Doomsday America.

Chapter 223 The Gift

Chapter 223 The Gift (8k)

As he spoke, Gavin glanced out the window. The rain had come just in time, significantly reducing the thick bloodstains left around the manor.

This did reduce the workload of the camp's sanitation team members.

However, there are also downsides, namely, the area around the turf that was shredded by the bulldozers became muddy.

Gavin thought that after the heavy rain stopped, he would probably have to take some people to repair the lawn near the estate.

While Gavin observed the outside world, Sean took a sip of his coffee and then smiled.

"Boss, Feng's work will probably continue until 11:30. The office staff usually go home and gather around 11:30."

.

"There probably won't be enough time to make pig's trotters at that time. Why don't you try trusting Doris's pig's trotter stewing skills?"

"Hmm, the taste is different."

Gavin shook his head, not intending to hand over the task of stewing pig's trotters to Doris.

After all, Lao Feng and Doris have completely different cooking styles.

As for the work of the office staff...

Looking at the torrential rain, Gavin picked up the walkie-talkie, pressed the call button, and said...

"Guys, this is Gavin. The rain is getting heavier, so you can all finish your work early and go home for a hot coffee."

"Roger that, I love you, boss!"

Talatan responded that although she wasn't getting wet on the yacht, the freezing rain, combined with the low temperatures and increased humidity, made her feel uncomfortable.

In late February in Texas, outdoor temperatures remained below 10 degrees Celsius, and the increased humidity, accompanied by freezing rain, made the perceived temperature even colder.

Although everyone had a day off yesterday, we should catch up on the progress today.

But if the freezing rain brought a wave of colds, it would be a huge loss, and Gavin felt the camp didn't need to take that risk.

The real apocalypse is not a game. There are no main quests or side quests. The only thing to do is to strive to maintain civilization and build communities.

He doesn't need to rush; stability is the most important thing. If a flu outbreak really occurs, it will be a huge blow to morale and may cause the guys to accumulate resentment.

As for Lao Feng...

Upon hearing Gavin's words, Old Feng stopped what he was doing and adjusted the angle of his cowboy hat with his gloved right hand.

The rain was indeed heavy. Although he was wearing a rainproof leather coat, the cold air had already seeped through the clothes and onto his skin.

After glancing at the time, Old Feng clapped his hands lightly.

"We can rest now, guys. The boss is being too lenient with us."

"Wuhu, hot coffee, something to look forward to~"

After responding, William twisted the pliers in his hand several times.

Just now, they completed the maintenance of nearly 270 meters of fence.

Although the zombies caused serious damage to the barbed wire fence at the edge of the farm, they were just zombies, not special forces soldiers.

They would only push the barbed wire fence down and trample it under their feet, unlike the father and son who took refuge earlier, who cut a gap in the barbed wire fence.

Therefore, all Lao Feng and his team of internal staff needed to do was to lift the barbed wire fence up and re-secure it.

This job is troublesome, but not difficult.

Seeing that William had finished the last bit of work on the barbed wire in front of him, Old Feng took out his walkie-talkie and spoke to Gavin.

"Boss, this is Feng. My office staff and I are heading home right away. Hope you've prepared enough coffee."

"Okay, come back now, I'm home now."

95

Upon hearing Gavin's response, Lao Feng put away the walkie-talkie and opened his coat to shield it from the rain.

Then he took off his gloves, whistled, and called his horse to come running.

Everyone mounted their horses, and the six fine steeds trotted off towards the farm.

Looking at the thick rain and feeling the horse's jolts, Old Feng couldn't help but flick his cowboy hat and laugh.

"This tastes pretty cool, guys!"

"Haha, yeah, the coolest thing is I don't have to worry about receiving my monthly bill anymore!"

To Lao Feng's right, the fisherman Kelvin, holding the reins, said to Lao Feng with a smile.

"To be honest, I used to think I absolutely loved fishing, and I couldn't wait to go to the fishing grounds and cast my line whenever I had free time."

"But now I realize that what I actually love is not fishing itself, but the feeling of not being rushed by the pressures of life when I'm fishing."

"So you see, I've had a lot of rest time lately, but I haven't actually welded myself to the river, because whether I'm fishing or not, I don't need to worry about my bill."

"Good heavens, Feng, you foreigners have absolutely no idea how troublesome our bills are. Every time I see those bills, my head feels like it's going to explode!"

At this point, Kelvin couldn't help but show a bitter face as he recalled the past.

As the apocalypse dragged on, the grief he felt for losing his family gradually faded with time.

