Doomsday America.

Chapter 263 Expectations for the Sea

"To Houston?"

Gavin frowned as he listened to Claire's words, deep in thought.

Noticing Gavin's furrowed brow, Claire paused for a moment, then asked Gavin a question.

"What's wrong, big star? Is there a problem with Houston, or is it no longer a suitable place to live?"

"No, I don't know the situation in Houston either."

When Claire asked him a question, Gavin shook his head, but his furrowed brows did not ease.

He was deep in thought as he rubbed the stubble on his chin and spoke softly to Claire.

"However, Claire, you should know that there's more than one nuclear power plant near Houston."

Gavin paused for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping on his thigh.

As he continued to tap, he spoke to the three of them, who were somewhat shocked.

"Honestly, I have no idea what a nuclear power plant would look like in the apocalypse."

"I have no idea whether the land near the nuclear power plant, and the zombies there, will turn into... something even more difficult for me to deal with because of the nuclear radiation!"

"In short, my advice to you is that you'd better abandon this idea."

"Forget about Houston, my lucky survivor friends. There is indeed a vast ocean there, but there are also unknown risks." "I admit that the ocean may be beautiful, especially the ocean in despair. It must be breathtakingly beautiful."

"But the three of you probably can't handle the risks near that sea. You'd better stay with me."

At this point, Gavin shook his head and looked at Claire intently.

Behind Gavin, listening to the conversation about the nuclear power plant, Old Feng and William remained silent for a moment before Old Feng couldn't help but speak up.

"Boss, will Godzilla appear near the nuclear power plant?"

"Didn't they have those colossal combined giants in Dallas too? Damn it, those behemoths that are almost a hundred meters tall, they look like perfect prey for Godzilla to hunt!"

"Fuck!"

Hearing Lao Feng's words, Gavin turned around in annoyance and gave him the middle finger.

"Don't fucking scare me!"

"If Godzilla were to actually appear, my advice is that we humans should probably give up. Given our current population and the potential future technological advancements, I see absolutely no chance of hunting Godzilla!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin turned around and looked back at the three survivors staring at each other.

Meeting Gavin's gaze, listening to Gavin's words.

Aaron, the only man among the three, spoke softly to Gavin.

"Gavin, things can't be as serious as you're making them out to be, can they?"

"The monster in Dallas. I glanced at it when I passed through Dallas. It just looked like a bunch of wriggling corpses. It couldn't possibly be spitting out any quantum rays. It's dangerous, but not that dangerous. As long as we figure out its reaction range, it will stay there quietly forever."

"As for whether I should go to Houston... or live with you?"

"I don't know, I have to ask my partners, their opinions are very important to me."

At this point, Aaron looked at the two women who were only wearing tank tops and hot pants.

Meeting Aaron's questioning gaze, Claire, the blonde of the two women, turned to Gavin and asked in a low voice.

"Gavin, I had no idea how many of you there were!"

"Aha~"

When faced with Claire's question, Gavin gave a rare, bright smile and responded softly.

"You've hit a nerve. My survivor friend, I have at least 120 people in my camp, and they're all great guys because I've taken down every cultist I've ever met."

"So, the remaining people may have all sorts of personality problems, but we're definitely not abnormal, understand?"

"Come and see my camp, then decide whether you want to stay. If you really yearn for that sea near Houston, I won't lock you up and forbid you to leave. Why not spend a few days with us first, and then decide whether to stay or leave? What do you say?"

At this point, Gavin stood up from his boss's chair and waved to the three of them.

"Don't hesitate, just do as I say. My guys will worry if I'm gone too long. Let's go home first." "Uh, okay... I hope your camp is as good as you say."

Aaron nodded helplessly to Gavin, though he didn't really want to go to Gavin's camp.

Unlike the other survivors, Aaron and his two companions lead a truly colorful life of survival, as they don't actually like to confine themselves to a particular camp.

Besides, they had already experienced being mistreated in their previous camp.

But Gavin and his two companions, fully armed, cornered them inside the villa, not to mention that Gavin only wanted to take them back to the so-called camp.

With the dangerous weapons Gavin and his companions carried, how could Aaron and his friends not understand?

Even if Gavin made the three of them kneel down and lick his shoes, wouldn't they have no choice but to comply?

They don't have the right to refuse now.

With these thoughts in mind, Aaron and the other two exchanged uneasy glances, then left the master bedroom with Gavin.

The two women, wearing tank tops and shorts, found their original jackets, which were two slightly warmer winter denim jackets, and covered their upper bodies with them.

As for the lower bodies of those two women...

Well, even when they went out, they were still only wearing hot pants, exposing their bare thighs to the cold wind of early spring.

However, Gavin and his two companions weren't interested in thighs, especially thighs that had just been played with in front of them.

