Rescue

The gunfire in the town lasted for a while, then fell silent.

The rescue team gathered 500 meters outside the town and set up a lookout post. Everyone rested for a bit, and Kirk took the opportunity to review the changes to his skills.

The fighting had been intense over the past few days, so Kirk hadn't had time to check his combat records. Now that he looked, he saw that the fighting had rapidly increased his skill proficiency. Sure enough, there were some pleasant surprises.

[Basic Small Arms Mastery] had reached Level 2, improving mastery of pistols, heavy pistols, and machine pistols. Damage increased by 10%, and shooting accuracy increased by 10%.

[Basic Small Knife Mastery] had reached Level 2, improving mastery of small melee weapons such as daggers, long daggers, military bayonets, and wrist blades. Damage increased by 10%, and speed increased by 10%.

[Basic Physical Defense Mastery] had reached Level 2, reducing physical damage by 10% and improving the effectiveness of defensive gear.

[Basic Melee Combat] had also leveled up. His melee weapon proficiency had improved, and his passive skill increased melee damage by 10%.

Kirk marveled at how the System honed a person's abilities: whichever area received the most training developed the fastest. He was heading toward a focus on close combat.

His basic stats were now: Strength 7, Agility 8, Stamina 9, Intelligence 9, Wisdom 7, and Charisma 3. He had to thank Mori. Without his guidance, Kirk would never have been able to bring himself to fight walkers face-to-face, and he wouldn't have developed his abilities.

Just then, Kirk received a System Prompt: "Contractor, at 24:00 tonight, the walkers will undergo their third mutation. Their Attack Power, speed, Health Points, and aggression will increase by 10%. Their sense of smell, hearing, and vision will evolve again, and they will gain the ability to devour other walkers. When walkers devour one another, they will evolve faster, and more mutated variants will appear. Plot Difficulty will increase once again, from C+ to B-class. You need to survive another 48 hours in this beginner scenario before you can return!"

"F***, this damn System! Is it trying to get us killed?" Little Fatty spat on the ground. "What a shame that Ma Ruiqi got away..."

"If fate wills it, we'll meet again," Kirk said, putting on the air of a sage.

"Big bro, the Governor knows we've already been here. Do you think we'll be able to get inside later?"

"That's where a blind spot in people's thinking comes in. Tonight, the walkers will undergo their third mutation, putting much greater pressure on every human community's defenses. The Governor and his people won't expect us to return a second time even though they've figured us out. They'll be too busy dealing with the walkers. We can use that opportunity to sneak back into town and rescue the hostages."

"But won't the walkers overrun our place?" Little Fatty was still worried.

"As for the prison, the electric fence has been repaired, and the backup generators are running again, so there's plenty of power. As long as the rescue team keeps the Governor's men occupied here and stops them from causing trouble, the prison only has to deal with the mutated walkers. That'll be much easier. No matter how much the walkers mutate, they're still stupid. They can't withstand the power of an electric fence." Kirk smiled.

At midnight, hordes of walkers began their death march, gathering at the town gates. The town went on high alert, and a large number of people rushed out to help defend it. Kirk and Little Fatty saw a woman on the defensive wall. It was none other than Ma Ruiqi.

"That woman sure knows how to switch sides. She's already a loyal guard," Little Fatty scoffed. "Do you think the System will punish her?"

"I doubt it," Kirk said. "The System's mission is to survive. How you survive is up to you. As long as you make it through, you've completed the mission."

The walkers were clearly moving much faster than they had during the day—or even the previous night. Kirk estimated they could now run as fast as an ordinary person. It was terrifying. The outlook for humanity had grown even bleaker. At least they only had another 48 hours before they could return.

The defenders were well organized. They hauled up one piece of heavy weaponry after another. They even had a Heavy Machine Gun taken off a Humvee.

The walkers were in for it now. No matter how powerful they were, they couldn't stop a storm of bullets with their flesh and blood. Before long, they were falling under the hail of gunfire.

The town's military strength was far greater than that of the Plot Characters' group. The Governor had a real talent for plundering resources.

As night fell, the town gradually settled into silence.

Rick led the rescue team into town, climbing over the wall at a secluded spot.

Daryl, their tracking expert, quickly found the hut where the hostages were being held. It was a makeshift shack in the most remote part of town.

The rescue team surrounded the place and prepared to infiltrate it. Kirk was selected for the first wave of attackers.

Holding a dagger in his right hand and a thick piece of cloth in his left, Kirk crept up behind a middle-aged man. He clamped the man's mouth shut with his left hand and viciously used [Throat Cut] with his right!

The man's mouth was muffled as blood poured from his throat. Kirk's [Throat Cut] was vicious: it first made an instant-death check, and if that failed, it inflicted four times the lethal damage plus 30 points of Bleed Damage. The middle-aged man was a battle-hardened veteran with an estimated 100 or more Health Points, but even he couldn't escape death under the heavy damage dealt by Kirk's [Navy SEAL Special Dagger]. He rolled his eyes and died moments later.

On the other side, Mori had already cleanly snapped another guard's neck. The two exchanged a nod and entered the interrogation room.

The interrogation room was dimly lit and divided into several cells. The rescue team began searching them one by one. Then they heard someone talking—and someone screaming—in the cell on the left. Mori, Daryl, Rick, and Kirk rushed in one after another. A fat man who had been watching with his arms folded and laughing was just reaching for his gun when Daryl's crossbow bolt struck him between the eyes. He fell dead without a sound.