Instead, the wonderful feeling of losing all the bills overwhelmed his mind.

And Lao Feng—

Hearing Kelvin refer to him as a foreigner, Lao Feng felt a little uncomfortable, but also a bit curious.

So he couldn't help but ask Kelvin.

"Wait, Kelvin, are your bills really that bad? Since you can make a living by fishing, you must be at least a middle-class person. Are you really afraid of the bills?"

"Hmm, of course I'm scared. You'll understand my predicament once you hear what I have to say, Feng."

Faced with Feng Minglu's question, Kelvin smiled wryly and recalled for a moment before explaining to Old Feng.

"Let me tell you about all the expenses I have to pay every month, so you can hear how dangerous my life is."

"My monthly electricity bill is about $180, water and sewage bills are around $95 to $100, natural gas bill is $160, and communication package is $80."

"This is a basic necessity. Only by ensuring my electricity, water, gas bills, and communication package can I be considered a normal person with a house, rather than a homeless person."

"And then, an even worse bill followed."

"I have a nice house that I inherited from my grandfather, so I pay $650 in property taxes every month, which is about 1.8 percent of the house value. That's the standard in Texas."

"With $250 homeowners insurance and $300 HOA service fees, I spend a total of $1,200 a month on housing."

"Then there's the $400 monthly car loan, and $180 monthly car insurance. Because I often go fishing, my gas costs are also quite high, around $450 a month. And because I always drive the car, my daughter also needs to get a public transportation card to ride the subway and buses."

"Of course, my daughter gets half price, it's only sixty dollars a month."

"In addition, I have public service fees to pay, including a $270 garbage disposal fee and a $400 sewage fee."

"Because my house has a rainwater harvesting system installed, the sewage fee was reduced by $120, so it was only $280."

"Oh, and there's the community alarm fee, which is $100 a month and goes to the police department. This part is non-refundable and non-deductible."

"Then there are medical insurance and dental care costs, which don't need to be paid every month, so I won't estimate the amount."

"In addition, because the grass on my lawn cannot be more than 15 centimeters tall, otherwise I have to pay a $75 fine every time, I have to hire a lawnmower at least three times a month. Fortunately, a large part of my lawn is taken up by the swimming pool, and the grass area is very small. Each time I hire a lawnmower, it only costs about $60, which is cheaper than the fine."

"Then there are the rainstorm management fees and various installment credit card bills, and the damn revolving interest."

"Fortunately, my whole family is in excellent health and has rarely been sick, so we don't have any medical bills to pay in installments. Also, my wife's and my student loans were paid off with my grandfather's inheritance!"

"My neighbors are absolutely envious of our family for this."

"Anyway, Feng, you should know how much of a headache I get when I see the bill every month."

"Believe me, what I've described is far from the whole bill, because every month there are at least a few items that I can't even remember, baring their fangs at me on the bill!"

"What's more, I haven't even mentioned the expenses for food, drink, and clothing; those are the real big costs."

"Why----"

At this point, Kelvin let out a long sigh, then couldn't help but rub his face with rainwater.

Good heavens, if he didn't specifically recall it, he would have almost forgotten how terrible his past life had been.

As Kelvin sighed, young William couldn't help but clap his hands and then added to Kelvin.

"Kelvin, you should be glad your child hasn't grown up yet, so your property taxes and service fees haven't increased in value."

"As for me, haha, before the apocalypse, my dad was already terrified because I was still living at home. I'm really grateful to my dad because he didn't kick me out of the house when I was eighteen, but instead paid all the bills that had increased in value for me."

"I have a father who loves me, haha~"

At this point, William couldn't help but laugh out loud.

But his smile vanished in an instant, and his face was then completely shrouded in sadness.

Because he remembered his half-father —

Looking at William, who had stopped laughing, Old Feng sighed, then shook his head to himself and said with emotion.

"It does sound a bit shady, my friend. Where I'm from, we also have to pay electricity bills and such, but the amount I have to pay is about the same as yours, and the unit is RMB."

"So you only need to pay about twenty dollars in electricity bills each month?"

Kelvin pressed Old Feng for an answer.

After thinking for a moment, Lao Feng shook his head in response.

"It's not that little, around thirty to forty dollars."

"Wow, that's really quite lucky. Is your property tax as low as your electricity bill?" Kelvin pressed.

"We don't have a property tax, at least not now," Lao Feng replied.

Kelvin stopped laughing completely; he didn't want to talk to Old Feng anymore.

