Night Raid

The night was cold. The early autumn wind cut through their clothes, prickling their skin like needles.

Kirk stood watch atop the guard tower, keeping an eye on the pitch-black world outside.

With a generator and Rick's uncanny ability to find things, they'd managed to get hold of several barrels of diesel. The prison's power supply had mostly been restored. By tomorrow, once they'd finished clearing the rest of the prison, they could bring the other generator in Block A online and take the prison's defenses to the next level.

The fence crackled with electricity from time to time. Its blue sparks meant safety for human civilization and danger for the walkers.

All four watchtowers were equipped with powerful searchlights. Their beams lit up the entire area outside the prison as brightly as day—even the Black Fangs inside the walkers' mouths as they wandered across the grass were clearly visible.

Kirk was always on edge when he patrolled at night. Gazing at the distant mountains, dark as ink, he felt that a tremendous danger was bearing down on them.

Was it a walker horde even more dangerous than the one in the Original Drama? The Governor, the great villain who'd learned the plot with the help of a Contractor? Or the deadly gang rivalries brewing within their own group? Kirk had no way of knowing.

Sneak away? Kirk shook his head. If he left the group and the prison, he might be swallowed up by the mutated walker horde tonight.

Little Fatty murmured beside him, "Big brother, we can go home in four days."

Kirk said solemnly, "Little Fatty, you can't think like that. Otherwise, you won't make it through these four days. Remember: there's life after death."

Little Fatty nodded. "I understand, big brother. Do you think something big will happen tonight?"

The walker horde's nightly visit had become a regular event. Not one night had let them sleep in peace.

By day, they killed walkers and seized shelters so they could kill more walkers at night and stay alive. They stayed alive so they could kill walkers the next day. It was all a little ironic.

"Something big? Hard to say. But the System has solemnly warned us twice already. What do you think?" Kirk replied gravely. He was just a shut-in, perhaps a shut-in who could fight a little now. The relentless, high-intensity battles and lack of rest had taken a heavy toll on him.

"They're here!" Little Fatty pointed ahead.

Kirk strained to see into the distance. The walkers' low moans sounded again, and ragged ranks of them shambled slowly toward the prison. They moved at a crawl, but there was an unmistakable determination in their advance.

Kirk could even see something that looked like "will" in their empty eyes! He was certain these walkers had mutated. They were nothing like the ones they'd faced before.

The walker horde, stronger than ever, had finally arrived!

The prison erupted into a commotion. People shouted as they hurriedly dressed and rushed out of their cells. They carried all kinds of weapons—guns, steel pipes, machetes. They were willing to give everything to protect their families and secure a future for them.

Newcomers and Plot Characters stood watch in all four towers. Rick had listened to everyone's advice and strengthened their defenses. The guards on duty were all equipped with heavy firearms.

The walker horde entered the brightly lit area, but the prison defenders still held their fire.

The electric fence was doing its job. Gunshots would draw more walkers. If the fence could electrocute them, they'd save plenty of ammunition.

The prison's fighters poured out and took up positions around the perimeter, forming a defensive line as they tensely watched the walkers beyond the fence.

The first walker reached the fence and grabbed it. Powerful current instantly coursed through its body, and in just one second, it had been reduced to a charred corpse.

A tremendous cheer rang through the night. People cried out in wild excitement, tears streaming down their faces.

Once, humanity had become their prey, fleeing in every direction.

The power of civilization had been wiped out.

Now, powerful technology had returned! It was invincible! It would protect the humans who remained!

Another walker grabbed the fence and turned to ash.

One wave after another of walkers was reduced to ash.

Kirk watched the scene unfold smoothly, but the unease in his heart only grew. The System had warned them twice. Did they really think a single electric fence could hold back every threat?

They had to remember: this world was called The Walking Dead!

Walkers were the masters of this world!

How could humanity's fragile technology stop them?

Sure enough, an engine roared.

