Occupying 140,000 Acres

Seeing Gavin eating with such gusto nearby, Eugene hurriedly called out to Doris.

"Oi, beauty, could you hand me a plate? I was scared out of my wits earlier, and I'm just waiting to refuel!"

"Oh? Sorry, I'll get you one right away!"

Doris was startled by Eugene and hurriedly handed the remaining trays to the group.

As Eugene rushed to grab a plate, his hand was slapped away hard by Madison.

Madison rolled his eyes at Eugene and spoke up.

"Buddy, we might be skipping grace before meals, but you could at least show some manners, damn it!"

"Grace? To hell with grace!"

Eugene curled his lip in disdain.

"From now on, I'll only thank the old man upstairs for not letting me turn into a zombie. As for grace, you want me to pray to this shitty apocalypse?"

"How am I supposed to pray? Thank God for turning all my relatives into zombies and flushing my future down the toilet? Screw that!"

Eugene cursed as he took the tray and spoon, clattering them together twice.

When Doris continued passing out trays to William, William stared blankly at the ground, not reaching out to take his.

"Hey... Officer, your... your plate."

Doris bit her lip nervously and nudged the plate toward him again.

William finally looked up in a daze, slowly took the tray and spoon, and went back to staring blankly at the camping blanket.

Noticing William's state, Eugene let out a dismissive scoff and grabbed a few tortillas, tossing them onto William's tray.

"Hey kid, give our little brother William some stew to plug his mouth, so he doesn't start crying and screaming again!"

Eugene continued shouting at Winnie, who rolled her eyes at him and retorted.

"I don't want an extra little brother, unless he can help me with my homework—though I don't have to do that anymore!"

Well, even a smart kid like Winnie still loathed homework.

Hearing Winnie's words, Eugene paused for a moment, then asked her suspiciously.

"Homework? How old are you that you're already doing homework? I never did homework when I was in middle school!"

"Give it a rest, Eugene. The school you went to must have been packed with gang-banger wannabes and hookers."

Madison teased, casually soaking a tortilla in meat broth and stuffing it into his mouth in one go.

Listening to Madison, Eugene noncommittally raised his beer toward him and said.

"Public or private, it's all bullshit now. Here's to the schools that disappeared, and to never having to worry about my son's grades again!"

"What, you have a son?"

Madison asked in surprise, as Eugene had only ever mentioned his sister and nephew before.

Facing Madison's inquiry, Eugene glanced at Doris, shook his head, and laughed.

"I'm talking about a future son. As for now, the woman who can bear me a son hasn't appeared yet—besides, I actually prefer daughters. Cheers!"

As he finished speaking, their bottles clinked, and they both started chugging.

Madison finished his entire beer in one go and tossed the bottle aside.

Eugene, while handing Madison a fresh beer, asked him.

"What about you, Blackie? Are you married?"

"Of course, and I have six kids—four sons and two daughters."

"Fuck, that's early, and fast. You certainly didn't waste that big frame of yours!"

Eugene was startled and couldn't help but exclaim, then suddenly thought of something and fell completely silent.

Beside Eugene, the listless William suddenly looked up and asked.

"What about your wife and children, Madison? Are they..."

"Enough, William. Don't make me kick you while I'm trying to eat!"

Eugene hurriedly cut William off.

As for Madison, he was stunned by William's words, then took a deep breath and said to Eugene.

"Forget it, Redhead. Even if the little cop doesn't say it, it doesn't change the facts. The fact is, I'm currently helpless."

"My wife and kids are in Chicago. How do you expect me to find them? Carry a cross, sing Hallelujah, and floor the gas pedal for over a thousand kilometers under God's protection?"

As he finished, Madison slumped his shoulders in defeat.

Not far away, Doris and Winnie, who had been in higher spirits, were reminded of their own relatives and sank into gloom along with Madison.

The morale that had just risen because Eugene and the others survived began to drop in an instant. A low pressure seemed to shroud the camping blanket, making even Gavin look up.

Swallowing the piece of meat in his mouth, Gavin raised his beer and said.

"This one is for the road ahead. I hope the journey gets a little easier. Once we get back to my place, we'll have something to look forward to!"

"Is that so?"

Seeing Gavin speak, Eugene immediately raised his beer bottle to clink it against Gavin's, asking, "Speaking of which, Quarterback, I really don't know where we're headed next. It seems you've had a target in mind for a while."

"To my ranch."

Gavin responded briefly.

Hearing this, Eugene clapped his hands.

"Woo-hoo, I haven't followed your career, so I really didn't know that a big star and wealthy man like you actually runs a ranch in private."

As he said this, Eugene looked Gavin up and down.

Even though Gavin was only wearing a dark blue tracksuit, the significant muscle mass in his flexed upper arm was clearly visible.

"Your physique and Madison's are certainly well-suited for being cowboys; you might even be able to work the cattle into the ground. But is your place really worth us going through all this trouble to get there?"

Eugene pointed to the withered grass and the lake around them, continuing, "Isn't it safe enough for us to camp here? There's a lake on the right, a forest on the left, the surrounding towns aren't big, and we're over eighty kilometers away from Dallas."

"If your place isn't better than this, don't expect me to risk my life to help you find your family, buddy!"

After saying this, Eugene held his beer bottle in his right hand and looked at Gavin with a cold sneer.

Beside Gavin, Madison frowned, tapped his spoon heavily against his mess tin, and cursed, "What the hell are you doing, Redhead? Do you think the boss is going home just to find his family?"

"If the stew can't shut your mouth, then that meat was a waste. Just listen to the boss's arrangements!"

After scolding Eugene, Madison looked at Gavin expectantly.

Seeing this, Gavin smiled with understanding.

It seemed Madison was also worried about the road ahead and was using Eugene's mouth to fish for information.

So, Gavin nodded, scooped a spoonful of meat into his mouth, and said while chewing, "Eugene, haven't you already said it? I'm a football star and, more importantly, a wealthy man."

"Therefore, my ranch covers 140,000 acres."

Having said that, Gavin scooped another spoonful of meat broth and rice into his mouth.

Across from him, after hearing Gavin's brief explanation, everyone around fell silent.

What was the concept of 140,000 acres?

The largest ranch in the United States, the Waggoner Ranch—which was also the prototype for the Yellowstone ranch in the TV series Yellowstone—was approximately 520,000 acres.

And the 6666 Ranch, the largest in Texas, covered about 240,000 acres.

So, when everyone learned that Gavin's ranch was more than half the size of the 6666 Ranch, they were instantly plunged into astonishment.

Watching their stunned expressions, Gavin grinned and continued, "I have a hobby of buying land. Most of my income went into acquiring it. It's a pity I never imagined the apocalypse, so I didn't get to build a fortress or an underground shelter on the ranch in advance."

"But even without preparation, my ranch is a good place for survival. It covers various terrains, including forests, swamps, rivers, reservoirs, farmland, pastures, and two mountain areas that aren't too steep."

"Besides that, the most important thing is that my ranch is vast and sparsely populated!"

"Within the nearly 140,000 acres of the ranch, there are only about three hundred households, and these three hundred households are quite scattered."

"Except for seventy-some cowboy families who live together in a small town of two or three hundred people, most of the remaining people live quite far apart, scattered all over the ranch."

"How about it, Eugene? Do you think an environment like this is worth risking your life for?"