The Manor Reclamation Plan

With this in mind, Gavin shook his head vigorously, trying to banish those gloomy thoughts from his mind.

He then waved a hand at the woman, who was still shivering and babbling about calling the police.

"Hey."

"We have to call the police, hurry up and call them, we... huh? Gavin, are you talking to me?" The woman looked up, dazed.

"Yeah, I have to tell you, don't bother with the police, because everyone in the world has already turned into a zombie."

Gavin gestured helplessly at her, and the woman fell into an immediate silence.

After a long moment of silence, the woman finally spoke to Gavin.

"If anyone else told me this, I'd think I was being tricked, that it was some conspiracy by the company that created the zombies to make me shut up... ch-ch-ch..."

"But since it's Gavin King saying it... God, I always thought the only disaster movie that would actually come true was 2012, but you're telling me it's World War Z..."

As she spoke, the woman tilted her head back in a daze, clutched her jacket, took a deep breath, and muttered under her breath.

"Who would want a future like this... ch-ch-ch..."

Accompanied by the woman's lament, the small boat slowly approached the dock.

Watching Eugene jump onto the pier, the woman stood up shakily, holding her jacket closed over her chest with her left hand, and habitually reached out her right hand toward Gavin.

Gavin glanced at her, stepped onto the dock, and said.

"Follow me, go to the villa and get some rest."

With that, Gavin walked away, leaving the woman with her mouth slightly agape for a moment before she braced her legs, which were frozen to a bluish-purple, and scrambled onto the dock to trot after him.

When Gavin returned to the villa, he saw Old Robert already sitting on the sofa, holding a warm cup of water and wrapped in a blanket.

Seeing the woman clutching her denim jacket from afar, Old Robert habitually whistled and laughed.

"Wow, a woman actually walking around without clothes. So, whose damn denim jacket is that? Redhead, are you being a busybody again?"

"Hey!"

Hearing Old Robert's words, before Eugene could even respond, the woman who had just rushed into the house stood behind Gavin and snapped at Old Robert.

"You shitty old white man, is that the same look you give your mother!"

"Haha, save it, kid. Your body isn't even as good as my third girlfriend's after my divorce. Don't think I'm too old to get it up; there's just nothing here worth my respect~"

Old Robert retorted bluntly, leaving the woman standing there in stunned confusion.

Seeing the woman's bewildered expression, Eugene chimed in with a huff.

"Is that the only line you know about looking at someone's mother? Listen, sweetheart, if I were you, I'd get to the bathroom fast. Take a hot shower and warm up before the power and water go out!"

With that, Eugene turned to Gavin and asked.

"What do you think, Boss? Can we rest here for a bit? It's not far from the farm anyway."

As he finished, Eugene and Madison looked toward Gavin, who, after a brief moment of thought, gave a slight nod.

"Fine. As it happens, there's still some trouble over at the farm. Madison, Eugene, go bring the cars in, and have Doris help the girl find some clothes."

"Got it, got it. I really am just a worker bee~"

Eugene grumbled in agreement, then left the villa with Old Mac.

As for the half-naked woman...

Don't be ridiculous; they were just joking around and having a bit of fun. No one was going to stare like a child.

In America, unless you're autistic, you have countless opportunities to see strangers naked.

Since 2003, in major American cities like Houston and Dallas, there have been multiple large-scale nude protests organized and participated in by women every summer.

This is why American feminism is actually welcomed by some men—it really does have its perks.

While American feminism has its extremist factions, setting those aside, they mostly emphasize that women should have the same rights as men, rather than demanding that men be stripped of theirs.

For example, regarding men often going shirtless in the summer, American feminists mostly emphasize that if men can go shirtless, women should be able to as well!

So, they would rather march topless than demand that all men be forced to wear shirts in the summer.

It's easy to imagine just how open-minded America has become under the influence of such feminist thinking.

Every summer, when you walk down the streets of a middle-class neighborhood, you can see girls in bikinis partying in their yards everywhere.

