Someone in the Lake!

As he finished speaking, Gavin glanced at Eugene.

Well, the guy was already laughing so hard he was practically climaxing; Eugene's imagined apocalypse was likely worlds apart from the environment Gavin was providing.

As for the possibility of zombie cattle that Gavin had mentioned, Eugene didn't seem to take it to heart.

Seeing Eugene's devil-may-care attitude, Gavin didn't say anything more; after all, he knew his own farm's environment best.

The environment of this farm was indeed excellent, with a very high initial survival probability, but countless similar environments existed across America.

In Texas alone, there were survival havens even larger than Gavin's farm, such as the 6666 Farm.

If Gavin dared to let his guard down the moment he got home?

Forget it; those were the first people to die in the movies.

However, even while staying vigilant, one needed to balance tension with relaxation.

At the very least, the damp, cold wind right now felt pretty good.

With that, Gavin accelerated into the cold wind, safely charging out of the Lakeside Resort and onto the 2.6-kilometer bridge spanning the lake.

He glanced at his watch; it was 10:40 AM.

Although the group had been delayed along the way, less than two hours had passed since old Albert had called him.

Gavin pursed his dry lips and muttered softly.

"Old Albert, I hope you can hold on until I get there."

"What did you say? The wind is too loud, I didn't catch that!"

Beside him, Eugene shouted at Gavin over the howling wind.

Hearing this, Gavin shot Eugene a look and shook his head.

"I said you'd better just wait to eat some beef, you idiot!"

"Haha, I love beef! God bless the Angus Cattle!"

Eugene responded excitedly. At the same time, the RV behind them suddenly accelerated, pulling up alongside the Tyrannosaurus.

Then, Madison stuck his large face out and yelled at Gavin.

"Boss, it's past ten! Doris is asking what you want for lunch. Are we still having rice? She can make tomato scrambled eggs!"

"No problem, tomato scrambled eggs it is. Tell her to set aside a portion for me without any added sugar, and give me some of the leftover stew from this morning!"

Receiving Gavin's confirmation, the RV slowly dropped back, leaving only Winnie leaning against the window, making a face at Gavin.

Although Madison and his group didn't know they had already arrived at Gavin's home, it was clear that the people in the RV were already feeling the sense of security and ease brought by the desolate surroundings.

That was how America was; the population of a state was mostly concentrated around its capital and star cities.

And this was Texas, the Lone Star State—the second-largest in America by economy and population, a top-tier state that dared to threaten the White House with independence!

Yet even so, once you left the Dallas metropolitan area, the environment reached the level of a highway horror movie set, the kind where Wrong Turn could be filmed at any moment.

America had countless missing persons cases every year, and most of those people vanished on small roads far from big cities, just like this one.

For example, on the vast land actually controlled by the Gavin family, there wasn't even a single police station. The nearest one was in Richard County, twenty-six kilometers west of the reservoir.

One could imagine how scarce police resources were in rural America.

And how tough and overbearing the farm owners in the rural Texas countryside must be!

Carrying these thoughts, the Tyrannosaurus crossed the bridge and reached the very tip of the Y-shaped junction.

As he approached, Gavin turned right while pointing toward the open ground at the end of the T-junction.

"That's the airport the state government gave me. It's a domestic airport, but there's no passenger traffic."

"So, Quarterback, where exactly are we going? How much further is it to your farm!"

Eugene rubbed his face in agony and interrupted Gavin, feeling depressed.

"God, I've had enough. This is the first time I've prayed to you so devoutly—hurry up and throw this show-off devil into hell!"

"He's got a highway at home, a river and a lake at home, and he's even got an airport at home! I really want to blow your head off, Gavin!"

"Haha~"

Gavin chuckled along with Eugene's dramatic performance, then raised a hand to point south of the road.

"Alright, enough with the jokes. Our journey is almost over. About two kilometers ahead is Albert's Lakeside Cabin."

"The land near the Chambers Reservoir, the part surrounded by the lake, was developed by me into a resort for tax exemption."

"And the land surrounding the lake was built by my father into welfare villas for old employees, placed wherever they liked."

Two kilometers was covered in the time it took to say a few words.

As he spoke, Gavin slowly decelerated and turned the vehicle onto a small path leading into the forest.

As they moved along the path, Eugene spat out the window and cursed at Gavin.

"Fuck, so the distance between me and a detached villa with a yard is just figuring out how to become an employee of your family, right?"

"How could it be that simple? Take Albert for example; his grandfather served my great-grandfather, and the two of them even fought in the Civil War together. Do you have any idea how many years of friendship that is?"

Gavin interrupted Eugene to explain, pulling the car to a stop in front of the villa at the same time.

Before them, a three-story villa stood right against the lake, with a full third of the structure built directly over the water.

There was nothing particularly special about the villa's yard, which was filled with poorly trimmed grass between the pathways.

It was easy to see that Albert was truly getting old; back when he was young, Gavin would never have seen such uneven lawns at his place.

Beyond that, the paths branching out from the courtyard connected to a garage, a stable, and a blacksmith's workshop where piles of scrap metal sat alongside a furnace.

The moment he saw the blacksmith's workshop, Gavin couldn't help but press his lips together.

My old blacksmith, please, you must not have anything happen to you.

After a silent prayer, he spoke to Madison and William, who were getting out of the car.

"William, don't bother getting involved with that leg of yours; go back to the car."

"Madison, get the masks and gloves. The three of us will gear up, then go inside to check on Old Robert's condition."

"No problem."

Madison agreed, nimbly climbing onto the bed of the Tyrannosaurus to retrieve them, handing them to Gavin and Eugene respectively.

While the other two were putting on their masks, Madison struggled to fit a small mask onto his large face, asking Gavin as he did so.

"Boss, will William be alright by himself in the car? Do you need me to leave Eugene behind too?"

"Not necessary."

Gavin responded curtly.

"The nearest neighbor is about 1.5 kilometers away. Even if the zombies there could find us, there would only be one or two of them."

"In the early days of the apocalypse, the locations of the zombies are basically clear; most remain near their own residences and haven't yet dispersed across Texas under the influence of animals and survivors."

As he finished speaking, Gavin pulled on his gloves, drew his tactical knife, and walked toward the villa.

He didn't have a key to the villa, nor did he expect Old Robert to open the door for him, so he went straight to the two-meter-high wall and vaulted over it with ease.

Madison and Eugene followed closely behind Gavin; despite their difference in height, their athletic ability was beyond reproach, and they both landed on the ground in unison.

Gavin walked toward the villa door, calling out in a moderate volume.

"Old Robert, are you there? It's Gavin!"

"Cough, cough, cough..."

No sooner had Gavin finished speaking than an indistinct coughing sound drifted from inside the villa.

Gavin's face lit up with joy; the old blacksmith was still alive, which was truly wonderful!

For a moment, Gavin quickened his pace in excitement.

But just as he reached the front of the villa, he suddenly stopped in his tracks!

"Cough... Gavin... you bastard... you must be messing with me!"

Old Robert's voice drifted slowly from inside the villa, but Gavin didn't move an inch, staring blankly at the lake in the distance.

When Madison and the other man arrived at his side with suspicious expressions, they saw him pull out a pair of binoculars and say with a hint of surprise.

"Holy shit, you two look—there's a naked woman swimming in the lake!"