Doomsday America.

Chapter 336 Argument

That is indeed true.

After Gavin finished speaking, Edward nodded slightly, then pointed to the pile of biker gang corpses in the distance and the two remaining prisoners tied to the terminal entrance, and continued, "Even if they encounter us, we'll likely face medium-sized biker gangs like the one we encountered today." "After all, their leader is an Asian whose position isn't secure and whose members don't have much respect for him. I admit he must be quite capable, but his heritage means he won't gain much acceptance in this land." "So, as a biker gang leader, he can't leave his camp and lead us on our conquests like you, Boss."

"If he dares to leave the camp for even a little while, I reckon the guys vying for the boss position could stretch from the West Coast all the way to Chicago." "Even if he doesn't leave, I think he must be facing a lot of crises. The number of bikers who want to kill him is beyond our imagination." After saying that, Edward shrugged and then couldn't help but glance at the distant lake.

Now the women are bathing in the lake, and they obviously don't have the means to raise any huge curtains.

Therefore, a large number of relatively open-minded women simply used the lake as a nude beach.

Only a handful of more conservative women were still wearing their own underwear or swimsuits they had found.

Just imagining such a scene makes one want to glance at it occasionally.

Of course, most people regret it after just one glance.

It wasn't that I felt guilty, but rather that my eyes were hurt. After all, among the women taking a bath, although there were beauties like Connor's lover who were chosen by the leader, there were more burly middle-aged women and white old ladies in their fifties.

Those wrinkles, that drooping...

With just one glance, Edward regretted what he had looked at. He turned his head back, squinting as he lamented the visual assault and simultaneously berated his conscience. Noticing Edward's predicament, Eugene chuckled twice without restraint.

He understood Edward perfectly, because he had been watching for eight hundred years.

As for the impact of this kind of peeping...

What impact will it have?

Just kidding, it's not like women don't watch when men are showering.

Gavin was quite a distance away when he heard women talking about the size and shape of men, occasionally mentioning abs and such. It was like they'd never eaten pork before.

After Edward inwardly berated himself, he continued speaking to Gavin.

"But boss, no matter what, the number of biker gang members still makes me feel dangerous."

"Their numbers are expanding too rapidly; even conservatively estimated, their numbers are almost twice ours!"

"Compared to their proactive approach of spreading their nets, frantically expanding outwards, and forcing others to join, our strategy of holding our camp, focusing solely on building our homes while waiting for external aid or simply having people come to us for recruitment is pitifully slow!"

"As things stand, they're not exactly a threat to us, but I'm worried that once they reach a certain level, their numbers will snowball and eventually reach a point we simply can't handle!"

At this point, Edward licked his lips and turned to Gavin, asking him cautiously.

"So, boss, should we make a few changes, like extending our exploration distance a bit further?"

"Of course, I don't want our field crews to act like a biker gang, aggressively and ruthlessly plundering people and directly attacking other survivors' camps." "But by being more proactive in recruitment, our personnel growth rate will at least increase. Even if it doesn't reach the biker gang's growth rate, at least it will ensure that our strength doesn't fall too far behind, right?"

At this point, Edward looked into Gavin's eyes, then at the men around him.

After hearing Edward's words, Martin, Eugene, Madison, Steve, and the others exchanged glances. Some nodded, while others shook their heads.

Eugene nodded, while Steve shook his head. Eugene spoke first, without hesitation.

"Edward's right, boss. Just hearing the atmosphere at our camp tells you it's way better than those damn biker thugs!" "Once we start recruiting on a massive scale, our population growth will be way more outrageous than those biker gangs. After all, who doesn't love our legendary boss? He's the pride of Texas!" "And the most popular sports star in America, unmatched by anyone!"

"So boss, we have to get moving. We can't let those damn biker gangs continue to grow unchecked. Who knows what kind of monster they'll become someday? Maybe they'll grow as big as those ubiquitous terrorist groups in the Middle East."

"If we fall too far behind them, it will be extremely difficult for us to catch up!"

As he finished speaking, Eugene couldn't help but rub the gun in his hand.

To be honest, when he interrogated the biker gang members, the sheer number of nearly four hundred members genuinely startled Eugene. Although their structure was disorganized, and their management and systems were also chaotic, making them a veritable mob of rabble and disorganized individuals.

