New story on my profile: Dexter: Anatomy of a Killer
A positive review would help me a lot and if you could tell me what you think about the story.
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Chapter 51 - Collection Operation
Due to security protocol, only the military could go out in search of resources left behind by the sarcastically named military, and now, in the area where they were, their people had barely passed through.
On a street crowded with walkers, Jason chose not to carry his M4 or draw the pistols from his waist. Instead, he unsheathed two machetes at his sides and stepped out of the truck's driver's cabin.
This time, his goal was not to clear the walkers and waste ammunition doing so, but rather to reach the large vehicle at the entrance of an alley not far away—a state-of-the-art tank!
Moving around to the back of the truck, Jason ran toward the tank. Behind him, Rick followed closely, and the two advanced swiftly.
As they quickly approached the street leading to the alley, Jason and Rick ran nonstop. Although walkers moved along the path, they were not as dense as before. Still, they encountered one or two every few meters.
They hadn't been able to see so many from the truck, but once they reached the street and faced the walkers head-on, none of that mattered. Now, the machetes in Jason's hands showed no restraint, decapitating walkers without pause.
Running behind him, Rick continued clearing the walkers from Jason's left and right sides. Their coordination made it seem as if the walkers were nothing, allowing them to reach their objective—the tank they had come for—quickly.
As the new leader of a group, just like Shane and some other captains, Rick might not have been the most powerful in combat, but his mind was the sharpest, and he wouldn't hesitate to take down dozens of walkers if necessary.
Now, he no longer questioned Jason's urgency in securing more tanks and weaponry. He understood that the stronger their group became, the safer they would be in the future—where those with the most powerful weapons would rule the world.
Finally, the two reached the side of the tank. Jason handed one of his machetes to Rick. With a free hand, he grabbed onto a bar and jumped forcefully. His right foot landed on the tank, and with another strong push, he climbed up.
Behind him, Rick attempted to do the same. He lifted his right foot, trying to imitate Jason's movements, stepping onto the edge of the tank to propel himself up.
"Damn it!"
The action was correct, but the result was not as expected. As he attempted the jump, Rick realized he had overestimated his strength and ability. Even though his right leg exerted all its force, the push forward wasn't enough to lift him onto the tank.
Feeling the bitter consequence of his actions, Rick's body dangled slightly backward. Just as he was about to fall, he quickly turned his head to look behind him. Two walkers weren't far from his position. They were still about two meters away, but if he fell now, Rick knew he would be eaten by them.
Watching the walkers get closer, Rick began sweating coldly. "These damn monsters..."
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his arm, the one clinging to a pipe on the tank. Soon after, that someone pulled him up forcefully.
Rick immediately realized who had saved him and quickly grabbed another pipe beside him to stabilize himself.
"Be more careful, Rick!" Jason's familiar voice rang in his ears, and that slightly cold tone sounded extremely natural to Rick at that moment.
"Hah... Thanks, I owe you one." Knowing it wasn't the time for conversation, Rick simply thanked Jason before following him to the tank's upper hatch.
Crack!
As the hatch opened, Jason jumped in, followed closely by Rick.
It wasn't until Jason shut the hatch behind them that he reached out, patted Rick on the shoulder, and jokingly said, "Well, let's see if this tank starts."
The corners of Rick's mouth lifted slightly at this remark, and a deep sense of gratitude suddenly arose in his heart. From what he had heard, Jason had learned the basics of operating and moving a tank, so there wasn't much to worry about now.
Jason, who had just made the joke, had already reached the command cabin and began starting the tank, following what he had learned from the soldiers who operated them.
Driving a war tank in peacetime was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was pure adrenaline.
Something exhilarating that made the body and soul tremble with excitement.
Looking at all the buttons and advanced computers, Jason felt a bit overwhelmed but continued following the instructions he had been taught long ago. Hopefully, the tank could be transported by the truck; if not, they would only lose some time.
Once Jason had familiarized himself with the interior, he began pressing buttons and activating the engine in a swift process.
