Doomsday America.

Chapter 256 Farewell and the Astronaut's Call

"help?"

Hearing Margaret's words, Thomas turned to look at the wounds on Margaret's body.

Even though she had been wearing clothes that covered a lot of skin for the past few days, Thomas still noticed that Margaret's neck was covered in bruises, her left eye socket was shiny with black, there was a laceration on her left cheek, and a laceration on her right cheek that was still healing.

As for Margaret's drooping wrist, the blood scabs left by the strangulation are still clearly visible.

Looking at Margaret like this, Thomas shook his head slightly and smiled.

"I think what you need more is rest than to do something for me, Miss Margaret."

Upon hearing this, Margaret quickly shook her head and said...

"But I've rested for two full days, and I feel like I'm almost ready..."

"That's just your opinion, Miss Margaret, but if I'm not mistaken, I think that in Boss Gavin's camp, you must first obey his orders, and then respect what I believe in!"

Thomas interrupted Margaret and then patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Miss Margaret. I have a lot of work to do, and I can't afford to waste my time."

"As for your job, I will arrange work that you are capable of once I have determined that your injury has fully recovered and you are no longer at risk of infection or inflammation."

"I remember you talking to me about your profession the day before yesterday. You are a professional manager with a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Management from the University of Texas at Austin. I will not forget your strengths, so don't worry about being forgotten by us, and don't worry about becoming a burden."

"Besides, compared to a short rest, if you quickly return to work, it could lead to an infection and delay the work progress." "That's the last thing I want from you, Margaret, and that would make you a real burden!" With that, Thomas raised his right hand, gesturing for Margaret to go and rest.

Margaret pursed her lips uneasily and reluctantly left Thomas's side.

In the distance, seeing Margaret walk away, several girls who had stayed in her camp gathered around her.

"Margaret!"

One of the girls asked her in a low voice.

"Did you get what you wanted?"

"No, damn it, this camp is quite exclusive. Everyone who has gained power here is extremely controlling!" Margaret muttered to the girl in a very low voice, then patted the girl's arm reassuringly.

Feeling comforted by Margaret, the girl took a deep breath and responded softly.

"Margaret, the atmosphere here is actually quite nice. I'm thinking, maybe we don't need to get a powerful position; the camp's own order can protect us?"

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Margaret remained silent for a moment, then took the girl's hand and led her aside.

They took her away from the hall and brought her to the botanical garden, which has now been transformed into a hydroponic vegetable garden.

Margaret squatted down, stroking a fox resting in the botanical garden, and said to the girls who had followed her, "Sisters, I'm not sure if you're right, but setting aside the degree of control over positions of power, Gavin's camp... does indeed have respect for women."

"But I want more than that, sisters. We can't rely on other people's pity to protect us!"

"I believe in power more than rules, so I'll still try for a management position at the camp; maybe I can compete for Gavin's secretary position!"

At this point, Margaret pursed her lips and then grabbed a girl's arm.

"Luna!"

Margaret spoke to the girl named Luna.

"You're the prettiest one among us; you might actually be the best candidate for the secretary position!"

"I've been secretly observing Bella, who works as a secretary, for the past two days. That woman isn't very shrewish; she's just an ordinary little bitch. But she joined the camp on the very first day of the apocalypse, so she's a true veteran!"

"So... if we want to get that position, we'll have to use some underhanded tactics!"

Just as Margaret was saying this, Doris happened to arrive at the botanical garden carrying a basket.

From a distance, she could vaguely hear whispers, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.

Her approach alerted Margaret and her group, who immediately stopped talking and surrounded Doris, helping the young woman prepare the garlic and onions for breakfast.

Doris, being rather naive, quickly forgot about the earlier whispers among the girls after chatting with them for a while. And so, thanks to the help of several young women...

Breakfast was served to us by the kitchen about fifteen minutes late.

After Gavin finished his meal, he formally discussed the party at noon with everyone, and then announced the order to take a day off today and the establishment of the Plant Rebirth Festival!

The guys certainly wouldn't disagree with taking a break.

Whether their work is tiring or easy, absolutely no one wants to refuse a day off.

With that, breakfast was officially over, and Gavin told the guys to go play by themselves.

Apart from the kitchen staff who needed to prepare party supplies and the regular patrols, everyone else was herded into the various recreation rooms by Gavin. In Gavin's view, adequate rest was absolutely necessary.

For this newly established camp, Gavin needs to give the guys enough free time so that they can better interact with each other.

