Chapter 43 The Virus Puzzle

"I know."

Eugene replied, glancing at the woman's face in passing.

Quite pretty, what a waste, totally unusable now.

Bang!

Eugene pulled the trigger, avoiding the woman's face and blowing her entire upper chest into a bloody pulp.

Seeing this, Gavin turned around, walked toward the Ford Raptor, and said, "I'll go give that God of War a proper send-off."

"Let me do it. I said I was going to blow his balls off, and I don't intend to break my promise!"

Eugene interrupted Gavin, then picked up his shotgun, walked with a cold grin toward the driver who was still coughing up blood, and aimed the barrel straight at his crotch.

On the ground, the driver didn't look at Eugene, nor did he look at the gun barrel pointed at him; instead, his gaze was stubbornly fixed on Gavin as the latter approached him.

Noticing the driver's gaze, Eugene glanced over at Gavin and laughed mockingly at the driver.

"Haha, of course you recognize him! I bet you never expected this—the GOAT of the sports world, the legendary Cowboy King himself, is here with me to send you off to your grave!"

With that, Eugene jabbed the gun barrel into the driver's lower abdomen, making him cough up blood even more violently.

Beside them, Gavin watched the driver continue to spew blood while still staring in his direction, shook his head, and said to Eugene, "It's probably for the best that you're killing him. Otherwise, I'd honestly be worried he was a fan of mine, and my doing it would actually make him feel good."

"This motherfucker almost got me. Good thing he only hit the passenger side, I..."

Before Gavin could finish his sentence of reflection, a sudden rustling sound reached his ears. He hurriedly raised his SCAR rifle and looked toward the source of the noise.

At the same time, Eugene vigilantly raised his gun and aimed at the sound.

Right before their eyes, the woman whose heart Eugene had just blown to pieces moments ago was now forcefully propping up her upper torso!

Even though her lumbar spine was twisted into a pretzel.

Even though fragments of her internal organs were tumbling out from her chest cavity.

Even though her blood had nearly pooled into a stream...

At this very moment, the woman in the red dress was actually still crawling toward the two men!

"Gulp!"

Gavin swallowed hard.

Eugene simply cursed outright.

"Shit, what the hell is that thing? I'm certain she wasn't turned into a walker before she died!"

"Don't fucking ask me, I don't know either. Fuck it!"

Gavin gritted his teeth and fired, a short burst blowing apart the head of the woman who was only seven meters away.

Seeing the red-dressed zombie collapse to the ground, Eugene looked down at the driver, who was still bubbling blood, and asked with a trembling voice, "Boss?"

"I'm here."

Carrying his rifle, Gavin walked over to the driver with heavy, unsteady steps and aimed the muzzle directly at the driver's heart.

Beside him, Eugene swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "This guy didn't turn into a walker either. Do you think once he dies, he'll also..."

Bang!

Eugene's words were cut short by the gunshot.

Gavin blew apart the driver's heart with a single shot, then stepped down on the driver's left hand, his tone heavy as he spoke.

"Don't ask me. We'll run an experiment and find out."

"Your call. I'm looking forward to it—no, actually, I'm not looking forward to this at all. Fuck!"

Eugene cursed along with him, simultaneously raising his foot to step on the driver's other hand.

Gavin raised his wrist and stared in silence at his wristwatch.

The moment the driver's last breath faded, Gavin started timing.

One second...

Seven seconds...

Snap!

The driver on the ground suddenly snapped his eyes open, and a surging, struggling force pushed upward against Gavin and Eugene's boots.

Watching the zombie driver continuously open and close his mouth in a silent roar, Eugene broke out in a cold sweat.

Gavin reached into his pocket, pulled out two cigarettes, and tossed one a good distance to Eugene.

Catching the cigarette, Eugene pulled out his lighter and lit it with trembling hands.

After exhaling the first puff of smoke, Eugene asked Gavin in a low voice, "Quarterback, do you think if we die, we'll end up just like them?"

With that, Eugene cast a lingering, apprehensive look at the zombie driver.

In response, Gavin blew out a stream of smoke, pinned his rifle under his left arm, and drew his tactical dagger with his right hand.

Plunging the tactical dagger straight through the driver's eye socket into his brain, Gavin twisted the blade violently and replied, "That doesn't matter. I couldn't care less what I turn into after I die."

"As for this current situation, hehe, isn't this exactly how it plays out in the TV shows?"

Gavin pulled the knife out and carefully wiped the blade clean on the driver's clothes.

Beside him, Eugene spat on the ground and continued, "You're talking about The Walking Dead. What the fuck, are we really going to be just like in that show, where everyone carries the zombie virus inside them?"

It was currently 2013, and The Walking Dead was already airing its third season.

