Dark currents, sudden thunder

Old Joey's hoarse shout broke the silence in the central square. "Planting crew! With me! Grab your tools and get to work!"

The crowd began moving, their assigned tasks sending them off in different directions.

Lynn returned to the command center without stopping.

He thrust the "Simple Trap and Early Warning Device Design Collection" and "Crash Course in Basic Combat and Cold Weapon Use (Electronic Edition)" he had redeemed into Old Joey's hands as the man waited by the door.

"Old Joey, trap blueprints.

Take some people right now and set them outside the southeast corner of the wall where someone dug, then to the southwest and along the woods to the north.

Find a chance to print a few copies of the combat manual. Give everyone in the combat team one and work it into training."

"Understood, Boss!"

Old Joey grabbed the blueprints, rubbed the paper between his fingers, and hurried away.

Soon, his voice rang out from the tool shed as he assigned tasks and handed out farm tools, wire, and wooden stakes.

On the other side, Davis's hard, cold voice rang out. "Combat team! Assemble! Roll call!"

Shane slowly dragged himself over with a dark expression and stood at the back, arms folded, watching Davis sidelong.

Daryl silently took his place, his crossbow slung over his shoulder.

Merle sauntered over last, that trace of a smile on his lips, his eyes sweeping over Zhao Jinghong.

Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea, and the newcomers Jonathan and Richard all looked tense.

Davis ignored Shane and swept his gaze over them. "Shane, Merle, Jonathan, you three are a team. Reinforce the third section of the west wall, check the wire fence, and add barbs. Get tools from Old Joey.

Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog, with me. We'll check a kilometer around the perimeter, especially the fresh tire tracks on the state highway to the southwest and the edge of the woods.

Andrea, Richard, go with Miss Zhao. Check the southeast corner and the north. Estimate how many walkers there are and how far away they are.

Radio Wave, keep a close watch from the watchtower. Report immediately if anything happens! Move!"

The orders were given. There was no discussion.

Shane snorted heavily but still headed toward the tool shed with a dark expression.

Daryl walked silently toward the gate. Glenn and T-Dog took a breath and followed.

Andrea looked at Zhao Jinghong, who merely nodded and set off with her spear. Andrea and Richard hurried after her.

Tension spread as the combat team dispersed.

The atmosphere at the medical station was just as tense.

Min-seon locked the newly acquired tactical medical kit in an iron cabinet and put the key away.

She wrote out a separate inventory of the high-potency antibiotic injections and posted it prominently on the wall.

Then she turned to Lori, speaking quickly but clearly. "Lori, I need your help.

First, count all the bandages, gauze, and disinfectant. Update the inventory with accurate quantities.

Second, boil several large buckets of water and clean thoroughly, especially the communal areas and the kitchen.

Third, Mr. Hershel needs watching, and so does Sophia... Beth, come here. I'll teach you how to treat minor wounds and change dressings."

Lori paled at "Antibiotics: none left" on the inventory and immediately nodded. "All right, I'm on it!"

She turned and got to work. Beth cautiously approached Min-seon.

Beside the test plot, Maggie swung her hoe and dug hard, sweat soaking her temples.

After Beth was called away, Carol silently took her place, clearing stones and weeds.

Her movements were a little clumsy, but she worked very carefully.

She had settled Sophia on an old blanket on the ridge between the plots, where the girl sat hugging her knees, staring blankly.

Maggie looked at her father, Hershel. Dale had helped the old man onto a small stool and was talking to him, trying to stir his thoughts about the land.

Hershel's clouded eyes occasionally swept over the freshly turned soil. His fingers twitched, then he sank back into his stupor.

Maggie bit her lip and swung the hoe harder.

The air grew taut.

Near the tool shed, Shane, Merle, and Jonathan carried heavy rolls of barbed wire and wooden stakes.

Shane was seething, and the stakes only irritated him further. He slammed a bundle of wire onto the ground, kicking up dust.

"Fuck! I was a deputy sheriff who carried a gun and arrested people, not some fucking laborer patching up a busted wall!"

Shane cursed under his breath. Beside him, several newcomers-ordinary people learning to tie alarm-line knots from Old Joey-flinched.

Merle chuckled and nudged Shane, his voice just loud enough for those nearby to hear. "Hey, Shane, buddy, bear with it. We're on someone else's turf. Gotta behave.

Look at our new boss. Quite the big shot, huh? Even that chick's waving a stick around for show..."

His eyes flicked toward Zhao Jinghong beneath the distant wall, where she was using her spear to point out the terrain to Andrea and Richard.

Those words lit the fuse.

Shane already disliked Zhao Jinghong, and Merle's words made him explode.

He drove the wooden stake in his hand into the ground with a dull thud and stared darkly toward Zhao Jinghong.

"Hmph, all for show! What fucking good is a lousy spear? I could blow her away with one shot!"

Shane raised his voice a little, openly provocative.

