Unknown area in North Carolina.
The last time the S.C.T. got rid of CRM only because the other party was chasing them. After getting rid of most of them except for Cesar, there was no further direct communication except for some eliminations on the Alabama border. Originally, they thought the other party wouldn't be able to attack them with full force in such a short time.
The most important thing is that Cesar, who had previously defected from CRM, said that as far as he knew, the other party didn't have satellite monitoring capabilities, at least they only had access to satellite phones.
So, assuming it was CRM who took some of them while the rest were attacked by others, it means they are in the middle of a storm. With CRM's resources, there is a high probability of killing anyone who dares to resist, and on the other hand, the red army is a cult that must be eliminated.
Just being involved in the midst of this big problem makes Airon unsure how to act.
The border bases in South Carolina are safe, so maybe it's just an exploration group. But the red army also had many of their people, so leaving without resolving at least one of the two problems would cause a lot of stress.
If he resolves everything, then they have stepped into the biggest crisis since the outbreak of the fight in Florida, but if he decides to rescue the captives from the red army, then he may have to eliminate any enemy from the sky.
Therefore, the first thing he has to do is first find out the identity of the people in the helicopter and later locate the whereabouts of the red army personnel.
"Victor, Daryl, and George, follow me. Glenn, you are responsible for taking everyone back to the border base, be careful."
"I'll go with you."
Glenn ate something and has now recovered a lot. He was always concerned about the safety of the people who had been kidnapped under his care. Seeing that Airon obviously wanted to investigate, he stood up and wanted to go there together.
"No, return to the base and wait for answers." Airon refused and sent Airon back with the survivors.
After saying goodbye, Airon's group of four plus one survivor named Gild drove along the road to the place where Glenn and the others were attacked.
The car drove very fast and took only ten minutes to get close.
"I can't remember very well... It was probably near here. I remember hearing a crash after passing an intersection and driving for a while."
Gild tried his best to remember what happened last night, but in the darkness outside, he couldn't recall many details.
Seeing this, Airon simply accelerated forward and, in a minute, saw the intersection.
"That's right here, that's the intersection, you should pay attention to the sign."
Now that the reference point was found, it was easy to discuss the next step, and it took little effort to find the place where they were ambushed, or rather, where Glenn's truck's gas tank was blown up.
"Follow me and Daryl!"
After venturing into the forest, Airon and Daryl split up and found some clues in a clearing with little effort.
The dense forest blocked the sun like an umbrella, and the five of them cautiously walked forward. George and Gild held their rifles, scanning back and forth as they progressed.
"Here..."
Daryl, who was exploring the path ahead, suddenly stopped, staring at a spot for a long time, and then whispered behind him.
Airon was the first to approach and indeed saw a series of discreet traces of human activity on the ground, so he couldn't help but crouch down to take a closer look.
"There are at least three people, and there are tracks on both sides. Let's keep moving forward."
Following the intermittent trails along the way, the five of them walked through the forest for a full hour.
Finally, their efforts paid off.
They came across a wooden house.
It appears to be a ranger's house, and everything is built with whole logs. It's not so much a house as an expanded version of a survival shelter in the wilderness.
The house has no windows, and the roof is covered with grass blades. If it weren't for the two articles of clothing hanging outside the house, several people would wonder if anyone lives here.
Airon found a relatively hidden small cave, which was a few hundred meters away from the wooden house, and asked the few people to sit there quietly to rest, while he himself found another more suitable place for observation.
He heard from Cesar that CRM soldiers would be equipped with thermal imaging equipment, although they wouldn't use it all the time when they had nothing to do, but Airon and the others still had to be on guard.
Immediately, Airon set up the monitoring equipment, found some bushes, and made a camouflage with twigs, with only a pair of eyes exposed on his face.
"Let me see who you are..." Airon hunched his body to hide more deeply, but his eyes never left the wooden house for a second.
At this moment, he only took a quick glance at the surrounding environment, but now he finally calmed down, and Airon also carefully looked around the wooden house.
