Doomsday America

Chapter 117 The Sound from 400 Kilometers Away (10k)

"Wow."

Seeing Horst lying on the ground in a sorry state, Steve grinned maliciously. He then knelt down in front of Horst, grabbed his chin, and lifted his head to face Gavin.

After Gavin saw Horst's condition, Steve grinned and spoke.

"What is this scene, buddy? I think I've stumbled into a cult ritual. But as far as I know, my friends aren't the kind of people who would do something like this."

At this point, Steve turned to Gavin and continued with a cold laugh.

"So, boss, what he think he did that was so outrageous that Eugene and Bella, those two fighting dogs, are now standing on the same side, coldly watching him?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Steve raised his free hand and gently patted Horst's face.

"Hey, stop playing dead, buddy. I don't think your face is serious enough to kill you. If you don't tell us your problem, the boss will have to ask everyone else."

"I can't guarantee that people won't exaggerate or embellish your story when they talk about your issues!"

After saying that, Steve grabbed Horst's face and slapped him hard. Horst took a deep breath, then painfully opened his eyes and looked in Gavin's direction.

“Gavin, you’re finally back. I… I just…”

"Wait a minute, let me sit down first. I'm exhausted after a long day, buddy."

Horst had barely opened his mouth when Gavin interrupted him, then walked to the sofa next to the armor, which was his own.

At this moment, all the logistics team members were sitting to Gavin's right, while Eugene and Martin were casually sitting to Gavin's left.

Gavin keenly noticed this seating arrangement and realized that everyone in the camp had developed a habit of assigning logistics and field duties.

As Gavin interrupted Horst's walk to the sofa, Eugene immediately burst into laughter, nudging Martin's arm as he spoke.

"See that, you idiot? I told you Gavin wouldn't blame me for beating him up, and the boss wouldn't say a word for that bastard. He's a great boss, otherwise why would I obey him? Haha~"

Amidst the laughter, Eugene patted Martin heavily on the shoulder.

"You lost a pack of cigarettes to me, buddy. When you become an explorer, don't forget that one of the cigarettes you find is mine!"

"cut!"

Martin gave a dismissive reply, then crossed his legs and waited for Gavin to deal with Horst.

Although Gavin was his idol, Martin wasn't the kind of fan who would obediently die if his idol told him to.

As for whether Gavin sides with Horst or not, there's really no need to discuss that.

Looking at the pitiful Horst on the ground, Gavin didn't care why he had been beaten up.

All Gavin knew was that when all the members of his team showed considerable dissatisfaction with one person, even to the point of resorting to vigilante justice.

Even if that person is truly a good person, he must be punished, or even killed.

Because at times like this, Gavin isn't thinking about right or wrong, but rather about calming the dissatisfaction of all team members.

But what exactly did Horst do?
Gavin was actually quite curious.

So he found a comfortable position on the sofa, waved to Horst from afar, and laughed.

"Alright, buddy, I've sat down. Tell me your story, let me know what you did and why Eugene beat you up."

As he spoke, Gavin beckoned to Nikita and Old Man Mac, and the two immediately sat down to Gavin's left.

From this position, Gavin can see that the logistics staff actually consider themselves to be inferior to the field staff.

After all, Gavin preferred to lie on the right armrest of his sofa, and when he sat like that, his gaze would fall more on his left side.

Don't think that Americans don't have similar complexities. Don't be ridiculous. Americans just don't talk about those things with the working class.

As for the American upper class, didn't you see that when a certain blond-haired man hosted a dinner at the White House for the Facebook president and his former supporters of Hillary Clinton, he directly made an oppressive demand on those guys at the dinner table to invest hundreds of billions of dollars?

Isn't that just another form of dining culture?
In short, after Nikita and the other person sat down, they sat there and tidied up the bloodstains on their bodies.

Horst met Steve's fierce gaze and spoke with a wronged expression.

"I... okay, I'll..."

He stuttered a little.

Before Gavin returned, he had prepared a lot to say, but when Gavin interrupted him, all his preparations were in vain, and his train of thought was broken!

As for now.

He stood there for a long time, then spoke haltingly.

“I…I’m sorry, I did something stupid. I left Eugene on the road and he ran away.”