The revelation that every survivor in the main group carried the zombie virus and would turn into a walker upon death had already spread widely alongside the massive popularity of the TV series.

Now, having witnessed firsthand the deaths of the God of War and the woman in the red dress, no matter how much Gavin wished otherwise, the reality was right in front of them.

Though he didn't know where the zombie virus originated, when it started, or how it spread.

It was likely that long before the outbreak began, this virus had already infected every single person on the planet.

As for why he and his group had managed to survive so far, Gavin couldn't yet summarize a pattern, and might never figure it out in his lifetime.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was... seeing tomorrow's sun as many times as possible!

With that thought, Gavin tossed his half-smoked cigarette onto the ground, ground it out heavily beneath his heel, and said, "So what if we have the virus inside us? So what if we don't?"

"If we have the virus, is it going to stop me from drinking and eating meat?"

"If we don't have the virus, is my body going to be free of illness and disease, living a long and healthy life?"

"What a load of fucking bullshit!"

With those words, Gavin walked back to the Ford Raptor and inspected the vehicle's hood.

There were three bullet holes on the hood, so he slung his rifle over his shoulder and lifted the hood to check the engine.

Eugene walked up behind him, glanced briefly at the engine area to confirm the trouble wasn't too severe, and then said to Gavin with a wry smile, "You really live up to being the boss, you talk about this stuff with such effortless detachment..."

"Still, you're right. As long as the virus doesn't get in the way of me getting laid, the zombie virus inside us sounds way less terrifying than an STD!"

With that, Eugene clamped his cigarette between his fingers, patted the barrel of the gun on Gavin's back, and continued with a slightly relaxed chuckle.

"Tsk tsk, this gun wasn't cheap at all. A SCAR-PDW, the civilian version of the SCAR. The bare rifle alone is at least two grand!"

"And look, this one's even been modified. A normal civilian SCAR is semi-auto only, but this one can fire full auto."

"Let me see. Woohoo, whether it's the laser aiming module or the switchable red-dot 3x holographic scope, they're all top-brand stuff, dammit."

At this point, Eugene couldn't help revealing a look of affectionate fascination. He caressed the body of the SCAR lasciviously and continued, "Boss, how much do you reckon this little cutie plus all the attachments is worth?"

"How much?"

Gavin pried a bullet head embedded in the engine block out with his tactical dagger, tossed it aside, and asked Eugene.

Seeing Gavin take the bait, Eugene happily revealed the answer.

"At least six grand!"

"Oh."

Hearing this, Gavin gave a flat "oh" and smiled.

"That's quite a bit cheaper than the stuff I have at home. I've got a few HK416s at home, and every single rail attachment has at least three different variations."

With that, Gavin continued searching for other stray bullets lodged near the engine.

Eugene, meanwhile, excitedly let go of the SCAR and took a deep drag from his cigarette.

Tossing the butt away, Eugene ground it under his heel, twisting his shoe back and forth as he muttered, "I knew it. A rich guy like you only plays with the best stuff, or the most expensive stuff, or things like the HK416 which are both good and expensive, haha!"

Accompanied by Eugene's laughter, an RV came barreling down the road from the distance and finally screeched to a halt behind the Raptor.

The moment it stopped, everyone piled out of the vehicle in a rush, looking anxiously at the windshield-less Raptor.

Madison hurried over to Gavin's side with a worried expression and asked, "Fuck, are you hurt, Boss? That asshole was shooting right at you!"

Facing Madison's concern, Gavin stood up, patted Madison's arm, and smiled.

"Do I look like something's wrong with me? But it really was too close for comfort just now. You know I don't like taking risks, so I had no choice but to put him down."

As he spoke, Gavin pointed toward the hood of the car for Madison.

"Good timing. Help me check if this truck is still drivable. It doesn't look like it's smoking, so there shouldn't be any hidden problems, right?"

"Uh, this?" Madison froze. "I don't know how to fix cars..."

"What?"

Seeing Madison's embarrassed expression, Gavin paused for a moment before letting out a wicked chuckle.

"Tsk tsk, a kid raised on the streets of Chicago. When you were running the streets, I was still playing with my mama's milk at home~"

"Boss..."

Madison rolled his eyes, then turned to look at the others for help.

Not far away, William staggered out and muttered in a low voice, "Let me take a look."

"You don't need to, kid who still needs milk. I learned a bit of this in the military, I'll handle it."

Eugene was simply that kind of show-off by nature, let alone when an opportunity to show off in front of Madison presented itself—he naturally had to seize it!

Waving dismissively at William from afar, Eugene swaggered over to the front of the vehicle.

Passing by Madison, he gave Madison's chest an exaggerated slap and mocked him in an imitation of Gavin, saying, "Get out of my way, kid raised on the streets of Chicago, tsk tsk~"