Doomsday America

Chapter 133 Shocking Change, A Bloodstained Moment (10k)

Originally, Gavin planned to have Lao Feng drive the bulldozer along to help.

However, before setting off, Gavin did some thinking and felt that driving a bulldozer there wouldn't be very useful.

After all, the pile of corpses was extremely large and the flesh and blood were very sticky, making it very difficult for a bulldozer to shovel it.

So, Lao Feng stayed at home, Steve drove the excavator, Gavin and Lao Mai drove a heavy truck together, and Eugene and the newly joined Adriana drove a heavy truck together.

This arrangement is also for safety reasons. You can't have only one driver on a heavy truck. If there's an accident, having someone in the passenger seat can be a lot of help.

However, because the convoy was moving in tandem with the excavator, the convoy was moving very slowly.

Following slowly behind the excavator, the driver, Old Mike, yawned and saw Gavin pull out a cigarette and light it.

When Gavin smoked, the raven on his body would avoid the smoke and fly to the cockpit, its lively eyes watching the road ahead.

Old Mike couldn't help but look at the crow and speak to Gavin.

"Boss, I didn't believe in mythology before, and I certainly didn't believe in any bullshit God!"

"But after seeing this raven, I suddenly started to believe in Norse mythology. You wouldn't happen to be Odin reincarnated, would you?"

"What's the fart?"

Hearing what Old Mike said, Gavin exhaled a puff of smoke out the window and laughed.

"What bullshit about being Odin's reincarnation? I'm still an Isu! Nothingness, everything is permitted!"

At this point, Gavin smiled and shook his head. He was a game enthusiast, and even his large estate was filled with game consoles and countless game discs.

Unfortunately, at this point, Assassin's Creed hadn't reached Valhalla yet, so Michael probably wouldn't understand the Isu reference.

Old Mai, standing to the side, was indeed taken aback for a moment, then asked curiously in return.

"The Isu, isn't that from Assassin's Creed? Desmond, and Ezio Auditore~"

At this point, Old Mai couldn't resist getting playful and raised his hand to mimic the action of extending a hidden blade.

In this day and age, before Assassin's Creed reaches the post-feminist era of Kassandra, the figure who currently carries the banner of Assassin's Creed sales for Ubisoft is still the Italian Assassin Master Ezio Auditore.

Upon hearing this, Gavin nodded, then threw his cigarette butt out the window and offered a reminder.

We're almost at the town.

"Hehe, indeed, this trip was so slow, I was almost falling asleep while driving!"

Old Mai agreed, reached into the refrigerator, grabbed an iced Coke, and handed one to Gavin.

The United States has a very strong heavy-duty truck culture. The cabs of most heavy-duty trucks are designed to be exceptionally spacious and user-friendly, offering a high level of comfort, and equipment such as refrigerators are essential.

Gavin took the Coke and drank a big gulp, while the raven hopped onto Gavin's lap, looking at the Coke with curiosity and anticipation.

Meeting the raven's gaze, Gavin chuckled and reached out to pat the raven's head.

"This bottle isn't suitable for you to drink water, buddy. If you keep following me, I'll eventually get you a Coke!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin downed the Coke in one gulp and casually put the bottle aside.

The raven, seemingly understanding, returned to Gavin's shoulder and tilted its neck to preen the feathers on its neck.

Old Mike, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Gavin and the raven's interaction, couldn't help but say something to Gavin.

"Boss, you should name it. It's the friendliest crow I've ever seen; it deserves a good name!"

"of course."

After being reminded by Old Mike, Gavin nodded, then pondered for a moment before continuing.

"As for its name, is there any need to consider it? Let's call it Fujin."

"Cool, now he's truly Odin's raven, but boss, you're still missing a Munni~"

"No, I don't lack memories; all I need now is enough wisdom."

Gavin responded with a laugh, referring to the story of Odin's two ravens.

As is well known, Odin had two ravens, one of which was named Fokin, symbolizing thought, ideas, or wisdom.

The other one is Wuni, which represents...memory.