"Fuck you, how dare you say that? You three bitches, why don't you just die!"

The moment Horst finished speaking, Eugene couldn't wait to yell a curse, and then rattled off everything that had happened that afternoon to Gavin and the other three.

He also boasted about how he used the skills he learned from the Ennis town police to beat Horst into that grotesque state.

After about a few minutes.

Eugene finished telling the whole story, and then ended it with a few dirty words.

After figuring everything out, Gavin frowned.

Horst and Eugene were working together when they encountered two zombies just 600 meters away. Horst then abandoned Eugene and ran away, even taking Eugene's car with him!

This is not a good thing. Horst had only been at the camp for four days when he tore apart the team culture that Gavin had maintained, which was based on unity and mutual assistance, into a complete mess.

The style of a team is basically formed after the first five team members get to know each other.

If Gavin's initial survival position had been the prison, and he had led a group of inmates, his team would not have been as docile as it is now.

Gavin can lead good people and bad people alike; it's just a matter of how he does it!
Among the survivors Gavin has encountered so far, there is a relatively scoundrel-like tough guy like Eugene, but the team as a whole tends to have a united atmosphere, which is completely contrary to Horst's selfish approach!

This incident... is truly a typical example.

To put it bluntly, this was tantamount to murdering a teammate. What if there had been two hundred or two thousand zombies instead of just two?

Unless William and the others seize the opportunity to bring Eugene back, Eugene is doomed.

But this matter isn't serious; it's just two zombies, and Eugene wasn't injured at all. Gavin would really be reluctant to kill a visible source of labor like Horst for this.

There are only thirteen of them!
So, after a brief moment of thought, Gavin licked his lips and then spoke softly to Eugene.

"Eugene, I'm so glad that none of our field crew members have encountered a guy like Horst yet, otherwise... at least a few of us would have died this morning!"

"Speaking of which, guys, we don't really have any rules for punishing sins in our camp yet. So let's start from now on and gradually improve the various regulations of the camp."

At this point, Gavin couldn't help but scratch his head again.

After all, the formulation of laws and regulations is not a simple matter.

With his current influence, proposing regulations is too easy for him. As long as he doesn't come up with outrageous regulations like banning women from wearing underwear or prohibiting men from talking to women, as long as the regulations seem acceptable, everyone will follow them for a while.

However, arbitrarily proposing regulations may lead to oversights, and if he frequently changes his policies based on these oversights, his leadership and credibility will quickly vanish.

The punishment for the crime of abandoning teammates seems simple; it seems that all it takes is for the person who abandons teammates to die.

Just like in the military, those who retreat die.

The problem is that those rules are not suitable for small teams operating in situations where there is a lack of supervision!
For example, Gavin's team currently consists of only a few people, and when conducting field explorations, they usually work in groups of two to five.

In this situation, how should they define the degree of abandoning teammates? If four people go out and three come back alive, does that count as abandoning teammates?

If three or four people go out and only two come back alive, will one of them falsely accuse the other of abandoning their teammate? With both sides sticking to their own stories, how should Gavin decide?

If one of them is afraid of being reported by the other for abandoning his teammate and ends up being killed by Gavin, would he simply kill the other person to eliminate any future trouble, leaving only himself to return?
Another scenario is that if two people go out together and only one comes back alive, who can guarantee that he didn't abandon his teammate? Can someone supervise him?
For Gavin, every rule that is flawed or cannot be properly enforced is a blow to his leadership!
So, Gavin hesitated for a few seconds before standing up and coming to Horst's side.

He slowly grabbed Horst by the collar and forcefully lifted Horst off the ground.

After forcing Horst to stand up, Gavin pulled Horst in front of him, calmly stared into Horst's eyes, and said.

"Horst, I've only known this guy for a few hours. I'm sorry, but you did something damn bad!"

"You abandoned your teammate and took his escape gear. You brought him back from the brink of death. You almost cost me a real soldier. And I have no need for a coward like you. You deserve to die!"

"Eugene..."

At this point, Gavin suddenly turned and called out to Eugene.

Upon hearing this, Eugene paused for a moment, then hesitated before standing up.

