Doomsday America.

Chapter 323 Dawn

Deng Deng Deng!

"I'm a wandering cowboy, always riding."

"The tumbleweeds all around sing a lonely song."

Ta-da!

The sound of a guitar, accompanied by Jonathan's hoarse and melancholic voice, echoed in the open space outside the Bighorn Motel.

When Jonathan started singing, even the guys who were enjoying their food the most couldn't help but put down their utensils, which were holding asparagus pieces and large chunks of meat, and turn their attention to Jonathan.

Gavin started the song from the third line Jonathan sang, gently tapping the wrist of the hand holding the beer with the hand not holding the beer, keeping time for the song.

Adriana noticed Gavin's movements, then opened her arms and began to hum along softly to the rhythm.

As more and more of his buddies joined in the humming, Jonathan gave them a gloomy smile when the lyrics ended. Ta-da!

After gently plucking the strings, Jonathan began to sing at the top of his lungs, then simply lifted his hands off the strings, placed them on the air beside him, and invited his friends to join him in singing.

"Watching them tumble down, it's as if they're making a vow of love to the earth!"

"Lonely yet free, you will see my face, wandering the horizon with the rolling tumbleweeds!"

After the chorus resounds, the rhythmic guitar sounds slowly begin.

The guys breathed a sigh of relief, and more and more people joined in humming along.

Although Wang Ling didn't remember the lyrics to the song, it was a must-sing song at almost every music party in Texas, so she could hum along to the rhythm.

More and more songs began to rise softly, until at a certain moment, the guys' voices suddenly rose!

Jonathan's fingers plucked the strings faster and faster, then suddenly stopped.

Every guy who knew the lyrics couldn't help but raise his voice and sing the next line together.

The voices of the guys gradually overlapped under the dim light, merging into that touching lyric.

"I know all too well that when the night is over..."

"A brand new world was born at dawn!"

At that moment, many of the men's eyes lit up.

They turned their gazes to each other, they looked at each other, but their eyes were not necessarily on each other; perhaps they were looking towards dawn. A brand new world?

The rhythm of the clapping grew louder and louder, and the singing became more and more synchronized, until the last note disappeared, and then the lads fell silent, looking lost.

In those dark times, the impact of a classic old song was immense, much like the story of being surrounded by enemies on all sides. The spirit that the rolling tumbleweeds instilled in the crew was not a lament, but a resonance of the cowboy spirit.

Seeing his fellow workers looking much more energetic than before, Gavin stood up with a smile, took the guitar Jonathan handed him, and handed Gavin the precious guitar he had found during his exploration. Jonathan smiled and said...

"Boss, I've already had one song, now it's your turn, haha!"

"Don't worry, buddy, I may not be worthy of walking into the Vienna Golden Hall, but I absolutely deserve your cheers, absolutely!" In response to Jonathan's invitation, Gavin took the guitar, strummed it quickly a couple of times, and recalled the feeling of playing the guitar for a while.

Then, Gavin suddenly became unusually active, walking among the guys with his guitar, and his fingers plucked the strings with flair, producing music that made the eyes of more than twenty-five guys light up!

The moment the music started, Madison's eyes widened, and he involuntarily straightened up, his excitement practically bursting forth. Even Wang Ling, who didn't know much about American music, stared in astonishment, her mouth slightly agape, as if she were about to sing along! Edward clapped his hands rapidly, keeping up with Gavin's rhythm.

Eugene burst into laughter, then stood up and began to celebrate wildly around Gavin.

Seeing that the guys were in a great mood, Gavin didn't rush to sing. Instead, he played the intro again, which made the guys, who were already looking forward to it, even more excited.

Even Barn, who was on guard duty, moved closer to the campfire while holding his gun.

When Gavin saw that even Martin, who disliked music the most, couldn't help but start stomping his feet to keep the beat, Gavin finally ended the rhythm that he had been prolonging.

Then, Gavin deliberately lowered his voice and shouted at his men in a very rough and powerful voice.

"Are you ready, kids?"

"Yes, Captain!" ×29!

At that moment, the men's voices were perfectly synchronized; not a single one fell behind, and they all joined in singing along to Gavin's music. Gavin continued to yell at the men.

"Too quiet!"

"Yes, Captain!" ×29!

"ohhhhhh~--"

"Who lives inside a giant pineapple in the deep sea?!"

SpongeBob SquarePants! ×29!

At that moment, the word "SpongeBob" resounded throughout the sky, and the guys shouted the word out with all their might!

This animated series, which has been airing since 1999, is suitable for all ages, deeply loved by countless people, and has an immense influence. There are very few Americans who haven't seen it!

Moreover, although Texas is the cowboy state, it also has an ocean!

From Houston to Mexico, how many Americans living on the Mexican coastal plains in southern Texas make a living as sailors and pride themselves on being cowboys who roam the ocean?

As Gavin began singing SpongeBob SquarePants' theme song, "Pirates and Kids," the party atmosphere instantly reached its climax. The guys danced excitedly, and many wore innocent, childlike smiles.

