Doomsday America.

Chapter 272 On the Eve of Landing

"But boss, letting them keep exploring around us is also a risk!"

Martin became a little anxious after hearing Gavin's explanation.

After all, ever since he saw that unknown helicopter, his hunting genes have been awakened!

Discover traces, follow traces, explore traces, search for traces.

These things had become almost instinctive for him and one of the few things that excited him throughout his many years of hunting.

So now he considers that plane his prey!

Then Gavin suddenly blurted out that he wasn't interested in the helicopter!

This just prematurely cancels Martin's hunting plans!

Thinking of this, Martin changed his posture. He went from lounging lazily on the sofa to suddenly leaning forward, hands on his knees, and speaking to Gavin with slightly faster breaths, "We can't keep letting those clowns lurk in the corner, watching us like hawks, boss!"

"Before, we didn't have the resources or information, so it was fine. But now that we have information and their approximate flight path, we should definitely check their location!" "If you leave this to me, I don't need to bring anyone, boss. I can even act alone, or with just one person to assist me!" "I guarantee, give me seven days, seven days at most, and I can absolutely follow the helicopter trail and find them!"

"If it weren't for the various zombies on the roads, forcing me to put a lot of effort into ensuring road safety, I could have tracked them down in three days at most!" "After all, human activity leaves far more clues than wild animals. I'm absolutely sure I can handle it, boss, let me give it a try!" As he said this, Martin looked at Gavin excitedly, his fingers unconsciously twitching, rubbing and tapping on his knees. And Gavin…

Seeing Martin's excited eyes, he pouted in annoyance.

He could tell, of course, that Martin was simply acting on his hunting instincts!

Considering this guy's past marijuana addiction, he's probably treating the hunting helicopter like his mother's marijuana now... Thinking this, Gavin nodded with amusement and said softly:

"You're far too interested in that unknown camp, Martin."

"However, if you really want to follow the trail of that camp, then do as you said: don't mobilize too many other people from the camp. Try to bring as few people as possible, travel light, and move quickly." As he said this, Gavin put his hand on his thigh and gently tapped his pants as he continued.

"The camp's current focus is mainly on three things: tending to the farmland and livestock, building defensive and concealed fortifications, and welcoming the astronauts back." "These three tasks have already tied up a large number of personnel, leaving insufficient manpower for field operations to accompany you on your extensive search and pursuit missions." "So, since you're confident you can find that unknown camp on your own, then go for it!"

"If you bring a large group, I'm worried about potential casualties if a conflict breaks out with that unknown camp." "But if you're only leading a small elite force, I think with your tracking and counter-tracking abilities, even if the unknown camp discovers your investigation, they might not be able to catch you." "How many people can track down a professional veteran hunter in the forests and waterways of central Texas, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin patted Martin on the shoulder.

Martin finally showed a satisfied expression.

Although he had not studied professional military-style tracking and counter-tracking courses, he was still capable of doing so.

But years of experience in high-difficulty hunting had long since made him accustomed to concealing his tracks.

So Martin confidently picked up his glass, took a sip of the cocktail Doris had mixed for them, and smiled in response to Gavin.

"Don't worry, boss. I plan to take Jonathan with me, along with the hunting dogs we've recently trained. We'll drive to the direction the helicopter disappeared in and track it for a few days." "Our skills are both pretty good, and the hunting dogs are excellent. At most a week. Even if we don't find any trace of them, I guarantee we'll definitely find something." "As for the exploration of Athens, having Otto or Wang Ling lead a team to continue collecting supplies is no problem."

"Otto himself is a good firefighter, and Wang Ling is also very cautious. Both of them are capable of leading a team."

"Furthermore, boss, we really should increase the number of team leaders in our field operations."

At this point, Martin counted on his fingers and talked to Gavin about the various team leaders in the field operations.

