Airon was assigning soldiers to their respective teams for tomorrow's operation.
Suddenly, while thinking about something, Airon looked at Rick beside him and asked, "How are the preparations for the secret base going?"
Rick nodded affirmatively and said, "It's almost in optimal condition and will be finished in a week. The original facilities are complete, and we just need to clean up, assign departments, and have the staff distributed."
"That's good. We need to maintain a fast but manageable pace."
After everyone had peacefully slept, Airon pulled Rick and Glenn aside and whispered some news he had heard.
"You're saying those people are the Saviors? Are they coming to Florida?"
For Glenn, the memories of the Saviors were still fresh. He used the mask of a walker for the first time to save the people who were kidnapped, leading a large horde of walkers before rescuing all the captured individuals.
Although Rick has never directly encountered the other party, he has heard Michonne and others talk about this organization and is extremely disgusted by their brutal and bloody style of survival.
Now that they knew the news, the two felt a slightly diminished sense of guilt and became even colder.
"It's good that you know about this matter, and we must be prepared for a big battle. We are in the dark now, while they are in the light. According to my plan, this problem will be completely resolved quickly, once Daryl is allowed to join."
...
Ten days quickly passed, and Airon's plan had reached this stage.
Outside Florida, a massive convoy slowly drove toward their location and arrived at an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of the city.
There were Humvees, off-road vehicles, tanks, and helicopters ready at the Alabama base.
This was the largest operation the S.C.T. had conducted since the state recovery operations. Five hundred soldiers had been sent, forming a powerful army.
Standing on the car roof in front of everyone, Airon raised his voice slightly and addressed the people below: "Many of you are newly graduated soldiers, and I want to congratulate you on your conviction and vision for the future. Some of you have already suffered under the Savers. They killed many of your family members and friends without any explainable reason. I know our organization has a lot of work, but we cannot ignore the enemy."
"Now, the people many of you have dreamed of killing have appeared again, still intent on finding our tracks. I don't need to tell you more about what we must do."
"But this time! We will not ignore their existence. They want to find us and destroy us! What a fucking mockery! How should we respond to their threats and taunts?"
The people below were thrilled by Airon's words and fueled by the murder of their loved ones. Almost everyone shouted with flushed faces.
"We have to kill them!"
"They will all die!"
Seeing that the atmosphere had reached a point of mutual connection, Airon waved his hand to stop everyone. "But you must remember something: not everyone is complicit in what happened to us in Washington. They are also victims who need our help."
"We will act according to the plan, but let me say this directly: I don't care how much hatred you have repressed in your hearts, no one can act without authorization until we rescue our own people. Even if Daryl is rescued, they will wait for me to give them the opportunity for revenge."
"Yes, commander!"
If the Saviors had obediently stayed in Washington, Airon had no intention of paying them any more attention. But he didn't expect those idiots to chase them here. He had no sympathy for them, and since they kept living in the past, Airon would kill them in the present.
Today, the leader of the Saviors is no longer Negan. No matter who leads these people, the fact that they killed people cannot be erased from their crimes.
A team of hundreds of people requires a lot of supplies to remain active. Airon doesn't want to waste too much time. Since he has the advantage, he must make good use of it and try to defeat them without shedding too much blood.
The first target is the enemy's two support bases. Thanks to Adam's existence, they knew the exact location of one of them before and used the troop deployment to investigate the other settlement before formulating a detailed plan for the rest.
More than calling it a plan, it's better to say it's crushing those who still have weapons in their hands because in the face of absolute power, everyone is weak.
...
Today is the eleventh day Daryl joined these people. Early in the morning, Caine called him, and as soon as he entered the room, he saw Caine eating.
"Daryl, you have initially gained our trust. Today is the eleventh day of your joining us, and it's also the day your new life begins."
For some reason, Daryl always felt uncomfortable with the smile on Caine's face, but things were moving in a good direction, so he didn't say much to avoid misunderstandings.
"Alright, I see."
Caine swallowed the food in three bites, then patted his stomach with satisfaction, took a pack of cigarettes from the table, and looked at Daryl.
Daryl took the cigarette and lit it for the other party. After beautifully exhaling a puff of smoke, Caine looked forward again. "You will be sent abroad today... We have a test for you to officially join us. You will follow me shortly, understood?"
"What test?"
Looking at Daryl with a puzzled face, Caine once again showed that uncomfortable smile, and Daryl was secretly on guard, with a bad premonition.
But Ciane immediately spoke again. "Don't worry, I'm joking. The task is very simple. You just have to follow it. This is an order issued by the chief himself, so it must be carried out!"
Half an hour later, several convoys left the central base, and in a distant forest, a soldier from the S.C.T. was hidden in a bush, silently observing.
"Zz... Commander, enemy movement detected. They are divided into four teams and heading in different directions."
"Zz... Got it!"
Airon's voice came through the intercom, and after a brief pause, he spoke again: "Pay attention at each intersection, find out if there is any Daryl among these people, and if so, quickly report the direction they are heading."
After a few minutes of silence, Michonne's voice came through the intercom.
"Zz... I found Daryl in the convoy heading north, I repeat, Daryl is in the convoy heading north."
"Zz... Okay!"
Precise information was obtained. Located in a forest five kilometers to the north, four armored vehicles were parked on both sides of the road.
Beside the road, there was a small car they had found. The front of the car emitted dark smoke, and there was an image of a little girl drawn on the dusty window.
There was a dark red puddle of blood next to the car. Some walkers were attracted by the strong smell of blood. They lay on the ground, trying to find something to bite, but all they got were bones soaked in blood.
They tried their best to bite, but they couldn't consume any trace of flesh and blood, and instead, they ended up breaking their teeth one by one.
There was also a walker attracted by the dark smoke from the front of the car, leaning on the hood and waving its hand, trying to identify where the smoke was coming from.
At this moment, two cars were coming towards the end of the road in the distance, and it was the team led by Caine.
"Captain, look ahead!"
Caine slightly lifted his eyelids and saw the situation in front of him, looking at it indifferently. When he spotted the walkers, he lost interest and just looked forward with indifference.
Soon they approached. Caine's dark eyes suddenly lit up, and two huge supply bags lay quietly in the back row of the car.
"Stop!"
After his low shout, the two cars slowly came to a halt. They looked around and found nothing unusual, so Caine got out of the car directly, followed by the rest with cold weapons.
Daryl held the crossbow, and as soon as he got out of the car, he raised his hand and shot an arrow into the forehead of the walker in front of the car, and the other walkers finally realized that there were humans around, but two machetes pierced their heads.
"Haha, a girl who is immune to the virus..."
The driver, Arturo, didn't get out of the car. He glanced at the words written on the car window and read them aloud with some amusement.
Daryl, who had always been calm, was taken aback by those simple words. Others didn't understand the meaning of an immune girl, but he would never forget it. It was Ellie, who was supposedly immune to walker bites.
After a moment of expressionlessness, Daryl suddenly jumped to the side of the road as if he had been hit by an electric shock.
Almost at the same time, they all heard the roar of a massive engine.
Four armored monsters emerged from the forest on both sides, roaring and advancing towards the road, forcefully blocking the paths on both sides.
The moment the armored cars appeared, Caine's pupils dilated instantly. The people who had just gotten out of the Humvee wanted to get back in the car, but there was no time.
While the opponent was in chaos, the four armored vehicles had already rushed towards the front of the Humvee, and Michonne in the vehicle opened the door and shouted loudly.
"Daryl, get in the car!"