This kind of communication can neutralize the post-apocalyptic tension within the camp, alleviate the sense of isolation caused by the team's unfamiliarity with each other, allow the members to interact and get to know each other, and also let them know each other's location.

Even in a small group of three, two of them will definitely play better than the third.

The emergence of small cliques was inevitable, even though Doris didn't pay attention to Margaret's whispering and didn't report it to Gavin. Gavin was also aware of the growing clique culture in the camp.

This culture actually existed after members of the 6666 Ranch joined the camp.

Before joining Camp Gavin, Ranch 6666 already had two factions led by firefighter Otto and cowboy mentor Jonathan. Even after arriving at Camp Gavin, despite Gavin's efforts to reconcile their roles and disperse them as much as possible...

They still habitually act like students in school, and even though they are in different classes, they can still bump into each other and exchange feelings when they go to the toilet.

Now, with the addition of people from Lucien Camp and Margaret Camp.

The number of small groups in the camp suddenly increased.

Lucien and Margaret were surrounded by their former companions, and Americans happen to like sticking together for warmth.

This is the underlying logic of Americans, whether in schools or in various organizations, including unions and fraternities.

In crowded environments, ordinary Americans who feel they cannot become opinion leaders often like to join a group in order to seek protection and try to gain more benefits.

This is an American instinct.

Gavin doesn't want to deliberately change anything.

After all, if his camp truly had no small groups, that would be a serious problem; such a camp would certainly be quite bizarre. Because with multiple groups, even if conflicts arise among members, these conflicts would be vented and resolved within each group, leading to conflict and confrontation. But if there weren't any small groups, Gavin worried that his men would direct all their anger at him, the leader!

With this thought in mind, Gavin cuddled Bruce the Golden Retriever on the sofa for over an hour, reading various books about the pre-apocalyptic world. Then he went to the basketball court to watch the Lucien and Otto teams play basketball.

When a group of men get together to play basketball, simple little conflicts may break out.

When Gavin arrived, the two groups were arguing under the basket.

Gavin listened for a while. It seemed the argument stemmed from a traveling violation by Lucien's men, but they denied it, claiming they learned it from James. Seeing this, Gavin quickly disappeared; he didn't want to be dragged into arbitration by his buddies for such a stupid thing.

After leaving the basketball court, Gavin, along with Lao Feng and the fisherman Kelvin, went to the river to leisurely fish.

Time passed slowly, and soon the midday party came to a successful end under Thomas's direction.

Watching the guys sing and dance, circling around the small campfire.

Listen to the sounds of greetings from all directions as you walk along the way.

Gavin pursed his lips, then went with Nikita to the nearly extinguished campfire, picked up a bucket of water, and extinguished the fire completely.

Whoosh!

sizzle...

The sound of the flames going out, accompanied by billowing white smoke and dust, made Gavin and Nikita quickly take two steps back.

As the two retreated, Philip, who was walking towards them, bumped heavily into Gavin's back.

"Hey!"

Philip, who was bumped by Gavin who was backing away, muttered a curse without seeing who it was.

"It's so good that you didn't grow up... didn't grow up... didn't grow up to look as ugly as me, Gavin, you're much more handsome than me!" Philip chuckled as he finally saw Gavin clearly.

After a slight pause, Gavin chuckled and put his arm around Philip's shoulder, saying something.

"Haha, Philip, you looked cool when you insulted me, but the way you changed your tune was a bit pathetic!"

Upon hearing Gavin's joke, Philip, who was being embraced, immediately burst into laughter.

But right after the laughter...

Philip suddenly fell silent, then released Gavin's arm from his.

Seeing this, Gavin's smile slowly faded, and then he looked at Philip calmly and asked softly.

"What's wrong, Philip? Is something on your mind?"

As he spoke, Gavin waved to Nikita, signaling her to move away.

As Nikita obediently left, Philip watched her retreating figure and then looked at the dispersing crowd heading towards the manor in a chaotic manner. He then whispered to Gavin.

"I do have things on my mind, but they're not important. I just wanted to say goodbye."

Philip didn't beat around the bush; he got straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, Gavin paused for a moment, then put his arm around Philip's shoulder again and led him to look at the extinguished campfire.

"Couldn't you have talked to me about this at a better time?"

"Why did you have to tell me you were leaving right after the party ended? Haha, were you trying to extinguish my joy from just one meal with the sadness of parting?"

"..."

When Gavin questioned him, Philip belatedly widened his eyes, then hurriedly explained to Gavin.

"No, no, oh my god, I didn't mean to ruin your good mood, I promise!"