No way? They're not really going to kill me, are they? Does the boss value me that much?

Eugene didn't actually intend to kill Horst, otherwise he wouldn't have deliberately gone easy on him when he beat him up.

Regardless, Eugene knew that Gavin was protecting him, so Eugene gritted his teeth, finally drew his pistol fiercely, and cocked it with a click.

He then walked over to Gavin, making a gesture as if to hand him the pistol.

Upon seeing this, Horst's legs immediately began to tremble.

As he trembled, more than one pair of eyes showing a hint of pity appeared among the crowd who had originally decided to punish Horst.

Gavin seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; he could guess what people were thinking without even looking. So he turned around, raised his hand, and gently blocked Eugene's gun.

“Don’t be like that, buddy. I know Horst hurt you a lot, but anyway, at least when Horst made his mistake, we hadn’t even set any rules yet.”

"In short, we shouldn't punish him for merely violating moral standards before we've made any demands on him or enacted any relevant laws. So today is not the time for him to die."

"I called you over here just so you could yell at him a couple more times."

At this point, Gavin pushed Eugene's gun back.

Eugene looked at Gavin's head suspiciously.

Was he mistaken just now?
Eugene was a little confused.

In his view, Gavin's behavior clearly indicated that he wanted to kill Horst.

This is the simplest version of the window theory.

If Gavin focuses on minor issues and lets Horst off lightly...

There will definitely be people who are unhappy about that.

But if he shows even a hint of his intention to inflict extreme punishment, people's hearts will naturally shift slightly in Horst's favor, feeling that Gavin should at least learn from his mistakes and heal the wounded.

These are all problems that are bound to be encountered in team management, especially since Gavin's current team is no longer restricted by social rules and national laws.

In the apocalypse, the rules and laws of the past have long since disappeared. The only things that can restrict the team members now are Gavin's rules and force, the resources and power he controls, and the different moral values ​​of each person!
At this point, Gavin released Horst's clothes and then, expressionless, straightened Horst's collar.

Then, Gavin released Horst and said softly.

"Host, will you always be the fastest one?"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Horst swallowed hard.

Gavin continued to repeat it to him.

"I said, can you guarantee you'll never be the one left behind? Answer me!"

Gavin's tone became much louder as he pressed for answers and gradually moved closer to Horst.

Sensing Gavin's approach, Horst's Adam's apple bobbed, and he opened his mouth, struggling to say something.

Before he could speak, Gavin grabbed his shoulder and whispered something.

"This is a one-time exception. For the next month, you will only be allowed one meal a day. You can choose which meal it is."

"In addition, for the next month, I will not allow you to leave the manor even once. You will also be responsible for all the sanitation work within the manor, and you are not allowed to equip yourself with any weapons!"

"If the manor weren't so short-staffed, I'd even lock you up in the basement for a month!"

"Admittedly, Horst, your cowardly act and betrayal did not cause any real harm, but I will not allow anyone in the camp to abandon their teammates or even actively harm team members!"

At this point, Gavin released Horst, turned to the rest of the team, and continued.

"Starting today, whether in the field or in logistics, anyone who abandons their teammates will be thrown into the basement and locked up for a month!"

"All those confined will only receive one meal every two days. Those who abandon their teammates and cause their teammates' deaths will receive one meal every three days. Those whose deaths exceed three will receive one meal every four days. Let God decide whether they survive!"

"In addition, anyone who dares to harm their teammates or partners, whether through murder or assault, will face certain death, and will not be executed by firing squad!"

"I still have a lot of information that I haven't verified. How long does it take for a human to mutate after being bitten by a zombie? Does the mutation time for being scratched by a zombie's claws take the same as being bitten by its teeth?"

"Can zombie animals infect humans? If so, is the time frame different from that of being infected by a zombie?"

"Believe me, I will make sure that every damned person dies a worthy death!"

"His death is all the more memorable!"

After saying this, Gavin glanced at Horst one last time before sitting back down on his sofa.

At the same time, all around was completely silent.

Gavin's experiments on living people and zombies truly shocked them.

Seeing Gavin lie back down on the sofa, Eugene stood beside Horst and silently swallowed.

