Prison Break

Kirk and Little Fatty moved through the gloomy prison. American prisons were heavily guarded and essentially windowless. With the power system destroyed, the lights were out, plunging everything into darkness. Kirk held a dagger in his left hand and a pistol in his right, leading the way. Little Fatty, though timid, found courage with Kirk ahead, gripping a steel shovel silently as he followed. This steel shovel was a gift from his master, T-Dog. It was a common, variant weapon with average attack power, but it could cleave walker heads, impale their necks, or hack off their rotten legs. Its long handle made it perfect for fighting walkers.

The two passed through cell block after cell block. Little Fatty saw many cell doors ajar, with prisoners bound and blindfolded, lying dead at their thresholds.

"Big Brother, what happened here?"

"The guards executed them when the Great Cataclysm first began!" Kirk said calmly.

"These Americans are so ruthless!" Little Fatty shivered. As an otaku, the sight of so many corpses chilled him to the bone.

"Where exactly are we going?" Little Fatty edged closer.

"To the generator room," Kirk smiled.

"Isn't that place broken already?" Little Fatty seemed to know the plot well, having watched the American drama. "What are we going to do there?"

"What do you think 'clearing the prison' means?"

"Killing walkers, of course. If we kill them all, the mission is complete."

"But the walkers are hiding in dark corners. Finding them will take a lot of time, right?"

"Mhm," Little Fatty nodded. "Such a large area, and it's so dark. The walkers don't make a sound, so we have to search room by room. In an area this big, we might not even finish by nightfall, and the mission has a time limit."

"But the walkers will hear us," Kirk said, looking like a wise mystic.

"You mean triggering the alarm? Like in the plot when that little scoundrel framed the plot team?" Little Fatty became excited, but then his face fell. "Big Brother, if we trigger the alarm, the walkers will be drawn to the loudspeaker, but the main loudspeaker is outside. And with just the two of us, can we handle that many walkers?"

"I've already secretly removed the main loudspeaker and put it in The Space. Useless items like that can be brought into the imprint space, as long as they fit," Kirk chuckled.

"As for your second question, I've already considered it. Ma Ruiqi did at least one good thing: she lured a large portion of the prison walkers to the camp, where they were eliminated. There shouldn't be many walkers left in the prison now. Zone D has been isolated by the plot characters, so there are even fewer walkers there. Otherwise, The Space wouldn't send us newbies into this dark, narrow place that clearly favors walkers to die. Besides, we can use the terrain to our advantage."

"But Big Brother, there's another problem. Neither you nor I are electricians. How can we fix the generator?"

"In the plot, a dangerous individual with ill intentions secretly fixed the generator, triggered the alarm, attracting surrounding walkers to the prison, and then cut through the prison's fence, leading to the deaths of the protagonist Laurie and many other plot characters. It's definitely a potential branch plotline. The Space wouldn't issue an impossible mission. The generator room must have spare parts and a manual," Kirk analyzed.

Little Fatty nodded repeatedly. "Big Brother, I definitely made the right choice following you. I know this plot too, but I never thought of playing it this way!"

They walked on, exploring the dark cells. Although it was daytime, the cells were pitch black. Walkers seemed to have an innate advantage in darkness. They relied mainly on smell and hearing, unaffected by the lack of vision. They also benefited from the speed, vitality, and stamina bonuses at night, posing a significant threat to humans.

Kirk maintained his long-range gun, close-range dagger strategy, while Little Fatty wielded a tactical flashlight for illumination. If the number of walkers became overwhelming, he would help with the steel shovel. Kirk had told Little Fatty about the bonus rewards and skill enhancements for close-quarters combat with walkers. Little Fatty felt his Big Brother was truly loyal and swung his steel shovel with incredible speed, enjoying the fight. Their initial coordination was a bit rough, but they grew more in sync as they went.

Little Fatty kicked open a door, revealing three prison guard walkers inside. One near the door hadn't reacted yet and had its head cleanly severed by Little Fatty's shovel from behind. Another lunged greedily at Little Fatty, but its head exploded with a pop from a ricocheting bullet. Kirk, with a move similar to a shoulder charge, slammed into the third walker, forcing it back. He then followed up with a dagger thrust directly through its chin, piercing its skull. Black, foul blood gushed out, and the walker struggled for a moment before dying.

Little Fatty wiped his face. "Big Brother, this must be the generator room we're looking for, right?"

Kirk surveyed the surroundings. "Don't let your guard down. Observe your environment carefully. There might be hidden walkers." Little Fatty nodded, then suddenly ran over to rummage beneath one of the walkers, pulling out a light blue key after a moment.