A large box truck! It was exactly like the truck that had ambushed the prison in the Original Drama! But Andrea was still at the camp, Green and Maggie hadn't been kidnapped, and nobody even knew what Philip looked like. Philip wasn't supposed to appear yet. This truck shouldn't have been here!

All the newcomers' faces changed.

Every newcomer remembered the sinister, terrifying Governor Philip.

Kirk knew even better that someone from the future might be with Philip—a human who knew the entire plot. That meant Philip also knew the threat posed by the prison, insignificant as it was now!

If you knew a weak group would eventually destroy you, wouldn't you send all your forces to wipe them out immediately?

Of course you would.

That meant the Original Drama's plot had changed drastically! The Governor's forces and the mutated walker horde had joined together, creating an enormous and immediate threat!

"Stop him!" Ma Ruiqi screamed hysterically, her beautiful face twisted in fury.

"Take out the driver!" Blondie shouted to his men.

Kirk had already opened fire. In just one minute, he emptied a magazine. A blood-soaked man fell out of the cab and was quickly devoured by walkers.

But the truck kept moving!

The desperate newcomers no longer cared that gunfire would attract walkers. Their heavy barrage shattered the truck's headlights and windows, but it still slammed into the electric fence!

After the explosion, the fence collapsed. The truck kept going, rolling over it—and the rear doors of the cargo box were wide open!

The newcomers watched in despair as walker after walker leaped out of the truck.

It was packed full of walkers, all of them already in Secondary Mutation!

As if things weren't bad enough, women's screams and gunshots rang out from inside the prison! The people left behind in the rooms were the old, the weak, and the sick. They'd opened fire because walkers had broken in through the back entrance! Someone had sneaked into the prison, cut the lock on the rear gate, and opened a path for the walkers to attack!

It wasn't that the newcomers hadn't taken precautions. Every half hour, a patrol checked each door leading outside to make sure it was secure. And yet someone had found a way in!

In just a few breaths, the Plot Characters' seemingly impenetrable defenses had become a desperate trap, with enemies attacking from both sides.

A hopeless situation with almost no chance of turning things around.

The Governor and the Contractors on his side weren't sitting comfortably at home. They were surely watching from outside, making sure the Plot Characters were swallowed up by the two walker hordes. If the group somehow survived but suffered heavy losses and was left vulnerable, they'd take the opportunity to strike again!

Humans were going to slaughter one another, too!

As if to prove the point, a hail of machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades struck the four watchtowers. The four searchlights were quickly blasted to pieces, plunging the camp into darkness once again. The first three watchtowers exploded one after another, sending rubble flying through the air. Many people were blown to pieces before they could even scream. Some of them were Contractors. The machine guns and grenades were too powerful; a beginner's pitiful Health Points couldn't withstand even a glancing hit. They died on the spot!

Seeing things go bad, Kirk grabbed Little Fatty and jumped down before their own watchtower was blasted apart. They both suffered minor injuries in the ensuing explosion, but nothing serious. A shard of glass struck Kirk in the head, though, leaving blood streaming down his face. Little Fatty quickly bandaged him.

The defenders' shooters had lost sight of their targets, rendering their long-range firepower useless.

And even if they fired, the shooters knew their positions would be exposed in the darkness. They couldn't help wondering if they'd be hit by a grenade the next second.

Under these circumstances, the defenders' fighting strength naturally plummeted.

Things couldn't get any worse!

Everyone in the prison, whether a Plot Character or a Contractor newcomer, gritted their teeth. Their enemies were vicious to the extreme! They seemed determined to make sure nobody survived!

Kirk rose without a word and told Little Fatty to run into the prison. Little Fatty wanted to stay with him, but Kirk yelled, "I have something important to do! Take care of yourself, and don't you dare die!"

Little Fatty nodded. "You take care, big brother. If it comes to it, we'll fight our way out together!"

Kirk nodded.

