Chapter Summaries

Zhao Jinghong sensed an unusually directed horde approaching the zoo base’s southeast wall and left her concealed post to investigate. She attacked its lead corpse to draw the horde away from the base, then prepared to hold off its charge.

• Zhao Jinghong detected the vibrations of a horde approaching from the southeast and decided to handle it without raising the alarm.
• She slipped over the wall and followed the vibrations to more than a hundred walking corpses moving directly toward the base.
• Zhao Jinghong observed that the horde’s purposeful movement seemed unnatural, then chose to lure it away from the wall.
• She killed a brawny corpse at the front of the horde with Awakening of Insects, drawing the corpses’ attention.
• Zhao Jinghong retreated from the charging horde and planted her feet to defend the base.

Zhao Jinghong fought the walking corpses advancing toward the base, but discovered they would not abandon their route to pursue her. When a living assassin disguised as a corpse nearly killed her, The Jackal shot him and warned her that more living people were playing dead in the horde.

• Zhao Jinghong battled the horde with her spear, but most of the corpses ignored her and continued toward the base's southeastern corner.
• Zhao Jinghong tried to approach a hulking corpse, but a seemingly dead attacker sprang up and ambushed her with a dagger.
• The Jackal fired from a distant building, severing the attacker's dagger-wielding arm and giving Zhao Jinghong time to kill him.
• The Jackal warned Zhao Jinghong that living people were playing dead among the walking corpses.

Zhao Jinghong and The Jackal fought a horde after discovering that Whisperers were hiding among the walkers. Lynn recognized the danger to the zoo base and led a team out to reinforce them as the battle continued.

• The Jackal warned Zhao Jinghong that living people were pretending to be dead among the horde, and she realized the Whisperers had orchestrated the attack.
• Zhao Jinghong changed tactics to defend herself and hunt impostors while The Jackal shot nearby walkers and watched for hidden threats.
• The Jackal's suppressed gunfire alerted the zoo base, and Lynn ordered Davis and Old Joey to strengthen the southeastern defenses.
• Lynn gathered Glenn, T-Dog, Daryl, and Merle, then called Anvil to assemble at the east gate.
• Lynn and his team drove beyond the wall toward Zhao Jinghong and The Jackal as the horde's attack continued.

Lynn learned that the Whisperers were directing a growing horde toward the zoo base and accepted an urgent quest to destroy their local force and nest. As reinforcements approached, Zhao Jinghong struggled against the walkers and hidden attackers, then spotted a possible leader at the rear of the horde.

• The Jackal reported that more than 150 walkers were advancing on the base’s southeastern corner and confirmed that Whisperers were disguised among them.
• Lynn accepted the system’s mandatory quest to eliminate the Whisperers threatening the base within 72 hours and ordered the Jackal to prioritize clearing the walkers, taking prisoners, and protecting Zhao Jinghong.
• Zhao Jinghong fought the expanding horde while the Jackal warned her about attacks from Whisperers hidden among the walkers.
• The Jackal shot at the disguised attackers as Zhao Jinghong sustained a cut to her calf and struggled to keep them at bay.
• Zhao Jinghong saw a figure at the rear of the horde standing and looking around like a leader as Lynn’s reinforcements neared.

Zhao Jinghong charged through the Whisperer horde with the Jackal’s support and captured its leader alive. Lynn’s convoy arrived to secure the battlefield, leaving the group ready to interrogate the prisoner and search for the Whisperers’ nest.

• Zhao Jinghong spotted a possible Whisperer leader behind the horde and ordered the Jackal to clear her path while keeping the target alive.
• Zhao Jinghong used Awakening of Insects to fight through the walkers as the Jackal shot threats and attackers around her.
• The Whisperer leader tried to escape, then called guards to attack; Zhao Jinghong disarmed and subdued him, forcing him to his knees.
• Lynn, Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog, and Merle arrived in vehicles and opened fire to clear walkers around Zhao Jinghong and the captive.
• Lynn praised Zhao Jinghong as the group secured the area and prepared to interrogate the prisoner and locate the Whisperers’ nest.

Lynn captured a Whisperer named Skinner, who revealed that the Patriarch had sent his team to scout the zoo base, but Skinner died mysteriously before he could provide more information. The base then came under a massive walker assault through a blasted breach, and Lynn directed the defenders to fight back.

