DipNovel Chapter 225 General!
Chapter 225 General!
Chapter 225 General! (5k)
Tap tap tap —
Just as Gavin was responding to zt's invitation to broadcast, he heard footsteps behind him.
Without turning around, Gavin could tell that the footsteps belonged to Steve.
So he grabbed a piece of braised pig's trotter, took a bite of the skin and meat, and chewed without turning his head, asking a question.
"You're back, Steve."
"Yeah, boss, I went to—the guys' graves for a stroll."
Steve responded and then sat down at Gavin's table, in the second seat to Gavin's left.
Beside him, Eugene pushed a plate toward him, while Steve on his other side pushed a pot of stew toward him.
Steve picked up a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, then put the spoon back in the meat bowl and lowered his head to eat silently.
After a brief silence, Gavin put down the pig's feet and asked Steve.
"Steve, how many of the guys' names are engraved?"
"It's almost finished, but I can't find their bodies. Fortunately, I haven't forgotten any of them."
Steve ate and talked with his head down, while Gavin took a breath through his nose and nodded slightly.
"This is what we have to do, and you did a great job, Steve, but—let bygones be bygones."
After Gavin finished speaking, he shook his head to himself.
Steve responded with a low "hmm," then launched a silent attack on the food on his plate.
To Gavin's right, Nikita gently patted the back of Gavin's hand, then picked up a piece of braised pig's trotter and put it in her mouth to taste it.
"Let's take a couple of bites together," Nikita said to Gavin with a smile.
"The pig's trotters taste pretty good. The texture is like jelly, but more chewy. It would be even better if it were sweeter."
"Come on, Nikki, if braised pig's feet are too sweet, then they're not braised pig's feet anymore."
Gavin tapped Nikita's left cheek with his greasy finger, then continued eating.
After dinner, he chatted with his men for a few minutes in the lobby before heading towards the broadcasting room.
Mrs. Danielle, with her full head of white hair but well-maintained appearance, is singing and dancing in the broadcasting room, even though all she needs to do is broadcast.
But the old lady drank a little bit in the evening and seemed a bit tipsy, as she was singing and dancing enthusiastically.
As for Susan, this little girl sat next to ZT, singing along with Daniel while occasionally glancing at ZT with her eyes.
zt seemed to be enjoying himself, seemingly captivated by Susan's alluring gaze.
However, when Gavin arrived, the lively atmosphere immediately calmed down. After the old lady finished singing a song, she sat down to rest and gave the microphone to Gavin.
Gavin's voice is only average. Although it's not hoarse, his voice is rather deep and has a lot of breath.
What stands out most is his magnetic voice.
This kind of voice is well-suited to old jazz and traditional Texas cowboy style songs, which is also what Gavin sings.
However, when Gavin sings, Susan always likes to snuggle into Gavin's arms, and it takes Gavin two or three tries to pry her off.
After a few songs, Gavin talked on the radio about the changes that had taken place at the estate in the past few days.
We talked about the horde of thousands of zombies we encountered a few days ago, and about the bonfire of corpses that still hasn't completely died down.
They also talked about the power plant that they had just taken back.
They chatted for over an hour before Gavin ended his broadcast for the night, leaving the radio station to ZT alone.
As he ended the broadcast, in the direction of Atlanta, near Athens—
Well, the root of America is that it is a nation of immigrants, and there are too many European immigrants and criminals on American soil.
Therefore, many of America's older cities bear traces of European influence and have a touch of Roman culture.
There are more than one city in the United States with the name Athens.
Next to Gavin's estate is a relatively small city called Athens.
The city of Athens, which is next to Atlanta, is much larger than Athens near Gavin Estate.
At this moment, in the general's camp.
A large group of people sat in a circle inside the church.
On Johnny's left and right sat Eugenie and Lilith, respectively, who were the so-called gifts the general had given to him and his son.
Right now, Johnny is looking at the radio the general is holding with a look of deep emotion.
Listening to the sounds coming from the radio.
All I could hear was something being said on the radio.
"Regardless of the circumstances, to every survivor of this apocalypse, I don't want you to truly see the apocalypse as merely the day civilization ends!"
"Doomsday can be a name for a disaster, a manifestation of a turning point in human destiny, or a farewell to a life of glitz and glamour."
"But it should never be our only future!"
"Indeed, we face many difficulties, and the biggest one is that our lives are unlikely to be the same as they were before the end of the world."
"But that's precisely why we shouldn't stop, and we mustn't let our children completely forget our yesterday!"
"Under the impact of the apocalypse and zombies, conflicts are inevitable, difficulties are ever-present, riots are imminent, and disaster is looming ever closer."
"But I must ultimately advise you that not every group in the apocalypse must be controlled by our deepest evil desires."
"We still have time to pursue a better system, or rather, it is the arrival of the end times that allows us to completely break free from the past—the world ruled by capital and the upper class."
