"What the hell is that sound?"
Everyone in the prison was startled upon hearing the siren coming from Atlanta. Many grabbed their weapons and rushed to the prison's open yard to find out what was happening.
Moving quickly, they all gathered in the large open space, fear evident on their faces as questions arose in the chaotic scene.
At that moment, Dr. Jenner suddenly emerged from his room and spoke loudly through a megaphone in his hand:
"Don't be afraid, everyone! Come here!"
Hearing his words, the crowd gathered, and Glenn asked from among them, "Doctor, do you know what's going on?"
"Yes, everyone, listen to my explanation!"
"This is a plan we couldn't explain before due to the limited time we had. Now, we have all the time in the world to help you understand what's happening."
…
A convoy of massive cargo trucks rumbled down the highway, struggling to carry two enormous tanks on their trailers. In one of the trucks, Jason and Rick were heading toward the final checkpoint on their map.
"Captain, with these two tanks, we'd have seventeen in total! Wouldn't that make us unstoppable? Ha ha ha!" George, who was driving one of the trucks, couldn't help but express his thoughts over the radio.
Jason remained silent for a moment after hearing this. Were George's words true? Only if one ignored several important factors. He picked up the radio and responded coldly:
"That's because you're thinking in a very limited way. If we don't solve the fuel problem, the tanks won't be of much use. And that's without even considering the ammunition. Do you think tank shells can be casually found in temporary bases?"
Jason immediately poured cold water on George's arrogant statement. He needed to make it clear that even if they had a hundred tanks, it would be useless if they couldn't maintain them. That was something both Mike and Sam had already taken into account.
The excitement in the convoy slowly faded, and no one spoke. Everyone reflected on why they couldn't compare to Jason's way of thinking. While they believed that a gun and a hundred bullets were enough, the leader of the S.C.T. community thought it was better to have a hundred guns and a thousand bullets.
However, Jason didn't care what George thought. He knew he had only been joking, so he turned to Billy, who was in the group, and said:
"Billy, when we reach our destination, I want you to climb onto the truck roof and keep watch on the surroundings."
"Got it, Captain!" Billy agreed happily. The longer the team had been with Jason, the more they admired him.
From the beginning, they had embarked on this mission knowing that as long as Jason was with them, they could feel safe—everyone would make it out alive. The newcomers naturally followed Jason's orders and even hoped to receive individual tasks to prove their worth to him.
That wasn't something an ordinary leader could achieve.
Finally, the convoy arrived at a military fortification. Compared to their last stop, this place was on a much larger scale. It was a massive temporary base, similar to the exterior facilities of the CDC on the outskirts of the city, offering a clear view of the surroundings.
But to everyone's disappointment, there were many walkers in the square. For some strange reason, they were densely packed together. Jason suspected this location had once been a major refuge for survivors.
Initially, there must have been many troops stationed here, but for unknown reasons, a large number of walkers had emerged from within.
As a result, the concentration of walkers inside had attracted more from the outside, gradually forming this massive horde.
Unlike the others, Jason didn't show any regret. These problems were insignificant in his eyes. For now, he ordered George to park in a secluded spot, then instructed everyone to eat and rest to regain their strength before retrieving the supplies.
"Boss! Are we retreating, or are you planning to clear out all these walkers? There are so many of them! Not to mention how we're supposed to take all the supplies—what are we even doing here if the walkers don't move?" A young man named Aurelio looked at Jason nervously. Jason, who was lying on top of the truck, seemed relaxed and was resting.
Hearing the young man's doubts, Jason didn't explain. He simply smiled mysteriously, pointed at Aurelio, and said one word:
"Wait. I don't abandon resources."
Just as everyone was trying to guess what was about to happen, a sound echoed in the distance!
Beep! Beep!
A loud siren blared from the buildings far away. The sound seemed to pierce the sky, and at that moment, Jason spoke slowly:
"The reason we haven't moved is because of the supplies. If we can't collect them, what was the point of bringing you all here?"
After speaking, he pointed toward the source of the sound in the distance and explained:
"That's the Atlanta Center for Disease Control and Prevention!"
"Are you saying the siren is coming from the CDC?" Rick still didn't understand.
Jason stood up, looked at Rick, and carefully explained what was happening:
"You all should already know that there's a bomb inside the CDC. In fact, this was discussed in detail with the scientists there long before the evacuation began."
"The original plan was that after transferring all the CDC's resources, a powerful siren would be installed on the roof. The alarm would run continuously until the entire CDC was destroyed."
"That way, a large number of walkers could be eliminated at once, right?" Rick immediately grasped the reasoning.
"It's not a difficult concept to understand! So, don't worry about the walkers in the city or this area. We just need to wait for them to start moving toward the sound source."
After saying that, Jason continued resting in silence. He wanted to take advantage of this time, at least to get some rest. He wasn't concerned about what was happening around them—everything was going according to plan.
This also ensured that Hershel's farm would remain safe for a few more days, at least until the CDC bomb detonated and destroyed the siren.
Time passed, and soon, the sound of people eating could be heard inside the trucks.
After a few minutes, complete silence fell.
Only Aurelio remained by the window, keeping watch. After all, someone still needed to stand guard.
With the loud noise coming from the direction of the CDC, the walkers at the base actually started moving slowly in that direction. At this speed, the walkers should no longer be visible after a few hours.
Aurelio looked at the long stream of walkers and then at the time—it was already around six in the evening. By the time the walkers were gone from the base, it would likely be nighttime.
So he wasn't in a hurry, but his eyes kept scanning his surroundings through the window with vigilance.
Finally!
At eight o'clock at night, Jason opened his eyes, looked back, and saw that Aurelio was still on watch. He then said, "Aurelio, get some rest. I'll take over from here!"
"Captain! I'm not tired!" Aurelio didn't want Jason to stand guard through the night, but seeing Jason's firm attitude, he simply woke up his friend beside him and said, "Let Milo keep watch until midnight. I'll take the second half, so everyone can get a little more sleep."
"Yes, Captain! Let me do it!" Milo was still a little groggy, but the growl of a walker outside the vehicle instantly woke him up.
Seeing how firm everyone's stance was, Jason simply stopped arguing, nodded, and continued resting with his eyes closed.
The night passed quickly, and Atlanta was extremely cold at dawn the next day. After a night of rest, several people in the truck cabins woke up one after another. Jason, however, had woken up much earlier than the others. He checked the time—it was 5:29 AM.
Outside, only a faint light was coming from the sky, and there was still some time before sunrise. However, the dim light was already enough to clearly see the surrounding environment.
Due to the noise stimulation from the sirens, the base—once packed with walkers—now only had two or three of them lingering nearby.
Jason knew that no matter how loud the noise had been, it was impossible to attract every single walker. There were probably still dozens left in the area, but the effect had already exceeded his expectations.
After waking everyone up in the trucks, Jason planned to take advantage of this moment for them to get ready and start moving.
At 6:10 AM, daylight had fully arrived.
Everyone got out of the cargo trucks and began dealing with the scattered walkers—it was simply too easy.
Just as they finished clearing the walkers and were about to enter the camp to search for supplies, Jason stopped in front of a Humvee with its doors closed, his eyes locked onto the vehicle.
"There's someone inside!"
Jason didn't make a sound—he simply signaled with his hand, and everyone around him immediately surrounded the vehicle.
All eyes were fixed on the trunk of that military vehicle!