As he swallowed, Gavin glanced at Madison, with whom he had worked seamlessly for four or five years. Madison immediately chuckled and asked.

"Boss, what level constitutes assault? Does glancing at a woman or touching her butt count? What if someone just wants me to touch them?"

"Haha, you're fucking infuriating, Old Mike!"

Gavin laughed and waved to Old Mike, who then burst into laughter as well.

Seeing the two laughing heartily, the people around them chuckled along.

At the same time, Eugene smiled and came up behind Gavin, leaning against the back of the sofa and asking Gavin a question.

"Wait, boss, what if a woman touches me? What if I don't want the woman who touches me to die?"

"Haha, Eugene, wait for me. I'll find a 200-pound, 50-year-old woman and send her to your room sooner or later. Don't worry about her not being able to sit properly; I'll tie you up and help her calibrate!"

As soon as Eugene finished speaking, Steve immediately came to his side laughing, put his arm around Eugene's shoulder and said loudly.

Upon hearing Steve's words, Eugene was stunned for a moment, then he sharply attacked Steve's weak point.

"Fuck you, Captain America! I can't stand up like an old woman. If you want to find a fifty-year-old to mess with me, you'd better use your big, bearded mouth to help me stand up first!"

"Fuck you, haha~"

Steve laughed and punched Eugene, bringing the atmosphere in the hall to a fever pitch. Apart from Nikita and Doris blushing slightly, even Winnie covered her mouth and kept giggling.

As for Martin, the guy chuckled, picked up the beer he'd been carrying, and took a satisfying sip.

He likes this team; he likes this team that's full of swearing and jerks, but none of them are cowards!
profound……

Thinking of this, Martin glanced at Horst, who was still standing there blankly.

Except for Horst!
"Tch, cowardly trash."

He couldn't help but scoff, then continued drinking his beer.

As he drank, he felt the beer in his hand tasted bland...

Wait, what's missing from today's beer? This is clearly a famous brand, but why does it taste so bland... Holy crap, my can!

Martin finally remembered his tobacco tin, so he quickly and cautiously glanced at Gavin.

Gavin was still laughing loudly, but when Martin looked at him, he keenly noticed and exchanged a glance with Martin.

Meeting Gavin's gaze, Martin shrank back abruptly, then stood up and said to Gavin.

"Wait, Gavin, you've been exploring all afternoon, you must have brought back a lot of good stuff, right? Um, let me help you carry your things!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Martin rushed towards his RV.

At the same time, Gavin clapped his hands lightly, gradually silencing the laughter.

After the laughter completely stopped, Gavin glanced at his watch in front of everyone and then spoke.

"It's 5:48 now, guys. We only have twelve minutes to move things, unless you want to miss your break!"

"This afternoon, we recovered a radio. We can test it tonight and try broadcasting and communicating with the outside world!" "In addition, we also brought back a bunch of old police weapons and a whole truckload of ammunition!"

"So what are you waiting for? Let's move our things, and then we'll eat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin immediately tried to get up and lead everyone to move the things.

But just as he sat up, in the distance...

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh, my jar!"

Martin's piercing screams echoed further and further in the last rays of the setting sun...

Hearing the screams outside, Gavin narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

William suddenly couldn't help but clutch his stomach and burst into laughter.

While laughing, William began to explain.

"Haha, boss, I spent half the afternoon fighting Martin for the marijuana jar, but after what happened with Horst, Martin forgot about his jar, and I dumped all his marijuana into the river, haha!"

"grass……"

Upon hearing this, Gavin nodded with amusement, then led everyone out of the hall, leaving Horst standing alone in the hall.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Gavin stopped in front of the War Shield, opened its cargo box, and watched as everyone got to work.

As everyone started moving things, Gavin glanced back at the hall. Bella, who was the first to carry things through the hall, made no attempt to hide her sneer at Horst.

Seeing this, Gavin couldn't help but sneer; this was also one of his goals.

While he focused on minor mistakes and gave lenient punishments but strict admonitions to Horst, his punishment undoubtedly extended Horst's one mistake into a full month of penalties, making him the most prominent figure in the team and currently the only target.