"Now is the best time for us to rebuild civilization!"
"Now is the best time for us to restore equality to each other!"
"If any of you need help, no matter how far away or how difficult it is, please try to contact me. Our radio frequency is ######."
"I, Gavin King, am not afraid of any challenge. I am here, in my home, in my paradise with my companions, on our farm, planting, exploring and living, and waiting."
"We await your arrival, we await your approach, and we await the rising sun, just as the embers of civilization will emerge from us, the last civilized people!"
At this point, the voice on the radio fell silent for a long time.
A full half minute later, the voice came back on, and Gavin spoke to each of the listeners in a softer tone.
"I know that many people may be dismissing what I am saying right now."
"I know better than anyone just how wicked people can be in this damn world, and these are the words I'm saying from my survival camp, surrounded by my buddies."
"Who knows how many sneers it will elicit in return—"
"But that's not important. What's important is that I firmly believe that as long as I keep going, my words will always have the potential to awaken one or two truly wise people."
At this point, Gavin probably felt that he had done enough to promote the camp!
He's said so much already, if people still aren't willing to come to his camp as Jerusalem in the end times.
He had no other choice.
Because in the apocalypse, not everyone dares to go out and trek through mountains and rivers.
Any location more than 100 kilometers away from Gavin Manor, except for teams like 6666 Ranch that have successfully made contact with the camp.
It is indeed difficult for other teams to make a choice that determines their fate when they have not reached a desperate situation.
So Gavin put aside his propaganda and began to share some of his guesses and judgments about the zombies.
After speaking for another ten minutes or so, Gavin ended the broadcast.
Meanwhile, in the general's team, Johnny saw the general put away the radio and solemnly place it on the pulpit in the church.
Putting down the radio, the general sat back in his chair, clasped his hands together, rested his crossed legs on his knees, and spoke gently and respectfully to the team members who were gathered in a large circle.
"Friends, I'm so glad that we've run into Gavin's broadcast at our tea party tonight."
"Although Mr. ZT is optimistic and cheerful and can tell very funny jokes, his words are far less impactful than those of the navigator himself."
"It's a pity that Atlanta is too far away from Dallas, where the Navigator team is located. Otherwise, I sincerely hope that we can join them. I believe that a leader like the Navigator would be able to help us integrate happily and bring us a sense of security and redemption far beyond what we have now."
At this point, the general raised his clasped hands to his chest, making a gesture of prayer.
With his palms clasped together, he turned his head and looked at Wesker and his three men with gentle eyes.
Meeting the general's gaze, Wesker curled his lip.
He admired the general as a person, but he really disliked the general's attempts at moral blackmail.
But how to put it... he wasn't a complete bastard after all. Damn it, if he were, he would have killed the general long ago.
So, even though he didn't like it, Wesker clasped his hands together and prayed for a moment in cooperation with the general.
Seeing this, Johnny glanced at Eugenie, then followed the others' actions and sat down to ponder.
As he pondered, he glanced at the others.
Wesker and his men were all sitting with a woman beside them; clearly, they were the first-class and second-class citizens Eugenie had mentioned.
Besides them, there were seven beautiful women sitting side by side; those were probably the resources that hadn't yet been allocated by the general.
Johnny's gaze didn't linger on the women; he continued to look at the men in the camp.
Meeting Johnny's gaze, Wesker smacked his lips twice, while the other men beside him gave Johnny ambiguous looks, some even whistling at him.
Of course, they didn't make a sound.
Johnny could sense that they still had a certain degree of respect for the general himself.
As for the women, Johnny noticed that they were genuinely praying, and some were even muttering incantations.
This phenomenon made Johnny narrow his eyes. The current system of this camp made him feel dangerous, and the danger came not only from the men, but also from the women, which made his scalp tingle.
Johnny couldn't help but feel that at least half of the nearly nineteen women sitting around might actually believe something.
I just don't know what the general usually says to them.
Thinking of this, Johnny turned to look at the general, who just then lowered his hands and smiled as he addressed everyone.
"Alright, guys, you've had enough time to use your imagination."
"Although we can only imagine trying to get as close as possible to the life that the navigators are dedicated to guiding us, even if we are far away from them, we can still build our own home in our own way."
"And now, look at each other, we've done pretty well, haven't we?"
"Especially today, we welcome two new friends. Although one of them couldn't make it to the tea party due to injury, let's welcome our new friend Johnny and his family!"
Welcome!
At this point, the general nodded gently to Johnny and then clapped his hands repeatedly.
All around, the staff welcomed him warmly, but the two men to Wesker's left, the ones who brought Johnny his food, wore blatant disdain on their faces.
Johnny and the guy exchanged a glance, then Johnny raised his hands, pressed them together, and spoke.
"Guys, no need for a welcome. I might not be staying here long, really. If you'd allow me, I wouldn't mind telling you my story. There are people in Boston waiting for me!"
