Doomsday America.

Chapter 293 The Astronauts' Plans

Just as Gavin was pondering this, William walked out from the direction of the shooting range and made his way to the hall.

From a distance, after seeing Gavin sitting on the sofa chatting, William waved hello.

"Boss!"

"Yes, William, come here for a second."

Gavin beckoned to William, then gestured for him to sit to his right, pointing to the two idiots standing in the corner of the hall.

"You saw them, didn't you?"

"I see them, boss. Aren't those Lucien's underlings, Auror and Nanders? What happened to them?"

William recognized Lucien's two underlings at a glance, which surprised Gavin.

After all, as the camp population grew, not everyone could remember everyone's names anymore.

Clearly, although William usually appeared unassuming and didn't seem to be doing anything particularly important, his familiarity with the camp was astonishing. Seeing this, Gavin nodded in satisfaction and then spoke to William.

"Those two bastards just came to me wanting me to arbitrate their fight, but do you know what they want me to arbitrate?" "Oh? What?"

Hearing this, William became a little curious. He put his hands on his knees, leaned out, and looked at Gavin with curiosity.

Meeting William's curious gaze, Gavin scoffed in annoyance, then shook his head with a self-deprecating laugh and said...

"Those two somehow got their hands on at least two kilograms of marijuana, and suddenly they're arguing about how to distribute it, demanding a...fair ruling from me!" "But for me, a fair ruling means throwing those two bastards into the cellar and locking them up for three fucking weeks, at least three weeks, to completely kick their damn addiction, Mazefak!" "Besides that, William, you should know what your job is next!"

"Screw marijuana, William! You need to find out how much marijuana is still circulating in the camp, and more importantly, who has it, and especially, where it's coming from!" "On this point, can I trust you?"

At this point, Gavin leaned over and patted William on the shoulder. After a brief silence, William nodded resolutely and replied to Gavin, "Boss, can I work with Jonathan on this? His well-trained dogs can help me find marijuana."

"As for the source of the marijuana, let me have a good talk with the two of them. Of course, the conversation will take place in the cellar."

At this point, William stood up, drew his pistol, and walked coldly toward the two bastards.

Seeing William draw his gun and walk towards them, the two bastards exchanged a glance, then helplessly stretched out their hands to William.

Seeing the two outstretched hands, William was slightly taken aback, then said to them with amusement.

"Don't be stupid, guys. I'm not giving you handcuffs right now. All I have are a pistol and bullets." "So, let's go to the cellar."

"The boss's punishment rules are actually quite lenient, so you two had better not cause me any trouble."

"I don't want to have the blood of my camp buddies on my hands, and I bet you don't want to die at the hands of your living comrades after struggling to escape from zombies, do you?" With that, William pointed his gun toward the basement passage.

Seeing this, the two bastards looked at each other, then innocently raised their hands to William and quietly walked towards the underground passage. On the sofa in the distance, watching their retreating figures, Gavin shook his head helplessly.

If this were a computer game, then perhaps every single command he gave would have a 100% chance of being transmitted and executed. But in reality, this is the fucking real world.

In the real world, there will always be troublemakers and disobedient individuals.

These two bastards in front of me are alright; although they violated the marijuana ban, at least they didn't violently resist the law.

But Gavin knew that in the future, there would be more and more guys like that.

The old laws had long since vanished with the arrival of the apocalypse. The current camp is essentially a result of Gavin and his team of field agents forcibly enforcing the new laws. Even before the apocalypse, with millions of police officers and soldiers maintaining the law, how many Americans didn't defy it? Are you kidding me?

Even the field agents themselves might break the law, because those two marijuana-smoking bastards are field agents, and they're with Lucien! Just as Gavin was deep in thought, the drunken Ivan next to him took another sip of his drink, then looked up at Gavin and whispered.

"Tsk tsk, being a lord isn't all that pleasant, is it, my lord?"

"Ha~"

Upon hearing this, Gavin chuckled and shook his head in response.

"It's not as bad as you say, Big Ivan. If anyone believes that those in positions of power are worse off than those in lower positions, or that managers are worse off than those they manage," then that person must have been hopelessly fooled by those damn inspirational stories.

"As the number of people increased, the troubles at the camp did increase, and there were more and more silly and funny things happening, but overall, I can assure you without reservation that our camp is currently the best camp in the United States."

"After all, I've seen too much... I've also witnessed the bizarre and outlandish things at other camps."

"As for myself, well, I can only say that my buddies were pretty accommodating."

Just as Gavin was speaking, Winnie came to him with a tray of hot drinks.