After a moment of silence, Kelvin finally couldn't help but laugh, because he remembered that he no longer needed to pay property taxes!

By this time, the group, who had been chatting, had returned to the entrance of the manor.

Old Feng and the others washed the horses clean of rainwater in the small stable, which had been expanded and fitted with a rain shelter.

Old Feng's horse was a black horse with white hooves called Wuyun Gaixue, which Old Feng loved dearly and took great care in grooming it.

The horse had a good temperament. When Lao Feng was brushing it, it would come close to Lao Feng and lick the water stains on Lao Feng's cowhide leg guards with its lips.

Old Feng patted the horse's head, chatted with Wuyun Gaixue for a few words, and then returned to the manor with everyone.

In the lobby, the returning staff had already gathered in a group.

Before Lao Feng and his group, the guys from the farmland were the first to return.

At this moment, Thomas is standing next to Gavin's sofa, explaining the potential climate change caused by the freezing rain and its impact on farmland work over the next week.

Seeing the office clerk return, Gavin raised his hand to stop Thomas's narration and asked Old Feng a question.

"Feng, have you seen any signs of zombies?"

"No, boss. Although the heavy rain limited our visibility, the farm has been relatively quiet lately. Perhaps the zombies from the surrounding area were already attracted here by the zombie horde from the day before yesterday."

As Lao Feng agreed, he took off his leg and elbow pads and loosened his limbs.

Madison, sitting at his post on the second floor, held a shotgun and spoke to Old Feng.

"Tsk tsk, I'd rather see groups of three or five zombies on the farm than be like this now, sometimes unable to find them, and sometimes having to face hordes of hundreds or thousands of zombies!"

At this point, Madison reached out and grabbed a pistol bullet from the belt, then threw it at Winnie in the hall.

Duang ~

The bullet struck Winnie in the head, causing the little girl to scream as she clutched her head and glared fiercely at Madison.

Madison then jokingly asked the little girl.

"Kid, did you have a nightmare last night?"

"I won't have nightmares, uncle. I'll only dream about my brother Gavin!"

Winnie yelled fiercely, then turned and snapped her fingers at Gavin in a provocative manner.

Gavin chuckled and waved his hand, then provocatively put his arm around Nikita and gave her a heavy kiss.

Nikita obediently stuck to Gavin's lips, and their interaction immediately made Winnie's eyes red with anger.

On the two sofas to Winnie's right, Wang Ling pursed her lips, then raised her right hand and said.

"I had a nightmare; I dreamt I was being bitten by zombies!"

"Me too, but I dreamt I turned into a zombie and was eating my family!"

Horst, who was wiping the floor next to Wang Ling, mustered up his courage and spoke up.

After they finished speaking, Eugene couldn't help but burst into laughter, mocking their cowardice as he laughed.

With more than an hour to go before lunch, everyone sat on the sofa and chatted for a while before getting bored.

So Edward suggested that everyone move to the basketball court and form two teams to play basketball.

Actually, everyone would prefer to play football or baseball, but unfortunately, Gavin's family doesn't have a baseball field, and even if all the people at the camp were combined, they couldn't field two football teams.

After all, each rugby team has at least fifty people.

And so, Gavin led one team and Edward led another, and the two teams played basketball for over an hour.

Gavin then won the MVP award with his thirty-two crazy dunks, and had lunch with everyone after the victory.

The heavy rain lasted for a long time, continuing until 4 p.m., which basically delayed all of today's work.

That's just how life is; the weather won't change just because Gavin needs it.

Gavin and his group took another day off due to the rainstorm, spending their time at home exercising, playing basketball, practicing shooting, playing video games, organizing drinking parties, and throwing parties.

Forty kilometers to the right of Atlanta, at the North High Beach to the left of Athens, inside Walton Georgia Church.

Johnny struggled to open his eyes and looked around frantically.

The next moment, his gaze locked onto the person sitting at the head of his bed.

The man had short, neat hair, a thin face with a short beard like Iron Man's, deep-set eyes, but a gentle and warm gaze, which was fixed on the Bible in his hands.

Johnny turned his gaze to the Bible, and the man reading it slowly raised his head, looked at Johnny with a gentle smile, and said.

"I'm sorry to see you this way, Johnny. Don't worry, your son Anglu is perfectly safe. My guys are taking care of him."

"Anglu!"

Upon hearing Anglu's name, Johnny struggled to straighten his limp body and even reached up to touch his lower back.

But his hand touched nothing.

At the same time, noticing Johnny's actions, the person sitting by his bed smiled, pulled out a pistol from his waist, and handed it to Johnny.

