Doomsday America

Chapter 180 The Zombie Horde in Transformation

Meanwhile, in the farm area, on a low hill about sixteen kilometers from the estate.

Anthony took two steps forward, heading up a small slope with an elevation difference of less than twelve meters, and looked up at the forest less than forty meters away.

After shifting his gaze from the forest, he picked up his binoculars again and looked at the almost endless grassland in the distance, fixing his gaze on the direction of the manor.

Of course, he couldn't see the manor; what altitude would allow him to see through a distance of sixteen kilometers?

However, from where he stood, he could vaguely see the highway in the distance, namely Highway 287 that ran through the farm!

This discovery made him nod in satisfaction, and then he spoke to Nikita and Abraham beside him.

"Sister-in-law Nikita, and Abraham, what do you think of this position?"

"Firstly, it has a certain height difference; secondly, it is backed by a forest, so some trees can be transplanted to serve as cover; and finally, it is relatively close to the road, making it convenient for both sentry duty and evacuation."

"Therefore, I think this place can also be used as one of the reserve locations for sentry posts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Anthony raised his rifle and glanced at the distant highway through the scope.

As he observed, Abraham nodded, put down his binoculars, and said...

"This place is good, mainly because it's close to the forest, which makes it easy for us to cut down those damn trees and get building materials."

"It doesn't take much effort for us to build a basic outpost here, and we don't have to travel far to transport timber and building materials, which is an advantage."

After saying this, Abraham looked at Nikita, who nodded in confirmation.

"You're all right, I have no objection, but it's almost midnight, shouldn't we go back?"

"Of course, we can't miss out on the food. Thank God we have such a great cook. I absolutely love her beef frittatas."

Anthony smiled and nodded to Nikita. Then, the three of them got back into the car and headed home.

Before long, the three of them approached the chicken farm.

They met with William and his two companions, who were busy at work.

Seeing William and his group, whose legs had improved considerably and who were now collecting chicken carcasses near the chicken farm, Nikita thought for a moment, then clapped her hands.

“Anthony, put me down here. I’ll go back with them.”

"Okay, sister-in-law, but it's best to go home as soon as possible, I'm worried you'll miss dinner time."

Anthony said with a smile, then stopped the car and put Nikita down.

As Nikita got out of the car, William, who was closest to her, threw the dead chicken into the pickup truck's cargo hold and asked her a question.

“Nikita, why did you get off the bus? We don’t really need any help. We’ll be going home soon anyway.”

"Yeah, so I won't be able to help much. I just want to see little Winnie."

Nikita chuckled at William, then looked at his injured leg and asked softly.

"You look much better, William, congratulations!"

"Ah, Nikita, you have a good eye. Old Bert said I'll be able to ride horses and run fast in two or three days at the latest. I was just planning to ask the boss for a transfer to fieldwork. Why don't you put in a good word for me? With your help, the chances of the boss agreeing will definitely be much higher."

As William spoke, he gave Nikita a thumbs-up, and Nikita nodded with her lips pursed.

"Of course, you're a reliable guy, aren't you? After lunch, I'll take you to find Gavin."

"Okay, sister-in-law~"

William was overjoyed. He had long wanted to take on field work. Compared to staying at home facing the chicken farm and the mostly empty grassland, he would much rather devote his energy to the perilous exploration zone.

Nikita patted William's arm, then turned and went to the busy Winnie.

Watching Winnie, wearing oversized rubber gloves, wildly grab five or six chickens by the neck and toss them all onto the car.

Nikita pursed her lips, bent down to pick up the two chickens, and asked Winnie while holding them up.

"You're quite energetic, kid. Aren't you planning to go home for dinner?"

"Of course I have to eat. How could I miss my own mother's cooking? But there are just too many dead chickens here. I feel like at least several thousand have died, God!"

Winnie replied irritably, picked up two eggs, and turned to put them in the egg carton in the warehouse.

After arranging the eggs, Winnie shook her head worriedly and smiled wryly.

“We all eat a lot of eggs. Seriously, when there were only about ten people in the camp, we consumed about fifteen eggs per person every day, including fried eggs in the morning and eggs used for making bread and cakes.”

"As for now, our numbers are increasing very quickly, and each of our workloads is also increasing. To maintain the continuous heavy physical labor going forward, we must increase our protein intake. Teacher Hela talked about this yesterday afternoon."

"But these brainless chickens, they don't understand the pressure the camp is under at all. So many of them have died over such a small thing. Why can't they be like cattle and horses and learn to find shelter from the rain? Good heavens!"

"That's at least several thousand chickens, all dead in a rainstorm. We haven't even encountered a tornado like the boss and his crew, oh my god!"

As she spoke, Winnie's eyes were filled with reluctance. Looking at the dead chicken in her hand, her heart was breaking.