"Boss!"

From a distance, Winnie cheerfully called out to Gavin, then trotted over to him, placed the tray on the tea, and plopped down next to him, loudly proclaiming, "I just heard from Bella that Nikita is pregnant! Is it true? Good heavens, have you been working too hard these past few days?!" "Ha, little devil, you dare tease me now, huh? 'Working hard' is a good word!"

Gavin pinched Winnie's nose and shook it in annoyance, then looked at the drinks on the tray.

There are four drinks on it: two coffees and two honey waters.

Honey water was obviously for sobering up, so Gavin pointed to the tray and asked Big Ivan.

"Big Ivan, would you like some honey water?"

"I think I'd rather not. Compared to that sweet stuff, I much prefer the whiskey I'm drinking!"

Big Ivan shook his head, flicked the bottle in his hand, and then took a big gulp.

At this moment, as the strong liquor slid down his throat and into his stomach, making him feel increasingly drunk, he finally found the feeling of being alive! For the past two months, no one knew how much pressure he was under. After he presented his plan in the space station, the efforts of everyone, including his own, and their lives, all rested on his shoulders.

After all, no matter how well the data is done, all the data must be applied in practice, and he is the only one who operates it!

If he makes an unusual mistake, then everything will be over!

Therefore, he was under too much and too heavy pressure!

Only now, after they returned to Earth, was he able to properly relieve the pressure in his heart.

Moreover, before they fully understand the mechanism of the zombie fungus's onset, they do indeed need to use strong liquor as a makeshift method to passively deal with potential infection. So, Big Ivan is now drinking under orders.

Thinking about it this way, Ivan felt less pressure.

Seeing that Ivan wasn't interested in the honey water, Gavin picked up his coffee and started drinking it himself.

Well, he wasn't really interested in honey water either; that stuff was for the weak.

He, however, had completely sobered up since learning he was going to be a father.

Just as Gavin picked up his cup and took his first sip of coffee, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded on the second floor.

The footsteps attracted the attention of several people in the hall. Gavin, Winnie, and the others looked up at the source of the sound.

Kobayashi Shinya, dressed in a sharp suit and with his hair impeccably neatly combed, jogged towards the lobby. He stopped abruptly in front of Gavin, then gave him an exaggerated bow.

"My lord, please forgive me for waking up late, Marseille!"

Xiaolin first apologized, then straightened up and stood there properly.

Thomas's eyes lit up slightly as he watched Kobayashi's expression.

He admired Kobayashi's attitude; Kobayashi's demeanor made Gavin appear even more like a nobleman, which made Thomas, the butler, uncontrollably puff out his chest. Gavin nodded and pointed to the sofa.

"Have a seat, Kobayashi. How did you sleep last night?"

"Hi! I slept wonderfully last night. The alcohol really relieved my fatigue and some of my stress, and the excellent living conditions, comfortable bed, and safe and joyful camp atmosphere you provided made me feel like I was in a dream!"

"I simply cannot imagine what kind of leader could possibly create such a fairytale-like world in a world that is practically doomed!" "I am so grateful that there are still great people like you in the world, because before I returned to Earth, I even thought I would witness a real-life Mad Max here!" "But it wasn't until I actually sat in front of you that I realized such leaders really exist, and everything I witnessed was not fake, but something incredible that I once hesitated to even approach, but which I am now experiencing firsthand!" "You have created a miracle, sir, and I am so fortunate to have participated in the construction of this miracle. I am truly flattered, truly flattered!" After standing there talking for so long, Kobayashi finally sat down properly.

Even when he sat on the sofa, he acted like a disciplined child in kindergarten, not only sitting upright but also with his hands obediently placed on his knees. Seeing Xiaolin's attitude, Gavin involuntarily swallowed.

It's normal for many people to dislike the "Little People" race, because they are indeed filled with a deep-seated fear of power rather than gratitude, and have a tradition of subservience. But in that fear of power, and before they completely decide to rebel, their attitude is so good, it's astonishing! Look at Kobayashi now, this guy who just returned to Earth has already become Gavin's best-behaved, most obedient, and intelligent subordinate. How could Gavin not admire such a guy?

Gavin smiled and nodded, then said softly.

"Don't waste time with pleasantries, Xiaolin. I admit I like your flattery, but too much flattery loses its meaning. You need to find the right balance." "Instead of honing your flattery skills, why don't you tell me what you really want to do next?"

"I'll say it again: I eagerly anticipate the return of such brilliant individuals as you, hoping you can bring new and positive changes to me and our homeland!" "So, what do you think you'll be doing next?"

