Can That Flavor Be Right?

Seeing her mother wake up, Winnie rushed forward, clutching the gate and shouting at her.

"Mom, Edward is dead, but I'm still alive!"

"How could this... Oh God..."

Suddenly hearing the news of her beloved son's death, the woman sat up and grabbed her daughter's hand, tears welling up in her eyes instantly.

"I shouldn't have listened to your father. We shouldn't have gone to Dallas for some celebration. We shouldn't have started this trip. Oh God, is this your punishment for me!"

"How could this happen, why, oh my god, what should I do, I..."

"Uncle Red-Hair!"

Just as the woman was sobbing incoherently, little Winnie suddenly turned to the impatient-looking Eugene and spoke earnestly.

"Can you make my mom lie down quietly for a while, just like that police officer earlier?"

"What?"

Hearing Winnie's words, Eugene widened his eyes in exaggeration.

Winnie continued, speaking to Eugene.

"I think it would be better that way. I'm not the only one who thinks my mom is very noisy, right?"

"She's always like this, at home and outside. I really admire how my dad puts up with her."

"So, can you help her? Let her have a good rest for a while?"

"Aha, you little... I like you, kid, haha!"

After understanding Winnie's words, Eugene laughed, climbed up the steps, and reached out to grab the woman by the throat.

Then, he tilted his head to glare at Madison, sneering as he spoke.

"Hear that, shit-head? That's the kid's request!"

As his words fell, before the woman could even struggle, Eugene exerted force and choked her unconscious.

After dealing with the woman, Eugene jumped off the RV with a laugh and rubbed Winnie's head vigorously.

Nearby, Gavin watched the farce, flicked the ash off his cigarette, and clapped his hands lightly.

Clap... clap...

After drawing everyone's attention with the sound of his palms, Gavin said with a calm expression.

"I am glad to see more than one person here who is rational enough."

"But perhaps I am happy too soon, because there is a new danger waiting for us ahead."

"We don't have time to waste here. Eugene, drive the Old Ford; Madison, drive the RV; kid, go take care of your mom. We must go toward Ennis and take a look!"

With that, Gavin pulled a map from his pocket to confirm the surrounding terrain one last time.

Then, Gavin pointed to the intersection outside Ennis Town on the map and said to the group.

"If we arrive near the zombie horde and they haven't blocked the intersection yet, we will rush to the fork and pass through Ennis Town!"

"But if they have already blocked the intersection, leaving us no chance to bypass them..."

At this point, Gavin pointed to the area near Palmer Town, which they had just passed, and continued.

"Most of the land on both sides of the highway here is dense forest affected by the East Coast sea breeze; there are very few large open spaces for vehicles to pass."

"However, fortunately, the Palmer Farm... the site of the farm preserved by the Palmer Resort, likely still has an undeveloped meadow connected to the Artificial Scenic Lake."

"If we can't get through Ennis, we will turn back and head toward the artificial lake to set up camp, waiting for the Ennis zombie horde to pass by Palmer, or simply lure them manually to speed up their transit through the Palmer area!"

"It's settled. Everyone get in the vehicles; we're going to go say hello to the zombies!"

As he finished speaking, Gavin put away the map and walked straight toward the Tyrannosaurus.

Watching Gavin's back, Eugene stood stunned for a moment, then spoke instinctively.

"This is fucking too Nazi... cough, cough!"

At this point, Eugene noticed Madison looking at him, so he quickly changed his tone and continued.

"I mean, it's a bit undemocratic. I thought he would at least ask who agrees or disagrees or something. Believe me, I didn't mean anything else."

"If you didn't mean anything else, then hurry up and pat the ass of that Old Ford of yours. Pray it doesn't leave you and the little cop behind in the zombie horde to get fucked when we're running for our lives, asshole!"

Madison cursed, then beckoned to the little girl and carried the unconscious woman to the bed in the RV.

After settling the woman down, Madison spoke to Winnie, who had boarded the RV, in the aisle.

