Doomsday America

Chapter 90 Highway Signs
"Then I'm truly worried about God's ass and ears!"

Gavin interrupted Madison's boasting with a laugh, then glanced around to check on Winnie and the other two's spoils.

Clearly, as long as Doris takes the lead, the three of them will have no problem doing housework.

Within a few tens of minutes, the large piles of dried blood outside the manor gate and near the small bridge had disappeared, leaving only watermarks.

As for the blood found near the old manor and in the garden...

Those places are far from the river, so cleaning them up will be more troublesome.

After a quick glance, Gavin clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

He then gave a brief explanation to everyone.

"Alright, let's save our chat time for after dinner."

"Madison, reload your ammo, then drive with me back to the ranch to pick up cattle."

“Eugene, Steve, go change your clothes and then stay on the estate to do some work. I have other tasks for you.”

"Inside the manor?"

Hearing this, Eugene grunted twice in dissatisfaction.

"You actually want to leave me on the manor to do chores like those women?"

"Stop messing around, you'll get what's coming to you, boss!"

“I already told you, I have other work for you.”

Gavin patted Eugene on the shoulder. This guy had definitely recovered from the air conditioning. Half an hour ago, he would have been able to get a second glance from Gavin if Eugene hadn't been talking for a couple of minutes.

Now, Gavin continued speaking to the crowd.

“It’s already past four o’clock. Madison and I can only bring the cattle back. We don’t have time to explore the town and the more distant plantations, so the two of us are enough.”

"You two stay in the manor. Steve, you take Eugene to find some sturdy planks and markers, and make some simple road signs and directional signs."

“We are short-handed and must hurry up and recruit survivors. In the next few days, we need to try to put up signs at all the nearby highway intersections.”

"Besides that, we also need to find a radio station, damn it, it seems like only Richard Town has those things."

"Forget it, that's all for later. Let's focus on doing what's in front of us and get busy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin pulled out the magazines from his HK416 and took all the magazines into the manor.

Madison quickly followed Gavin, and the two went to the armory to load the magazines with bullets.

Watching the two walk away, Eugene grinned and leaned close to Steve, saying something.

"Chief Cowboy, have you done any sign-writing work in the last ten years?"

"Ha, that's like shoveling cow dung, how could I possibly do it myself? But things are different now~"

Steve patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and the two of them walked together toward the manor.

At the same time, Winnie took off her rubber gloves and leaned behind the two of them to speak.

“We found some markers today, I’ll take you to get them, but we didn’t find any wooden boards or anything like that, we don’t usually have those at home.”

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you. But Gavin can't do farm work after all, because what we lack most isn't signs, but cattle pens and stables."

Steve called out to Eugene as he walked.

"Hey buddy, when we're processing the planks later, let's also get some square timber stakes to build a simple cattle pen and stable. We can find the materials at the dairy farm; there's plenty of leftover timber there."

"You're right, tsk tsk, you're the kind of person who really knows how to do farm work!"

Eugene, unabashedly, gave Steve a thumbs-up and laughed.

"As for our boss, ha, he's just a rich man with a head full of plans. What does he know about raising cattle and horses?"

"Let's take care of this for him, and we'd better get it done quickly, before he comes back with the cow!"

"no problem!"

The two of them chatted back and forth as Winnie led them to the room where clothes were stored.

Not long after, Winnie met two much cleaner-looking cowboys at the door.

Eugene flicked his hat and then scratched his thigh uncomfortably.

The aftereffects of horseback riding are starting to bother him.

Steve continued to follow Winnie, finding several markers and putting them in his pocket.

When the two of them arrived at the armory to replenish their ammunition, Gavin and his companion had already come out.

As Gavin passed by Steve, he casually punched Steve in the chest.

"Keep an eye on your surroundings while you work. Old Mai and I are leaving now."

"Don't worry, brother, no woman will die in front of me. Even if there are 100,000 zombies blocking my way, I can break through them, and more than once!"

Steve said exaggeratedly to Gavin, then went into the armory to reload.

Gavin and Madison, one on horseback and the other in a car, sped towards the ranch area.

The journey was uneventful; in fact, during the time they were away, the cattle grazed and wandered towards the manor, saving them several kilometers of travel.