However, numbers are also a form of power. If the biker gang were to find a more capable leader—for example, if that Asian man surnamed Wang were overthrown by some other white man—then, given the size of the biker gang, they could easily capitalize on this demographic dividend and experience snowballing growth. The biker gang's modus operandi—forming squads of dozens of people and adventuring across a zombie-infested world—is destined to cultivate a large number of brave individuals whose professional skills may not match those of ordinary soldiers, but whose courage and action are in no way inferior.

If such a team continues to gain the advantage of unity, the threat is truly immense, and Eugene has no choice but to worry.

After Eugene finished explaining his decision...

Steve remained silent for two seconds, then quietly voiced his considerations before Gavin could speak.

He licked his lips, which had become dry from the hot wind and weather, picked up a bottle of iced cola, took a sip, and said, "Edward, Eugene, your concerns are valid. I admit even I was frightened by the number of bikers."

"But no matter what, we are completely different from the biker gang. So far, we have never captured any new members by attacking other survival camps!" "Admittedly, if we did that, it would indeed cause a large-scale increase in our population. For example, after we went back, the boss immediately released all of us field agents to search for the locations of the survival camps around us."

"What youth group, what steel group—if we truly dedicate all our efforts to searching, instead of focusing on gathering supplies and transporting small machines suitable for our use, then their location will definitely be within our grasp!"

"But what happens after that?"

At this point, Steve spread his hands, making a gesture to his men indicating that the statement was invalid.

He continued speaking.

"We're very stable now, Edward and Eugene. You've certainly seen the advantage the biker gang's sheer numbers give them, but you can't ignore the advantages our boss's system and management bring us!" "While you're sitting here envying the biker gang's massive numbers, I bet if their boss knew firsthand about the atmosphere, management structure, and cohesion of our camp's members..." "I guarantee he'd be incredibly envious of us too. After all, our boss doesn't have to face the open and covert attacks from almost every member of the camp every day like he does." "Don't forget the results we got from interrogating the biker gang members: besides their sheer numbers, the biker gang has no farmland, no ranches, and certainly no textile center like the one we're currently building." "Their industrial legacy is mostly concentrated in repair shops, blacksmith centers, and amateur gun modification—completely different from ours." "For resources like food, clothing, and shelter, they rely more on scavenging."

"But searching is only the main method under the current circumstances. I believe that in at most another six months, apart from canned food, there probably won't be much food left for them to continue exploring." "By then, they will have already become severely unbalanced and it will be difficult for them to shift their focus entirely to agriculture. Even if they wanted to, they would be running out of food seeds." "Therefore, our advantage over them is obvious: we simply don't have as many people as they do."

"But our advantage is also very obvious, which is that we have great potential. Stable development means great potential. As long as our system and personnel structure are sound, even if we take some wrong turns, we will still maintain considerable fighting power and competitiveness."

"In this way, the risks we face will be negligible, with little to no risk other than natural disasters."

"But the biker gangs are different. The more of them there are, the more food crises they will face in the future. Even now, this crisis is starting to emerge." "We have inspected the terminal. The biker gangs near the terminal have so little supplies that they are not even enough to feed those guys for a week. Moreover, the variety is far less than ours. It's almost all canned food, or a few bags of potato chips."

“Look, guys, I bet before we even have a direct competition with them, they’ll start fighting amongst themselves. Whether it’s for food or women, they’d be more willing to engage in internal strife than we are.” “If you asked me to point a gun at you, I simply couldn’t do it, and probably 80 or 90 percent of the members in our camp couldn’t either.” “But the biker gang, I bet at least 80 or 90 percent of them are waiting for a brave soul to fire that fatal shot at their boss!” At this point, Steve clapped his hands lightly, drawing the men’s attention away from their many thoughts.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Edward raised his head and responded softly.

"Indeed, Steve, you're right. Our development models and theirs are all based on our respective strengths and weaknesses."

"But what I want to say is that what is a disadvantage for them is actually an advantage for us!"

"Their numbers are bound to grow, like a snowball rolling downhill. After all, their exploration operations are crazy and dangerous, with their reach extending to places thousands of kilometers away. And because their personnel come from plunder, their internal situation must be horribly chaotic."

"But we're different, Steve. You yourself said that we're very stable internally. We have a well-established organizational structure and management hierarchy, and we've also developed agriculture and animal husbandry, so we won't face a food crisis in the short term."