Hearing Gavin's words, Old Mike shook his head, a rare occurrence for him, and retorted to Gavin.

"That won't do! I absolutely cannot allow my boss to not have what other bosses have, even if other bosses are the leaders of Valhalla! Haha!"

"But don't worry, boss. After we get back from this trip, I'll team up with Martin and we'll definitely catch a young raven for you to raise."

"It's not easy to find another adult raven as friendly as Fokin, but if it's just a baby raven, even if I can only be a hindrance, Martin, that hunting master, will definitely be able to handle it."

"If we have both Fokin and Wuni, and those two crows perch on Boss's shoulders, and you put on that plate armor, I can't even imagine how cool that would look, haha~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Mai pursed his lips expectantly, unable to resist imagining the future.

Gavin, however, turned his face to the window, revealing a sad look in his eyes.

He knew Madison wasn't really happy, especially after Old Feng arrived at the camp.

Before Lao Feng's family arrived, everyone in the camp was lonely and miserable, and Lao Mai's mood was not affected much.

But after the Feng family appeared in full force, Gavin, who has a family of his own, had already noticed that Old Mike hadn't said much these past two days.

But Gavin really couldn't bring himself to talk to Mike about his family. What could he say? Should he persuade Mike to go back to Chicago to look for his relatives, or should he simply bring a team and go on a trip to Chicago with Mike?
The current team cannot afford that kind of risk, and Gavin cannot afford to lose Michael.

Don't let Old Mai's unassuming demeanor fool you; once he's integrated into the team, he doesn't stand out much.

In reality, Gavin's trust in Mike is unparalleled; the two have had an incredibly good rapport over the past four or five years.

Nearby, seemingly noticing Gavin's sadness, the large raven poked its head close to Gavin's face and nuzzled his cheek with its head.

Fokin is a very handsome adult raven, nearly 55 centimeters long, but its feathers are still quite soft, suggesting it hasn't been an adult for very long.

Meanwhile, on the forklift ahead, Steve turned on the walkie-talkie and spoke.

"Boss, this is Steve. We're about two kilometers from Richard Town. Shall we just drive in?"

"Let's just drive straight in. We were on a killing spree in this town yesterday, all for the sake of making things easier."

Gavin agreed, and Steve's bulldozer accelerated slightly. A few minutes later, the group drove the heavy vehicle over the scattered corpses on the road and headed towards the town center.

On the last truck, watching the hundreds of corpses pass by, Adriana, holding a shotgun, licked her lips and asked Eugene with amazement.

"Hey, Eugene, you guys did all this?"

"Otherwise what, you idiot? We didn't do this. Did your cousin hide at home and pray to the devil, offering him a basket so the devil would kill the zombies?"

Eugene cursed without hesitation, and Adriana nodded with amusement, grinning.

"Hehe, my cousin's basket isn't worth the price of these zombies. You guys did a great job. This town has shown me the power of the living!"

At this point, Adriana pursed her lips excitedly.

She continued speaking excitedly.

“A true post-apocalyptic survivor’s camp should be like yours, where the brave go out and drive bullets into the heads of every zombie, while those who are not suited to go too far stay at home to cook and farm.”

"Hey, what do you mean 'your camp'? This is our camp now, you need to get the hang of it, little girl~"

Eugene said with a smile, while turning the steering wheel to make a turn.

In the distance, a massive pile of corpses, taller than a two-story building, suddenly came into Adriana's view.

The moment Adriana saw that thing, she wasn't surprised. Instead, she excitedly patted the gun and said...

"Ah, what a huge pile of corpses! There are far more zombies in this town than in the prison. Your experience must have been quite something. I'm a bit late!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Adriana promptly rolled down the car window and leaned out to stare in the direction of the pile of corpses.

At the same time, Steve drove his excavator to the pile of corpses and stopped it.

"Boss, shall we start right away?"

As he asked Gavin over the intercom, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

At the same time, Gavin pulled the car to the side of the forklift, choosing a position that would make it easier for the forklift to work, and opened the car window to speak to Steve.