Gavin picked out an area with his whip, cut into the herd, separated dozens of Angus cattle, and then brought in a few dairy cows to add to the herd.

Madison, watching Gavin busily working, smiled and pointed to the Angus cow's rear end, asking a question.

"Boss, why do all your cows have '6666' branded on their butts?"

"Oh, those are all Angus cattle bought from 6666 Ranch. Their cattle all have 6666 printed on their butts."

Gavin offered an explanation, then he and Madison, one on each side, drove the cattle slowly home.

Time flew by as Madison honked his horn to urge the cattle along. By the time Gavin returned to the vicinity of the farm, the sun was setting, and Doris was no longer visible outside the estate.

Obviously, Doris still had to cook, leaving Winnie alone, somewhat clumsily wielding a cleaner and brush, determined to deal with the bloodstains all over the garden.

Upon seeing Gavin return, the two dogs dashed over Eugene and his companion, who were driving wooden stakes, and jumped up and down beside Gavin.

Looking at them, Octavian snorted twice in annoyance, wishing he could kick them a couple of times.

Gavin quickly calmed Octavian down, then dismounted and went to Eugene and Steve's side, staring blankly at the wooden stakes that were being gradually hammered into the grass.

After glancing at him for a moment, Gavin patted Steve on the shoulder and laughed.

“I forgot, the cattle and horses do need a home closer to us. Well done, buddy.”

"Ha, I am the chief, and this title is not given for nothing."

Steve responded while swinging the sledgehammer until he had completely hammered the stake into the ground. Only then did he put down the hammer, wipe his sweat, and say...

"Eugene and I went to the horse farm and got some planks. After we cut them up, we gave them to William and Bella. I don't know how to write those recruitment pitches. They're a policeman and a college student, so they should be fine."

"Okay, I'll go check on their progress. Old Mike, could you help out at the cattle pen and make sure the cattle don't wander off?"

Gavin waved to Old Mike and then walked towards the old manor.

Bella and William gathered there; William sat on the ground holding a gun, while Bella knelt on a wooden board, writing and drawing.

Upon noticing Gavin's footsteps, William jumped up and quickly tried to stand up.

Seeing this, Gavin quickly took two steps forward, pressed him down, and asked as he sat back down on the ground.

"So, how many advertising boards have you got together?"

“The boss is back? He’s already got three done. It’s a simple task. I also drew a few rugby ball patterns.” Bella agreed and pointed out the completed signboard to Gavin.

Gavin glanced at it and saw that the sign had text and a rugby ball image on both sides, with the largest lettering at the beginning above Gavin's name.

The theme emphasizes the legendary quarterback's identity, points out the location of Gavin Ranch, and briefly describes the idyllic life on the ranch.

After confirming the details, Gavin nodded and praised him with a smile.

"well done."

"Simple and easy~"

Bella knelt there, looking back at the moon, and winked at Gavin. Gavin, however, acted as if he hadn't seen her, picked up the three wooden plaques, and said...

"I'll put these three pieces at the Richard Lake turn, the Costa Airport turn, and the highway exit heading towards Houston."

"You'll have to keep working hard for a while longer. You can never have too many signs."

"Understood, don't worry, we'll be there soon!"

Bella nodded in agreement, then pursed her lips with a slight hint of regret before continuing her work.

Gavin then carried the sign to the Raptor, threw it into the truck bed, and shouted to Old Mike from a distance.

"Madison, get to work."

"Wait, let me go with you. Old Mai is a big guy, he looks like he's good at farm work. Let him handle things here!"

Before Madison could respond, Eugene quickly dropped the stake and leaped toward the raptor.

His gun was already in the Raptor, so he rushed to the back seat, pushed aside the TAC, and sat down.

Seeing this, Gavin shook his head, got into the driver's seat, and started the car.

Looking at the raptor that had already gone far away, Madison, bewildered, took the sledgehammer and said to Steve with suspicion.

"What just happened? What? A big red rat suddenly darted out like that?"

"Haha, first come, first served. You'd better help me out, buddy."

Steve smiled and went to find a long plank in the distance, then nailed it to the stake.

Meanwhile, Gavin and his companion walked further and had already passed old Bert's villa.

Seeing this, Eugene grinned and asked.

"Boss, how about we stop by Old Bert's house to pick up some things on our way back?"