"So even if our numbers increase rapidly, our system will easily absorb new people into our ranks, and our agriculture and animal husbandry will ensure that our people don't lack food or clothing." "Once we become as proactive as they are, we won't encounter the risks they face, and at the same time, we can make our camps even more powerful!" "Therefore, I stand by my suggestion: we should learn from them and recruit new people in a more proactive, even slightly extreme, way!" At this point, Edward suddenly turned to Gavin, who continued speaking with great seriousness.

"And boss, ever since the day you impressed me with your legendary marksmanship, I've always believed that in this apocalypse, there will never be another person more suitable to lead each of us survivors!" "Even if we force others to join us like a biker gang, I believe that under your leadership, those people will live better lives than they did before, especially more valuable lives!" "I believe only you can lead everyone better, boss, so it's necessary for us to bring the better future you bring to those who don't yet understand you, and are unwilling to join us. They will eventually understand us; as long as we give them a better future, they will understand!"

Hey, buddy!

Just then, Steve clapped his hands impatiently and interrupted him with an ugly face.

"What are you talking about, Edward? The stuff you're spouting sounds just like what the Spanish and English used to say."

"It's more like that so-called 'bringing freedom and democracy to the whole world' approach."

"That's what our ancestors said to the Native Americans back then, and now there's no city hall or White House media stopping us from bringing that up!" "But the fact is, invasion is invasion, attack is attack. Even if the pain caused in the process is forgotten, our actions themselves won't disappear!" "Once we start invading and attacking other people's settlements, the hearts of every one of our men will change. At that point, our existing system might not be able to maintain its original state because of this change in people's hearts!"

"So, Edward, don't change yourself too much just to learn from others. We've only been on this path for a few months, and so have they. On this road, which is extremely far from the finish line, no one can prove who is right. What if our imitation leads us down a dead end!"

"How is that possible!"

Faced with Steve's questioning, Edward simply pointed at Gavin and raised his voice slightly to retort to Steve.

"Don't forget what I've been emphasizing, Steve. I've been emphasizing that we have a strong, capable, and intelligent leader!" "Systems? Management models? Those things are useless, you know? Because in the history of our world, no system has ever been perfectly sustainable. Every system, in the end, brings decay and corruption, without exception!"

"But leaders are different. Think of Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler, and then Stalin and Lenin!" "Only a strong and capable leader can ensure that the system is constantly and correctly corrected, allowing our team and the people in the camp to survive better!" "And what we lack least is a highly qualified leader like our boss, you know? So even if we expand wildly like a biker gang, our boss will definitely be able to suppress the risks that expansion brings and lead the already more productive team to unleash even more energy!"

"Most importantly, this is the end of the world, my friends. Don't forget what a hell the world has become just because we can still sing freely around the campfire at night!" "In the future, damn it, in that future that's destined to get even worse, whoever is weaker will be swallowed whole, and I absolutely do not want our lives to be uprooted by biker gangs or some other kind of camp!"

"To achieve that, we must become the strongest, the strongest in every single aspect, in every way!"

"Boss!"

Edward suddenly turned to Gavin, looking him straight in the eye with unusual seriousness.

"I still stand by my idea: we must expand, we must!"

"But expansion must be stable, Edward. I also stand by my opinion. Stability is the most important thing, and it's the key factor that distinguishes us from other ordinary camps in the apocalypse!" Steve looked at Gavin without hesitation and shouted at him, raising his voice slightly.

They kept raising their voices, one after the other.

"Stability won't earn the enemy's mercy!" Edward roared.

"But the wrong way to expand can only bring hatred and hidden dangers within the camp!" Steve roared.

It wasn't until Gavin frowned and clapped his hands to stop their duel that the two finally calmed down.

After a brief silence, Gavin spoke to the two men who were behaving like fighting cocks.

"Alright, Edward, and Steve, you both have a point, you know? You both!"

"After all, there's never absolute right or wrong in this world, and true right and wrong only become clear after the outcome!" "But in any case, we haven't even gone home yet. Even if a decision has been made, it should be made after we've made it!"

"So shut your mouths and think carefully about how to get us home, and how to lead our team of over eighty people across thousands of kilometers!" "Instead of thinking about the distant future, that's fucking too far away!"