"Wait a moment, let me take a picture of the pile of corpses first. Old Feng's idea is good. We should indeed leave some wonderful photos for future generations before the camera disappears, so they can see how hard their ancestors worked, haha~"

While laughing, Gavin took out his professional camera and snapped two pictures of the pile of corpses.

While he was taking pictures, the large crow Fokkin jumped out of the car window and flew far away to circle above the pile of corpses.

Ga...ga...

Foggin's voice kept coming from the sky, making Gavin chuckle again.

"Ha, Fokin's probably eager for dinner too. Steve, you took away those corpses this morning, so Fokin didn't get enough to eat!"

"What, Foggin? Oh! Boss, you named the crow?"

As Steve answered, he held a cigarette in his mouth and positioned the shovel above the pile of corpses, ready to start digging up the rotting flesh at any moment.

Meanwhile, after taking two photos, Gavin put away his camera and said to Steve from a distance.

"I've finished taking my photos!"

"Okay, boss, I'll get started right away!"

Steve immediately responded with a smile, then controlled the bucket to extend downwards.

Meanwhile, on the second heavy truck behind.

Looking at the lone crow circling in the sky, Adriana, who had overheard part of the conversation, couldn't help but lean out of the car window and shout to Gavin in the car in front.

"Hey boss, your raven shares the same name as Odin's raven. Do you think you're a god?"

"Haha, perhaps. If I ever go mad, maybe I'll force you to call me His Majesty Odin~"

Gavin agreed with Adriana while looking up at Fokin hovering in the sky.

My newly acquainted crow, too bad you won't be able to eat the rotting flesh on this pile of corpses again~

But don't be disappointed, your lucky day has arrived. Now that you've become my crow, you no longer need to rely on scavenging corpses for protein. From now on, you'll live a life of luxury with me... Hmm? Wait!
Suddenly, Gavin couldn't help but frown and look suspiciously at the sky where only Foggin was!

Damn it, such a huge pile of corpses should be a playground for crows. Even yesterday, there were a lot of crows in the sky above the town, but today there is only one, Foggin.

Thinking about this, Gavin felt something was off, so he quickly called out to Steve.

"Steve, hold on, something's not right, I need to observe..."

"what?"

Just as Gavin finished speaking, the bucket controlled by Steve had already plunged into the pile of corpses!
And when the shovel bucket smashed through the dried, bloody outer layer of flesh from the pile of corpses and plunged into the soft flesh...

buzzing...

"Hiss... Roar!"

Kara Kara!
Gaba...

"Boom!!!"

Almost instantly, the once quiet pile of corpses erupted with the roars of more than one zombie!

At the same time, the excavator bucket, which had been inserted into the pile of corpses, was forced to stop after running for a short while. The pile of corpses, which began to move rapidly, seemed to be alive. The soft flesh and bones under the hard shell directly broke through the hard shell and climbed up the excavator bucket!
Immediately afterwards, the huge pile of corpses in Jiawen's eyes, which was more than 20 square meters in area and more than 6.5 meters in height, actually began to wriggle as slowly as a snail!

Its writhing parts are made up of one broken corpse after another, and as it writhes, countless pieces of rotten flesh and pus and blood are splashed out.

In just a moment, the unrecognizable corpse snail, with its nauseating and disgusting body, thrashed about and overturned Steve's loader by forcefully sliding down the excavator's bucket!

That deafening roar was the sound of the bulldozer being overturned and crashing to the ground...

"Steve!"

Gavin let out a loud roar, then shoved open the car door and jumped out.

As he got out of the car, he shouted at Madison.

"McClean, I'm going to rescue Steve, you fucking back up!"

Upon hearing this, Madison instinctively shifted gears and quickly reversed the truck, moving away from the rapidly crawling pile of corpses!
As Madison reversed, the massive, heavy pile of corpses writhed and twisted the flesh beneath, pressing down on most of the bucket and making the already overturned bulldozer creak and groan!
Most importantly, this snail-paced pile of corpses is now continuing to spread along the excavator's bucket towards the excavator's cab.