This was the first time Kirk had seen a key other than a white one. This key was light blue, with a metallic sheen, emitting a chilling glow. It looked fundamentally different from the plain white keys.

Kirk and Little Fatty stared intently at the key. Little Fatty reluctantly handed it over. "Big Brother, here!"

"You found it, you open it."

"Big Brother, I know the rules. You're the leader, you open it."

"Just open it. We fought together, so it's fifty-fifty. This will be the rule from now on," Kirk said decisively.

Little Fatty was stunned. He had heard from other newcomers that Blondie's group usually gave Blondie the lion's share, with the rest divided among others, and Blondie got to pick first. Ma Ruiqi's group was similar; even if others fought for items privately, they had to offer tribute to her. Even Sally, who was fairer yesterday, took half the share.

Now, Big Brother wanted to split the spoils equally with him, his subordinate. Little Fatty's face flushed. "Big Brother, I know you're righteous, but I'm serious. If you respect me, you take sixty percent and I take forty. Otherwise, we part ways. I can't accept an equal split! We won't last long like this."

Kirk nodded. This Little Fatty was not only righteous and grateful but also knew when to advance and retreat and understood the rules. He was a good brother. While Kirk genuinely meant to split it fifty-fifty, Little Fatty was also serious, so Kirk nodded in agreement.

Little Fatty nervously used the key. A flash of light blue light flickered, and Little Fatty pulled a pair of light blue boots from thin air. Both were overjoyed and quickly examined their properties.

[Gonzalez's Feather Boots]

Halfling "Flying Legs" Gonzalez was a renowned thief in Silvermoon City. His success wasn't just due to his incredibly stealthy hands but also his lightning-fast legs. After every successful heist, Gonzalez would sprint through the marketplace, shouting defiantly, "Catch me if you can!" However, after stealing the city lord's most prized pearl necklace, Gonzalez was caught, and his boots were confiscated by the city guard captain. Only then did everyone discover the secret of "Flying Legs."

[Nature]: Light Boots

[Location]: Footwear

[Weight]: 3 lbs

[Effect]: Agility +2, Movement Speed +30%, Dodge +5%

These were very practical boots and would be quite valuable. Honestly, it was already lucky for a regular walker to drop a light blue key. For that light blue key to open such excellent light blue equipment was even luckier.

How to divide them became a problem. Firstly, both were newbies and hadn't entered The Space yet, so the equipment's value was hard to determine. Secondly, Little Fatty felt neither of them had enough survival points to purchase the equipment. Little Fatty frankly suggested Kirk equip the boots first and then, upon returning to The Space, they would assess the value and he would receive 40%. Kirk shook his head and transferred 2000 survival points.

Little Fatty stared in amazement. "Big Brother, you're incredible! This is the newbie trial scenario, and I haven't spent a single survival point. I've only saved less than 500 so far. You just spent 2000! Big Brother is truly Big Brother."

Kirk smiled humbly. "These boots are worth a lot. 2000 points might not even be 40% of their value. When we get back to The Space, we'll assess it, and I'll make up the difference."

Little Fatty repeatedly shook his head. "Big Brother, it definitely exceeds it. Based on the current situation, survival points should be very valuable. A walker is only worth 2 points, and killing one face-to-face only gets you 3 points. While a walker's combat power is slightly less than a newbie's, it could easily kill a newbie without preparation. The risk isn't small. These 2000 points are enough for me to kill 1000 walkers. The value definitely exceeds 40% of these boots."

Kirk patted Little Fatty's shoulder and accepted the boots. After equipping them, he felt his legs were indeed lighter, and his walking/running speed had increased by thirty percent. This was extremely practical equipment, plus the valuable 2 Agility and 5% Dodge. It was a useful tool for both close and ranged combat. Judging by its practical attributes, the equipment's value was undoubtedly high.

Little Fatty exclaimed, "Big Brother, look!" Kirk walked over. Little Fatty was excitedly waving a booklet – the generator repair manual. They continued searching and found spare parts for the generator in the room's equipment storage. Little Fatty was surprised why Kirk was so certain. Kirk smiled. "Where is this?"

"A prison."

"What's most important in a prison?"

"Preventing prisoners from escaping."

"Mhm. Cells need electricity to be shut, electric fences need electricity to deter climbing, large searchlights need electricity, and communication needs electricity. So, if the power goes out, the generator becomes crucial. Many American prisons must have backup generators. So, even if there aren't spare parts this time, there will definitely be a backup generator," Kirk said with a mystic expression.

Little Fatty suddenly understood. "Amazing, God!"

"Don't look at me like that. I just thought of this. But we still need to make a series of preparations before we can proceed."