At this point, Gavin smiled and gave a scrutinizing look as he looked at Naoya Kobayashi in front of him.

Kobayashi immediately followed up on Gavin's words, puffing out his chest and responding to Gavin with great enthusiasm.

"Hi, Lord Gavin! I do have some plans for my upcoming work, and I hope my humble plans can bring even the slightest help to our future." "First, sir, I think our work as astronauts can be done as a whole. This whole involves researching and upgrading all the existing infrastructure of the camp." "As for the specific personnel management of the camp, we scholars shouldn't interfere. Compared to scientific research, if we astronauts are more adept at politeness and socializing, then our destiny won't be in the sky, but in the parliaments of various governments and endless drinking parties."

"As for the research and development and upgrading of the various tools and work systems in the camp, I think we astronauts can categorize them according to our respective disciplines and focus on participating in the camp's work." "For example, Ivan is a power and mechanical engineer. I think he can organize and upgrade most of the current machinery in the camp." "Even if the upgrade is difficult, he can spread mechanical knowledge to more people, thereby cultivating more apprentices so that mechanical design will not be submerged in the apocalyptic tide, and even enabling us to quickly master the ability to manufacture machinery independently."

"Besides that, I think Big Ivan could lead us to try to rebuild and maintain the hydroelectric power station near us as soon as possible. With that, we will be able to break free from our current reliance on fuel oil for power generation, opening up more possibilities for us and eliminating the risk of levee breaches caused by the high water levels of Lake Richard!"

"Charlie and Sergei can work in physics and chemistry simultaneously to conduct reasonable research and development on our weapon and pharmaceutical systems." "As for Richard and me, until Richard fully recovers, I am willing to undertake all research on the zombie fungus and give you a satisfactory answer as much as possible." "I cannot guarantee that I can develop any special drugs against the zombie fungus. After all, this is a task that would be difficult to complete in a short time even before the apocalypse, when there was no shortage of equipment and large research and development teams. If I were alone, I would really find it difficult to do."

"But I promise to do my best to find out some patterns and solutions for humans to deal with zombie fungus."

"As for Edwin, as a mathematician, he is the foundation of everything. He will help us in every way, even if it's just helping us build one digital model after another; he will be of countless kinds of help!" "Of course, this is just my opinion. I believe we can do much more in practical applications. After all, even in areas we are not good at, I believe we can relearn and master them." "In short, sir, I am prepared to give everything for us!"

"My mind and my life are at your disposal, sir!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kobayashi abruptly spread his legs, placing his hands on his knees and bending heavily over the pair of legs, bowing his head as well. The posture made him look somewhat like a Yakuza pleading for orders…

Seeing Kobayashi Naoya's behavior, Gavin's mind cleared up considerably.

Although Xiaolin's wording was somewhat complicated, his philosophy was very simple: make the best use of resources and people.

The camp is currently in a state of utter disarray, with everything needing rebuilding. Aside from farming and gradually constructing a defensive perimeter, the camp's technological level has been steadily declining. The arrival of the astronauts, however, can halt the regression of a few technologies and, under their guidance, temporarily maintain pre-apocalyptic levels, even enabling rapid innovation in a short period. This could include projects like Lake Richard, agricultural machinery upgrades, or the research into zombie fungi.

Those weren't actually the most important things.

For Gavin, only one sentence from Kobayashi truly touched his heart, and that sentence was...

We cannot simply regress, nor can we stand still!

Even if it's impossible to achieve, we must at least demonstrate a forward-looking attitude to minimize the chances of human civilization regressing to medieval levels as quickly as possible. Gavin wouldn't easily accept Kobayashi's promises, but he liked the attitude Kobayashi expressed.

I love it!

After Kobayashi answered, Big Ivan, who was carrying a flask, handed it to Kobayashi and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Oh, Kobayashi, you look like you're in a movie, my friend. I'm practically ready to kiss your ass with my shoe!" "Come on, don't be so stiff, and have a good drink while you're at it."

"You wouldn't want your brilliant mind to become part of a zombie, would you?"

"So stop sulking and drink up, haha, I want to see if you can still be so damn cultured when you're drunk, hahaha~" With a loud laugh, Big Ivan poured the wine directly into Kobayashi Naoya's mouth.

Just moments ago, Xiaolin was full of high spirits, but in the blink of an eye, he became dizzy and disoriented.

Okay, actually, Kobayashi's alcohol tolerance is very low, extremely low...

Even though he was drunk, his eyes still shone brightly.