As the pile of corpses continued to spread outwards, arms reached out from it, grabbing at every spot they could reach and exerting force!
As the pile of corpses drew closer to the cockpit, the driver's side compartment carrying Steve also experienced increased pressure!
Wow!

The windshield of the forklift cab was shattered, and Steve, looking completely bewildered, changed direction and scrambled to his feet inside the cab.

He could barely hear anything. The moment the bulldozer was pushed to its side by the pile of corpses, the cab overturned and crashed to the ground. Although he wasn't seriously injured because he was inside the cab, the loud noise made his head buzz!

"Steve!"

Gavin shouted again, then jumped onto the overturned bulldozer in just two steps, kicked away the broken glass, grabbed Steve's clothes, and pulled him out with just one hand.

Behind him, three-quarters of the excavator's boom had been completely swallowed up by the pile of corpses, and the cab of the excavator had also changed its shape from being overturned on the ground due to the boom, and was simply pressed up by the pile of corpses!
The violent vibrations and the change in the angle of the forklift cab's landing point caused Gavin and Steve to fall uncontrollably!
They fell right in the direction of the pile of corpses!

Ga...ga...

In the sky, Fojin persistently circled the giant pile of corpses, constantly letting out his cries.

"Gavin!!!"

Twenty meters away, Madison, who was backing up his car, stared in horror at Gavin falling toward the pile of corpses and roared with all his might!
While yelling, he shifted gears sharply and then drove the heavy truck directly to the side of the bulldozer!
While yelling Gavin's name as loudly as he could, Madison drove his heavy truck and rammed it into the area where the pile of corpses and the bulldozer were intertwined!

boom!
Just as Gavin narrowly adjusted his body, freeing his foot to push off the last half meter of the mechanical arm that hadn't yet been swallowed by the pile of corpses and those arms, he used the momentum to throw Steve out with a vengeance.

The impact of Madison's heavy truck on the pile of corpses caused the pile to quickly change its target, with the surging corpses and countless arms sweeping straight towards the front of the heavy truck!
"Old Mike!"

Gavin roared and seized the opportunity amidst the violent tremors to find a point of leverage. He pushed off the loader's mechanical arm with his left foot and jumped back onto the loader's cab. Then he quickly jumped toward Old Mike's heavy truck!
Fortunately, most American heavy trucks are pointed-nose trucks with long cabs, unlike the flat-nose trucks that are often seen on the roads of East Asia.

Therefore, while the pile of corpses engulfed and crushed the truck cab, the truck door was not blocked by the pile of corpses immediately!

So, in response to Gavin's shout, Madison pushed open the car door and yelled back at Gavin from a distance of about four meters.

"Run!"

He shouted and ran, making a move as if he was about to jump out of the car!
But just as he was about to jump out, the pile of corpses pressed him even further onto the front of the truck.

Kara!
The weight of the hundreds of tons of corpses pressed down hard, even the front of the heavy truck was pressed down like a seesaw, and when Old Mai jumped out, his direction happened to be on the side of the seesaw that was lifted up hard, and the huge force directly bounced him away!
"Fuck!!!"

Old Mai flew up uncontrollably and cursed uncontrollably!
And Gavin...

He was jumping off the bulldozer cab and landing on the road between the bulldozer and the heavy truck!
In his eyes, at that moment, Old Mai jumped at least six meters high, or even close to seven meters.

then……

thump!
"Ahhhhh!!!"

Old Mai crashed heavily to the ground, letting out a terrifying scream!
But just as Old Mai screamed, the pile of corpses began to writhe rapidly again.

The truck cab, which had just been lifted up, briefly fell back to the ground as the pile of corpses shifted.

Boom!
Blah blah blah!

The truck hit the ground with a loud thud, and shattered glass splattered outwards to both sides.

Gavin was able to turn his head to dodge the flying debris, but even so, he felt a heat on his face, and then his left eye was completely covered by a bloody color!
"Fake..."