When the SpongeBob SquarePants lyrics kept repeating, the guys all stood up, linked arms, and started singing and dancing. Even Wang Ling and Adriana hugged each other, jumping around enthusiastically.

From then on, the time for music truly arrived, and the guitar was passed from hand to hand among the guys.

While cowboys aren't all multi-talented, when it comes to guitars... in American college dorms, almost 90% of male dorms have at least one member who carries at least one guitar!

Gavin didn't care whether the guys could play or not, he just shoved the guitar into Martin's hands, and Martin actually played a tune.

After Martin finished playing and shoved the guitar into Madison's hands, who was beaming with excitement...

Madison excitedly took the guitar, then suddenly froze, looking completely bewildered. His bewildered expression, combined with his unusually large face, stunned the bouncing guys on the spot.

Under the watchful eyes of his buddies, Madison, holding his guitar in one hand, awkwardly licked his thick lips and said helplessly.

"Wait, guys, I... I can't play guitar either!"

"Tsk tsk, kid who grew up on the streets of Chicago. While you were out there on the streets, I was still dealing with cows in the barn. Tsk tsk~" Gavin seized the opportunity and delivered a fatal blow to Old Mike, who was immediately rendered unable to get up again. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the guys around him burst into loud laughter.

The guitar was then transferred to Corbin's hands.

The last heir of 6666 Ranch actually has excellent piano skills, even better than Jonathan.

Suddenly, the music started playing again, and the guys joined in the singing and dancing.

The cheerful atmosphere lasted until after 9:50 p.m., when it gradually faded as the alcohol ban took effect.

After all, Gavin only allowed each guy a maximum of three bottles of beer, but three bottles weren't enough to get them going. The guys barely warmed up before it was over. But this suited Gavin's wishes; otherwise, if the party had continued until 10:30, Gavin would have had to stop the guys from celebrating.

Tomorrow's expedition requires the guys to maintain their strength, and things are going well as they are now. As the tension gradually dissipated, the guys didn't need Gavin to urge them and took the initiative to clean up the mess.

Gavin sat on a small stool watching the guys cleaning up the scene, then waved to Martin, whose forehead was still covered in sweat.

"Martin."

"Boss, what's going on? I'm here."

Martin handed the bucket to Old Man Mike, letting him put out the fire himself, while he went to Gavin's side.

Gavin patted Martin on the shoulder and gave him some instructions.

"Take the generator and restore power to the motel, Martin."

"Roger that, sir!"

Martin gave a comical salute, then found two men to help him with the task.

Before long, the motel was lit up.

There wasn't much to pack up at the party, so the guys went into the hotel one by one, even Barn, who was on lookout duty, went inside. With the hotel there, Barn didn't need to stay on the roof of the car outside; the hotel environment was safer than the outdoors.

Wang Ling had already assigned rooms to the staff. Although the Longhorn Cow Motel was not large, it was more than enough to accommodate thirty people. Except for a few who volunteered to sleep together, most people had single rooms.

However, Gavin did not choose a single room, but instead rested in the lobby of the Longhorn Motel.

He slept on the sofa with the radio near his head.

Of course, Gavin's sleeping in the lobby wasn't solely for receiving communications from the Brotherhood or the camp. Besides receiving messages, Gavin also wanted to avoid something else.

He was afraid someone would secretly knock on his door in the middle of the night!

That would disturb his sleep, really, but there's no such problem in the hall. At least Gavin can use the excuse of needing to pee to brush it off.

Otherwise, Gavin wouldn't want to be woken up by the sound of turning the doorknob or knocking in the middle of the night!

As for whether his guess is possible...

Well, anyway, after Gavin chose to sleep in the lobby, right under the noses of the sentry members...

Not only Adriana, but even Wang Ling and Diana looked at Gavin with a hint of regret.

In short, the little incident ended quickly, and the guys all went to sleep.

The moon also fulfilled its duty, circling the zenith before handing the sky back to the sun.

Despite sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings, Gavin slept soundly. When he woke up, Mike and Tara, two fitness enthusiasts, were already doing push-ups and squats in the open space outside the hotel.

After Gavin had fully recovered from his exhaustion, he gathered a few of his men to prepare breakfast.

After the men got up and had breakfast, Gavin sat in the hotel lobby with his radio and contacted the Brotherhood.

I'll also let the camp know I'm safe.

The camp was very peaceful that day; nothing unexpected happened, not even the new recruits, and the guys got along well.

And the Brotherhood...

When Gavin called the fraternity, Connor of the fraternity rushed to the radio and anxiously spoke to Gavin.

"God, Gavin, you finally contacted me! You finally messaged me again! I'm just... God, I'm having such a terrible time!" Well, that was the first thing he said after reconnecting, which definitely put Gavin on edge. He quickly asked Connor, "What's wrong, Connor?"

As Gavin asked his question, Edward, who was struggling to swallow his milk, and Jonathan, who was chewing on a sandwich, sat down next to Gavin. With them seated, more and more of the fraternity members gathered around, listening to Connor's story with Gavin.