"Don't worry, Johnny, your gun is here. It's a very good gun, with Gavin King's name engraved on it. Was he your idol?"

Snapped!

The man closed the Bible, then held it with both hands, looked gently at Johnny, and continued speaking.

"Gavin King, what a memorable name. I was quite surprised when I first heard his camp on the radio."

"Then I began to realize that I am not alone in my fate. Even though the world is shrouded in disaster, there are always people like us who try our best to mend this broken world."

At this point, the gentle man nodded solemnly to Johnny.

"Oh, right, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Elijah Kviken, or you can call me General, of course."

""

"General?"

Johnny instinctively asked with suspicion, then frowned and pushed out the empty pistol magazine.

Seeing Johnny examining his pistol, the general gently shook his head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but in our team, only those with first and second-class armed personnel are allowed to carry guns."

"Of course, this gun with its special engraving must have special meaning for you, so I can return it to you, but the bullets—please forgive me, I must be responsible for every one of my members, and I will not allow them to have the chance to be shot by anyone."

"But you certainly wouldn't do that, right? I talked to Anglu for a while and I know you're a responsible father, and I admire responsible people."

"Wait, admiration? Your admiration is hard to bear, Elijah—General!"

Johnny couldn't help but interrupt Elijah, then sat up and slowly shook his head.

The effects of the anesthetic were still lingering, and his mind was hazy, but his years of experience in extreme sports allowed him to control his nerves.

Despite the effects of the anesthesia, Johnny threw off the pristine white blankets and placed his legs on the cold ground.

The cool sensation from his feet invigorated him.

Meanwhile, Elijah crossed his legs and placed the Bible on his right thigh, continuing to speak to Johnny.

"I understand your frustration, my friend. It was the rough treatment of my men that injured your son, and I apologize on their behalf."

"But I assure you, that won't happen a second time, or rather, my guys wouldn't want to invite you that way unless absolutely necessary."

"However, now that we've met, I hope you can convince yourself to let go of those grudges."

"Of course, it's too early to say that now. You should meet your son first."

"I've already arranged a house for you. Someone will take you to your new home later. Your son is there too, Johnny."

Before Johnny could say anything more, Elijah stood up, took the Bible, and left the room.

As he walked out of the room, Wesker walked in from outside, stood in front of the hospital bed, and smiled at Johnny.

"So, Johnny, isn't the general pretty boring? And his smile seems pretty fake too?"

"But don't worry, he's still a decent leader, and he didn't just have that Bible for nothing; he's a good person."

.

"By the way, I'm Wesker, your son's friend. We've been chatting for days, and I even treated him to lunch, haha."

"Come on, I'll take you to your house. Although there are two cemeteries next to it, the house is fully equipped and even connected to the groundwater. As long as you connect a generator, you can get water. You can take a nice bath there."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Johnny looked up at Wesker and finally revealed a look of displeasure.

He frowned and asked in a low voice.

"You know what? To me, every single one of you is like a bunch of lunatics. We've never met before, but you all act like so-called friends, rambling on and on about this and that!"

"Most importantly, I can't hear any remorse or apology in your words; all I hear is your domineering attitude."

"You put up those roadblocks, didn't you? You put us in a car accident and even used a tranquilizer on me, and yet you still have the nerve to call me a friend?"

"This is truly—ha, this is truly hilarious!"

At this point, Johnny stood up, supporting himself on the hospital bed, and glanced coldly at Wesker, who was a few centimeters shorter than him.

After a brief chuckle, Wesker gave Johnny a shrug in a roguish manner.

"Yes, yes, that's a normal reaction. You should hate us, shouldn't you? Everyone is like that at first."

"But after some time, you'll get used to and like it here. We're all very sincere people, believe me, the compensation we give you and your son will definitely satisfy you!"

"I don't need any compensation, nor do I need to adapt to or like anything!"

Johnny tucked the empty pistol back into his waistband and stuffed his feet into his shoes.

After patting the ground to make sure the anesthesia was wearing off, Johnny put on his coat and continued asking.

"Since you say you've talked to my son, didn't he tell you what we're doing? Our home is Boston, not Atlanta. You should know that!"

"Of course I know, and I admire you and your son very much!"

Wesker nodded quickly, then pointed to the doorway.

"Let's walk and talk. Your son is waiting for you. Don't let him worry."

"Fine, I'll see what kind of crazy stuff you guys are up to!"

Upon hearing his son's name, Johnny finally caught up with Wesker and walked out of his hospital room.

