This time, he had made sure to leave his people with clear backup plans and safe escape routes. It gave them a fighting chance, and they appreciated it. In response, everyone began training with renewed discipline and seriousness, knowing their survival depended on it.
With everything in place, Jason and his team finally set off in three Jeeps, heading out with purpose and preparation.
After more than a full day of traveling, navigating detours and sticking to safer routes, Jason and his team finally reached the weathered sign that read "Welcome to City B." The sight sparked a surge of excitement among them. On the way, they unexpectedly crossed paths with Adam’s group, who seemed to have the same goal in mind. Without hesitation, Jason and Adam decided to join forces once again.
Thankfully, Kisha had provided them with a map detailing a safer route back to HOPE Base, and they now followed that same path, harvesting crystal cores along the way. Thanks to their previous collaboration, both teams moved in sync, coordinating smoothly and efficiently.
"On my six! Zombie horde approaching, pick up the pace!" Jason shouted, bolting toward their jeep after yanking a crystal core from a zombie carcass.
"Move it! Let’s go!" Adam yelled to his team as he leapt into the passenger seat. He banged on the side of the vehicle to signal the driver, and without wasting a second, the engine roared to life.
Their jeeps sped forward, plowing through the scattered undead, sending limp bodies tumbling beneath their wheels as they pushed deeper into the city.
"Everyone, stay sharp! Watch out for any surprise attacks, don’t let your guard down!" Adam radioed to his team, riding in the vehicle behind them.
This time, Adam wasn’t alone. Seated behind him was a young child, the son of the woman who had accidentally caused the death of Jason’s young subordinate. After returning and receiving medicine, the boy’s condition had improved, but it wasn’t enough to fully clear him of medical concerns. Simply surviving in a world ravaged by the apocalypse was already too much strain for someone so young.
Knowing this, Adam decided to bring the child along on their trip back to HOPE Base. Like Jason’s group, they were heading back to restock supplies, and Adam figured this was also the best chance for the boy to get a proper check-up, perhaps even be admitted to the medical ward.
And who knows? Maybe the environment at HOPE Base, where children still played and laughed, would lift the kid’s spirits and remind him of what it felt like to be a child again.
Although they all knew it was risky to bring a child on such a dangerous trip, they didn’t have much of a choice. To keep the boy safe and calm, the other team vehicles surrounded Adam’s car in a protective formation.
Inside, the boy was nestled tightly in his mother’s arms, his head buried against her chest. Large headphones covered his ears, playing music to shield him from the terrifying sounds outside.
Kisha had provided them with a safer route, but "safer" didn’t mean safe. Zombies still wandered the streets and emerged from alleyways and corners. The difference was that this path lacked mutated zombies, unlike other routes where hordes were led by terrifying variants and were practically classified as red zones. This route, by comparison, was considered a yellow zone, still dangerous, but manageable.
Green zones only existed within fully secured areas like bases, and in the apocalypse, those were rare luxuries. They knew they were already traveling along the best route available. Besides, Kisha’s people frequently swept through this area for training and cleanup operations, keeping the threat level significantly lower than elsewhere.
And so, Jason and Adam’s teams worked together to clear the streets of zombies. Fortunately, they no longer had to waste time moving abandoned vehicles out of the way; Kisha’s people had already done that, clearing a path wide enough for vehicles to pass through.
Thanks to their efforts, the road was now much more navigable, ensuring that survivors from other settlements wouldn’t get trapped or become easy prey for the roaming undead.
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