"They need to bring all their close-combat weapons. Oh, and what about the blacksmith's workbench? Should we move it over there too?"

At this point, Eugene rubbed his scalp.

Weapons are fine; we can just take them away.

But the other equipment the blacksmith needs—heating furnace, charcoal furnace, felt, power hammer, and all sorts of other miscellaneous equipment—can't be moved in just a few trips.

For some pieces of equipment that are too heavy, a crane may be necessary.

Although moving the blacksmith shop was very difficult, Gavin, after a brief silence, spoke to Eugene with great certainty.

"In any case, all the blacksmith shops must be moved back to the vicinity of the manor, but that will have to wait until we have scouted all the surrounding locations."

"It just so happens that old Bert's back injury will take a while to heal. Let's help him move after he's better."

That's true.

Eugene nodded in agreement, then rolled down the car window, placed the gun out the window, and warily looked around.

As the two entered the resort area, the brightness and visibility decreased significantly, causing Eugene to feel instinctively uneasy.

Noticing Eugene's actions, Gavin thought for a moment and said.

"Tomorrow, after we scout out the town and retrieve the seeds, we'll search the resort area and try to clear out all the zombies in the villas. We'll also make a record of the types of supplies we find."

"Okay, whatever you say. I just need to know what I'm supposed to do. Overthinking isn't my forte, sir."

Eugene smiled and gave Gavin a comical salute before continuing to stand guard with his gun.

However, they didn't encounter a single zombie until they reached the entrance of the resort.

This situation is not surprising, as the forest in the resort area is so vast that even if a few zombies escape from their villas, they would lose their way due to the tangled trees.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the resort, Gavin parked the car near the road sign and got out with Eugene.

Eugene picked up the sign and studied where to nail it.

When Gavin brought over the nails and hammer, Eugene gestured to place the sign below the road sign and called out to Gavin.

"Boss, let's just nail it right under the road sign, so we don't have to hammer the sign into the dirt."

"Yes, this road sign is made of wood."

If the support pillars for the road sign are made of metal, then they have to smash the sign down like they're driving in wooden stakes.

But now, it's just a matter of a few nails; in no time, a sign is done.

The two repeated the process, driving towards the airport and selecting two intersections on the main highway from Koscana to Houston, leaving new signs at each.

However, there are still not enough signs. If possible, Gavin would even like to put these things at every highway intersection in Texas.

After the two returned, the setting sun lingered, leaving behind its last half, adding a touch of blood to the apocalypse.

Gavin drove slowly through the resort area, catching the last rays of the setting sun, and parked the car at old Bert's villa.

After getting out of the car, Gavin went to the top floor of the villa and scouted the rooftop for a while to confirm that there were no signs of zombies.

Then came the frantic hauling. Gavin dealt with old Bert's books, while Eugene found himself a small one-handed hammer and then threw more weapons onto the truck bed.

There were still some bloodstains in the truck bed of the Raptor, so Eugene found two more layers of felt and wrapped the truck bed with them.

Seeing Gavin carrying piles of books down in cardboard boxes, Eugene grinned.

"If only we'd washed the car by the river after we shook off the zombies, it's fucking filthy!"

"Haha, indeed. Next time you have any ideas you should have known earlier, you'd better tell me on the spot, buddy."

Gavin is not God, nor is he a super brain. He can't think that carefully, so he can only focus his thinking on the most basic needs of survival and safety.

The two of them worked diligently for more than twenty minutes, categorizing and working, and left the villa for the manor just as the setting sun was leaving only a reddish edge on the horizon.

Inside the manor, Doris had prepared the meal a dozen minutes earlier and was nervously leaning against the kitchen wall, watching the time.

Bella and William stopped working when it got dark and instead helped Madison and the others tidy up the cattle pen and horse stable.

Just building one cattle pen took a lot of time; they worked until the sun had completely set before they finally finished.

Even so, it's because the farm has prepared enough timber.

As for the stables...

Building that thing would be far more troublesome than building a cattle pen.

So Steve simply hammered a row of wooden stakes into the ground and tied the horses to them.

"I'll go to the horse farm and get some hay. I'll use that stuff to make do with the racehorses, since they don't lie down much anyway."

As they were talking, Steve went to the garage and drove out a pickup truck.

(End of this chapter)