As soon as Johnny stepped out of the room, he saw a confessional, which was clearly converted from a church.

The general was sitting on the church altar, legs crossed, engrossed in flipping through the Bible.

But he flipped through it frequently, yet the Bible looked brand new, not like it had been read many times.

Noticing the way Johnny was looking at the general, Wesker shrugged and said softly.

"Don't bother the general. He doesn't really like being disturbed. As for this church, I don't particularly like places like this, but what can I do when the general likes it?"

"If you ask me, we should actually find a rich neighborhood and go to a damn mansion to rest, but the general thinks that the environment of a church and cemetery is more conducive to keeping us on our guard."

"He has quite a few supporters of this theory. I wonder what you think, Johnny."

"I just want to see my son!"

Johnny felt a little nauseous. The two people he had just met seemed a little crazy, or more than that!

All he wants now is to meet with his son, check on his injuries, and then talk to him about their next plans!

Seeing that Johnny's mood was getting worse, Wesker shrugged again and then shook his head with amusement.

"Alright, everyone who comes here is like you right now, even I was the same way back then. I'm looking forward to seeing that gift."

As they talked, the two walked out of the church. At that moment, Johnny couldn't help but look up at the sunset, then his gaze fell on the dozen or so people coming and going on the street.

Those people also looked at him, their eyes filled with expectation and hope.

Johnny was taken aback by that look. In his opinion, this kind of camp, which relied on spikes to create car accidents to recruit people, shouldn't have this kind of atmosphere!

And—damn it, aren't there a lot of beautiful women on this street? Of the thirteen or fourteen people looking at him, there were nine women, and each of them was very young. What the hell is going on?

Did they stumble upon a den of women?

As for the few men, each of them had at least one woman by their side. Were they lovers, or...?

Is this how things are arranged after the apocalypse?

Gift?

At that moment, Johnny seemed to have guessed what the gift was!

Wesker, on the other hand, raised his hand and waved to the women around him with a smile.

"Hi Lisa, hello Bianca, good evening Joshua, I'm so happy to see you all so healthy, hehe~"

Wesker greeted the women skillfully, then led a frowning Johnny across the street, walking about 120 meters before stopping in front of a house.

It was an ordinary wooden house in a small American town, with a layout similar to most houses in small towns.

Upon arriving here, Wesker stopped and pointed to the house.

"This is the house the general arranged for you. My house is right behind yours; we're neighbors."

"I'm not bragging, but I have a relatively high status in the team. The fact that the general was able to assign you to a position near me shows that he really values ​​you all."

"Of course, once you see the gifts for yourself, you will understand how much the general values ​​you; they were originally his favorite things."

"I won't go in. You wouldn't want me around you and your son, would you?"

"Come inside, have a good chat with your son, and get a feel for our camp atmosphere. I need to go home and get some rest too. Who wants to chat with a man all night? Hehe."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wesker walked past the house in front of him and into another house next to it.

As he entered the house, Johnny heard a charming welcoming voice coming from inside.

The voice confirmed Johnny's suspicions: the gift was probably a woman like the one on the street!

Lost in thought, Johnny nervously pushed open the door, only to see his son, his arms and legs wrapped in bandages, being pinned down on the sofa by a naked woman, stammering and stammering.

"Mazefakl————"

The sight made Johnny curse, and as he cursed, the woman who was busy at the stove not far away quickly turned around and looked at Johnny's face with unease.

I wonder what she saw, or what she was thinking.

In short, after she saw Johnny's face clearly, she showed a relieved expression, then ran up to Johnny, lowered her head and spoke.

"You must be Mr. Johnny, right? I am the wife the general has assigned to you. My name is Eugenie. I wonder if I can satisfy you?"

"If you don't like me, you can ask the general to change me. The general talked to me about your possible rank. You will probably be a first-class citizen. There are only three first-class citizens in the camp. Mr. Wesker, who just brought you back, is one of them."

Pfft!

At this point, Eugenie suddenly knelt down in front of Johnny and reached for Johnny's waistband.

Only then did Johnny seem to wake up from a dream and slap Eugenie's hand away, then yell at his son on the sofa.

"What the hell are you doing, Anglu!"

"dad?!!"

Anglu, who was immersed in being swallowed, was suddenly startled and quickly looked towards the door.

When he saw his father, who was in a red-hot state, he immediately called out to him.

"I didn't want to either. Look at my hands and feet, what can I do? Please help me pull her out—pull her out—okay—how about we leave it like this for now, Dad—"