Johnny is an extreme athlete who competes on the continent, and he doesn't mind at all. In fact, he's gotten used to being in the spotlight and getting attention.
Speaking in front of a large group of people is not difficult for him.
However, his words caused nearly half of the people present to show their dissatisfaction.
Johnny ignored the discontent and only looked at the general and the men around him.
The general smiled gently at his words, Wesker remained expressionless, while the Marines who brought them food gave a disdainful sneer.
While scoffing, Marin, named George Lucia, turned to the general and spoke coldly in his hoarse voice.
"General, your method isn't very useful. Why don't you use mine instead?"
"Look at our new couple, haha, you treat them like family, and they embarrass you in front of so many people!"
""
"George!"
Hearing George's teasing, the general smiled, then looked into Johnny's eyes and spoke.
"Johnny's son was hurt because of us, guys. It was our inappropriate way of trying to keep him that caused the suffering they are going through right now."
"He not only has reasons to distance himself from us, he even has reasons to hate us, and that should be allowed. We must allow someone to stand by their own position and perspective."
"This isn't Johnny's fault, it's your fault, George!"
At this point, the general turned to look at George, his expression turning slightly cold, and continued.
"If your eyes cannot see clearly what is rightfully yours, and your mind cannot think well, then I must consider whether you deserve the treatment of a first-class citizen!"
"In the face of impending doom, we are all shrouded in disaster, and when we gather together, when we huddle in groups, each group will have its own hierarchy of intelligence and ability!"
"First-class citizens are those we selected together, whose intelligence and abilities surpass most of our partners. Only by trusting our superior partners can we go further and achieve greater success!"
"And you, George, your abilities are undeniable. As a Marine, you're probably the best fighter among us, but that's not what we need!"
"If all you're good at is fighting, I think being a second-class armed officer would suit you well. What do you think? Will you choose to think it over, take a step back, or choose to—overthrow me!!!"
At this point, the general's voice suddenly rose considerably, and he straightened his back, staring intently at George without moving.
Looking at the general, George swallowed hard, as if he wanted to say something.
Before he could even speak, the woman beside him grabbed his arm.
"Honey, please don't do this, I beg you!"
The woman held George's hand and spoke softly, and George's originally cold and hard expression instantly softened.
He glanced back at his woman, then took a deep breath and whispered in the direction of the general.
"I didn't think that way!"
"That's good, George. I'm glad you made the right choice, just like we all know how to cherish what we have."
"Oh, and I have one more thing to announce: Johnny and his son's resident status!"
At this point, the general turned to Johnny and pursed his lips kindly.
Johnny quickly waved his hand, wanting to explain to everyone that he had to leave, hoping that his story of searching for his family across thousands of miles could move some people, create public pressure to get the women in the camp to support him, and force the general to let him leave.
But before he could speak, when he merely raised his hand in a gesture of refusal, the general spoke first to him.
"Johnny, I know you have your difficulties, but these are the rules of our camp, and all of us sitting here have always been protected by these rules. They are our safety line and guidelines, and we hope you can respect them!"
"Even if you're leaving, even if you're only staying with us for a day, you'll still be temporarily part of our system!"
"So please don't interrupt me!"
Regardless of what Johnny thought, the general continued speaking to the people.
"In short, Johnny and his injured son Angle will temporarily enjoy first-class citizen treatment for a three-day internship, because they are both excellent extreme athletes, physically strong, and have traveled all the way from Dallas to Atlanta, possessing extremely rich experience in post-apocalyptic survival!"
"But even so, if they are unable to assume the responsibilities that first-class citizens should bear after three days..."
"Then they still cannot enjoy the rights of first-class citizens and fall into the second-class category."
"I firmly believe one thing, my friends: with great power comes great responsibility, and with great responsibility comes great power!"
"The capable rise, the mediocre fall; only by having more outstanding people lead us can we go further!"
"Johnny, do you agree with this?"
At this point, the general fell silent, looking at Johnny with his eyes.
Johnny took a deep breath, then nodded weakly and leaned back in his chair.
Seeing that Johnny didn't interrupt him, the general smiled with satisfaction, then raised his hand and pointed to the men sitting in a circle around him.
"Alright, guys, Johnny has accepted our request, and I believe that he and his son will be able to shoulder the responsibilities of first-class citizens in the future."
"If you ask me, we can celebrate the camp gaining its fourth and fifth first-class citizens!"
"Every additional first-class citizen means one more excellent leader among us—someone smarter, more agile, better able to protect us, and more capable of leading us out of the encirclement!"
"But in any case, I hope that every first-class citizen will cherish the support they receive today, because I am not boasting, but when you leave us, you will probably lose all the privileges and benefits you have received."
"Because not every camp reveres the strong in this way!"
"This is a paradise for the strong, a hell for the cowardly, and the grasslands and wilderness upon which ordinary people depend for survival!"
"Undoubtedly the fantasy world of the southeastern United States!"
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