"Eugene, me, Steve, Edward, Anthony, and Sean—the six of us alone aren't enough to lead the field operations, boss." "I know you think the guys from Ranch 6666 haven't been here long enough, but their loyalty shouldn't be a problem. Jonathan Otto should be able to lead a team by now." "Plus, Lucien and his brother, the two newcomers, I think they're pretty good too. After observing them for a while, we can try letting them lead teams on their own." "Most of our vehicles are pickup trucks, which are more spacious with four people in each. A team usually has four people, so as the number of field operations increases, we'll need more team leaders." "By the way, boss, and William, that guy should be fully recovered by now. It's about time he came to the field operations; he still prefers field work." At this point, Martin gave Gavin a thumbs up.

Gavin nodded knowingly and smiled.

"Indeed, you're right, we do need more field team leaders, but..."

Gavin paused, then rubbed his forehead, picked up his glass, drank with Martin, and continued...

"Let's consider adding field team leaders after the astronauts return. In the meantime, let Lucien and the others fully adapt to life at the camp." As he spoke, Gavin glanced warily in the direction of the gym, where Lucien's men were probably being intensely trained by Eugene and Edward. Unlike Gavin's own people at the camp, Lucien's men were nothing more than a pack of wild dogs.

Before joining, Lucien's camp already resembled a standard wasteland camp—a chaotic mess where everyone was just getting by. So, now, if Gavin wanted to use those people, he'd have to train them properly and temper their temperaments first.

Seeing that Gavin had a plan, Martin nodded and then chatted with Gavin about random things, telling him a couple of Texas jokes.

Of course, this joke might not be a joke for Madison.

Anyway, Old Mike came downstairs halfway through the conversation and started playfully wrestling with Martin.

After training that evening, Gavin lay on the bed with Nikita in his arms, silently pondering the potential changes the astronauts' return might bring to the camp. But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't escape the probability of the astronauts' return themselves.

That probability... it's really worrying, sigh...

And just like that, several days passed quickly.

It was another sunny morning. The mid-March sun was finally shining, warming the earth and dispelling the rain clouds over Lake Livingston. Right there on the sun-drenched shore of Lake Livingston, Gavin sat on a small stool and took the beer Edward offered him.

Edward handed the beer to Gavin as he asked.

"Boss, we still haven't received any new information from the astronauts."

As soon as he finished speaking, Edward sat down next to Gavin, crossed his legs, and drank a couple of beers with Gavin.

Gavin swallowed the beer, then put down the bottle and said.

"Don't worry, I believe the astronauts have their own plans. We don't know how to leave the space station, so all we can do is trust them and find them as best we can!" As he finished speaking, Gavin took off his hat and rubbed his hair.

Hearing Gavin's words, Edward shrugged helplessly and smiled wryly.

"Boss, isn't what you're saying obvious? We're so far from the space station, there's nothing we can do anyway."

"But, well, hopefully those guys who were either lucky or unlucky will get back safely soon."

At this point, Edward turned to Gavin, squinted, and asked a question.

"By the way, boss, when we last talked to the astronauts, what time did they say they would be leaving the space station today?"

"Tonight, around six o'clock tonight."

Gavin licked his lips in response.

"Last time I communicated with the astronauts, they talked to me a lot, but I... damn it, I only understood the gist of it."

"In short, the astronauts will have to control their spacecraft to leave the space station tonight. Then, they will have to keep the spacecraft in its designated orbit, flying around the Earth at least ten times before adjusting its attitude to try and return to Earth." "That means they will leave the space station between six and seven o'clock tonight, flying their spacecraft around the Earth."

"They won't return to Earth until around 2 PM tomorrow, and they should be able to land by 3 PM at the latest!" Gavin's words carried a hint of worry; he was extremely concerned about the landing process.

Edward, after hearing Gavin's words, shook his leg and said to Gavin with a wry smile.

"No wonder we're resting here tonight. Turns out the astronauts are leaving at 6 PM today, but their journey is quite long; they'll be flying outside Earth for dozens of hours before they get home. Damn it!"

"Boss, you can drink here by yourself. I'll take two people for another walk around the area."