When Horst's situation occurred in an American environment, especially in Texas, isolation and bullying would immediately follow within the team.

Furthermore, this bullying phenomenon does not disappear when the punishment period ends.

Unless Horst has the chance in the future to risk his life to save another team member in a crisis and wash away his identity as a coward.

Otherwise, Horst might never be able to shake off the label of being bullied!

Although Gavin dislikes bullying and doesn't want too many bullying incidents to occur.

But he must make Horst a target to warn every team member, now and in the future, that if they choose to abandon or harm their teammates in order to survive, they will live a life worse than death!

And it must be admitted that when a guy in the team is isolated and bullied by everyone...

Team cohesion will indeed increase rapidly!
Have you not seen the Gestapo during World War II, at what stage did they become completely loyal to their leader, not only willing to die with him, but even following him to commit suicide by shooting themselves after his death?
Was it when Adolf controlled all of Germany?

Was it when he made sure Old De got the promised milk and bread?

Was it when he was victorious in every battle and nearly conquered all of Europe?
No, it was after he led the Gestapo in blatant bullying of the Japanese!

In short, Gavin was somewhat grateful to Horst at this moment.

Generally speaking, when a team changes from fewer than ten people to twenty or thirty people, this stage of transforming from a small team to a medium-sized team is the most important foundational stage for the team as a whole.

As for Horst, wow, what a good guy! He single-handedly chose a method that caused almost no consequences whatsoever, directly helping Gavin skip this stage!

His presence not only united the team members, but also served as a reminder to current and future team members, greatly promoting the clarification of team rules and the seriousness of discipline.

What a good person! What a truly good person!

Just as Gavin was thinking this, Martin stormed out of the RV a dozen meters away and strode towards William.

"William!!!"

As he ran, he roared, while William, unconcerned, clutched the ammunition box, head held high, and staggered toward Martin.

At the same time, Gavin casually handed the radio and antenna to Steve and Madison, telling them to move them to the third floor, while he himself strode in front of William.

Seeing Gavin blocking William, Martin stopped in his tracks, annoyed.

Gavin then asked Martin.

"Martin Kenyon, what are you doing!"

"I... ha... haha... I thank him, he did me a huge favor, Gavin!"

Martin said to Gavin through gritted teeth, which immediately drew another wave of laughter from the team.

Seeing Martin's helpless expression, Gavin shook his head and spoke loudly to everyone.

"From now on, anyone caught using drugs by me will be locked up for three weeks, with only one meal every three days. William can arrest people while I'm not around. Any problems, William?"

"no problem!"

William shouted in response, almost wanting to give a salute.

Seeing that William was very motivated, Gavin patted William on the shoulder with satisfaction. This young man is really cut out for office work. He looks like an American secret police officer.

Meanwhile, in front of the truck, Winnie took two police riot shields and nudged the big cat that was walking around her with her leg.

Behind Winnie, old Bert chuckled as he took a box of bullets and placed it horizontally on his wheelchair.

Seeing this, Eugene, who was distributing and moving supplies in place of Gavin, was slightly taken aback and quickly took the ammunition box from old Bert.

"Old ghost, this is a job for able-bodied people, what are you doing getting involved!"

"Ha, Redhead, have you forgotten when you called me the miracle doctor? Even miracle doctors have to fit in!"

Old Bert casually snatched the ammunition box, placed it on his lap, and used it to control his wheelchair back to the manor.

As he passed a bewildered Horst after Winnie, he suddenly stopped beside Horst, looked up at Horst's face, and said...

“You did something despicable, young man, but I think if you’re a proper Texan, you should learn to surpass yourself in the next moment!”

"Fear and cowardice give us countless reasons to take a step back, but those who retreat, for better or for worse, will never go far."

As soon as he finished speaking, old Bert patted Horst's thigh and turned around to continue controlling the intelligent lifting wheelchair to climb the stairs.

Horst stood there, stunned, continuing to stare blankly at everything.

At this moment, he felt a little disgusted with himself from the afternoon.

But more than anything, he couldn't help but hate Eugene for forcing him to go outside...

Compared to making cowards brave.

They are very good at finding a way out for themselves, and even better at finding reasons or excuses for themselves!