Through the binoculars, the details of the wooden house could be seen at a glance. It wasn't until now that Airon noticed that the logs used to build the wooden house seemed very new. To protect themselves from walkers in the forest, these people had arranged a circle of stakes to repel the advance of the undead.
Hopefully, this place was remodeled by people who know about nature and seek to survive in a safe place.
But apart from that, it can be said that the wooden house is very simple. If the actual situation is only what he saw, then the number of people in that cabin will not exceed seven or eight, which is the limit.
It was now past ten in the morning, but Airon didn't feel sleepy at all after not sleeping all night. Instead, he felt more energized.
Daryl and the others were wearing walker masks on their heads at that time, and they were also communicating in a low voice.
"Gild, George, and you can rest for a while. Victor and I will stay alert."
...
Time passed slowly like this, and after about an hour, there was finally movement in the wooden house in the distance. Airon put away the binoculars and aimed his right eye through the scope of the sniper rifle.
The door of the wooden house creaked open, and a bald man with a gun on his back came out. This man was muscular and wore a gray vest, but his face was not clear from the distance.
The big man seemed very cautious. First, he carefully observed the surroundings until he felt there was no danger. Then he walked in front of a trapped walker on the side of the yard.
After removing the walker from the stake, the man urinated and then walked back into the house.
There was a sound of footsteps in Airon's headphones, and then it became calm, as if there was no one in the wooden house.
After waiting for more than ten minutes, Airon gradually felt that something was wrong. According to that person's behavior at the moment, it's impossible for it to be so quiet, right?
Even if he was the only one in the room, there should have been some movements. Could it be possible that he lay down and didn't move as soon as he entered the room?
Just in case, Airon continued to wait for half an hour, and it was already past noon.
He heard the various noises picked up by the surveillance equipment installed no more than three meters from the wooden house, but there were no voices, so he retreated carefully.
"How is it?"
As soon as he reached the edge of the slope, Daryl found him, put away the gun in his hand, and his eyes were filled with anticipation.
Airon shook his head to let the others know that he found nothing.
Seeing this, Gild thought they had been wasting time. He really wanted to know if these people knew anything about their enemies or if they were the ones who attacked them.
Seeing Gild misunderstand, Airon sat directly on the ground and explained, "There are people in the house, but it's strange that no sound can be heard."
"What do you mean? Maybe they fell asleep? Or they didn't talk at all?"
Victor had slept for a while and felt much more comfortable. He patted George, who was still recovering from his sleep, and continued talking.
Airon also explained in detail what he had seen and heard, and expressed his doubts.
"Could it be that they haven't returned yet, and he's the only one here?"
After hearing it, Daryl frowned and posed his assumption.
Airon nodded upon hearing this. It was the most convincing. "It's not impossible, but I stayed there for almost two hours, and even then, there was no sound in the room. Either the other party is mute, or it can only be what you said."
"What should we do next?"
"Let's go get them."
The five of them returned to the path, approached the wooden house through the bushes, and then walked slowly.
Ta-ca! Ta-ca! Ta-ca!
The sound of a helicopter faintly reached the sky, and Daryl, who was on duty, immediately alerted everyone.
The sound grew louder and louder, but the canopy overhead was too dense, and it was impossible to see the situation in the sky clearly.
Fortunately, only a few minutes later, several beams of light hit the ground over the open space in the distance, illuminating the surroundings of the wooden house. The wind pressure caused by the helicopter's propellers pushed the weeds close to the ground, and the cabin was also illuminated. The orange light turned on, and during the day, the big man came out of the wooden house wearing a dark coat.
The helicopter landed steadily in the open space, and then some people descended from above. Airon observed these people through the telescope. Due to the backlight, many details couldn't be seen clearly. All he could tell was that they walked inside.
After everyone entered the wooden house, the helicopter left, and the surroundings quickly returned to the previous silence, with the only difference being the many scattered corpses screaming.
They all walked towards the wooden house, put on gas masks, and advanced with weapons in hand.
"It's them who attacked us!" Gild said, trembling with anger as he said this.