Looking at Winnie, who had a face full of greed, Nikita remained silent for a moment, then threw the dead chicken onto the car and spoke to Winnie.

"You're thinking quite a lot, kid. I thought you'd still be in class right now."

"Of course I have to attend classes. After all, my boss went to great lengths to find me a teacher, and I can't let him down."

Winnie immediately responded to Nikita.

"Besides, Hela isn't a particularly annoying teacher. In fact, I'm growing to like her more and more. She doesn't just teach me math and literature, which I don't like. She also teaches me a lot about shooting. And the math practice problems she sets are all tailored to the camp's situation. She's very dedicated."

"Moreover, Hela also told us that instead of sitting at home and studying all the time, we should learn to adapt to this world in the apocalypse."

"So, compared to the two seven- or eight-year-old brats that the boss brought back, I don't need to go to class in the morning. My mornings are for practicing shooting, fighting, and doing work. She dedicates my mornings to the camp and the boss. I like her like that~"

After she finished speaking, Winnie finally laughed.

Not far from Winnie, Wells threw a bunch of dead chickens into the warehouse, then turned around, took out a bag of powder, scooped out several bags of feed from the chicken farm, and mixed the powder into them.

Noticing Wells's actions, Nikita moved closer to him and asked him curiously.

"Ha, Wells, what are you doing?"

"Hello, Sister Nikita, Old Bert asked me to bring some Bacillus subtilis to mix into the chicken feed to prevent the chickens that died these past few days from spreading the disease to the flock."

Wells responded shyly to Nikita while he was busy working.

Beside Nikita, Winnie, while dodging the flock of chickens that were excited at the sight of feed, smacked her lips twice at Nikita.

"Oh, tsk tsk, our mistress is already getting involved in all the big and small things on the farm so quickly, Nikita, you really have a sense of ownership, shameless!"

"Ha, don't tease me, kid. I'm just looking into it. I've never done much chicken farming before. My dad's farm doesn't raise chickens, only a few cattle and horses."

Nikita responded while watching the flock of chickens fly past her.

At the same time, William, who was not far away, suddenly raised his binoculars and drew his gun, shouting at the crowd.

"Guys, watch out! Someone on horseback is approaching from our left. We're not even sure if they're on our side!"

"Roger that!"

Upon hearing William's words, everyone's hearts skipped a beat, and even Winnie put down the dead chicken and drew her own pistol.

Nikita picked up her binoculars, observed for a moment in the direction William indicated, then put them down and spoke.

"Isn't that Feng and Kelvin? Only Feng in the camp doesn't like wearing cowboy hats."

"It looks a bit like it, let me confirm!"

William responded to Nikita and then continued to observe.

After about ten seconds, he finally put down the binoculars and let out a long sigh.

"It is indeed Feng, but the two of them seem a bit disheveled. I noticed that Kelvin's clothes look dirty!"

As they spoke, Feng and Kelvin rode their horses toward the chicken farm. When they got close to the group, Winnie saw Kelvin's muddy and disheveled appearance.

So she quickly spoke to Feng's duo.

"What happened? You're so wet. You're going to catch a cold."

"Thanks for your concern, Winnie. When we were being chased by those damn zombies, my horse got startled by a zombie dog and threw me off, damn it!"

When Winnie asked him a question, Kelvin, still shaken, took off his cowboy hat.

Beside him, Feng Minglu dismounted and, still shaken, approached the pickup truck of the chicken-collecting team, his eyes searching for something as he spoke.

"Did you guys bring any Coke? I kind of need that stuff. Damn it, after yesterday's zombie migration, there are way more zombies left on the farm than before!"

"We walked less than a fifth of the way along the border, and not only did we kill thirteen zombies, but we were also chased for a while by a zombie dog and a zombie wolf. They were really fast runners!"

"In addition, there is a lot of damage to the border fence. Our task board will probably have more border repair work this afternoon."

"Really? Then I'll have work to do this afternoon. You'll protect me, right?"

Upon hearing Lao Feng's words, Wilston immediately became interested. Compared to dealing with the eggs and dead hens scattered all over the ground, he preferred the job of welding the barbed wire along the border.

Seeing that Wells was very interested, Old Feng immediately patted him on the shoulder and laughed.

"Of course, Kelvin and I are definitely among those who maintain the border; that's our job. Protecting you is also our job."

"But could I have a Coke first? I only brought one Gatorade with me today, and that stuff tastes awful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Feng leaned against the car and shrugged. The mechanic, Wells, quickly brought him a bottle of iced cola, which Old Feng then took a couple of sips and exhaled a satisfying breath.

Old Feng casually stuffed the Coke into his pocket, glanced at his watch, and continued to ask.

"It's almost 11:30. Aren't you going home? How about we help you with this for a while, and then we can go home together?"

