Confronted with Gavin's question, Madison inhaled deeply, pressed her lips together, and swallowed hard.
"Desperately?"
The towering figure of the man, standing at 6 feet 9 inches, wore a fierce expression.
"That's excessive, my quarterback. Do you recall the game two years ago when I played with a blocking injection?"
"The moment I stepped onto the court, I never expected to leave it!"
"Even with just one leg and one knee, I—"
"I'm your damn guard, the finest winger in the major leagues!"
"My legs are my lifeblood! I've already fought for my life!"
With those words, Madison clenched the saber tightly in his grasp.
And Gavin...
He lowered his head, amused, and glanced at Madison's slightly trembling calves.
You speak of bravery, yet your feet tremble. Why aren't you moving?
I thought you, with your heroic demeanor, would rush ahead to explore the path before me, man!
Seeing that Madison was merely boasting without acting, Gavin slowly opened the door.
After cracking it open, he listened intently to the sounds in the corridor.
It was eerily quiet, with no noise apart from the car alarm blaring outside the villa.
The crash and explosion of the helicopter had undoubtedly set off the alarms.
Moreover, all the vehicles present tonight were luxury models, with alarms of excellent quality.
Gavin listened for three or four seconds before swinging the door wide open.
Then he took a decisive step forward, leaving the bedroom.
It mattered little who led the way; Gavin didn't believe it was important.
After all, he could run faster than Mac.
As Gavin moved out at once, Madison's full lips quivered violently.
Bang!
He seized Gavin's shoulders, his lips trembling as they parted and closed.
Gavin turned around, noticing that Old Mac seemed to want to say something, so he stepped back into the room and paused for a moment.
Meeting Gavin's encouraging gaze, Old Mac took a deep breath, looked at him solemnly, and affirmed to himself.
"I'll protect you, Quarterback, I promise!"
"Same goes for you, man. I'm not a quarterback who can abandon his guard."
Gavin gave Old Mac an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"Follow me and keep an eye on the path."
"I'm here."
As Old Mac nodded in response, his calf finally steadied.
With a sword in hand, Gavin stepped onto the corridor's carpet and proceeded to the left side.
Madison's room was very close to Gavin's, merely one door apart.
The carpet muffled their footsteps effectively, allowing them to reach the door of the old wheat room with ease.
Upon seeing the room's furnishings clearly, Old Mac exhaled in relief. These few steps had proven more challenging than he had anticipated, but once he was out of the bedroom, it became easier.
Gavin peered inside the room, confirmed it was devoid of zombies, and stepped in.
Old Mac followed Gavin and gently closed the door behind them.
Click...
As the door clicked shut, he sighed in relief.
"Damn, this path was tougher than my leg day workouts."
Madison sighed and handed the phone back to Gavin, reminding him, "I'm going to find my phone. Oh, and I muted yours."
"Thanks, that's great. I actually forgot to mute it."
Gavin nodded, tucked his phone into his pocket, and walked directly toward the fireplace.
In modern society, although cold weapons had long been phased out, the quality of steel and the art of forging had improved year by year.
For relatively expensive art swords, like those adorning the villa, the steel was of impeccable quality, and the blades even bore intricate patterns.
With just a little polishing, their quality was outstanding and they must be kept as spares.
While Gavin retrieved the saber, Madison approached the bedside.
He searched for his lover's number on his phone and called her while nervously muttering to Gavin.
"Leonard carries his Sony PlayStation everywhere he goes. After chasing off those long-legged must-eaters last night, they've been playing 2K basketball."
"It's a bit noisy, but thankfully they are. Otherwise, I might have dozed off."
"It was nearly three o'clock, and I was so tired, yet I didn't want to yell at them. Then I saw them hugging, with Kendrick burying his head in Leonard's stomach."
"Fuck, I was so terrified! I thought they were—well, you know—and then there was blood everywhere. Leonard only screamed twice, and then everything went quiet."
"Believe me, I'll never forget that scene. Damn, LeBron James was on TV, traveling, and he just dribbled past Kawhi Leonard with a layup."
"I didn't even have time to put on my clothes. I was running so fast, I slammed into the door frame."
