Defense

Kirk entered the prison only to discover the situation inside was worse than he had imagined!

Walkers surged in from all directions, the cells had turned into a hellhole, women, the elderly, and children were being chased everywhere. A dozen walkers were pinning down unlucky souls, gnawing at them, blood splattered, flesh flew, and screams echoed through the lobby.

Rick and the other plot characters were stunned. They knew that he had used the warden's key to lock all the cell doors. Even with checks every half hour, there had been no anomalies.

How did so many walkers get in?

But now was not the time to discuss it. Shane, Michonne, Mori, and other plot characters were fighting desperately. Seeing Rick arrive with a large group for reinforcements, they breathed a sigh of relief. The plot characters picked up their weapons and opened fire fiercely on the mutated walkers.

At this moment, Ma Ruiqi, Blondie, and the others also got fierce, taking out the light and heavy weapons they had exchanged for contribution points from the plot characters, and opened fire, making the zombie horde shriek. They knew that if the plot team was wiped out, none of these newbies would survive!

Now, the walkers had undergone a secondary mutation, their physical characteristics clearly enlarged. Normal walkers were around 1.8 meters tall, some approaching 2 meters, with increased weight, around 180 to 200 jin. The walkers' muscle tissue had expanded, tearing through the skin, revealing bloody muscles and veins. Not only did they look more terrifying, but their Strength had also clearly increased significantly. Kirk clashed with a 2-meter-tall walker, and with one grab, the walker actually pushed Kirk back two steps.

"Estimated Strength exceeding 10 points," Kirk was somewhat horrified. He had just entered The Space with only 3 Strength, and with enhancements from equipment and rewards, he had reached 8 points, so he wasn't being crushed. However, other newbies were definitely being crushed and couldn't escape. This meant that without guns, where newbies could previously fight walkers one-on-one, now even two people together might not be able to kill a single mutated walker.

Even more terrifying was that the walkers' HP had increased. Normal walkers previously had around 6 Stamina, but now they were around 8. The most direct consequence was that previously, a shot to the head, with critical hit bonuses, would definitely kill them!

Now, Kirk shot a walker in the head, and it merely lifted its head, stunned for about 2 seconds, then roared and lunged forward again!

One shot to the head wasn't fatal! This was a qualitative change from a quantitative one! Previously, one shot killed one walker; now, it took more than two, halving the efficiency.

However, the walker that took a shot to the head definitely didn't have much HP left. Kirk stabbed its throat and cut off its head, finally killing it.

Kirk quickly found Little Fatty. Rick's son, Carl, was being fiercely pursued by a blood-covered walker. The child, however, seemed to have maxed out his hatred for this walker, firing his revolver repeatedly. Little Fatty saw an opportunity, swung his cool steel shovel, and after a flurry of swings, the walker fell. Carl, however, relentlessly continued to shoot, battering the walker's head into pulp.

Kirk looked over and saw a woman's corpse nearby, her abdomen ripped open, her insides half-eaten. Although her face was unrecognizable due to blood loss, from Carl's reaction and the woman's clothing, Kirk was certain this was Rick's wife—Laurie.

Laurie was dead. Just like in the plot, she had been killed by walkers who had secretly entered from behind the prison. There was a bullet hole in her head.

Carl cried out madly. This child, not even 10 years old, had been forced by his mother to kill her before she turned, as she didn't want to become a walker!

It was a tragedy beyond words.

Kirk's mind raced. He remembered the family photo he had taken from Rick's house. It seemed this useless item might have some value now.

With the full counterattack from the plot characters and the newbie team, although the walkers' secondary mutation greatly increased their abilities, they were still at a disadvantage due to their slower speed. Plot characters like Rick, Shane, Daryl, Mori, Andalusia, Michonne, Green, and others were tough, battle-hardened warriors. Even mutated walkers were dispatched with one shot or one cut, quickly pushing the defense line to the connection between Zone D and Zone A.

As Green quickly and skillfully locked the cell door, the walkers hissed and bit at the iron bars, unable to do anything to the steel structure, only able to express their desperate desire for flesh through roars.

On the other side, the main gate of Zone D of the prison had been firmly braced with H-shaped steel piles by the plot characters as they retreated. The walkers outside pounded relentlessly, but to no avail.

They had finally escaped for the time being.

The team began to tally their losses. The losses were significant. 23 plot characters died in the melee, most of them bitten by the walker army that had sneaked in from behind the prison, including the female protagonist, Laurie.

Rick stood expressionlessly by Laurie's body, unable to accept this cruel reality. Carl stood alone beside him. The little prodigy had exploded, or rather, gone berserk, killing no less than 10 walkers with his steel gun. Kirk, who had fired thousands of shots and whose pistol skill was still at level 1, couldn't help but wonder who had taught him to shoot so well, making him seem like he was already max level.

The newbies also suffered 3 deaths and 2 serious injuries during the initial machine-gun attack and the subsequent assault, including Sally, who was blown to pieces on the Watchtower.

Laurie and her close best friend, Sally, both died in this attack.