Gavin cursed under his breath, straining to open his blood-covered eyes, carefully observing the directions in which the two vehicles were shaken and swayed as they were crushed by the pile of corpses. He stepped to the left, dodging the mechanical tracks that were constantly scraping the ground and the cab of the bulldozer.

Gavin scrambled and rolled on the ground a couple of times, barely managing to avoid the overturned cargo compartment of the heavy truck!

Boom!
Clang!

The truck's cargo compartment slammed violently to the ground, and Gavin even felt a faint shockwave behind him.

Of course, that was just an illusion.

Whether it was an illusion or not is irrelevant; what matters is that he is still alive, and what he is concerned about is whether the others are also still alive!

With his left eye stained red, he first looked in Madison's direction.

After screaming in pain, Madison immediately clutched his left foot.

Then, he used his hands and right knee to push himself up and crawl away, covering more than five meters!

After confirming that Michael still had some mobility, Gavin quickly looked towards Steve's location.

He threw Steve too hastily, and Steve was slammed eight meters away. At this moment, Steve was staggering to his feet and running away in a daze.

After confirming that everyone was still alive, Gavin finally breathed a sigh of relief and then strode over to Old Man Mike's side.

He grabbed Old Man's belt and lifted him up, which weighed over 300 pounds!
That wasn't even the limit; he actually carried the bewildered and pained Old Mike straight towards the dizzy Steve.

"Steve!"

Gavin shouted, then grabbed Steve's sleeve with his right hand and dragged him towards Eugene's truck!

On the very last heavy truck, just a few seconds ago Eugene was still happily watching Adriana.

After all, when Adriana leaned out of the car window and shouted to Gavin in front, her hindquarters and long legs were propped up on the passenger seat.

Before Eugene could even finish looking at the buttocks, several loud noises came from ahead, and he also heard Gavin and the others calling each other's names.

"Fuck...fuck fuck fuck!!!"

"How could this happen? Damn it, what the hell is going on?!"

While cursing loudly, Eugene started the heavy truck and began reversing at high speed.

Both he and Lao Mai drive trailer-type heavy trucks, which are quite difficult to reverse. If they don't reverse quickly, no matter who runs out, he might not have time to help them!
Thirteen meters away, watching Eugene rapidly reversing, Gavin, carrying Old Man Mike and dragging Steve, shouted.

"Go meet me up ahead, damn it, get away from that pile of corpses, quick!!!"

As he spoke, Gavin ran straight past Eugene's truck along the side of the road and continued running forward.

As Eugene turned around, Adriana changed direction in shock, staring intently at the pile of corpses.

In her eyes, the huge pile of corpses kept stirring up layers of flesh that undulated like the edges of a snail's body, pressing the excavator and heavy truck down on top of it!

The pile of corpses, weighing at least two hundred tons, made the bulldozers and trucks creak and groan, but that wasn't the end of it; the pile of corpses even went further toward Eugene's heavy truck.

Although it moves extremely slowly, at a snail's pace, the pile of corpses can only move a distance of about two to three meters per second.

But Eugene reverses very slowly too. Anyone who's ever seen a trailer truck making a U-turn knows how slow that is!

In an instant, watching the pile of corpses slowly but steadily approaching her, Adriana quickly yelled at Eugene.

"Hurry! Hurry! Damn it, they're getting closer!"

"Bullshit, I know, I'm fucking the fastest, screw it, I've dodged it!!!"

Seeing that the semi-trailer he had thrown off while reversing was about to be caught by the pile of corpses, Eugene cursed and threw off the trailer, then drove the truck straight after Gavin.

Seeing the lone heavy truck cab parked beside him, Gavin breathed a sigh of relief, released Steve, and grabbed Old Mike.

In the passenger seat, Adriana quickly opened the door and jumped out.

"Get on the bus, get on the bus!"

They were now less than forty meters away from the pile of corpses, a distance that the pile of corpses could cover in eleven or twelve seconds!

After confirming the situation, Gavin didn't even have time to check Madison's injuries. He jumped into the truck bed first and then dragged Madison into the truck's rest area.

