A new companion

The jeep jolted along the abandoned highway, its engine roaring, its tires grinding over gravel.

Outside the windows, dead woods, toppled billboards, and rusted car wrecks flashed past.

The atmosphere inside was heavy.

Davis gripped the steering wheel, scanning the wilderness warily.

In the back seat, Lori held Carl close. Fear still lingered in the boy's eyes, and the jolting made him shudder from time to time.

Carol held Sophia in her arms. The girl stared blankly, motionless.

Lynn leaned against the dusty passenger seat with his eyes closed, breathing evenly as though asleep.

But his consciousness had sunk into the system interface.

[Ding!]

[Character Creation Privilege x 1: activated]

[Host, please specify the professional field of the character to be created:]

An options box appeared: [Scientific research], [Firearms], [Medicine], [Martial arts], [Comprehensive survival], [Other (please describe)]

Lynn selected [Martial arts] without hesitation.

The battle at the farm had exposed a problem: gunfire attracted walkers, and firearms were inconvenient in close-quarters melees.

Ammunition would run out. Cold weapons offered greater endurance and stealth.

The team needed a top-tier cold weapons expert.

[Field confirmed: martial arts]

[Generating three suitable character archetypes based on the host's current world setting and needs...]

Three half-length portraits appeared alongside their profiles:

The first:

A dark-skinned, muscular Southeast Asian man, bare-chested and wearing ragged shorts, with blood-soaked hemp ropes wrapped around his hands and feet. His eyes were fierce and wounded, and a scar marked his temple.

Codename: The Dragon

Background: an ancient Muay Thai grandmaster, the "Hundred-Man Slayer" of underground no-holds-barred fighting arenas. An expert in striking vital points, with extraordinary resistance to blows and pain. Savage and brutal in combat.

Flaws: bloodthirsty, irritable, and prone to losing control; severe communication difficulties.

Loyalty: absolute (to the host).

The second:

Clad entirely in a dark gray, nonreflective bodysuit, his face covered except for his eyes. His gaze was cold and emotionless.

Codename: Kage

Background: a modern ninjutsu assassination expert. Specialized in silent infiltration, environmental exploitation, and instant kills with cold weapons (kunai, shuriken, short blades). Moved with ghostlike efficiency.

Flaws: lacked emotion, followed only coldly logical instructions, and posed a risk of excessive elimination.

Loyalty: absolute (to the host's commands only).

The third:

A young woman of Chinese descent, dressed in a faded indigo training uniform, her black hair tied back. Her features were delicate, her gaze calm and sharp. She held a dark-colored long spear in her right hand.

Codename: Jing Hong

Background: an inheritor of ancient Chinese martial arts, and the sole successor to the secret Six Harmonies Great Spear Technique. Proficient in the long spear (mid-range killing), short blades (desperate close-quarters combat), and grappling and wrestling (subduing enemies at close quarters). Skilled at using environmental implements to create opportunities to kill.

Flaws: strictly observed certain ancient martial precepts (such as not killing unarmed civilians); limited knowledge of modern firearms tactics.

Loyalty: absolute (to the host).

Lynn quickly analyzed them:

The Dragon: powerful, useful against walker hordes in close combat. But his uncontrollable rage would be a liability to the team.

Kage: an efficient killer, like another version of The Jackal, with overlapping capabilities. His cold logic and "excessive elimination" posed risks.

Jing Hong: strong spear techniques, excellent mid-range suppression and crowd control. Short-range striking covered close combat. Flexible use of the environment. Ancient martial arts provided endurance and recovery. Manageable flaws (her precepts could serve as restraints, and tactical knowledge could be learned). She was more stable and controllable.

Lynn selected [Jing Hong].

[Character archetype selected: Jing Hong]

[Creation process initiated... generating...]

Once generation was complete, the system displayed the details:

[Character template loaded]

[Name: Zhao Jinghong]

[Core skills:]

[1. Six Harmonies Great Spear Technique (Grandmaster): balanced offense and defense, specializing in mid-range battlefield control and precise targeted kills, with a significant advantage against unarmored/lightly protected targets]

[2. Qin Na and Short-Range Striking (Master): proficient in tendon separation, joint dislocation, wrestling, and short-blade combat, suited to close quarters or confined spaces]

[3. Environmental Implement Utilization (Proficient): skilled at exploiting the battlefield environment (terrain, obstacles, objects) to create advantages or opportunities to kill]

[4. Ancient Martial Qi Cultivation (Passive): increased endurance, coordination, explosive power, and injury recovery speed]

[Implanted identity: an inheritor of Eastern ancient martial arts whom the host, Lynn, contacted and funded through secret channels before the outbreak of the Atlanta crisis.