• Lynn ordered Zhao Jinghong, Glenn, and T-Dog to bind the captured Whisperer leader and bring him to the zoo base for interrogation.
• Skinner told Lynn that seven Whisperers had been staying in an old mine to the southeast and had been sent by the Patriarch to scout the base.
• A strange black vein spread beneath Skinner's skin, and he died after a tiny hole appeared in his temple.
• An explosion demolished the base's southeastern wall, allowing a huge herd of walkers and the Whisperers' main force to attack.
• Lynn sent Zhao Jinghong to target the enemy commanders, Davis to block the inner passage, Old Joey to rescue the wounded, and Min-seon to treat them, then ordered the disguised Whisperers killed.

Lynn and the survivors fought to hold the breached base against a horde guided by Whisperers, and the Ash squad’s arrival stabilized the defensive line. Lynn then began a coordinated counterattack against the hidden leaders directing the walkers.

• Zhao Jinghong took a raised position and shot Whisperers who were guiding walkers and attacking the wall.
• Davis rallied the defenders while Min-seon treated the wounded, but the horde continued forcing Shane, Daryl, and Merle backward.
• The Ash squad returned in a reinforced vehicle, and Anvil deployed the team to suppress the horde, set explosives, hunt Whisperers, and treat casualties.
• Lynn directed Zhao Jinghong to expose a Whisperer leader, then shot him through the mouth as he raised his head.
• The Jackal, Peregrine, Wraith, and Zhao Jinghong turned their weapons toward the remaining Whisperer leaders.

Lynn and Ash squad repelled the Whisperers’ assault on the zoo base, capturing a high-ranking enemy and his map case before sealing the breach. The prisoner refused to reveal the Patriarch’s location or the mine’s secrets, leaving those threats unresolved.

• Zhao Jinghong, Peregrine, and Wraith eliminated Whisperer commanders while Anvil and Det detonated explosives to block a side passage and reduce the horde’s pressure.
• Lynn ordered Peregrine and Zhao Jinghong to stop a fleeing Whisperer carrying a leather map case, and Peregrine shot the man in the knee.
• Wraith seized the map case and guarded the wounded prisoner as Anvil ordered Det to collapse the walls around the breach, cutting off the incoming walkers.
• Ash squad and the base survivors cleared the walkers trapped inside the base and won the battle.
• Lynn questioned the prisoner about the Patriarch and the mine, but the man refused to answer.

Lynn uncovered that the Patriarch controlled people through a parasite and learned from Messenger that a serum and laboratory lay in the mine. He ordered an elite assault, Operation Furnace, to infiltrate the mine, destroy the Origin Point, and capture or kill the Patriarch.

• Lynn stopped Davis from torturing Messenger and learned Skinner's corpse contained a strange parasite linked to the Patriarch.
• Stitch examined the parasite, and Lynn brought Messenger to the operating room, where fear drove him to reveal that serum suppressed the parasites and a laboratory was hidden behind a safe house in the mine.
• Messenger described the laboratory's guards, the Patriarch's ability to cause pain through the parasites, and the map's role in locating the entrance.
• Lynn and the others studied the mine diagrams, which marked the safe house and a spiral labeled Origin Point.
• Lynn assigned Anvil to command Operation Furnace, sending the Ash Squad and Zhao Jinghong into the mine while Davis guarded the entrance and the rest prepared the base and medical support.

Lynn sent Anvil, Wraith, Peregrine, and Shane on a reconnaissance mission that was secretly intended to eliminate Shane for challenging Lynn’s authority. After Anvil’s team killed Shane and reported his death as a walker attack, Lynn turned his attention back to the Origin Point and prepared to begin Operation Furnace.

• Lynn ordered Anvil to scout the mine entrances and took the opportunity to have Shane eliminated, while disguising the plan as a reconnaissance mission.
• Anvil led Shane, Wraith, and Peregrine into the woods and confronted Shane about repeatedly disobeying Lynn’s orders.
• When Shane reached for his shotgun, Peregrine shot him in the wrist with a bolt and Wraith struck him unconscious.
• Anvil shot the wounded Shane and reported to Lynn that Shane had died after a walker bit his neck during an ambush.
• Lynn accepted Anvil’s report, focused again on the Origin Point, and prepared to begin Operation Furnace.