He'd figured it out. If things continued like this, they were all going to die. The key to breaking out of this hopeless situation lay with Rick, the main character among the Plot Characters!

Rick commanded a powerful group of Plot Characters, and more than a hundred people listened to him. The newcomers might have plenty of ideas, but with no other options, they had to rely on him!

What they feared most was everyone acting on their own, scattering like loose sand and being hunted down by the two mutated walker hordes attacking from both sides along with the Governor's men. That would leave every last one of them dead!

Kirk rushed over to Rick. The leader was consumed by rage, firing his pistol again and again, his attention entirely focused on the walkers ahead.

Kirk sighed. In the Original Drama, he'd thought Rick had first-rate charisma, second-rate leadership, and third-rate battlefield instincts. Now the guy was doing nothing but shouting and telling people to shoot. He'd completely forgotten he was supposed to be in command!

Kirk had to persuade Rick to accept his tactical advice.

"Rick, this isn't working! We're under attack from an unknown force inside the prison! There are too many walkers outside, and an unidentified enemy is watching us from the shadows. We need to retreat! We can't hold this place!" Kirk shouted in his ear.

Rick shook his head. "I've already sent Shane back to the prison with Daryl, Michonne, and Mori to help the doctors fight off the walkers. They should just be a group of walkers made up of prison inmates. There won't be many. I need you to hold this position. Don't let the walkers into the prison!"

Kirk was furious. What did Rick mean, there wouldn't be many walkers inside? The two-pronged attack was clearly part of the enemy's plan. According to their earlier arrangements, they'd checked each prison door every half hour, and everything had been fine. Now the walkers were already inside. The enemy had obviously known their defenses inside out. This area was open, with no natural defenses. The walkers' numerical advantage would be put to full use, not to mention the machine guns and grenades that kept breaking up their defensive line. Rick still had no idea how to adapt!

Kirk didn't have Basic Eloquence, and his charisma was only average. He had no hope of persuading the stubborn idiot!

Would he and Little Fatty really have to fight their way out? What about Mori? That tough guy definitely wouldn't leave.

Suddenly, Kirk remembered a detail, one the System had prompted him about.

Then he hurriedly checked with the System, immediately removed his Silver rank title, Walker King, and equipped his Black Iron rank title, Fire Captain: automatically gained favor with human-aligned Plot Characters, whether or not it was equipped; when equipped, it gave a +2 modifier to charisma checks when communicating with humans.

Then he used a Team Contribution Value privilege!

Team Contribution Value could force Plot Characters to make a decision!

Kirk spent a full 100 points of Team Contribution Value to suggest a course of action to Rick, forcing him to accept it at the cost of lowering his Favorability. If not for the Fire Captain title and his good personal relationship with Rick, it would have cost 200 points!

Rick reluctantly lowered his gun. "All right, all right. You've always been capable, and we go way back. I'll trust your instincts this once. Just this once! But if your damn idea leads us into hell, I'll kill you myself!"

Then he roared furiously, "Everyone, retreat! Retreat into the prison! We'll defend ourselves inside!"

Kirk let out a long breath. He noticed that he had a miserable 39 points of Contribution Value left, along with a series of infuriating System prompts: "Rick's relationship with you has dropped to neutral," "Rick's relationship with you has turned cold." His heart bled!

If my life weren't at stake here, I wouldn't care if you dropped dead! No wonder your wife cheated on you behind your back! What a pain! Kirk cursed furiously.

At Rick's command, the Plot Characters and newcomers outside began to retreat. Just then, the long-silent machine guns and rockets roared again, focusing their fire on the prison entrance along the retreat route.

"Just as I thought," Kirk sneered. "The last thing they want is for us to retreat into the prison. This prison was built incredibly solidly. It can withstand a direct artillery strike! Machine guns and grenades won't do any damage inside."

As the guns roared, everyone saw the enemy's sinister intentions and ran even faster. Most of them made it inside.