Just as Rick thought Jason wouldn't be able to start the tank's engine, the tank roared to life. Jason grabbed the radio from his vest and shouted loudly, "Zz... George, get ready to drive."
"Understood, boss!"
Throwing the radio aside, Jason focused entirely on driving the tank.
The people in the large cargo trucks had only seen Jason and another person sprint toward a street full of walkers. They all wanted to help cover them, but they quickly realized the two had an unspoken coordination. Jason's machetes moved as if he had wielded swords his entire life, cutting down walkers in front of Rick, who followed behind and took care of the remaining ones with his weapon.
These two men were not afraid of the walkers. At least Jason appeared extremely calm and composed, eliminating numerous walkers with relative ease. On the other hand, Rick fired dozens of bullets with great precision, hitting the walkers in the head.
When the two ran toward the vicinity of the tank, the people in the truck finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, it seemed that Rick had made a mistake that almost cost him his life. Everyone's hearts pounded like a drum once again, but after Jason helped him in time, both managed to get inside the tank, and everyone felt relieved to see this outcome.
Everyone thought it was over! But they never expected what would surprise them next!
The seemingly inoperable tank in the alley suddenly roared to life and surged forward at full speed. Every walker in its path was crushed, reduced to nothing more than a mass of flesh on the ground.
The tank continued straight for nearly 50 more meters, and suddenly, the walkers surrounding the large trucks began to move in the opposite direction. They were all drawn to the sound coming from the tank's monitor.
The tank sped toward the large cargo truck. Everyone watched as the distance between them closed, but just as they were anxious to see if the tank was being handled correctly, it stopped and began crushing the walkers on either side.
Every walker in front of the tank was like a mere sandbag—none were spared from being crushed by the tank's immense power!
Then, under everyone's shocked gazes, Jason maneuvered the tank forward, leaving a trail of destruction behind. The tank's tracks, covered in blood and flesh, slowly moved toward the cargo truck.
Jason took the radio and, following the instructions of the people outside, climbed onto the tank.
"Zz... Let's go, Burcea!"
"Alright... alright, boss!"
Boom!
The massive cargo truck slowly roared to life, and they drove out of the street.
Gaining a new tank was something that made everyone quite satisfied. After all, in recent days, what could make people feel safer than powerful weapons?
Later on, Jason and the others carefully searched the marked points on the map. However, the next two locations were completely empty, which dampened Jason's initial excitement about acquiring a tank.
"Jason, don't get discouraged! We still have three more locations, plus we already have more than one tank and even a helicopter!" Sensing Jason's disappointment, Rick tried to reassure him. For such a small group, their haul was already enormous.
"Don't worry, that's not it... I believe there's still a high chance that there are stationed troops at these two locations!"
Jason was a bit concerned. After all, everyone was determined to grow stronger from this point on! Even though they had more than ten tanks, fueling them was a major issue. It was estimated that more than half of them would have to be stored away until they could secure enough fuel to use them freely.
…
The next locations on the map weren't too far away. Jason hadn't marked the entire city as search targets; instead, he selected a few locations closer to the CDC facilities.
The group soon approached the next site, and George, who was in the driver's seat, suddenly pointed to an intersection ahead and shouted loudly:
"Captain! Look ahead! It looks like there's a fortification there!"
Following George's direction, everyone in the cabin soon saw a hill surrounded by sandbags. The area in front of the hill wasn't large, but it occupied the center of a three-way intersection.
This was precisely the deployment point Jason had calculated. This area was a key road junction. In the early stages, the military likely occupied some important transport hubs, having underestimated the threat of the walkers.
In the original timeline, the military underestimated the walkers and didn't understand them. It is said that, at first, many intended to evacuate survivors, but upon seeing the overwhelming danger, they decided to eliminate them without questioning whether they were infected or not.
This was not only a failure on the part of the high command for not considering the families of their soldiers, but also an underestimation of the mental stability of the troops—soldiers who, at that moment, should have been worrying only about their own families.