Everyone had climbed into the cars. Gavin looked ahead as he started the engine and said,
"Man, this view is wide open."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin pressed down on the accelerator, and the breeze quickly grew stronger.
Feeling the February wind sweep across his face, Gavin pursed his lips.
"That ventilation's intense as hell, too."
"Haha, at least we've got a car to drive. That's already pretty great, boss!"
Eugene slapped his thigh and snickered, until the cold wind made him cough twice. Then he stopped laughing and asked Gavin,
"Joking aside, buddy, what's the plan from here?"
"You had everything mapped out before, but this time you've barely said a word. Is the road ahead even more dangerous than the last one?"
"Not at all."
In response to Eugene's question, Gavin raised a hand, breathed into it, and spoke a little louder.
"I'm not laying out a plan this time because the road ahead really doesn't need one."
"Once we get past Coskana, we'll be completely outside the Dallas–Fort Worth and Larington metropolitan areas."
"If we keep going straight for 180 kilometers, we probably won't find a single town with even a thousand or two people."
"Besides, once we turn past the airport, we'll see Chambers Reservoir. Other than a loosely scattered resort area surrounded by the reservoir, there's nothing in our way. There's no need to make any plans."
As he finished speaking, Gavin slowed down a little.
The cold wind at more than 100 kilometers per hour was too harsh on his face.
In the passenger seat, Eugene listened to Gavin and opened his mouth excitedly, remarking,
"Well, that's good. No danger is good. But what about the airport? Isn't there still an airport up ahead?"
"Yeah, there's an airport, but we just have to stay out of it, right?"
Gavin looked at Eugene as if he were an idiot and teased him.
"You've never been to Coskana Airport, have you? Once the road to the airport branches off from the main road, it goes on for nearly 600 meters before reaching the airport."
"If we don't take that road, do you think the zombies on the night shift at the airport can fly 600 meters and jump into our car?"
"I only told everyone to stay alert so they wouldn't get too relaxed."
After saying that, Gavin shook his head and kept driving.
After traveling six kilometers, Coskana Airport came into view.
Just as Gavin had said, their two cars only had to turn once to leave the airport behind and keep heading toward Chambers Reservoir.
Looking toward the airport in the distance, Gavin licked his wind-dried lips and said,
"Not bad. The airport's a lot safer than I expected. My only real concern was that a plane might have crashed on the road and blocked it."
"That kind of thing happens all the time in movies, but real life isn't that ridiculous after all. We got lucky."
As Gavin laughed, Eugene's gaze also settled on Chambers Reservoir.
Chambers Reservoir sounded like just a reservoir, but it was actually a sizable lake. Locals also called it Richard Lake, since it lay within nearby Richard County.
The reservoir was shaped like the character for "person," with its two arms branching apart. It stretched nearly 28 kilometers from end to end and averaged around six kilometers wide. At its narrowest points, the lake was between 2.3 and 2.6 kilometers across.
Of course, bridges and roads had been built across the lake at both of its narrowest points.
As for the Chambers Resort Gavin had mentioned, it sat between the two arms of the lake.
The route Gavin planned to take went between those two arms of Chambers Reservoir, then crossed the long bridge over the eastern arm.
Looking at the clear, sparkling water, Eugene licked his lips and said calmly,
"This place looks pretty peaceful. If I'd known, I should've brought my sister and nephew here camping."
"Yeah, it's a great spot. You should've come camping ages ago. Better yet, you could've rented a house at the resort."
Gavin nodded, agreeing with Eugene.
Eugene glanced at him suspiciously and asked,
"Why would I rent one of their houses? Wouldn't a camping blanket be enough? Or does renting a house come with male and female models, plus a 36D wet nurse for my nephew?"
After teasing him, Eugene leaned back in his seat and shifted around before reaching behind himself, pulling out a piece of torn upholstery, and tossing it out the window.
As for Gavin, he thought for a moment, then explained to Eugene,
"Trust me, renting a house and staying at this resort is absolutely worth it."