The three of them quickly left the villa, crossed several hundred meters to return to their own car, and then drove the War Shield to the villa's entrance. Aaron and his two companions then had clearly defined roles.

Aaron then removed their own generator, which was currently connected to the villa's electrical system, and together with Claire, carried it back to their pickup truck.

Sienna then packed up all the temporary supplies the three of them had moved into the villa.

Not long after, Aaron's Pikachu followed Gavin's shield and headed towards the manor.

But just as the two cars got on the road...

Gavin was shocked to discover that an unparalleled beam of light was shining from the car behind them, illuminating the road for nearly three hundred meters ahead! "Holy crap!!"

The moment the light appeared, Old Feng, who habitually looked in the rearview mirror, almost blinded himself.

"Who the hell threw that flashbang?!"

Old Feng shouted in surprise!

William rubbed his scalp helplessly, trying to look straight ahead, before explaining.

"Those flashlights are industrial type, damn it. In urban areas, light sources that can be used as weapons are generally not allowed, as they would cause extremely absurd light pollution."

"I guess they probably lived in a mine, and a really well-equipped one at that. These super flashlights that can light up half the night sky aren't exactly cheap, and they're quite rare."

"Yeah, damn, this thing is fucking awesome!"

Listening to William's explanation, Old Feng spoke to Gavin while driving.

"Boss, we probably need a batch of these super flashlights too. Damn, the sense of security is incredible when these things illuminate the night. I feel like I can even see every shadow in the darkness!"

"That's right!"

Upon hearing this, Gavin rubbed his hat and stared in shock at the terrifying light.

"Feng, this thing can not only light up the night, but it can also be used as a weapon. I think its brightness is even more outrageous than a flashbang!" Gavin made a decision quickly as soon as he finished speaking.

They absolutely need this kind of super flashlight, which is infinitely more outrageous than a searchlight.

This thing is incredibly efficient at illuminating the night; no wonder I could see a patch of light from the resort even from that great distance! Keep in mind, the resort is over twelve kilometers away from William's outpost.

Even though the villa Aaron and his companions chose was relatively closer to the outpost, it was still about ten kilometers away. To put that into perspective, even if all the lights in the resort were turned on, they wouldn't be able to see the resort's lights from ten kilometers away from the outpost! But that's how ridiculous the super flashlight was!

The beam of that one flashlight was almost brighter than the entire resort!

And so, amidst the reflections of Gavin and his two companions.

Guided by the super-bright lights, the car approached the vicinity of the sentry post.

At approximately the same time, over the walkie-talkie…

Holy crap!

Nikita's cursing suddenly rang out.

"What is that, Gavin? Have you gotten close? We can't see anything anymore. I even feel like you've brought a sun to our vicinity!"

"..."

Hearing Nikita's shocked voice, Gavin chuckled and took out his walkie-talkie to reply.

"That's pretty outrageous, isn't it, Nikita? I found three survivors, and they have a terrifyingly powerful flashlight. You've already seen the effects!"

"Eugene, go to the window and see the power of this damn flashlight, then think carefully about where you can find something similar!"

"We need this good stuff, we need lots of it, the more the better!"

"Aside from the guys heading to Livingston Lake, all other field crew members should prioritize targeting these damn flashlights!"

At this point, Gavin put down the walkie-talkie and parked the car near the sentry post.

William got off the bus and switched shifts with Nikita.

In the car behind, as Lao Feng stopped the car, Aaron turned off his flashlight and then opened the window to shout to Kelvin on the sentry post.

"Wow, you even have sentries on duty! Looks like you have quite a few people!"

"Of course, newcomers, you'll be able to see our camp soon. Enjoy your new life here!"

Kelvin rubbed his eyes and finally saw Aaron and his pickup truck clearly, then called out to Aaron.

After a brief exchange, Aaron waved to Kelvin, then retreated into the car and closed the window.

As Aaron started the car to keep up with the Shield, he spoke to Claire and Sienna in a heavy tone.

"This is bad, my dear ladies. This camp... is much bigger than we thought. They might actually have hundreds of people." "Yeah, damn it, we thought they only had a dozen or twenty people at most, like our original camp."

Claire nodded quickly, then rubbed her hair in frustration and continued speaking unhappily.

"We originally only had a dozen or so people, and we've already split into three chaotic camps. Damn it, I can't even imagine what kind of mess a camp with a hundred or so people would become!"

"I fucking never want anyone sneaking into my room, grabbing my neck, and tearing my clothes again!"

"Hundreds of people, damn it, even I could guess how many shameless bastards were in there!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Claire let out a frustrated sigh.

Beside her, Sienna gently took Claire's hand and whispered something.

"Stop it, Claire, control yourself. We have no choice!"

As she spoke, the lights of the manor came into view.

And so, they watched the lights draw ever closer, and the figures appearing and disappearing in the windows of the manor.

Sienna concluded by speaking to Aaron and Claire.