The Governor and Ma Ruiqi hurried to their feet. In front of them stood Green, his face covered in blood, and Maggie, whose top had already been stripped off. It looked like they'd been interrogating them. The Governor held a red-hot branding iron, while Ma Ruiqi was pulling Maggie's clothes off. That woman was utterly shameless. Surrendering to the Governor could be called a matter of survival; betraying the team could be called a matter of survival. But there was no way to claim that stripping a female prisoner was necessary for survival!

When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred. The Governor looked just like he did on television: elegant, imposing, and extremely handsome. Unfortunately for him, everyone facing him was an enemy. Rick's wife had indirectly died because of him. Mori had once worked with him, only to be used by him, leaving them with a deep-seated grudge. Daryl had been attacked by him and nearly beaten to death. Kirk had no personal grudge against him, but if this villainous boss didn't die, Kirk would eventually die at his hands. Better to kill him sooner rather than later.

As for Ma Ruiqi, there was no need to say more. Everyone wanted to kill that two-faced, treacherous woman with their own hands.

The Governor reacted extremely quickly. While Ma Ruiqi was still screaming, he seized Green and pressed a gun to his temple, taking him hostage. The message was clear: come any closer and he'd kill Green!

The Governor was about to deliver a classic threat. The Plot Characters, Rick and the others, hesitated, ready for a standoff. But Kirk wasn't one to play by the rules.

He had no personal connection to Green. He was just a Plot Character. So what if he died? (Green: What the hell.) Killing the Governor, the boss, and Ma Ruiqi, the traitor, was more important.

Kirk leaped forward, lunging at Ma Ruiqi. He pulled out his special dagger and showed the woman no pity—not even a moment's hesitation—as he drove the blade deep into her body! (Kirk: Don't make it sound dirty. It was a knife.)

As Kirk's blade went in—no, as the white blade went in and the red blade came out—Ma Ruiqi let out a shrill scream. Blood poured from her as she stumbled backward. Kirk had 7 Strength, while Ma Ruiqi had only 4, so his attack dealt especially heavy damage.

Ma Ruiqi snatched up a pistol and fired several shots at Kirk. Her combat sense was terrible. At such close range, she was still trying to use a pistol. Kirk charged at her without hesitation, taking the bullets head-on. In her panic, Ma Ruiqi only hit him twice, and his various defenses reduced the damage. He reached her and swiftly used [Throat Cut] across her neck!

Kirk had already seen how viciously Ma Ruiqi had framed her teammates. Now she'd betrayed the team for personal gain, too. He wouldn't go easy on a woman with a heart as poisonous as hers. He didn't give the Governor a chance to say a word. He didn't care whether Green lived or died.

Ma Ruiqi's scream cut off abruptly. All that remained was the blood spurting from her neck and a gurgling, choking sound from her slit throat. Even after being enhanced, she could have had no more than 50 or 60 Health Points. Kirk's heavy blow and [Throat Cut] had killed her with Bleed Damage alone.

"If you hadn't betrayed us, I might not have been able to bring myself to kill you," Kirk whispered in her ear.

Ma Ruiqi stared at him in disbelief. It seemed she'd only just recognized the unremarkable young man as the shut-in who had sat in the car, completely dejected. He had killed her. Why had he killed her? She'd only joined the Governor and betrayed the team to survive. What was wrong with that?

But there were no ifs. Kirk watched Ma Ruiqi's eyes grow dim and sighed inwardly. If I hadn't entered this damn System, how could I have brought myself to kill a woman? I should blame this deadly System.

This was the first time he had killed a person. It wasn't like killing walkers or Plot Characters. Ma Ruiqi had come from the same place as him, and the blood covering his hands was bright and reeked in his nostrils.

Then Kirk received a prompt: "Contractor No. 4444, you have killed Contractor No. 4439. You have obtained her key." A blood-red key appeared beside Ma Ruiqi's corpse, its color so vivid it looked as though it had been soaking in fresh blood for a long time.

Seeing Kirk act with such merciless brutality, even the Governor—who had killed without batting an eye—froze for a moment. Daryl seized the opportunity and put a crossbow bolt through his right hand! The Governor cried out, dropped Green, smashed through the makeshift shed behind him, and scrambled away.

Little Fatty glanced at Kirk. "The Governor's this weak? I thought he'd at least transform three times. How else could he call himself a boss?"

"Don't be fooled by how pathetic the Governor looks right now," Kirk said as he walked over to Ma Ruiqi's body and picked up the blood-red key. "He isn't known for his personal strength. But if you pit your wits against him, he's practically unbeatable."

The rescue team moved quickly, finding Green, Maggie, Michonne, and Andalusia. After they regrouped, they realized that Andalusia had actually fallen in love with the evil Governor. Deceived by him, she refused to join the team and insisted on staying in the town.

The Plot Characters had no choice but to wish her well. Before the Governor could organize a counterattack and catch up with them, they disappeared into the vast night.

The newcomers were rescued, too. Neither Ranmaru nor the Korean kid had been interrogated much. They probably hadn't stood out, so the Governor's men hadn't gotten around to questioning them.

As they fled in a panic, Kirk and Little Fatty received a System Prompt: "Contractor No. 4444, you have completed the [Rescue the Hostages] mission. You have received 2,000 Survival Points, 100 Team Contribution Points, and 2% Plot Deviation."

Ranmaru found Kirk. "Kirk-san, thank you so much for coming to save me! If there's ever anything you need, just tell me!"

The Korean kid still had the same cool expression, but he came over to thank Kirk, too.

They drove back to the prison. That night, they had managed to rescue their companions, but their fight against the Governor was only just beginning.