Every timid person loves themselves more, so if they don't hate themselves, then who will they hate?
Is it Eugene, or everyone?

At that moment, Gavin had no idea what Horst was thinking.

Even if Gavin could read minds, he would only see Horst as a joke.

Gavin has met many powerful people, some good and some bad. The bad ones include cult members who operate in Hollywood and the sports world, and some trash with political connections who want to make Gavin the main course at parties.

But no matter what, those who achieve great things may be evil, despicable, or afraid of death, but they will never be cowardly!

Evil people often stand on high ground, but good people can also soar to the clouds. However, cowardice will only lead you to fall into the mud!
For a moment, Horst lowered his head and silently stared at the tips of his shoes.

People walked past him, but apart from old Bert, no one was willing to talk to him at that moment.

Bella may not like Eugene, but even Bella believes one thing: if she were in some crisis, Eugene might be able to save her life.

And what about Horst?
Everything that happened that afternoon had made it clear that no one would believe him anymore.

And so, ignoring Horst, people busily finished moving their things.

Looking at the time, Gavin found Eugene and asked him to turn on all the lights he had installed.

A few minutes later, a light was lit up in each of the eight directions around the manor, several hundred meters away.

Looking at the lights, Gavin nodded in satisfaction and went to the dining table with everyone.

Horst didn't come at all; after everyone left the hall, he went back to his room.

Gavin didn't care about Horst; he just asked everyone a few questions at the dinner table.

He ate while asking the crowd a question.

"Guys, does anyone here ever play radio?"

The radio station used by the police station was a public address system, and it looked larger than the ones Gavin had seen before, with more buttons and knobs, which Gavin found a bit confusing.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, and then Winnie shook her head regretfully and said...

“I…actually, my brother likes amateur radio, and we even have one at home, but…I regret that I didn’t learn from him.”

"This……"

Gavin knew what amateur radio was, but the word "amateur" didn't mean that the station and the user were amateurs.

Here, "amateur" refers to private radio stations that do not occupy public frequency bands; it can be translated as "private radio station."

Unfortunately, no one in the team knows how to use either amateur radio or radio.

Even old Bert shook his head regretfully.

Well, that's normal. After all, although the United States has a strong radio and broadcasting culture, there are still relatively few people who actually play radio.

Amateur radio stations require certification and registration before they can be purchased, and there are only 750,000 holders of amateur radio operating certificates in the United States, many of whom are employees of major radio stations.

And this is still America, after all, America has a tradition of listening to the radio, and there are more radio enthusiasts.

If we were to choose the East, its population would be several times that of the United States, but the number of people taking the amateur wireless certification exam would only be around 300,000.

It's something that only enthusiasts would bother with and learn.

Seeing that no one knew how to operate it, Gavin shook his head, tapped his fingers on the table, and laughed.

"It's okay. If you don't know how, you can start from scratch. Anyway, we're not worried about occupying public frequency bands now."

"You can adjust it casually without breaking it. Experiment with it slowly, and you'll eventually figure out how to use it."

At this point, Gavin said no more and focused on eating.

After a hearty meal and drinks, Gavin called Steve and Madison over and gave them instructions for the evening.

Madison and Steve will continue to patrol the area under cover of night, and drop off a third of the flyers in the surrounding farmland.

In today's environment, there are fewer and fewer people in towns and cities, so just let those flyers flutter in the wind.

After handing over the tasks, Gavin suspended Steve and Madison from their sentry duties for the night.

After all, Martin has already joined the field operations team, and he, Eugene, Gavin, and Nikita can assign the night patrols.

Upon receiving the order, Steve and Madison didn't say much and immediately boarded the helicopter and left the manor.

Gavin, along with old Bert and Eugene, sat on the third floor studying the radio.

Looking at the antenna, Eugene pondered for a long time before speaking thoughtfully.

"Boss, shall I take this thing to the roof? Is the antenna as high as possible?"

"I don't know either, but it should be the higher the better, and there's also the issue of interference or obstruction."

Gavin answered while connecting the power to the radio and then turned it on.

Looking at the screen that glowed with blue light, and then at the forty-odd buttons and seven or eight knobs next to it, as well as the numbers and symbols on the screen.