When the drinks start flowing, those girls occasionally take off their bikini tops, not to mention the more popular influencer beaches.

In contrast, the slums aren't as open as the middle-class neighborhoods; after all, if you're too exposed in the slums, you really might get raped.

After all, the police presence in poor communities is more than ten grades lower than in middle-class ones.

So, if you've been in America for three years and haven't seen at least three hundred pairs of tits, you should probably ask yourself if you've been living in the slums or if you're just too shy to fit into American society.

Back to the point: while Madison and the others went to get the cars, Old Robert pointed out the bathroom to the woman from the lake.

Once the woman headed to the bathroom, only Old Robert and Gavin remained in the hall.

At this, Old Robert finally let out a long breath and asked Gavin with a sigh.

"Now that it's just the two of us, little Gavin, I have to ask: what you said on the phone earlier... it really wasn't some kind of prank, was it?"

As his words faded, Old Robert lifted his clouded, aged eyes to look at Gavin with expectation.

On these large southern ranches, cowboys from different towns didn't interact much; aside from drinking, chasing women, and shooting the breeze, they mostly spent their time pulling elaborate pranks on one another.

At this moment, Old Robert wished more than anything that this was all just a prank.

Phone lines could be jammed, everyone ignoring him could have been a coordinated effort, and even the two kids and the woman following Gavin could have been hired actors.

And that, right now, was Old Robert's greatest hope.

Looking into Old Robert's expectant eyes, Gavin wanted nothing more than to say it was just a prank.

But in the end, he sat down beside Old Robert, took off his mask, and looked at him with a solemn expression.

Before Gavin could even speak, Old Robert hurriedly turned his head away and spoke to Gavin in a rapid-fire tone.

"Alright, don't say it. Your expression is just as stupid as those officers in the movies who show up at people's houses to deliver death certificates!"

"Ever since the North collapsed, I thought I'd never have to worry about seeing that damn look in real life again. Screw it."

"Today is truly a hell of a day. I lost two children today, but luckily, I still have one child I watched grow up who came back alive."

As he said this, Old Robert leaned his head against the back of the sofa and offered Gavin a very forced smile.

Gavin sighed, reached out to rest his hand on Old Robert's shoulder, and remained silent for a long time.

Amidst this silence, Madison pushed open the door carrying a bowl of vegetable salad and called out to Gavin with a cheerful grin.

"Boss, Doris was way faster with this meal than she was this morning. She made tomato scrambled eggs, tomato pasta, and even whipped up a huge bowl of salad. It's fucking awesome!"

As he finished speaking, Madison couldn't wait to set the salad down in front of Gavin, pointing at the thick dressing on top.

"Look at this! When we were in training, we couldn't even get this much salad dressing in half a year!"

"Is that so? I guess the apocalypse has at least a few things worth looking forward to~"

Gavin responded with a smile, then gave Old Robert's shoulder a comforting pat before standing up to take the salad to the kitchen.

Eugene and the others also entered the room carrying various dishes, and as Gavin pointed toward the kitchen, the small table there was soon filled with plates.

However, they couldn't start eating just yet; after all, there were two new people in the group, one of whom was still in the bathroom, and Doris had gone to bring her some clothes.

While waiting for the two women to leave the bathroom, William sat in the dining area, Eugene and Old Mac stood before Gavin, and Winnie sat on a single-seater sofa to the side.

Seeing that Eugene looked like he wanted to say something, Gavin asked.

"What is it? Are you rushing me to say grace before we eat?"

"No, just waiting for the ladies to come eat, and... I wanted to talk about the plans for this afternoon."

Eugene replied with a sheepish laugh.

Hearing this, Gavin rubbed his forehead and replied in a low voice.

"Originally, I planned to rest at my own lakeside villa, three kilometers away from here."

"But resting at Old Robert's place is fine too, and there's an extra blacksmith shop here."

"As for after our short rest, Eugene, Madison, I'm afraid we're going to have to face a real challenge."

"We need to scout my ranch estate and then attempt to take it back. I suspect there will be at least seventy zombies there!"