"That would be fantastic! There are so many dead chickens here, at least several thousand. It would be great if you could help us out. We just need to be back before midnight!"

Winnie hurriedly greeted Lao Feng, and the temporary six-person team began working at the chicken farm.

Around 11:50, the group drove the pickup truck, loaded with dead chickens, back to the manor gate.

When they returned, they saw Gavin leading Steve and Father Hogan, each carrying a weapon, out of the manor.

Upon seeing Gavin, Winnie quickly greeted him.

"Boss, have you guys eaten yet?" "Not yet, we'll eat together in a bit. Today we have red wine-fried beef with cabbage, carrot pancakes, and tomato soup for lunch."

Gavin agreed and then took the lead in mounting his horse.

Watching Gavin mount his horse, Nikita didn't ask what Gavin was going to do. Instead, she took off her gloves, put her fingers to her lips, and gave a nonchalant whistle.

"Swoosh!"

After a crisp whistle rang out, a golden-haired bluesman suddenly rushed out of the manor.

Seeing this, Nikita reluctantly pushed the golden retriever away.

"Bruce, stop messing around! I was calling my horse, not you! Get away from me, Bruce!"

While the golden retriever was clinging to Nikita, her horse also came to her side.

Seeing this, Nikita mounted her horse and spoke to Gavin.

"Darling, let's do it together!"

"Tsk tsk, darling, that's so cheesy, darling, let's be cheesy together, darling~~~"

Winnie teased Nikita with a mix of displeasure and envy, while Old Feng patted the fisherman Kelvin's arm and spoke to him.

"Kelvin, go home and change your clothes. This isn't a good time to wear wet clothes. I'll go for another walk with the boss."

"Ok."

Kelvin nodded, then walked into the manor on his own.

Old Feng then turned his horse around and joined the makeshift team, asking Gavin a question.

"Boss, what kind of work do we have?"

"Damn it, you guys joined pretty naturally, but you actually have some skills."

Gavin explained to Old Feng and Nikita while adjusting the direction.

“I’m going to check on Eugene and the others. The sentry said that Eugene and the others have finished the big job of luring the zombies away from the horse farm and are currently cleaning up the small number of zombies that remain in the horse farm.”

“This kind of cleanup isn’t something that can be finished just like that. If we don’t kill all the residue, I’m worried they might wander off to other places during lunchtime.”

"So let's go help them out. There probably aren't many zombies left. We should be able to take them down by 12:30 at the latest."

As they spoke, Gavin spurred his horse toward the riding arena, the sound of five horses' hooves mingling together, instantly adding a touch of dashing charm to the grassy field beneath their feet.

Meanwhile, at the horse farm.

Eugene, who was smashing a studded stick into the head of a zombie, also heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar.

He quickly spared a glance at the one in the distance.

After confirming that the approaching group had at least five horses, Eugene turned back with relief and focused his attention on the next zombie.

The zombie was crouching in the corner of a stable, its mouth agape as it growled at Eugene.

Seeing the growling zombie, Adriana walked towards it with a cold expression.

When she was about six meters away from the zombie, the motionless zombie suddenly opened its mouth and roared louder.

Hearing that roar, Eugene couldn't help but frown and shout at Adriana.

"Adriana, don't kill this damn thing yet. Let the boss take a look. I have a feeling that idiot looks a bit like a Screamer who's about to transform!"

As they spoke, Gavin and his group of five had already rushed into the racecourse area.

Upon arriving here, Gavin couldn't help but fix his gaze on the dozens of zombies scattered around him.

His gaze was filled with doubt, because the zombies were actually staying near the various stables, and even when he rode his horse over in a swagger, the zombies did not rush at him immediately!

As he approached, Eugene, carrying a stick, came up to him. Noticing Gavin's gaze, he spoke to Gavin and the other four.

"How about that? It's strange, isn't it? The remaining zombies in the horse farm are like idiots."

"I led my buddies and lured most of the zombies away, across the highway and the river, into the forest where they got lost. But there was still a bunch of these random zombies left in the horse farm."

"Boss, I guess the remaining zombies are the ambushers and resident zombies that haven't been fully converted yet. Oh, right, there are also howlers. I just saw a zombie that was incredibly loud, but it wasn't quite at the level of a howler. I guess it's also not fully converted."

At this point, Eugene pointed to a zombie not far away that was still roaring, but whose voice had become hoarse in a short time.

Listening to Eugene's guess, Gavin licked his lips, looked around thoughtfully, and finally fixed his gaze on what appeared to be the howler.

"The incompletely transformed ambushers, lingerers, and howlers?"

As he muttered to himself, Gavin clapped his hands lightly, then raised his hand and drew a circle near the suspected screamer.

“The suspected Howler that Eugene mentioned, and the twenty stables near the Howler, are for me. You two go in pairs to clear out the zombies around here. Nikita and I will go in pairs.”