Adriana helped Steve squeeze into the passenger seat, and Eugene started the truck and continued to flee, quickly covering another two hundred meters!

"parking!"

Just then, Gavin, who had settled Old Mike down on his back, yelled at Eugene.

Upon hearing this, Eugene paused for a moment, then instinctively looked at the rearview mirror.

He noticed this too. Behind them, after the huge pile of corpses had crushed the trailer of the second heavy truck, the pile of corpses stopped chasing and instead ran over the heavy truck and the bulldozer again in the opposite direction, returning to the original position of the pile of corpses!
Seeing this, Eugene nervously stopped the car, while Gavin climbed out of the lounge, reached out and braced himself against Adriana and Steve, and tried to open the car door.

At the same time, he shouted to the crowd.

"You guys wait here for me, I need to go take another look, I have to see that damn thing again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin immediately prepared to jump out of the car.

But Eugene suddenly reached out, grabbed his gun sling, and yelled at him while pulling him along.

"Stop looking, boss, it's too damn dangerous!"

"No danger, damn it, the danger is over. That thing moves very slowly. As long as we don't get suddenly attacked along with the vehicle like before, anyone can shake it off!"

Gavin yelled back at Eugene, then turned around, grabbed Eugene's wrist, and forcibly removed his hand.

But just then, Eugene finally saw Gavin's face clearly, and he continued to shout at Gavin in surprise.

"Wait, boss, your eyes..."

"My eyes are fine, damn it, but my eyebrow must be broken!"

Gavin squeezed his left eye; the thick blood made his eye very uncomfortable, but he was sure that he could still see normally with his left eye, only through a layer of blood.

Then, Gavin slapped Eugene's hand away, climbed over Adriana, and grabbed the car door.

While clinging to the car door, Gavin couldn't resist peeking into the rearview mirror to check his injuries.

Sure enough, there was a big crack in my eyebrow, and there was even a piece of glass the size of a fingernail left on my eyelid. Fortunately, the thing was slanted across my eyebrow and seemed to have been caught on my brow bone, so it didn't pierce my eyelid.

"Fake!"

Gavin cursed, then removed the shards of glass from his eyelids and tossed them aside.

Then, he jumped out of the car, using Adriana's legs as support, and shouted at Eugene.

"Eugene, wait here for me. I'll tell you when to back up, then you back up. I need to test that thing's reaction distance to the car to see if it only moves when attacked!"

"But boss, isn't this too far? I'll reverse for 100 meters, okay? Can't you just run 100 meters?"

Eugene couldn't help but glance at Gavin's blood-covered left cheek and offered Gavin some advice.

When faced with Eugene's suggestion, Gavin only spoke in a low voice.

"No need, I have my own plans!"

Just as Gavin finished speaking, the crow that had been circling in the sky for a while finally landed and perched on Gavin's left shoulder.

Gavin's left cheek was covered in blood, and he squinted at Eugene with his left eye. Just as Gavin and Eugene made eye contact, the Great Raven also looked at Eugene with its own bright eyes...

The large raven, which was over 50 centimeters long, looked like Gavin's second head when it perched on his shoulder.

The way the crow looked at Eugene made Eugene instinctively shudder.

"Hiss! Damn, that crow looks really majestic!"

Eugene couldn't help but gasp in surprise, while Gavin abandoned Eugene and ran towards the huge pile of corpses.

At this moment, a few corpses were still wriggling at the edge of the pile of bodies. Countless disgusting corpses stuck together were wriggling slightly away from the bulldozer and the broken heavy truck, curling back into the original shape of the pile of bodies, and then they stopped moving.

When Gavin reached within fifty meters of the pile of corpses, he raised his hand and drew his gun.

bump!
After firing a shot at the pile of corpses, he put away his pistol and coldly looked at the still motionless pile of bodies.

After confirming that the pile of bodies was indeed not moving, Gavin took a deep breath and continued to approach the pile of bodies.

This time, he simply stood only five meters away from the pile of corpses.

Even at such close range, the pile of corpses remained unresponsive.