"They chased me faster than during team training. I nearly wet myself... You should just forget about this, brother..."
At this point, Madison threw himself onto the bed in despair, burying his face in the quilt.
Not far from the fireplace, Gavin held three sabers and regarded Madison in silence.
"Why…"
After a sigh, he walked to the sofa, picked up a cushion, and wiped away the blood and rotten flesh in front of the television.
Then he grabbed the backpack, which was only slightly stained with blood.
He rummaged through it and found two controllers, HDMI cables, two bottles of lubricant, a PSP game console, and a handful of condoms.
After emptying the contents onto the sofa, Gavin tossed the bag aside, took a knife to rip open another pillow, tore out a strip of cloth to tie two knives together, and secured it to his back.
After adjusting the position of the saber so it wouldn't hinder his movements, Gavin approached Madison and sat on the bed.
Feeling Gavin's presence, Madison lifted his head, wiped away his despairing tears, and spoke.
"I can't reach my wife's cell phone, nor the home phone. I have so many children; is it possible that not one... not a single person can answer the phone... Fuck, wuwuwu..."
After choking back sobs for a moment, Madison raised his phone, trembling.
"This is my mother's number. She can't be reached either. No one is answering..."
As he spoke, Madison clutched the phone, his brow furrowing as he listened to the busy tone.
Seeing Madison on the verge of collapse, Gavin sighed and tried to reassure him.
"Don't overthink it. Perhaps they are all busy, just like us. It wasn't the right time for us to answer the phone earlier."
"Besides, you've only called your wife and mother, and haven't even tried your dad yet. Maybe—"
"My damn dad ran off twenty years ago. Bullshit! We were teammates for four years. I thought you'd know about my family!"
Even in extreme distress, Madison still swore out of frustration upon hearing the word "Dad."
Hearing this, Gavin glanced at Madison's dark skin and couldn't help but nod in understanding.
"My bad, I should have guessed. It's an old tradition."
With that, Gavin patted Madison on the shoulder.
"Alright, man, at least you called home. I still don't have the courage to do so."
"Let's focus on staying alive first, then we can consider the situation at home."
"What would it matter if I did get through? It's just over the phone. Even if I saw them being attacked by zombies, what could I do to help? Could I cheer them up?"
Speaking of this, Gavin felt a wave of melancholy wash over him.
He had lived in this world for twenty-five years. Although his parents in this life were white Texans, they had treated him well. Aside from not having a younger sister, they had been good in every way.
But what about now?
All he could do was wish for their peaceful demise.
If he hoped for their survival in this world, could it truly be considered a blessing?
Surviving a zombie apocalypse?
Beside the bed, Madison slowly stood and began to curse.
"I shouldn't have even attended this damn party, but you're right; I have to stay alive!"
"Wait a moment, I'll go grab my car keys. Oh, where are yours?"
Madison asked as he rummaged through his bedside, finally pulling out his car keys from his original dress.
Beside him, Gavin spread his hands.
"Car keys? Are they with my assistant or my agent? I'm not sure."
"Tsk tsk, you're just like me, Gavin. The God of Football, bringing four assistants to a party."
"Where's your Aston Martin? Can't find it? You'll have to take my pickup truck, right?"
Madison endeavored to make the best of a grim situation. With a sorrowful expression, she attempted a joke before stepping closer to Gavin.
"Fear not, my pickup truck has been modified and is worth at least three hundred thousand dollars. It is no slight to your status," she assured him.
"You know, I have too many children to save any coin. Thankfully, I acquired this pickup truck, and now I find it quite useful. It can carry a great many things."
"But what shall we do next? I will follow your lead on this one. Should we retrieve a weapon from the boss?"
"I hope we haven't exhausted our supply of bullets while we were firing," Gavin replied.
Madison's sorrow had descended swiftly, only to fade just as quickly.
Upon hearing her question, Gavin nodded and said, "Well, let us head to the boss's chamber. It is not far from here, and the door should not be locked."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin rose, bag in hand, and tossed it to Madison.
She scanned the room with her backpack, but found nothing of worth to place inside, so she simply tossed a few apples into the bag.