Chapter 63 Unable to Smile

When Gavin finished speaking, he ultimately dropped some bad news on Madison and Eugene, intending to temper their expectations.

However, the two of them did not seem to care about this sudden chill.

Eugene just chuckled, waved his hand dismissively, and laughed offhand.

"Whatever you say goes. Tell us what you want us to do, and we'll follow along."

"As for what experiments, or living and dead subjects, you're the boss, so you worry about that. All I care about is what's for dinner tonight~"

At this, a lewd grin spread across Eugene's face.

Beside him, Madison noticed Eugene's look and immediately gave him a shove on the shoulder, laughing.

"Well? Doris's cooking really isn't half bad, right!"

"Ha, I'm not looking forward to her cooking, you idiot~"

Eugene laughed out loud, slapping Madison's hand away, and gave him a look that implied Madison didn't understand a thing.

Meeting Eugene's gaze, Madison blinked slightly in confusion, tilted his head in incomprehension, and asked.

"Wait, you... you can't be serious, right? Doris isn't exactly young anymore. Have you never tasted any prime young flesh before?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Only older women like this know how to take care of a man. You guys don't know shit—go back and play with your teenage models, you morons!"

Eugene instantly felt insulted and indignantly returned Madison's shove with an elbow.

The two only stopped when Gavin gently patted the hood of the Raptor.

Seeing that things had quieted down, Gavin pulled open the driver's side door.

"Get in!"

"OK!"

"Got it~"

The two scrambled into the car, taking their respective seats. Gavin then drove away from the edge of the forest, returning by the way they came.

Watching the forest grow increasingly distant and the crows descending once more, Madison clutched his shotgun and asked.

"Boss, are we really just going to leave like this? What about the person who ran into the forest..."

"We are not going to plunge into a dangerous and unknown forest for someone whose life and identity are completely uncertain, especially when there are at least a few dozen zombies and an unknown number of zombie horses in there."

Gavin interrupted Madison, stepping on the gas pedal as he crossed the riverbed.

After driving out of the water, feeling the sway of the vehicle's body, Madison pressed his lips together, but ultimately asked in a low voice.

"Boss, I'm just throwing this out there, you know? Do you think the person in the forest could possibly be... your old man?"

At this, Madison cast a cautious glance at Gavin.

Yet Gavin remained completely still, his expression entirely unchanged.

Seeing that Gavin kept his composure, Madison pursed his lips and continued.

"Boss, I know your build. Even though you aren't as tall or as heavy as me, your bench press record is higher than mine—you're practically a monster!"

"I've met your parents before. To be able to produce someone like you, your old man and old lady must have been athletes back in the day, right?"

"If your old man really survived and managed to hide in the forest, and we just walk away like this, could it be that..."

"All right, Old Mac,"

Gavin swiftly cut Madison off, speaking with absolute finality.

"Even if my old man is actually in the forest, he wouldn't want me risking my life in there. Besides, my old man just has the build of an ordinary Texan."

With those words, Gavin accelerated all the way, swiftly passing the distance they had just covered and parking the truck directly in the ranch area.

Getting out of the car, pulling out his pistol and hammer, Gavin pointed his walkie-talkie at Eugene and said.

"Same as before. Eugene watches the truck, Old Mac works with me. Contact me on the radio if anything comes up."

With the walkies this time, communication was clearly much more convenient. After just a few words back and forth over the radio, Gavin and Madison had swept through the ranch dormitories.

When they emerged, they were not only carrying seven new walkie-talkies, but also hauling three bottles of ice-crusted cola.

Seeing this, Eugene jumped out of the truck to snatch his share. The three men held their colas, leaning against the Raptor as they gazed blankly at the steadily sinking sun.

Finishing the last drop of cola, Gavin tossed the bottle aside and laughed.

"Let's go. Clear the farm, and then we'll head back to Old Bert's place for a proper hot shower!"

With that, the three men climbed back into the truck with high morale and quickly rushed toward the estate area.

The estate wasn't as quiet as the ranch. From far away, Gavin spotted two zombies in pajamas wandering around the front garden of the estate.

Seeing this, Gavin parked in a strategic spot, intending to let Eugene show off just like he did at the dairy farm.

However, the moment he brought the truck to a stop, two dogs bolted into the garden, barking furiously at the wandering zombies.