The pile of corpses looked as if they were dead, yet it was as if nothing had just happened.

Gavin swallowed hard, looked around, and then picked up the broken door of the heavy truck from the side.

He picked up the car door and slammed it onto the pile of corpses.

puff...

After the car door slammed into the flesh and blood, the pile of corpses finally began to move slightly.

Several rotting corpses, completely covered in blood, pus, and rotten flesh, somehow managed to squeeze out of the pile of bodies and wriggle to push the car door out of the pile!

At that moment, Gavin stared intently at the few mangled corpses that had burst out of the pile of bodies.

Although their bodies and arms could still move, the way their limbs moved was not like humans at all. Instead, they looked like characters from a game called Human: Fall Flat. Every movement of their limbs was chaotic and comical.

Rather than calling it a zombie, it was more like a piece of seaweed, swaying and rocking as it moved.

Upon seeing this, Gavin swallowed hard.

This disgusting pile of corpses, as filthy as dog shit, had been brewing right under my nose for so long. If I hadn't been shoveling it away today, I wouldn't have even known it was still alive!

But how did it survive, and by what right did it survive?
And even if it survives, how can it still move so quickly?
This damn world has no sense of reason anymore, damn it!
At that moment, even Gavin couldn't help but spit on the pile of corpses.

Gavin then walked halfway around the pile of bodies, fixing his gaze on the original spot where the pile had started.

Due to the impact of the bulldozers and heavy trucks, after the pile of bodies returned to its original location, it was moved a few meters away from the surrounding area.

These few meters also gave Gavin some opportunity to observe.

He boldly squatted where the pile of corpses had been, squatting on the road where the smell alone was disgusting, and where pus, blood and rotten flesh made it almost impossible to step on!
After crouching down, he reached out, pulled out the claw hammer from his waist, and used the hammer head to poke around in the rotten flesh on the ground, trying to find something among the rotten flesh.

After clearing away a small area of ​​rotten flesh and scraping away the pus and blood with a horizontal hammer,

Gavin fell completely silent, because he had discovered a large patch of visible mycelium beneath the flesh!

That's right, mycelium. Even Gavin could tell at a glance that this stuff is the kind of mycelium that grows mushrooms. Anyone who has ever grown mushrooms can tell the difference.

Gavin has never grown mushrooms, but his parents have grown a little bit.

Moreover, mushrooms are abundant on the farm, especially in the nearby forest, when the season is right.

If you dig the mushroom up by the roots, you can clearly see the mycelium of different colors in the soil beneath it.

Beneath the pile of mangled corpses in front of Gavin, the mycelium had densely formed a large patch, and its color was tainted by pus and blood, making it impossible to distinguish the original color of the mycelium, which looked extremely disgusting.

Upon seeing this, Gavin couldn't help but stand up, bend over, and gag twice.

"Damn it!"

Gavin gagged and cursed under his breath.

The smell here is absolutely awful, it's indescribable!
Despite the stench, Gavin quickly retreated several dozen steps, continuing to gaze at the pile of corpses in front of him from a distance.

A few days ago, after he made communication with the astronauts, some of them suggested the possibility that the zombie virus was actually a zombie fungus infection.

But now... the word "possibility" can be changed.

Looking at the visible mycelium just beneath the pile of corpses, Gavin had to accept the truth, no matter how much he disliked the answer.

The so-called zombie virus, its true source of spread and expansion, is not a virus at all, but a fungus that has lived harmoniously with humans for countless years!

This virus likely originated from a type of mushroom that can be found everywhere, from mosses that are found all over the world, or possibly from a type of fungus such as seaweed!
Thinking of this, Gavin suddenly remembered the zombie rabbits that had occasionally appeared in Texas over the past two years...

That's right, it's the kind of zombie rabbit that's infected with fungus, with rotten tentacles growing all over its body, so disgusting it makes you lose your mind!
In the past, when this kind of news came out, people just watched it for fun, and Gavin himself was no exception.