"After a short-term rental, every unsold house at the resort comes with a free boat and a full set of fishing gear. You can also ask the resort to rent you a horse for free, so you can ride over and visit my farm."
"Really?"
Eugene laughed and said,
"No wonder you're promoting it. Turns out they're connected to your family's farm."
"You think they're just a little connected?"
At that, Gavin suddenly turned his head and gave Eugene a strange look.
Eugene couldn't tell what the look meant, but he felt insulted anyway and grumbled,
"Quarterback, what are you looking at me for? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?"
"Heh. I'm looking at a poor guy with no imagination. You didn't even realize the resort belongs to me!"
"Fuck, damn rich people..."
Eugene cursed instinctively, but the moment he finished, he suddenly realized something. He stared at Gavin in shock and asked,
"Wait, what did you say? You mean this resort that stretches as far as the eye can see is yours, too?"
"Then does that mean you're already home? Isn't your home a farm? So where the hell is your home, anyway?"
Eugene's features tightened as he stared intently at Gavin.
Under Eugene's shocked, expectant gaze, Gavin raised his right hand and turned it toward the biting wind rushing at him, then said,
"That's right. I'm already home."
"All the land stretching 85 kilometers ahead of us, and about 25 kilometers wide, belongs to me."
"Nearly a third of it was acquired outright through the consolidation of farms, forming a 140,000-acre mega-farm."
"As for the vast tracts of land centered around the reservoir, the State Government entrusted their development to me through a lease."
"That's badass!"
When Eugene heard this, he slapped his thigh hard, excitedly saying,
"I can't believe you're this rich. Damn it, I can't even afford a brand-new car. This fucking America!"
"Haha, you're blaming the wrong thing."
Gavin interrupted him with a laugh, then continued,
"This fucking America didn't just leave you too broke to buy a new car. It also let me build a resort without spending a dime."
"Don't forget, the State Government entrusted the development to me. Since I took on the project, I got an incredibly generous tax exemption—and they even gave me an airport."
"All told, I save well over sixty million dollars a year just on property taxes. That alone was enough to build the resort."
"And since I already had the land, why would I spend my own money on construction? Of course I used the land as collateral for a loan."
"So here's the question: who should I pay back now? Should I just drop two tons of gold through the White House roof? Haha!"
Laughing loudly, Gavin turned a corner and reached the sign for Chambers Resort.
Looking at the lush resort ahead, Gavin continued, speaking to Eugene, who had fallen silent,
"Come on, quit rolling your eyes. We're safe for now."
"Though I wasn't directly involved in planning and building the resort, I at least know this much."
"This ten-kilometer stretch of natural scenery has only twenty-four large estates built along the roads and sixty-four lakefront villas."
"The rest of the area is packed with so-called nature parks and amusement parks, more than a dozen small docks, and a whole bunch of snack shops and souvenir stores."
"The resort was built purely for the tax exemption. Otherwise, did they really expect an ordinary scenic spot like this to become as popular as Disneyland?"
"Besides, I never advertised the place under my own name, so the houses have sold poorly and there are hardly any tenants."
After he finished speaking, Gavin stomped on the accelerator and sped straight into the resort.
Along the roads, each estate was at least 160 meters down a tree-lined drive, and the estates were generally at least 300 meters apart.
Watching the estates pass by on both sides, Eugene swallowed and said in awe,
"The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was probably running into a damn capitalist like you on the very first day of the apocalypse!"
"I even think every one of these houses would be perfect for our camp. The mattresses in there have to be softer than the hooker I paid fifty bucks for!"
"No."
Gavin suddenly cut him off, then continued with a smile,
"This place may be sparsely populated, but the vegetation is too dense, and visibility is seriously limited."
"Besides, we have a better option."
"We have to get to the farm estate. Not just because my parents are there, but because all my guns are there!"
"Not to mention, there are countless Angus cattle there."
"Of course, at a time like this, we should pray."
"Pray that we don't run into tens of thousands of zombie cows!"
Before you continue