At this moment, a system prompt sounded: "[Defend the Prison] The first stage has ended. Although you have suffered heavy losses, 80% of you have survived. You are temporarily safe for tonight, and the mission is considered partially complete! The second stage mission will begin at 7:00 AM tomorrow."

Finally, temporary safety. The chaos of the team earlier was the most dangerous. Now that they were organized, with defenses on both sides, the walkers couldn't break in, and they could safely get through the night.

Tomorrow, when the sun came out, the walkers' vitality would decrease, and it would be time to organize a counterattack.

However, Rick, the team's leader, was consumed by self-blame and grief over his wife Laurie's death. He just sat there, staring blankly at his wife's body, constantly kissing her pale face as if Laurie were merely asleep. Andalusia, Amy, the old doctor, and other plot characters tried to comfort him, but to no avail.

Even Ma Ruiqi walked over, attempting to persuade Rick with her high Charisma, but Rick pushed her away. Her expression changed, as if she had received some notification. She walked to her room with a grim face and slammed the door shut.

Little Fatty said with a smile, "This slut, her husband's wife just died, and she's already trying to seduce the protagonist to become a mistress. She probably got Rick's anger, failed to become the main mistress, and her favorability dropped sharply. Heh heh. I'll advise her later. There are no unforgettable ex-wives, only lazy mistresses. Go, we're rooting for you."

Kirk thought for a moment and said, "But we can't do without Rick as our leader. The team's morale still relies on him to unite them. Otherwise, our counterattack tomorrow will still be problematic."

He walked over to Rick's youngest son, Carl, and handed him the family photo. "Mori and I found this at your house when we were searching your town. I'm very sorry about your mother, but it wasn't your fault. I'm sure your mother understands and forgives you, and still loves you, child."

The cold Carl saw the only family photo, and tears finally streamed down his face! He ran to Rick, kicked his father down, and yelled, "You bastard! You killed Mom! I hate you!"

Rick tightly hugged his son and roared, "Yes, it's all my fault! I'm going to die, don't stop me!"

Then, he grabbed a submachine gun and was about to jump out the window!

Kirk let out a wail. Big brother, don't be so impulsive! He rushed forward, grabbed Rick's leg, and pulled him down.

Rick fell to the ground, muttering like a wooden doll, "Bastard, don't block me! Let me die! Let me die!"

Carl pounced over, "Rick, I don't want you to die, you still have me!"

Rick looked at his son and finally mustered a sliver of courage to live: "Yes, I still have my son to live for. I must raise you alive, for Laurie..."

Rick walked towards his room with Laurie's body. Before closing the door, he gave Kirk a deep look.

Kirk immediately received a notification: "Contractor No. 4444, due to your correct advice and selfless contribution, the team has escaped danger. You used a plot item and completed the hidden branch plot [Rick's Grief], prematurely awakening the protagonist Rick, who was immersed in deep self-blame. Calculated together, you have gained 2% plot deviation, obtained 300 Team Contribution Value, Rick's favorability towards you has risen to Intimate, Carl's favorability has risen to Grateful."

The 300 points of Team Contribution Value seemed like a lot. However, since Kirk had actually deducted 100 contribution points, risking it to save the team, it was likely a doubled return of 200 points. Coupled with the completion of the hidden branch plot [Rick's Grief], he received 100 points. Each hidden branch quest only awarded 100 points, which wasn't exaggerated.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, whether plot characters or newbies, everyone was exhausted and mentally drained, but no one dared to rest. Because everyone was still thinking.

How did the walkers manage to break in?

The Japanese "otokonoko" Ranmaru stood up and said softly, "I know who did it!"

Everyone's gaze turned to him. He recalled, "To get this key, I went into Zone A. When I passed a storage room, I heard people talking inside. Perhaps there were survivors there. Due to time constraints and not knowing if they were friend or foe, I left directly without stopping. This time, could it have been them?"

"It should be," Ma Ruiqi walked out of the room expressionlessly. "According to the plot, there were 5 prisoners hiding in the prison with ample food supplies. After being rescued by the plot characters, their leader turned against them. After fighting with Rick and the others, only one short person escaped. In revenge, he lured the walker horde, cut open the cell doors, and sounded the alarm, causing the prison to suffer an attack similar to what we received tonight. To prevent this situation, we sent out extra patrols after locking the doors, but unexpectedly, we returned to the main plot, and Laurie died because of it." She glanced at Ranmaru, "Perhaps the voices you heard were those of the plot prisoners."

Ranmaru nodded in realization, then sat down without speaking, lowering his head. Many who had seen the plot also spoke up, agreeing.

Kirk looked thoughtfully at Ma Ruiqi. This woman had clearly fallen out of favor with Rick. Due to his mistake, his wife had died, and Rick was now filled with self-blame. Seeing Ma Ruiqi, who had caused arguments between him and his wife in the past, he naturally felt disgusted. Without Rick's support, Ma Ruiqi's position as leader of the newbie team was precarious. No wonder she was actively speaking despite being in a bad mood.

However, Kirk still had a huge question in his mind: Was it true, as Ma Ruiqi said, that The Space, to increase the challenge, had forced the main plot back onto its original track, causing the 5 prisoners who shouldn't have appeared yet to show up early?