"only……"

Philip sighed, then raised his eyebrows to look at Gavin, letting Gavin clearly see the melancholy in his eyes.

He continued speaking to Gavin with such melancholy.

"I've been here for almost five days, Gavin. I was planning to say goodbye this morning after I woke up." "But you said you were going to have a party, aha!"

Philip clapped his hands and smiled wryly.

"When you said you were going to have a party, I was a little speechless because I've never been to a post-apocalyptic party before, and I'm so excited!"

"Even if you don't let me party here, it won't stop me from craving beer and whiskey, and of course, the dazzling girls at the party—I love them so much, haha!"

"So, I changed my mind this morning. I should leave after the party anyway."

"But I forgot that this would affect your mood, my friend, I'm sorry."

At this point, Philip gently patted Gavin on the shoulder.

Friendships don't require much accumulation; as long as people are compatible and share some experiences, they can grow very deep. The apocalypse is no stranger to stories, and after taking down Morris's voodoo camp with Gavin and Eugene, Philip was genuinely reluctant to part with his new group of friends.

but……

Just as Philip was thinking about this, he couldn't help but look at the backpack he was carrying.

Noticing Philip's gaze, Gavin glanced at his backpack and then spoke.

"Alright, you pass. But are you sure you have a reason to go back to Kansas, right?"

"This is quite a long distance, and there are bound to be many risks along the way. We're men, so I won't talk to you about cowardice. I just want to give you one last piece of advice."

"Philip, are you sure you won't regret your decision to return to Kansas no matter what dangers you encounter on the way back?" Gavin said, releasing Philip and looking down into Philip's eyes.

Philip took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

"I'm sure, Boss Gavin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Philip raised his hand, patted his backpack, and laughed.

"I haven't told you guys yet, Gavin, but Kansas is my hometown. My parents have always lived there, and my mother was buried in the backyard of my ancestral home after she passed away from illness."

"As for now, haha, this disaster took my father away, but my father's death allowed me to survive the apocalypse. I don't want to relive that uncomfortable past. In short, my dad saved my life."

"And I... I must bring him back to my mother, no matter what!"

At this point, Philip's expression suddenly paused.

Then, he gave a forced, bitter smile and continued speaking to Gavin.

"What's more, I'm not just taking my father back with me now, there's also a girl on my shoulder... who supposedly likes me, but I didn't have time to fall in love with her."

"To be honest, I actually watched Cynthia's film in the Holy Valley before the apocalypse, and I even took off with her film at least twice." "But I never thought it was love, and my contempt made me overlook a lot, and even made me lose something I had always been looking forward to." At this point, Philip let out a long sigh, then adjusted the shoulder straps of his backpack and gave Gavin a forced smile.

"Anyway, Gavin, I'm going back to Kansas no matter what. I want to bury their ashes next to my mother. That's what they deserve."

"As for what happens after that, I think I might come back. I might even take my mother's ashes with me and bring the three of them back to your camp. After all, I like it here."

"But anyway, I should go."

"And you, Gavin, perhaps you can look forward to our reunion!"

After saying that, Philip gave Gavin a big hug.

After Philip released himself, Gavin took a deep breath and then whispered his instructions.

"Now that you've made your decision, take your supplies with you."

"I have a Suburban in my garage, it's really nice to drive, you can take it."

"Anyway, we have a lot of people. If I want to, I can drive back dozens of all kinds of cars in a day with my guys."

"Besides the car, remember to bring your share of vegetables, weapons and ammunition, emergency medicine, food and water, and your full set of bulletproof vest!" Gavin said, giving Philip a heavy pat on the back.

Philip nodded with a sigh, then opened his mouth to say something to Gavin.

But just as his mouth was already open...

Suddenly, zt's flippant, almost rap-like voice came through the walkie-talkie on Gavin's waist.

"Boss, boss, this is ZT. You'd better come to the broadcasting studio right away. The lovely astronauts on the space station have something very important to tell you!"

"Boss, did you hear that? Respond if you get it!"

"I received it!"

Gavin responded to zt's inquiry immediately, then strode toward Octavian.

And Philip.

Seeing Gavin speeding away, he had no choice but to swallow his words and follow Gavin to his motorcycle.

The farmland and the party area are at least 2.5 kilometers away from the manor, so the guys who came here naturally had to use various vehicles to avoid any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent them from quickly returning to the manor.

In short, the next moment, the guys who were slowly driving towards the manor saw Octavian's white-gold figure speeding past them and rushing towards the manor.