Accepted the host's invitation to come to the zoo base; previously assigned by the host to oversee base security]

[Deployment coordinates: perimeter of the zoo base to which the host is returning (in the shadow of the watchtower at the southeastern corner of the wall)]

[Deployment countdown: synchronized with the arrival of the host's convoy at the base]

[Generation complete]

Lynn confirmed that the information was correct and withdrew his consciousness from the system.

He opened his eyes and rolled his neck.

The engine noise, the jolting, and the stifled breathing inside the vehicle became clear again.

"How much farther?" Lori asked wearily from the back seat, patting Carl's back.

Davis glanced in the rearview mirror. "Almost there. Once we get past that abandoned gas station up ahead, it's another ten minutes before we can see the zoo wall."

The atmosphere eased slightly.

Carl looked out the window, and Sophia stirred in Carol's arms.

Lynn straightened. "Stay alert. The last stretch is the most dangerous. Davis, watch the abandoned buildings on both sides."

"Understood."

Davis eased off the accelerator and slowed down.

The RV and pickup behind them slowed as well, while Daryl weaved between the vehicles on his motorcycle, keeping watch.

They passed the gas station and drove onto an open state highway.

In the distance, the outline of the zoo's tall gray wall, built along the hillside, emerged in the dusk.

"Look! We're here!" Glenn's voice came from the pickup.

"Finally..." Andrea breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the RV, Maggie helped Hershel over to the window.

The old man's clouded eyes turned toward the wall, his vacant gaze stirring slightly.

Beth leaned against him, a trace of hope appearing on her face.

In the pickup bed, Shane rubbed the barrel of his shotgun. His gaze swept over the wall before fixing on Lynn's back up ahead, his eyes complicated and dark.

The convoy followed the patrol road along the wall, where barbed wire and sandbag emplacements were visible.

"Take the east gate!" Lynn ordered.

The jeep led the turn east.

A cleared patch of ground served as the entrance, with a reinforced watchtower at its edge.

The jeep stopped beneath the watchtower, kicking up dust, and Davis shut off the engine.

The vehicles behind stopped one after another, and Daryl rode around to the front.

"We're home," Davis said.

The doors opened.

The survivors helped one another out.

Shane was the last to jump down from the pickup, landing heavily. Shotgun in hand, he swept a sharp gaze toward the watchtower's shadow-a possible sniper position.

He suddenly froze.

A figure stood silently in the deep shadow of the watchtower's concrete base.

A woman.

She wore faded indigo cloth trousers and a matching top, her black hair tied back. Her face was indistinct in the shadows, her presence exceptionally calm.

In her right hand, she held a very long, dark-colored spear, its butt planted on the ground and its tip angled upward.

She simply stood there, as though she had merged with the shadows and the watchtower.

There was no killing intent, yet anyone who saw her instantly felt threatened.

Shane's pupils contracted sharply, his heart clenched, and the fingers gripping his gun turned deathly white.

A chill mingled with shock and fear shot through his entire body.

Who was this woman?

When had she arrived?

That spear... was she one of Lynn's people?

Another one?

Cold sweat seeped from his temples.

Lynn pushed open the door, stepped out, and planted his feet firmly.

As though he had not seen the person beneath the watchtower, he swept his gaze over the group before finally resting it on that patch of shadow.

In the shadows, the indigo figure moved.

She stepped silently out of the darkness, and the twilight illuminated her face-young, delicate, with Eastern features and calm, sharp eyes fixed directly on Lynn.

Zhao Jinghong held her spear reversed in one hand, its tip pointing at the ground, and gave Lynn a slight nod.

"Mr. Lynn," she said, her voice clear and steady, "you're back."

The convoy fell deathly silent.

Every gaze-astonished, fearful, curious, wary-focused on the young woman holding the spear.

Lynn's second subordinate had made her entrance.