Connor eagerly explained to Gavin.

"We're in big trouble, Gavin. Those biker thugs found me. I don't know how they followed me, but it's definitely them, absolutely!"

"Wait, absolutely? So you haven't even seen it with your own eyes to confirm if they're biker gang members? How did you determine that?!"

Gavin immediately seized on Connor's question and asked him about it.

Upon hearing this, Connor took a deep breath and then explained in a frustrated and sad tone.

"That's right, Gavin, I haven't seen them with my own eyes yet, but it's definitely them!"

"Because the small team I sent to fetch water from the water source didn't come back! Good heavens, they've vanished! They haven't returned all night!" "The water source for our camp is only about three kilometers away, I think!"

"Of course, the reason I didn't camp directly at the water source is because the environment there is too open. Our water source isn't in a forest, but rather like in those animal shows on TV, in an open plain. It's a lonely river; you should understand what I mean by that, right?" "Anyway, my men disappeared after they went out. We didn't even hear a gunshot; all we know is they didn't come back all night." "I'm afraid to send any more men to fetch water now, and the water we have left... Let me see, Barutto, Barutto, where are you? Damn it, come here!"

Connor yelled twice into the radio, while Gavin and his men waited in silence.

Shortly afterward, it seemed that Connor and the so-called Barutto had talked about something, and Connor spoke to Gavin.

"Gavin, we have about four cubic meters of water left. Our water truck overturned because we were rushing, so we don't have any more water. All we have left are bottled and barrelled water that we found in the supermarket."

"If we don't get a water supply, we'll have to keep sending people out to find water soon, whether it's fetching water from the river to boil and drink, or scavenging supermarkets."

"But we're definitely being targeted by biker gangs!"

"I suspect that because they've already ambushed us, they know we outnumber them and are not to be trifled with, so they're not planning on a direct confrontation!"

"Those devils, they deserve to go to hell, damn it, they must be trying to drag us down here, they want to force me to surrender, they must want my woman to kneel before them and play music for each of them, like a fucking symphony orchestra, Mazefak!!!" Connor's emotions were shockingly bad at this point.

Gavin couldn't help but rub his brow and whispered to Connor.

"I understand, Connor. We've reached Highway 20. Next, we'll turn onto Patria and then take Highway 10 to approach you!"

"Believe me, if all goes well, we'll meet tonight at the latest, and I'll guarantee that every one of you will be safe from the biker gang!"

"Trust me, buddy, I'm an invincible cowboy. You need to stay calm, and keep your men calm, understand? Set up the defenses, keep the lookouts, I'll be there!"

At this point, the content of the conversation became irrelevant; it was entirely Gavin trying his best to soothe Connor's emotions.

Connor's apparent inability to handle the situation elicited disdainful smiles from Edward and the others.

After chatting for another five or six minutes, Gavin managed to get some information out of him and then ended the call.

After the radio was disconnected, Gavin sat down casually, tapped the radio, and addressed the men around him.

What do you think?

"Haha, what else can I look at it? Of course, I'll look at it with a smile!"

Edward responded with a sound of agreement, then rubbed his hair and said.

"Boss, I'm really not used to fighting battles with almost no intelligence, but I believe that even in an encounter, my men will be just as capable as the biker gang!"

"An encounter?"

Upon hearing Edward's words, Eugene scoffed and retorted.

"Don't speak for me, Edward. You should know that skirmishes are the hardest to fight. Even SEAL Team Six could suffer heavy losses in a sudden skirmish. It's not about the difference in combat strength, but rather that the more sudden the battle, the harder it is to avoid unexpected events!"

"That's right, I don't like skirmishes either!"

Martin immediately echoed Eugene's statement, while rolling his eyes at Edward.

Upon hearing this, Edward grinned and waved his hand at the two of them.

"Don't pretend you don't understand what I'm thinking. I'm not saying we have to fight an encounter battle. I'm just saying we will definitely win, definitely! However, we don't even have satellite maps, let alone any information about the surrounding environment. So, all combat plans will have to wait until we arrive in that area and try to observe the environment as much as possible before we can determine them."

"Of course, that doesn't mean we don't have a battle strategy. I've taught you guys how to fight a drawn-out battle." Edward turned to Gavin and said softly.

"Also, boss, I don't trust Connor, so we can't take Connor's statements as intelligence standards. We must be prepared to fight alone."

"Yes, indeed!"

Upon hearing Edward's words, Gavin nodded slightly and added.

"Besides, even if everything Connor says is true, his opinion isn't important, since he's not even sure who their current enemy is." "Was it really a biker gang that surrounded them? Is it possible there's a third-party force nearby, meaning Connor moved to someone else's territory and was attacked and retaliated against?"

"We're not sure about any of that, so all we can do is rush over there and see for ourselves!"

"We should get going, guys. Stay alert, especially after we reach our target area. Don't assume armored vehicles can protect us; I doubt we can withstand RPGs!"