"Recently, we've noticed some unfamiliar footprints near the Caprera pier in the south. I suspect some survivors have been lured here by our recent activities in the area." "In the last few days, we've taken down several small towns around Livingston Lake, causing quite a stir among the surrounding zombies. It's not surprising that someone has noticed." "However, we can't let random survivors have the opportunity to harm us. I'll lead a team out to find them." "Yes, go, for the sake of the embers of civilization."

Gavin waved to Edward, who immediately left his vicinity, taking a few men with him as they departed the manor to continue their investigation of the strange footprints near Livingston Lake. Watching Edward's car drive away, Gavin shook his head, then reached into the food bin, grabbed a bag of chips, opened it, and lay back on his stool to read. He read for over forty minutes before the sound of a new car approaching came from afar. The sound startled Sean, Von, and Nicholas, who immediately stood up. They grabbed their weapons and rushed to Gavin's side, looking in the direction the car was coming from.

Gavin then changed from lying down to sitting up, propped himself up on his knees, put down the book, picked up the Colt Python, and sat there waiting for the car to approach.

Soon, the Dodge Ram burst out from the end of the road and roared toward the camp.

Seeing that the returning car was a Dodge Ram, Gavin relaxed a little and leaned back in his chair.

However, the three of them, including Sean, did not sit down. They continued to wander around with their guns, while Sean, holding his gun, smiled and said to Gavin.

"Boss, it must be Eugene, that red-haired devil, coming back. It looks like it's their car."

"Yeah, probably. That bastard never likes using walkie-talkies, damn idiot."

Gavin chuckled and cursed, then picked up the book again and continued reading.

About a minute later, the Dodge Ram came to a stop in front of the camp with a whistling sound.

The car door opened, and Eugene and Adriana stepped out first. Eugene, carrying his sniper rifle, shouted to Gavin from a distance.

"Boss, we've taken care of it. The zombies near the San Jacinto Hills have been mostly cleared out."

"What are we having for lunch? Still that damn barbecue? I'm so tired of grilling meat these days, damn it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Eugene casually walked up to Sean and nudged Sean's shoulder with the butt of his sniper rifle.

Sean then nudged Eugene in the chest and laughed.

"Stop fucking arguing with me, you bastard! And besides, barbecue is fucking delicious. If you don't like it, then cook it yourself! Don't always make Feng prepare it!" These past few days, Edward and Eugene have frequently led teams out hunting zombies in the small towns around the lake, while Sean, Nicholas, and Old Feng remain at the camp. Among them, Old Feng, who claims to be from the cookhouse, naturally takes on the task of cooking.

However, they didn't have any good cooking utensils, just a bunch of ovens, so Old Feng simply used 680 ovens to get by for a few days. Barbecue, no matter how you cook it, will always taste the same; even if Old Feng was a skilled cook, he couldn't possibly make it fancy. So, Gavin, sitting on his stool, idly waved his pistol and, echoing Eugene's words, said to Old Feng...

"Old Feng, we're getting a bit tired of the barbecue these past few days. How about we cook some instant noodles for lunch? I remember we still have a lot of eggs and ham, right?" "Whatever you say, boss. Not just noodles, I'll stir-fry some for you too. I always feel like your eating habits are quite similar to mine. You should be able to eat the things I like without any problems." Old Feng gave Gavin an OK sign.

After receiving Lao Feng's response, Gavin nodded and then looked at Adriana and the others who were gradually released from their bans.

Just as he was about to suggest bringing something, he couldn't help but glance at Adriana's thighs, squinting as he examined them closely.

He wasn't lustful, of course; it was just that there was a deep, bright red stain of blood on Adriana's thigh, a color unlike the sticky, dark red of a zombie's skin. So, Gavin pointed to Adriana's thigh and said...

"Wait, Anna, what's that blood on your leg? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Adriana, who had just stopped, paused slightly, then looked at Gavin with amusement and said.

"Boss, you mean this blood? Haha, you didn't think I was menstruating, did you?"

As she spoke, she waved her hands repeatedly and continued laughing.

"My period hasn't started yet. As for this blood, I was just about to tell you. We encountered a survivor over in the hills, but we killed him!" "Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Gavin paused for a moment, then looked at Adriana with a scrutinizing gaze.