger."

All three of them submitted their applications in unison, so what could Gavin say? He glanced at his watch and then smiled.

"Go ahead, but don't drive too far. Just drive around on the highway within an eight-kilometer radius of the manor."

"Sixteen kilometers is a long enough for you to enjoy the feeling of being pushed back in your seat. Don't forget to bring binoculars and a gun, and also scout out the surrounding area for any wild animals."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin waved his hand, signaling the three of them to get lost.

The three of them rushed to the garage and soon drove off in three Paganis.

Noticing the loud engine noise, William, who was sitting upright in the corridor by the window on the second floor, nervously turned around and whispered downstairs.

"Boss, won't it be dangerous for them to go out on their own? Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Upon hearing William's words, Gavin rolled over on his back and then responded with a chuckle.

"You only saw them driving luxury cars out for fun?"

"Don't think like that, William. Don't focus on the appearances."

“Even if they don’t go out to play, we should still patrol the territory at least once a day to observe the zombie situation outside the farm, determine the number and distribution of animals inside the farm, and hunt wild beasts.”

“If they are tired, even if I order them to do something, they will want to take a nap instead.”

"Since they're not tired, why should I make them conserve their energy? Who will they vent their energy on then? Me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin buried his head in the sofa and comfortably closed his eyes.

He wouldn't mind giving William a talk on management.

It's just a matter of how much William can learn.

Hearing this, William peeked at Gavin, who was resting peacefully on the sofa, and gently pursed his lips.

He seemed to vaguely understand something additional.

He turned his head and looked at Doris and her two companions, who had just finished washing their dishes and were preparing to continue searching and sorting supplies.

As they walked through the corridor, their eyes couldn't help but linger briefly on Gavin.

William could see clearly that those looks were definitely not some trivial expression of affection.

Because after they glanced at Gavin, they couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed, exhaling a couple of pleasant breaths, and then went about their work even more cheerfully.

Seeing this, William couldn't help but feel a little relieved, and then looked at Gavin's figure with admiration.

"By deliberately resting in the most conspicuous spot in the center of the hall, isn't this the simplest way to reassure people? It's enough that everyone can see it."

He muttered to himself, then smiled and set up his binoculars, rotating the lens to look around the manor without stopping.

As he watched, he couldn't help but occasionally turn back to glance at Gavin again.

Even he could sense Gavin's presence, which brought him an increasingly uplifting mood.

Fueled by Gavin's quietly injected enthusiasm, about forty minutes later, the three Paganis gradually slowed down and turned from the highway into the estate garage.

In the manor, a dog looked up and barked twice at Gavin's location, causing Gavin to slowly open his eyes.

"Boss, we're back!"

From a distance, Steve called out to Gavin, then sat down on a nearby sofa.

After the three of them sat down, Steve picked up the nearest beer, opened it, took a swig, and then, with a puff of breath, said to Gavin.

"There are no signs of zombies within a 16-kilometer radius, but I'm mainly worried about the forest area."

"In addition, I took a look at our fuel depots near the dairy farm and the chicken coop, and how should I put it, they were almost full."

"Based on our current number of people, I think the oil stored on the farm alone will probably not be used up for more than half a year."

"After all, our fuel is enough for more than 140 tractors, 340 heavy vehicles, and a total of 46 aircraft of various types on the farm!"

"With this base number, we can't expect to use it all up easily with the current few vehicles."

"What's more, we also have an even larger oil storage base in the planting area."

"Even if we run out of fuel, we can still go to the Indian settlements to the east and scavenge for some. They struck oil there a few years ago."

Gavin couldn't help but smile as he said this.

It's really good news that there won't be a fuel crisis in the short term.

Seeing Gavin's smile, not far away, Eugene took the beer Madison handed him, opened the bottle, and continued talking to Gavin while holding the beer.

"Boss, we just drove towards the power plant for a bit. Don't worry, we're not stupid enough to blast the engine and attract the dead bodies nearby."

"However, we haven't seen any signs of living people at the power plant. We just don't know how long the power grid can last without maintenance."

"Well..."

Upon hearing Eugene's words, Gavin closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking uncertainly.

"Texas' power grid is mainly maintained by inland river hydroelectric power and a series of offshore nuclear power plants in the direction of Houston. There are very few thermal power plants, almost none."

"I don't know the specifics of the nuclear power plant, but I do know one thing: even if the entire U.S. power grid completely collapses, the Texas power grid can remain independent for a period of time."

There is precedent for this. During the weeks when the United States was hit by a nationwide snowstorm that caused power outages, Texas, the Lone Star State, was uniquely spared from any problems.

The strength of America's long-established industrial and agricultural continent is not so simple; the title of "Lone Star State" is by no means an exaggeration.

"However, the power grid will eventually collapse completely, and when that happens, the independent power generation device underground in the manor will naturally take over the power supply."

"With enough fuel, we don't need to worry about electricity for now. Even if we end up living like cavemen, at least we can enjoy life for a while longer, guys."

Gavin reassured everyone at last, then got up and rubbed his hair.

"It's 1:14. Let's set off. Make sure we bring enough guns and bullets."

(End of this chapter)