Chapter 31: Crossing Ennis

"You didn't even need to ask me that, man!"

Before Gavin had even finished his question, Eugene was already gritting his teeth as he spoke to him.

"Are you kidding? How could it not be worth it? I'd heard long ago that a huge tract of land near the Chambers Reservoir had been bought by someone, but the rumors I heard said the owner was named George!"

"Yeah, that’s right. My dad’s name is George."

Gavin nodded, then took another mouthful of food.

Watching Gavin eat with such focus, Eugene took a deep breath and clapped his hands together loudly.

*Clap!*

He let out a low, excited growl.

"Nice work, man! To think you’re actually one of the top five biggest ranch owners in Texas. I am so damn excited to get to your place—you lucky bastard!"

As he finished speaking, Eugene turned to William and tapped sharply on his plate.

"William, hurry the hell up and eat! Once we're done, we need to get on the road. I can't wait to get to the ranch and start milking some cows!"

"Hey, Eugene, can you watch your language? There’s a kid here!" Madison raised his beer and scolded him.

Hearing this, Eugene raised an eyebrow and retorted with a smirk.

"Well, can you stop saying 'fuck' in every sentence first, man?"

After a few more jabs at each other, both men fell silent and focused on their food. The scene quieted down instantly.

Nothing is more heartening than a future worth looking forward to. Even for speakers on the level of that mustache-wearing dictator, the most inspiring parts of his speeches were always the promises of bread and milk for everyone and the goal of making Germany great again.

At this moment, seeing that everyone remained silent but ate with immense enthusiasm—even Winnie had stuffed her cheeks like a hamster—Gavin bit into his beef and smiled, quickly finishing his last bite.

Setting down his empty tray, he walked away toward the lake, crouched down, and splashed some water on his face.

Watching Gavin’s back, Madison hurried to finish his meal, then joined him at the water's edge.

As he washed his hands, Madison asked, "Will having three vehicles on the road be too sluggish? Eugene’s old Ford isn't really that useful."

"If we run into a horde of zombies, the T-Rex and the RV have enough horsepower to punch through, but the old Ford..." Madison glanced back at the old car and shook his head. "I’m worried it’ll break down before it even goes a few miles."

"Yeah, you're right. The old Ford isn't much use. Have Eugene move into the RV." Gavin wiped the water from his face and nodded at Madison. Madison immediately went to find Eugene, and the two had a spirited discussion.

By the time Gavin left the lake and was leaning against the T-Rex smoking, Eugene and William were already clearing out the old Ford. As he shoved his meager belongings into the RV's storage, Eugene grumbled to William, "I had this old car before I even joined the army. If I’d had the money, I would’ve swapped it out ages ago."

"But it's fine now, haha. Who needs money to buy a car anymore? I’m going to steal a Lamborghini to drive later!"

"Oh?" Hearing this, Gavin flicked his ash and asked casually, "Eugene, you know how to steal cars?"

Noticing the question, Madison couldn't help but look at Eugene as well.

Facing their intrigued gazes, Eugene frowned and asked testily, "What? It’s the apocalypse, and you’re still worried about whether I’m breaking the law? What are you, the justice league?"

"Screw the justice league. I just think you’re finally useful. If you know how to steal cars, that’s great—really great, haha!" Madison wrapped an arm around Eugene’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up with a grin. His 6-foot-9 frame instantly dwarfed the 5-foot-9 Eugene.

In the distance, Winnie, who was folding a picnic blanket, couldn't help but laugh at the sight. The child's laughter rang out clearly across the open field, making both Madison and Eugene laugh as well.

After the laughter died down, Madison patted Eugene on the shoulder. "Keep moving your stuff. I’m going to go check the water levels in the RV."

"Yeah, you do your thing, I’ll do mine. We’re all just laborers, unlike some quarterback over there~" Eugene joked, then held out his right hand to Gavin. "Gavin, how about a cigarette?"

"Not a chance."

Despite saying that, Gavin went to the T-Rex’s truck bed, grabbed a carton of cigarettes, and tossed it to Eugene. At least in the early days of the apocalypse—especially the first few years—cigarettes were plentiful and essentially worthless.

Yet, after catching the carton, Eugene held it high and exclaimed dramatically, "Look at this! This is a whole damn carton! If it were a year from now, this could probably trade me for ten women!"

"Ha, ten? You’d be exhausted, man!" Gavin quipped, then dropped his cigarette butt and crushed it under his boot. Leaning against the T-Rex, he added, "Quit the chatter and go move your stuff. We need to be on the road in five minutes, tops!"

"For the sake of these cigarettes, I’ll do whatever you say, boss!" Eugene gave a comical salute and went back to work. He didn't have much, so he was finished in two and a half minutes.

Once everyone was ready, Gavin took a deep breath, climbed into the T-Rex, and started the engine. The RV followed closely behind as they left the clearing, hit the main road, and headed toward Ennis.

As he drove, Gavin rolled down the window and lit another cigarette.

He exhaled a cloud of smoke and couldn't help but shake his head. He was smoking a bit too frequently.

But so what? He took a deep drag, savoring the taste of the tobacco, slumped back against the seat, and steered with one hand.

After five minutes of resting, Gavin sat up straight and pulled out a map to study it carefully. This time, he wasn't looking at the town of Ennis, but at Corsicana, which was over forty kilometers away.

Ennis didn't look large, with its urban area stretching nearly two kilometers along Highway 45. In reality, the buildings in Ennis were quite spread out, the population wasn't dense, and there was even a bypass road that skirted the town entirely. Even if Winnie hadn't already led a large crowd of zombies away with the RV, it wouldn't have been difficult to pass through.

But Corsicana was a completely different story.

How many highways and rail lines passed through Ennis? Just one of each.

And Corsicana? It was a major traffic hub, one of the top three south of Dallas, with four rail lines and six highways intersecting there. Although Gavin hadn't looked into the small city much before the end of the world, just considering its status, the population had to be over 100,000. As for the urban area—the danger zone in Gavin’s eyes—it was certainly at least five times larger than Ennis.

Overall, while Corsicana couldn't compare to the Texas "Big Three"—Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio—Gavin knew it was more than capable of causing his team some serious trouble.

So, he stared at the map with extreme intensity, mentally simulating potential accidents and coming up with solutions for each.

After brainstorming for several dozen minutes, Gavin put the map away and gradually slowed down. He saw the turnoff outside of Ennis.

Seeing the T-Rex slow down, Eugene stood up from the RV’s sofa, brought William to the front, and looked toward the town of Ennis in the distance. Madison pulled out his phone, dialed Gavin’s number, and put it on speaker.

A moment later, the call connected, and Gavin’s calm voice came through clearly.

"Follow me closely. We're taking the bypass. The main urban area of Ennis is at least two hundred meters from the turnoff. As long as we keep our speed up, we don't need to worry about the zombies."

With that, Gavin hung up and slammed on the gas.

With a roar from the engine, the T-Rex led the RV past Ennis without a ripple. As they finally pulled away, Gavin spotted a few dozen zombies rushing out from the edge of the town toward the bypass.

Satisfied that they hadn't stirred up a larger horde, he licked his lips and set his sights on the road ahead.