The base of the Red Army rose in the village like an ominous testament of power and evil. A collection of neglected and deteriorated structures stretched across the area, projecting an image of abandonment and desolation.
The once imposing and proud walls of the buildings were now covered in faded graffiti and peeling paint. Broken windows and hanging doors added an air of decay and hopelessness to the surroundings. The roofs leaked, creating stagnant pools of water on the ground, and the hallways were darkened due to the lack of illumination.
In the center of the base, there was an area filled with metal containers, haphazardly stacked and rusted from the passage of time. These containers seemed to have been dragged from different places and placed randomly, creating a maze of narrow and gloomy corridors.
The atmosphere in the base was heavy and tense, permeated with an oppressive atmosphere. The silence was only broken by the occasional sound of wind blowing through the gaps in the structures and the creaking of nearby tree branches. The sense of abandonment and danger hung in the air, as if every corner hid dark and menacing secrets.
The surroundings of the base bore the wear of war, with scattered debris and remnants of abandoned vehicles. The terrain was arid and dusty, and the shadows of the night lengthened, accentuating the feeling of desolation and danger. The place seemed like a nest of serpents, where evil and cruelty flourished in every neglected corner.
...
Inside the large warehouses.
Quietly sneaking in through the side window of the supermarket, Daryl treaded lightly on the dusty tiles, trying not to make too much noise.
He looked through the gap in the middle of the container, but apart from the dust and debris on the floor, there was nothing else.
And from the faint growl that reached his ears, Daryl could sense the presence of runner-class walkers.
Walking through the container, he crouched down and looked towards the department store's entrance, where he saw a row of footprints extending deeply into the ground. After some thought, he followed them.
Following the footprints all the way, the walkers around him were not alarmed in some places; it seemed like the two figures were moving stealthily.
As he crossed the streets, he looked at the next building with some surprise.
This department store wasn't very large, and its footprints led through a large commercial area in the front and extended to a closed door at the back.
Daryl looked towards the door with the sign for the office area hanging above it.
But just as he was about to lean forward, a nearby door suddenly opened, and the appearance of a figure made him stop in his tracks, his eyes fixed on the child who walked silently.
This child held a rather bulging backpack in their arms, cautiously peeking their head out from the shadows, looking left and right, then fully stepping out after confirming there was no danger, and slowly walked towards the office door, lightly pressing the handle. The door opened, and they quickly went inside.
Upon seeing the child enter the room, Daryl immediately stood up and leaned forward with small steps, crouching against the door and listening intently to the movement inside with his ears pressed against it.
Soon he heard the voice of the child from inside, saying, "There are still many things in the supermarket's storage area here, but it's a shame they've all deteriorated and smell bad. Those monsters living in the south seem to have attacked another group of survivors."
But soon a female voice responded immediately, "It's okay, David... Didn't we get plenty of food before? Enough to last us for a while..."
"Oh... this is probably a blessing in disguise..." The boy sighed, and then there was a sound that seemed to reach the sofa.
"...Alisa, living like this is really exhausting. We just want to live... Why do they keep pursuing us... and killing so many people... and we all ran so far... Why do they catch up every time we run farther?"
"My father told me... these people... seem to have some special abilities... and the place we escaped from is a testing ground... those lunatic bastards don't want the inside situation to be exposed to the outside world. They're wiping out the little life that's left..."
"... What do you mean by the outside... not being different from the inside?"
"I don't know... but it seems like I haven't heard that monster's scream in a long time..."
"It does seem so..."
Daryl simply crouched outside in silence, listening to the almost inexplicable relationship between the two people in the room, with thousands of questions in his mind.
What's inside and outside, what is the testing ground, what is the monster's roar, these things are quite confusing to him.
Bang!
Just as Daryl was about to continue listening, deafening gunshots suddenly sounded from outside, making the movement in the room completely silent.
Crash!
"Damn it, David, what have you done!"
In the ensuing room, there was a loud sound of a heavy object hitting the floor and the frightened scream of a girl.
Attracted by the shots outside at this moment, the sprinter-class walkers that had already moved towards the door stopped at this moment, and they turned with a fierce and terrifying face.
Roar!
After an infected person let out a terrifying roar, the dozen runners rushed to the room door and frantically tried to close it.
As for Daryl, who was hiding outside at this moment, he had long seen that the situation was not good and decided to flee, hiding behind the shelf in the shadows.
Bang!
Before he could take any action, another shot was heard from the outside, which also made Daryl feel a bit heavy.
Although he didn't know what happened outside, it probably had something to do with Airon. It should be that the group of people pursuing the two children had arrived.
"It seems... I should be fine here for now..."
Seeing that the walkers in the approaching commotion couldn't pose any threat to the people in the room, Daryl hesitated for a moment and had no intention of rescuing them. Instead, he slowly retreated.
Compared to these two children who had nothing to do with him, he was more concerned about Airon's safety. It was fine for these walkers to block the door to prevent the people inside from running out. He would deal with that after he checked the situation outside.
Thinking this, Daryl also slowly backed away, moving towards the edge.
All the walkers gathered at the door, and their range of activities became wider.
Tap-tap-tap...
Just as Daryl was heading towards the supermarket door, the sound of light and hurried footsteps suddenly passed him quickly.
When he heard the sound, he abruptly stopped and looked intently to the side, but all he could see was the cold wall of the supermarket. Obviously, the footsteps were coming from the other side of the wall.
"Who's there?"
Upon hearing the footsteps gradually fading behind him, alarm bells rang in Daryl's mind, knowing that there were survivors wandering nearby. He immediately drew his gun.
He no longer thought about leaving the supermarket, but chose to crouch down and hide in the shadows, waiting in silence. He was eager to know who wanted to capture these two children.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting for Joel, a series of footsteps sounded from far to near the entrance of the supermarket.
"Zz... Zz... Daryl, can you hear me?"
But just as Daryl was attentively looking at the door, Airon's voice suddenly came from the radio he was carrying.
There was a lot of noise on the intercom, accompanied by hurried footsteps and the man's heavy breathing.
Upon hearing the chaotic noise, Daryl couldn't help but furrow his brow, looking towards the door and whispering, "I'm here, what's happening? Why is there so much noise?"
"Don't ask questions and listen to me!"
Daryl fell silent, waiting for Airon to speak.
"I'm being followed by three people, they're not normal!"
"What do you mean?" Daryl asked, confused.
"I don't know, they just found me and it seems like most of the walkers ignore them. That's not normal, so I'll have to eliminate them as soon as possible. Don't get involved in this, I need you to stay out of it until our people arrive."
Daryl was surprised, about to ask something when suddenly an explosion was heard in the distance and Airon reminded him, "Get out of that place. If you're in the town, you may have been identified."
By the time Daryl heard this, in the distance, a maniacal laughter echoed, constantly screaming, "Intruder! Intruder! Intruder! Our lord will thank us if we catch those intruders!"