Chapter 57: Action in Silence

Seeing the two of them ready to leave just like that, Eugene hurriedly got out of the truck, holding his Mk11 as he called out.

"Hey, what the hell are you guys playing at? I might be good at sniping, but that doesn't mean I can only provide support from a distance. I can go with you!"

With that, he took two disgruntled steps to follow them.

Hearing this, Gavin stopped in his tracks, blocking Eugene with a half-smile as he spoke.

"The distance from here to both the cowboys' dormitory area and the dairy barn is about a hundred meters. Even if we run into unusual danger, the two of us have a very high probability of temporarily shaking off the zombies and dashing back to the Raptor."

"But bringing you along is a different story. Your gun is heavier than ours, your speed is slower than ours, and your physique is... well, close-quarters combat against zombies has nothing to do with physique, and your height is already enough~"

At this, Gavin chuckled playfully. Eugene spat in annoyance and cursed.

"Fuck off, you tall bastards. Fine, I get it, I'll keep my eyes on you!"

With that, Eugene angrily climbed back into the driver's seat, opened the door, and lit a cigarette.

Through the smoke, he waved at Gavin.

"I'll be right here, ready to provide support at any moment. Don't worry about me driving away by myself!"

"Ha, I'm not worried about that at all."

Gavin chuckled and waved his hand, then walked away with Madison.

Watching Gavin's receding figure, Eugene swallowed hard, unable to help himself from glancing toward the cattle ranch.

Were there... really no other infected cows here?

What if there was another one... or even more infected cows that hadn't shown up yet...

Would he... really have the nerve to wait parked here until Gavin and the other guy ran back?

Or rather, would Gavin and Madison actually stand a chance of running back under those circumstances?

Thinking of this, Eugene pinched off the slightly sticky cigarette butt and flicked away the ash.

As he took another drag from the cigarette, amid the curling smoke, a sudden, cold smirk crept onto his face.

"You're never worried? You never take risks? Who's gonna believe that? You lunatic!"

With that, Eugene excitedly licked his lips once more, while his fingers twitched instinctively over imaginary trigger pulls.

They were back!

It was all back!

That life where all you had to do was pull a trigger and watch heads explode and blood splatter...

It had all come back!

Meanwhile, Madison followed closely behind Gavin, swallowing nervously as he spoke up.

"Boss, do you think there are still zombies in the dormitories? I figured Eugene cleaned them out pretty thoroughly."

"Maybe, but things always happen. We still need to stay alert."

Gavin replied, slightly altering his course to approach the exterior wall of the cowboys' dormitory closest to them.

Pressing his back against the wall and matching Gavin's slow pace, Madison's teeth chattered slightly as he whispered to Gavin.

"So... Boss, you don't think Eugene would actually drive off and abandon us, do you?"

"Who knows? Maybe he won't just run; maybe he'll pop us a bullet as a parting gift. You saw how accurate he is."

"Still, why do you think he'd do something like that? For his own peace of mind? For his personal gain? We haven't crossed him on any of that. And he's not even high."

Gavin joked, stepping closer to a window to peer inside the dormitory.

The cowboys' dormitories weren't like construction site bunkhouses, where cramped spaces crammed in rows of bunk beds forcing masses of people together.

In reality, each cowboy dormitory contained only four high-rise beds with independent desks, along with amenities like refrigerators and air conditioning.

Through the window, Gavin instantly spotted an uninvited guest, so he beckoned to Madison, whispering softly.

"Look, an unexpected guest."

"Gulp..."

Madison swallowed hard, cautiously leaning up against the window, where he spotted a guy wearing ear muffs and an eye mask, wandering around the room in a daze.

"Gulp!"

Madison swallowed again, pointing at his own ears for Gavin's benefit.

Gavin nodded.

Ear muffs, eye masks—Americans frequently used these things when sleeping.

Especially in an environment like a farm where the barking of dogs, the bellowing of cattle, and the neighing of fine horses could happen at any moment.

Nighttime was better, at least you didn't have every cowboy sleeping with full tactical gear.

But if a cowboy was resting on a day shift, earmuffs and eye masks were absolute essentials.