Gavin felt his head was a little big.

What does mhz mean?
Frequency band?
What does "shortwave" mean? Does it mean that shortwave travels a shorter distance?

How should I adjust the startup parameters? If I don't adjust them at all, can I just speak directly in the police channel?
Besides, didn't Gavin remember radio stations emitting bursts of noise?
Why isn't what's right in front of us there?
Is there too little interference or is there simply no connection?
I don't understand...

Gavin and Eugene spent a long time studying the radio, but they couldn't figure anything out.

Old Bert, meanwhile, was on the side, repeatedly tuning Gavin's father's radio.

The three of them studied the matter from after dinner until nearly 7:50 p.m., but they still couldn't get Gavin's repeated greetings into Old Bert's radio.

It was almost eight o'clock, and the sound of helicopters returning could be heard from the rooftop, but he still couldn't get the radio working properly.

Gavin had to admit that many tools that sound easy actually have a certain learning curve; you need to find a textbook or instructional video and study them seriously for a while before you can use them.

Even something as simple as driving a car, countless people still mess it up every year at driving schools.

If someone can teach you, radio is really easy to master. Buying and operating equipment is actually the simplest thing in radio; interference and antennas are the difficult areas.

But Gavin and his team just couldn't get this simplest step right.

How exactly should the parameters be set to transfer police radios to civilian radios?

If you give a radio enthusiast a radio, he can connect it to overseas networks; give him two pieces of wood and some wire, and he can receive Morse code signals from thousands of kilometers away.

But for people who haven't learned these things...

Sorry, I just don't know. Knowledge won't just pop into my head like poop falling into a toilet.

It wasn't until Madison and Steve shook their heads and walked into the room, telling Gavin they hadn't seen any lights that night, but that the flyers had already been scattered.

Gavin reluctantly handed the radio over to Steve.

"Steve!"

He then took Steve's arm and spoke earnestly.

"You should know how important the radio is to us. What we need now, besides food, clothing, shelter and transportation, is for other survivors to hear our voices, or for us to hear their voices!"

"So the radio is in your hands. Aren't you proficient in using all the tools on the farm?"

"Richardtown is ours too, and the police chief is your second uncle, so, cough cough, keep it up, buddy."

After saying that, Gavin simply left Steve there staring blankly at the radio while he went to the gym to work out.

Seeing that he had accepted Gavin's "urgent mission," Steve reluctantly began to operate the system.

Gavin, on the other hand, trained like crazy without any hope, using exercise to vent his frustration.

Gavin knows Steve too well. If he says he can, he really can; if he says he can't, he really can't!
But just as Gavin was working out like crazy, Steve's overjoyed voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie nearby!
"Boss, haha, I got a message from someone! I got a message from someone!"

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Gavin, covered in sweat, rushed from the gym to the broadcasting room.

As Gavin rushed into the room, he heard the voice coming from the radio.

"(A string of letters and numbers) This is the International Space Station (ISS). Can anyone hear me?"

"What?!!"

Upon hearing this, Gavin nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets.

He rushed to Steve in disbelief, grabbed the communicator, and stared at Steve in astonishment.

"No way, bro! You're fucking amazing! How did you even manage to connect to the International Space Station?! What the hell?!"

As soon as Gavin finished speaking, everyone who had just been working out in the gym rushed into the broadcasting room.

At this moment, they looked expectantly at the radio in front of Gavin and Steve!
The radio did not disappoint; the voice came through again the next second.

"This is the International Space Station (ISS). Is anyone able to receive our message? Is anyone else able to hear our message?"

"Shit, this is fucking Texas, I'm Gavin, Gavin King of the Cowboys!!!"

Gavin immediately turned on the intercom and shouted excitedly.

After he finished speaking, he swallowed hard and waited silently and anxiously with everyone else for a response from afar.

A moment later, the intercom connected, but only faint cheers came through.

Immediately afterwards, the voice on the intercom changed, and a louder and more enthusiastic voice spoke to Gavin.

"The guy you were just talking to was British. They don't know anything about rugby. Gavin, is that you, Gavin? I heard you won five consecutive championships!"

(End of this chapter)