"Roger that!"

The group immediately agreed and then naturally split into three groups, spreading out in all directions.

Nikita followed behind Gavin, clutching her kukri, watching Gavin stride toward the suspected howler.

As Gavin drew ever closer, the suspected howler suddenly raised his head, stretched his throat as wide as possible, and roared even louder.

Seeing this, Gavin's brow relaxed slightly, and he smiled.

"Look at him, Nikki. He might not be a fully converted Howler, but his voice can already influence some of the zombies!"

At this point, Gavin pointed to six or seven zombies that rushed out of three or five stables nearby.

Just moments ago, while Gavin and his group were chatting casually, the zombies were still hiding in the stables.

But after the suspected howler roared even more loudly, the hiding zombies finally showed themselves.

This really does seem like an unsuccessful conversion, because Gavin did see a bit of Richard Town in the zombies' current organizational structure.

As for Nikita, seeing the zombies rushing towards them, she didn't panic at all. Instead, she stood two meters away from Gavin and whispered a reminder.

"Darling, we need to get to work!"

"Hmm, let's take care of the energetic guy first, then we'll deal with the guy who's singing loudly."

Gavin nodded to Nikita, then suddenly drew his longsword from his waist.

He swung his longsword with both hands and swung it fiercely at the oncoming zombies, instantly cutting both zombies in half at the waist!
After dealing with the two zombies, Gavin strode forward, his longsword flashing with powerful strokes, unleashing three beams of sword light to take care of the remaining four zombies.

Nikita followed behind Gavin with her kukri, quickly finishing off the zombies that Gavin hadn't managed to headshot.

After easily dealing with the onrushing zombies, Gavin held his longsword in his left hand and strode over to what appeared to be the howling zombie.

"Roar!!!"

As Gavin approached, the suspected howler roared and lunged at him.

Gavin then raised his left hand, grabbed the zombie by the neck, and slammed it against the stable wall.

After turning around and making sure no more zombies were rushing towards him, Gavin greeted Nikita.

"Nikki, get me some more rope!"

"Ok."

Nikita nodded, holstered her kukri, took the shotgun from behind her back and held it to her chest, then began searching the vicinity.

Gavin then thrust his longsword fiercely into the howler in his hand. The sword pierced through the howler's abdomen, pinning it to the wooden wall. At the same time, Gavin raised his hand and broke the howler's wrist, then grabbed the howler's jaw and examined it carefully.

After glancing at him twice, Nikita called out to Gavin.

"Honey, catch it!"

Suddenly, a rope flew towards Gavin.

Gavin released his longsword, caught the rope with his right hand without turning his head, and quickly tied up the suspected howler, then carried him to the nearest stable.

After confirming that there were no other zombies in the stable, Gavin took out his walkie-talkie and spoke.

"Listen up, guys working in the horse farm! Each group, try to capture two to three zombies for me, and keep at least fifteen zombies in total. Send them to the vicinity of my stable!"

"Then tie up the zombies and place them in a nearby stable. I want to simulate an environment that might prompt the hunters to continue their transformation, and try to confirm the underlying logic and speed at which the zombies begin to transform!"

"Roger that!"

Upon hearing the order, everyone responded over their walkie-talkies and then continued with their work.

Meanwhile, after closing the gate to the stable where the Howlers were located, Gavin stood outside watching the workers and estimating the number of zombies remaining in the stable area.

The racecourse was large. Apart from the dozen or so zombies left on the track that were still relatively concentrated, the other zombies had already shown signs of lingering and were not very willing to leave their respective areas.

This made everyone's actions much more convenient.

As for the number of zombies, Gavin made a simple estimate and felt that there might not be more than a hundred zombies left in the entire horse farm, or even fewer.

This indirectly confirms the transformation speed of the zombies; at least one night is not enough for the newly formed zombie horde to achieve the same transformation scale as in Richard Town.

The town of Richards has at least seven hundred residents, while its total population is only around three thousand.

This ratio is close to four to one.

In the horse farm area, at least 1,300 zombies were left behind during yesterday's migration.

However, there were no responses to Eugene's three-person enticement, and only a little over a hundred zombies remained in the horse farm, a ratio of nearly ten to one!

Clearly, when a new zombie horde appears during migration, the horde will indeed exhibit functional differentiation. Even if the zombie horde consists entirely of hunters, a considerable number of special zombies will differentiate based on their environment.

However, this differentiation will not happen overnight, but will take time.

It's just unknown whether Richard Town has the highest proportion of zombie transformation phenomena.

As for the new carcasses of hunters left in the horse farm area, if Eugene hadn't lured them away beforehand, would they eventually all turn into resident hunters over time?

And will the impact of the death of the aggregate on the zombie hordes in other areas extend to the established garrison and ambush groups in those areas?

(End of this chapter)