"We were caught by them, guys. We don't have much freedom to speak of. We're lucky as long as we're not treated cruelly! It's the end of the world, we can't ask for too much, but if Gavin keeps his word and doesn't stop us, we should try to get out of this crowded, hellish place as soon as possible!"

"That's right!"

Aaron picked up where Sienna left off, taking a deep, annoyed breath.

"There are advantages to having more people, but I've seen the downsides. Even if this camp looks good now, there will always be trouble in the future."

"Anyway, the zombies aren't too difficult to deal with yet. As long as we have a decent car, we can get by in the apocalypse." "If you ask me, we should go to the beach, find a great boat, and go to a nearby island—that's true paradise!" "Exactly!"

Claire nodded excitedly beside her.

"Going to an island is the best option. I...sigh...I hope they'll let us go..."

Just as Claire finished speaking, the three of them had already parked the car at the entrance of the manor.

Inside the manor, Thomas had already arrived with his less-trained support staff.

Gavin watched as a large group of twenty or thirty people poured out of the hall, eagerly greeting the crowd.

The three people who were just discussing going to the island were now completely speechless.

It wasn't until there was a knock on their car door that the three of them suddenly realized what was happening and sat up straight.

Meanwhile, outside the pickup truck.

Horst patted the car door, looking confused.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you all asleep? Why aren't you getting off the bus?"

"We're getting off now!"

Claire responded in shock, then quickly took a moment to speak to Aaron and Sienna.

"Guys, how long has it been since I've seen this many people? I'm a little uneasy, but I have to admit, I'm actually a little moved!" "Same here!"

"Me too!"

After a brief exchange, the three finally got out of the car.

As they got out of the car, Gavin, surrounded by the crowd, put his arm around Thomas's shoulder and said...

"Thomas, these three new recruits seem to be considering leaving. Try to win them over; keep them if possible, we're desperately short-handed."

"Yes, sir, I will do my best."

After answering, Thomas immediately left Gavin and went to Aaron's trio.

And so, Thomas led the trio on a tour of the entire manor before finally settling them into a relatively luxurious private room for the night. The night passed, and the next morning arrived.

The entire helicopter crew was deployed, and Gavin also led two field teams to Livingston Lake.

As Gavin left, the camp's field members dispersed to various areas near the manor to begin their daily exploration work. As for Aaron's trio...

They slept soundly last night and took more than one shower.

It was around ten in the morning when the three of them gathered in the manor's bar, clutching their glasses in a daze, whispering amongst themselves. Aaron muttered to himself as he took a swig of whiskey.

"Claire, Sienna, they've started farming, they've raised cows and horses, and chickens too! And their chef is amazing, the food is absolutely delicious, I felt like I was eating at a five-star restaurant!"

"Yeah, damn it, this place...this place is definitely not what I expected!"

Sienna nodded excitedly; she absolutely loved it here!

But Claire...

Looking at her excited companions, Claire cursed in frustration.

"Dog shit."

"What?"

Sienna glared at Claire, annoyed by her rebuke.

Claire shook her head and said with a wry smile.

"You only see that this camp looks nice, but what I see here... is an extreme imbalance between men and women. I've seen so many different kinds of men, some fierce, some fearless, and some who seem quite gentle, but they are all men, and there are very few women."

"I think this is a potential problem, but even if it weren't, I wouldn't stay here!"

"Before the apocalypse, I'd been working for over ten years. And now I have to work again after the apocalypse? Screw that! I don't care how many people are around me. I just want to go somewhere I like. I want to go to an island!"

At this point, Claire looked at Aaron.

Sienna then looked at Aaron, and saw her holding Aaron's hand as she spoke.

"Aaron, please talk to her for me. You should know this is a good choice. There are old people, children, women, hundreds of people, farmland, cattle, horses, and a blacksmith's shop. It's practically a small town, a healthy small town!"

"Stop talking nonsense, Sienna. I'm just asking if you want to continue. I'm definitely going to Houston. To hell with the nuclear power plant, what does that have to do with us!"

Hearing Sienna's words, Claire stood up unhappily and left the bar, fueled by alcohol.

This is their first day at the camp, and as is customary, they don't need to do any work today.

So, an unhappy Claire left the bar and went back to their room to hide.

Watching Claire's retreating figure, Aaron sighed helplessly, then looked at Sienna's expectant eyes.

A moment later, Aaron released Sienna and whispered.

"Actually, I quite like it here too, but... if you insist on staying, won't Claire be all alone?" "If she wants to leave, I'll most likely go with her. You have over a hundred companions at Gavin's camp, that's enough." "Besides, I also want to know what the ocean is like now. If we can find a suitable island, then even if Gavin's camp is destroyed, our island might still be intact."

"Houston, and the ocean..."

"I really want to know what it's like there now. Is it still as beautiful as it used to be?"