His words reached Zhao Jinghong clearly a short distance away.

She was pointing at a hollow outside the wall as she spoke to Andrea. "...This spot is hard to keep an eye on, but the soil is soft. Easy to dig pits here, paired with ropes and bells..."

When she heard Shane, she neither stopped speaking nor turned her head. Her fingers around the spear seemed to shift slightly.

Andrea and Richard jumped and looked over nervously.

"Shane! Shut up and get to work!"

Old Joey shouted from the tool shed doorway, his face livid, wire still clutched in his hand.

"Cause any more trouble and we'll deal with you by the rules!"

Shane stiffened his neck and glared at Old Joey. Merle folded his arms and watched the show.

Just then-

"Raaagh-oooh!"

A dense chorus of low growls suddenly surged from the northern woods.

It was louder than before, with more voices, as though countless rotting throats were howling.

The entire base heard the terrifying sound.

"Walkers! A big herd! A huge herd!"

The lookout on the wall shouted hoarsely, his voice warping.

"Radio Wave! Radio Wave! Report their position! How many?"

Davis's roar erupted from the short-range radio.

He had only just led Daryl and the others a short distance beyond the gate. At the sound, he immediately drew his gun and turned!

The command center door flew open. Lynn strode out, his eyes fixed on the northern sky, his shout pounding into everyone's ears.

"Combat team! Everyone onto the walls! Highest alert!"

Lynn's voice rose over the chaos. "Davis! Bring your people back! Close the gate! Old Joey! Get the trap crew moving! Min-seon! Get the noncombatants into shelter!"

The orders tightened like iron chains.

The base, which had nearly erupted into infighting moments earlier, was forcibly bound together by the sudden alarm of a massive walker herd.

The darkness on Shane's face instantly turned to fright. He flung aside the stake, grabbed the temporarily issued shotgun beside the wall, and charged toward the nearest ladder.

Merle's smile vanished too. His eyes turned vicious as he snatched up a machete and followed.

Jonathan's legs went weak. Old Joey hauled him up. "Get on the wall if you want to live!"

Zhao Jinghong moved fastest.

The moment the howling began, she turned. A few swift climbing movements took her onto a high section of wall at the southeast corner. Her spear pointed toward the northern woods as she peered through the morning mist, trying to see just how many were inside.

Andrea and Richard scrambled up after her in a panic, their faces white.

Beside the test plot, Maggie dropped her hoe and joined Carol in dragging Hershel toward the nearest iron cage.

Carol held Sophia tightly in her arms.

Lori rushed out of the medical station to help Rick, but Min-seon barked, "Lori! Move the wounded and the medicine first! Hurry!"

People ran and shouted throughout the base amid the clatter of weapons.

Fear spread, but Lynn's cold, hard orders and the speed with which Davis, Zhao Jinghong, and the others took their positions barely kept the situation from descending into complete chaos.

Lynn stood at the command center entrance instead of going up onto the wall.

His gaze swept over the chaotic base as it was forced into order, then settled on the northern woods where the howls came from.

No scarlet system notification appeared at the edge of his vision. This was no system mission, just brutal reality.

"The Jackal!" Lynn pressed the miniature radio at his ear, linked directly to the watchtower, his voice icy. "Report!"

A few seconds later, The Jackal's flat, almost electronically synthesized voice came through. "Boss. Fifteen degrees west of north, approximately 1.5 kilometers away. Scale... enormous.

Over three hundred in the vanguard. More keep pouring out of the woods, heading toward the base. Slow, but nonstop.

Time until the vanguard reaches the outer obstacles... forty to fifty minutes."

Over three hundred in the vanguard! And more were still pouring out!

Lynn's heart sank.

There were too many! Could the zoo's walls hold?

Worse still-

"Boss! Southwest! On the state highway!"

Davis's urgent voice also came over the radio, filled with shock and anger. "Those modified vehicles! They're back! Stopped at the edge of the woods, not coming closer!

The people inside... they're watching! Fuck, they're watching the show!"

One disaster on top of another!

The infighting was unresolved, a massive walker herd was bearing down on them, and jackals lurked in the shadows, waiting to pick up the spoils.

Lynn's gaze suddenly grew unfathomably deep.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the wall and see those hostile vehicles beside the state highway, those greedy eyes inside.

The pressure was immense, but Lynn stood straight.

He drew a sharp breath. Cold, rust-tasting air flooded his lungs, yet his mind grew clearer.

"Davis, fall back! Close the gate! Everyone, defend the walls! Save ammunition. Use cold weapons and traps first!"

"The Jackal, watch the herd closely. See if there's any unusual walker leading them!"

"Zhao Jinghong!" Lynn's voice was decisive. "Your spear... get it ready! Today, let it taste blood!"

He cast one final glance toward the southwestern state highway, cold resolve in his eyes.

The test had come.

The zoo base's deadliest moment had arrived.

Then it was time to begin the team summoning...