He had only heard about it occasionally, and then he didn't pay much attention to it. After all, scholars have never said that a fungus that can infect rabbits can also infect humans, right?
Moreover, humans have a long history of picking mushrooms, and in human instinct, most mushrooms, except for those that are particularly conspicuous, have long been considered harmless.

Even fungi like Boletus luridus, which are actually harmful to humans, are still constantly being put on the dinner table because they taste good.

People only tell themselves to stay away from brightly colored poisonous mushrooms, but what if humans can stay away from them, and the mushrooms actively approach humans?
Mushroom spores are everywhere, as are moss spores. Moss grows on every rotten wall, and mushrooms grow on every piece of rotten furniture. This has long been a consensus in the human world.

However, what if this very thing, which is ubiquitous and has long been integrated into all parts of the world and into human life, turns around and changes its own growth pattern, alters its spore characteristics, and unleashes its ferocious side on humans...?

The human world seems to have become what Gavin sees now.

"Hey……"

At that moment, Gavin sighed sadly.

He has too many worries.

There was so much that he didn't even have time to worry about whether he would suffer any additional effects after walking on a patch of mycelium.

He had no time to worry about getting too close to this pile of fungus-infested corpses, lest spores seep into his body, increasing the spore content and making him more susceptible to turning into a zombie...

There are just too many possibilities like this. If Gavin were to think about them one by one carefully, he probably would spend several days without coming up with any accurate answer.

Ultimately, he was just an ordinary person who was slightly more cautious. Even if he had transmigrated once, he would only be an ordinary person with a slightly better physique, some leadership qualities, and sufficient caution.

As for now, he had no time to worry about himself, because he was more worried about the pile of corpses in front of him!

You should know that before they disturbed this pile of corpses, it was completely still and disguised!

So why is the pile of corpses so still? Does it have some kind of ambush-like characteristic?

Impossible, because its size alone makes it impossible for it to develop an ambush function!
As for why Gavin referred to the pile of corpses as "it"?

Because Gavin has already assumed that the pile of corpses is a single entity!

Although it is composed of countless corpses, it moves like a snail, layering and pushing itself forward, sometimes contracting and sometimes expanding.

In short, given its enormous size, it is impossible for it to develop into an ambush predator.

Why did he stay there, motionless and quiet for several whole days?
Because it likes to lie down?

Do not!
What Gavin was really worried about was that the pile of corpses he encountered today was just an unprepared pile of corpses!

Its underside was covered with mycelium. Gavin didn't know how much of what the mycelium would supply it with, but the presence of the mycelium was very likely to benefit the pile of corpses!
If it is allowed to continue to lie on the mycelium and ferment, what kind of things will this pile of corpses eventually develop into?
In just a few days, the pile of corpses has reached a speed of at least three meters per second. If it had remained still for longer, would it have continued to decompose, becoming softer and slower?
Or will it become more agile, more flexible, or even more resilient under the influence of countless hyphae?

Moreover, even if it doesn't change much, the current state of the pile of corpses already makes it very dangerous!
Of course, this danger is not directed at people, since the pile of corpses is moving too slowly and anyone could easily escape from it.

But what about the buildings?
If this pile of corpses could move on its own, how many houses in the town could withstand the impact it passed through?

Besides, what Gavin is currently encountering is just a pile of corpses consisting of only a little over a thousand zombies in an ordinary small town!
What about big cities like Dallas and Los Angeles, with populations in the millions? How many stampedes will they cause after a zombie outbreak?
And what is the largest pile of corpses that the biggest stampede incidents could create?

Gavin was pondering far too many questions, and for each of them, he simply couldn't find an answer in the short term!

Gavin then spat heavily again and turned on the intercom.

"Eugene, you don't need to come pick me up. I'll come find you. Next, we must get home as fast as we can, hand Old Mac over to Old Bert, and then we need to take RPGs and enough fuel to burn this pile of corpses to ashes!"

Yes, even though the pile of corpses still holds countless questions.

Gavin really didn't want to continue verifying it.

Today, and the next time I arrive in town.

He must completely destroy this pile of corpses!
(End of this chapter)