Noticing the dogs, the expressions of the three men in the vehicle hardened instantly, and Eugene immediately prepared his sniper rifle.

Simultaneously, the estate zombies rushed out of the building one after another, congregating in the garden.

Among that gathering crowd, there was more than one face familiar to Gavin!

"Boss!"

Eugene, aiming his rifle, was the first to speak.

"Should I shoot those two dogs so they don't lure the zombies away and scatter them?"

"Hold on, let me take another look."

As he replied, Gavin raised his binoculars to scan the direction of the estate, his mind brimming with a growing sense of confusion.

Clearly, the two dogs were still barking over there, and the aggressive postures of the zombies were entirely real.

Yet, after the zombies lunged right up to the German Shepherds, they merely snarled and growled at the dogs without launching any further attacks!

As for whether the German Shepherds would attack the zombies?

Come on, those were dogs raised right on Gavin's farm.

At this very moment, looking at one familiar human face after another, the German Shepherds looked completely bewildered.

They had no idea what was going on.

Why weren't these humans greeting them like they used to?

Why wasn't anyone scratching their heads or patting their necks?

Vaguely, the spirits of the two German Shepherds sank a little; they sensed some kind of profound change.

Regardless of all that, however, the German Shepherds still showed no intention of attacking the zombies.

Even though those zombies smelled a bit different now, overall, that scent was still the scent of their masters.

For a full two minutes, Gavin kept his binoculars raised, watching the scene unfold.

Until finally, the zombies in the distance withdrew their aggressive postures and slowly scattered to wander aimlessly around the garden.

After their brief moment of confusion, the two German Shepherds began quietly pacing among the zombies, sniffing each one with deep puzzlement.

Seeing this, Gavin lowered his binoculars and let out a long breath.

He turned his head and said to Eugene and Old Mac.

"You saw it too, right? I'm afraid the zombies at the dairy farm treated those living cows the exact same way!"

"I suspect that the zombies only lock onto them as targets after those two dogs launch an attack."

"And now, because the dogs haven't attacked them, even if their barking lured the zombies over, the zombies are completely ignoring them!"

"It's hard to say whether this is good news or bad news, but either way, at least those two dogs have already helped us herd the zombies together."

"So, get to work, Eugene."

Gavin made a hand gesture signaling them to move, and Eugene flashed a thumbs-up with a grin.

"Got it. I keep telling you, you can't survive without me~"

With those words, Eugene shouldered his rifle and opened fire.

With a single shot, a female zombie wandering in the garden collapsed to the ground.

Hearing someone fall, the German Shepherds anxiously rushed over to the deceased zombie, jumping and bounding around it in a panic.

In fact, one of the dogs immediately stuck out its tongue and frantically licked the wound on the zombie's head, as if trying to stop the bleeding of its fallen master!

At that moment, Gavin's throat tightened, his left hand gripped the binoculars fiercely, and he softly instructed Eugene.

"Hold your fire for a second!"

With that, Gavin stared unblinkingly at the scene in the distance.

In his field of vision, the German Shepherd kept licking the head and face of the female zombie, its snout even stained completely red with blood!

One second, seven seconds, half a minute...

A full minute passed, and the two German Shepherds were still circling the corpse. One of the dogs even laid down sorrowfully right beside the body.

"Fuck!"

Inside the truck, Eugene let out an excited roar and turned to Gavin.

K- Boss, did you see that? Those damn zombies aren't infectious once they're dead! That dog didn't turn into a zombie dog!"

With that, Eugene excitedly lunged toward the driver's seat, repeatedly slapping Gavin's shoulder to share his joy.

Yet not a trace of joy could be seen on Gavin's face. He simply sighed, handed the binoculars to Madison, and pulled out a cigarette to smoke.

In the passenger seat, the moment Madison took the binoculars and looked through them, every muscle in his body locked up tight!

He slammed his hand against Eugene's arm, shoving him away from Gavin's shoulder, and cursed at Eugene with bitter exasperation.

"Enough, Eugene! Can't you fucking tell the boss is in a bad mood? Have you never seen the news about the boss and his family before?"

"And damn it, how did you manage to pick a target so accurately out of more than thirty zombies in that garden?"

"That fucking zombie was the boss's mother, you moron!"