Following the deaf zombie's line of sight, Gavin scanned the rest of the room. At least this particular unit held no other infected.

So, Gavin circled around the back window, walked up to the dormitory's front door, and pushed it open.

Holding a crowbar, Gavin stepped inside. When he closed to within two meters of the zombie, the deaf-mute infected was still wandering around completely oblivious.

Need he say more?

Gavin brought the hammer down.

Thud!

Gavin caught the falling corpse and lowered it quietly to the ground.

At the doorway, Madison peeked his head inside, confirming the kill, then let out a breath of relief, left the entrance, and headed toward the next room.

The cowboys' dormitories had already been cleared out by the sniper once before. If he and Gavin insisted on meticulously checking every single room together, it would simply be a waste of time.

Madison understood this well.

Though he couldn't hide his nervousness, he firmly slung his shotgun behind his back and unclipped the Viking battle axe hanging from his waist with his right hand.

Arriving at the next door, he slowly pushed it open.

"Gulp."

Swallowing yet again, Madison peered inside the room.

Good, the room's window was shattered, and no infected lingered within.

Thus, Madison looked back over his shoulder, caught sight of Gavin emerging from the previous room, and gave a thumbs-up to signal the coast was clear.

Gavin nodded, bypassed Madison, and continued exploring the next room.

Emboldened, the two men moved in tandem, each clearing a dormitory room independently.

Finally, as they reached the third room from the end of the hallway, a fresh zombie appeared.

Just as he reached the doorway, Madison heard the deep, guttural growl of an infected.

Behind him, noticing Madison's body stiffen slightly, Gavin stepped up beside him, fixing him with a questioning look.

Meeting Gavin's gaze, Madison shook his head and gestured to himself with a thumbs-up.

Then, he pushed open the door and stepped inside, grasping his Viking battle axe.

The zombie in this room wasn't wearing ear muffs; instead, it was pinned into a corner by an overturned bed frame, struggling frantically against the wall.

Seeing Madison approach, the zombie rolled its eyes wildly, scratching and clawing at the air. With a gritted jaw, Madison strode forward and brought the axe down with heavy force.

Once.

Twice.

After hacking down six or seven times, Madison finally vented all the pent-up tension in his chest.

Looking at the flesh and blood smeared across the axe blade, he took a deep breath, flicked the axe to shake off the gore, and stepped out of the room.

At the doorway, Gavin nodded at Madison and continued his sweep.

The two methodically inspected the final two rooms, then stepped out of the dormitory and headed toward the next residential block.

This next dormitory block was somewhat older—not part of the recently constructed additions, but a remnant from the era of Gavin's father's small farm. Consequently, its spaces were tighter, and a few more lingering zombies remained inside.

By the time the two finally emerged from this section, they had successfully dispatched four infected. One of them had even seized the opportunity when Gavin opened the bathroom door, charging out to hurl itself against Gavin's chest.

Though it died quickly, it left several smudges of blood on Gavin's clothes, though he paid them no mind.

Satisfied that the dormitory area was thoroughly cleared, Gavin took a deep breath, stepped out onto the lawn, and pointed far into the distance toward the dairy farm, which sat over two hundred meters away!

Naturally, a dairy farm wouldn't be built right next to the cowboys' dormitories; after all, dairy operations came hand-in-hand with the rich aromas of cattle and heavy manure.

If the dorms were built right up against the dairy, the cowboys would have to sleep wearing nose plugs too.

Noticing the direction Gavin pointed, Madison nodded heavily, stowed his battle axe, unslung his shotgun, and cradled it in his arms.

Gavin also put away his crowbar, gripped his HK416, and began a slow approach toward the dairy farm.

Far away on the hillside, Eugene spotted through his rifle scope that the two were finally advancing toward the ranch.

At that moment, he spat out a breath and started the truck's engine.

"Wait for you guys to run back? Can you outrun a cow?"

Eugene sneered softly, keeping his eyes glued to the pair through the glass.

He silently made up his mind: if a massive herd of infected cattle actually poured out of the barn...

Well... he might still try to cover Gavin and Madison's retreat.

And if the situation grew so dire that rescue became impossible...

Then he swore he would carry on their share of survival and hold out a little longer in this godforsaken apocalypse!