"Take care of your mom, kid. When I was your age, I was already hustling on the streets of Chicago."

"No problem, I can do it. If she wakes up, I'll try my best to make her go back to sleep!"

Winnie quickly replied, holding her little head high.

Hearing this, Madison's dark face stiffened.

"Uh, there's no need to be that strict. Anyway, whatever you do, don't get off the vehicle, and definitely don't scream!"

After the reminder, Madison went to the driver's seat, slowly started the RV, and followed the Tyrannosaurus toward Ennis.

Eugene performed an on-the-spot drift, swinging himself behind the RV while cursing and slapping the steering wheel, though it was unclear what he was saying.

After driving about ten kilometers toward Ennis, the Tyrannosaurus gradually came to a halt, and the RV and the Ford naturally stopped as well.

Gavin jumped out of the vehicle, grabbed his 8x scope, and walked to the front of the RV. With a running start, he grabbed the roof and kicked off the side of the vehicle to vault up.

Watching Gavin's agile movements, Eugene, who had just stepped out of his car, clicked his tongue in wonder and grinned with a wicked smile.

"Promise me, Quarterback, you better not turn into a zombie!"

"Even if you turn into a zombie ten thousand times, my boss will still be just fine, so shut your stinking mouth."

Madison, who had followed him out, jabbed Eugene with his elbow, sending him stumbling, before looking up at Gavin on the roof.

Gavin braced his 8x scope and peered at the massive horde of zombies in the distance, unable to stop his scalp from tingling.

The number of zombies in this horde was definitely more than a thousand; Gavin felt there were at least three thousand of them!

Because as Gavin looked at the horde, he saw the scale of high school students leaving for break in his past life!

The zombie horde, currently at least a kilometer away, had not only completely occupied the road, forming a nearly seventy-meter-long zombie roadblock, but the edges of the horde were also slowly spreading out into the woods on both sides.

After observing, Gavin determined that once the sprinting zombies completely lost their target, they would generally revert from a sprint to a jog, just like the zombies at the gas station earlier, and keep running in the direction where their target had disappeared.

However, during the pursuit, once a zombie fell or hit a new obstacle, the zombie that climbed back up would not necessarily continue in the original direction.

Gavin observed for over twenty seconds and spotted three zombies that had fallen. One of them stayed in place, spinning in circles, while the other two zombies that had fallen trotted off in different directions and disappeared into the forest.

As for the core of Gavin's concern—the intersection that would determine their fate—Gavin shook his head. Even standing on the RV with his 8x scope, he couldn't see a trace of the intersection, which meant the zombie horde had passed it by at least a kilometer or two!

After confirming the result, Gavin jumped off the RV and waved at Madison.

"The intersection is a no-go. Let's head to Palmer; we need to make good time."

"Don't worry, Gavin. Maybe we'll even be able to grill some meat by the artificial lake and get some sleep while we're at it."

Madison responded optimistically. Gavin patted his arm, then went to the bed of the pickup truck and dug out two glass bottles of Coke.

After tossing one to Madison, Gavin took the other bottle to Eugene and threw it to him, saying, "Stay close to me later; I'll pick a suitable spot to leave the road."

"For the sake of the Coke, I'll keep my eyes peeled, fucker."

As Eugene replied, he lifted his boot and slammed it against the bottle cap, then brought the cold, wind-chilled Coke to his lips and took a gulp.

"Ah..."

Letting out a satisfied breath, Eugene raised the Coke toward Gavin and laughed loudly.

"Glass-bottled Coke is the only authentic kind. Thanks, Mexico!"

Gavin knew what Eugene was talking about. There were two main types of Coke commonly found in the United States: the glass-bottled ones were imported from Mexico, were relatively more expensive, and were made with cane sugar.

Meanwhile, domestic American Coke used cheaper corn syrup and came in plastic bottles that didn't require an extra environmental fee. How could that taste right?