After casually eating something, Jason gathered everyone and began explaining the plan they needed to follow. Everyone agreed and boarded the modified RV along with a few pickup trucks.
Early in the morning, on the streets of a nearby town, an imposing modified RV and several pickups drove along. Jon Seda looked at the group and then said, "Boss, we're here!"
Seeing that they had reached the outskirts of the city, the convoy stopped on the road. The scene on the streets was no different from other places; aside from walkers and trash, there was nothing else.
Without a doubt, when Jason and the others appeared on the road, they naturally surveyed the surrounding area while analyzing which route to take. This was a large city, and they were currently on the main road stretching out in both directions.
"This city smells like shit!" said Merle with a grimace. Then he sniffed toward one side and landed on T-dog's body. "No, it's definitely not the city!"
"I think the dog's someone else. We've got a tracker in the group now," Glenn said, earning a glare from Merle as he tried to hold back his laughter.
"You're a walking joke, Merle. You should be the one wearing a muzzle," T-dog added with a slight smile, feeling supported by Glenn's words.
"Yeah, a muzzle would be good to walk the group's dog around."
"This must be a joke," muttered Jason as he walked away from the commotion erupting in the group. T-dog and Merle were definitely a volatile duo.
"There should be a lot of supplies in this place. If it weren't for the unknown group of survivors, this would be the perfect place to set up a survival point," Daryl said as he approached, holding his bottle with both hands.
Everyone was pleased with the size of the city and now hoped to gather good supplies. Unlike Atlanta, this place had clearly not been touched.
"Yeah, what worries me are the people who encountered Ravi's slaughtered group. They definitely aren't people anymore." Jason signaled, and everyone stopped wasting time and got back into the vehicles.
The situation in this place was better than in others. There weren't as many walkers as in Atlanta, probably because there were no shelters at the start of the apocalypse. Guided by Ravi Kapoor, Jason and his group easily found the bus station, so several vehicles stopped nearby.
It was known that there was a parking lot at the bus station. Many vehicles were still lined up. This result surprised the group and immediately lifted their spirits, but the numerous walkers in the area made them frown.
With just one glance, they discovered that the parking lot was infested with walkers—numerous undead scattered around.
Standing beside Jason, Daryl looked at the general situation through the modified RV's window and said, "No, this isn't normal at all. Looks like they were herded here."
After speaking, he pointed at the chained gate outside the parking lot. At first glance, it looked like there might be people inside, but the chances were slim. It was clear the walkers had been gathered intentionally.
"No wonder we didn't run into many walkers along the way…" said Maggie with a slightly tense look.
This place itself didn't concern her too much—it was an easy enough objective to handle. What really bothered her were the people who did this, so she quickly instructed Jon and George, both soldiers, to keep watch on the surrounding area.
Ravi, beside her, looked at the scene in the parking lot and said softly, "Guys, I think we should go somewhere else. There are too many undead here!"
Immediately, a mocking voice sounded behind Ravi, "No, no, no… Are you scared, my dear Ravi?"
Merle leaned his arms on Ravi with a mocking smile on his face, pointed at the noises coming from the parking lot, and said, "If you're that scared, I'll let Maggie and Michonne go instead. What do you think?"
Ravi looked at Michonne, who stared at him coldly, and then replied, a bit embarrassed, "No, I'm not scared. I just think we should be careful."
"Yeah, I get you."
"Enough talking. You're all irritating me!" Daryl interrupted the conversation again. The group's composition was definitely questionable—something Jason had also considered. These people were practically begging to get themselves killed. Glenn smiled while watching the distant walkers and said, "It's not that bad, right?"
After observing the parking lot for a few minutes, Jason didn't stop their chatter since it didn't matter. He was analyzing how the walkers had been gathered there. Logically, an experienced group must've done it, and they could be closer than they thought.
"Jon and Sasha, keep watch around the area. George, stay in the driver's seat. Those remaining will protect us—not from walkers, but from people. I suspect a group of survivors is nearby."
After saying that, Jason turned and said, "The rest of you will follow me and clear out the walkers on the way."
Seeing everyone had their orders, Ravi grew more uncomfortable under Merle's gaze, so he joined the group and then quietly approached Jason and whispered, "Jason, I'll help take down the walkers too—I've got a good arm!"
"Hahaha!" Merle's mocking laughter could be heard nearby.
Seeing Ravi's determination, Jason didn't say anything, just nodded with a smile and reminded him to be careful.
Although the walkers were numerous and densely packed near the bus area, sneaking in wasn't an option, and Jason didn't want to waste energy going in with melee weapons. In the end, he decided to use firearms to thin them out first, then clean up with melee weapons.
Soon, short bursts of suppressed gunfire echoed through the parking lot, and the dense horde of walkers fell in pieces to the ground. Luckily, there weren't many walkers nearby, so it didn't cause too much trouble.
After eliminating most of the walkers, Jason ordered a melee cleanup to conserve ammunition. Seeing there were no walkers near the buses made Jason and the others feel more at ease.
Later, they approached the buses and boarded, after confirming they were safe. Then, Glenn and Maggie approached with many keys in hand to try starting them.
"Zzzzt! Zzzzt!"
After many attempts, T-dog realized none of the buses would start, and Tyreese, standing nearby, came to check. "Nope, the issue is the batteries. We just need to replace them."
Jason looked helplessly at Daryl beside him, who simply raised his hands. "Only George knows mechanics. He can do it, but we'll need to find the batteries."
Carlos, nearby, said, "There should be batteries around here. We just need to look."
After calling George over to inspect the buses, he quickly diagnosed the problem: some buses needed batteries, and others were just disconnected.
After a lot of searching, the group found a good number of batteries. Following Jason's lead, they looked at the dozen batteries and, after a moment's hesitation, decided to take them all.
Half an hour later, a convoy made up of three buses, a modified RV, and two pickups moved through the streets, having confirmed that all vehicles had fuel.
Now that the group had obtained the buses, the next step was to find the necessary tools to make some modifications. Jason wasn't sure he'd find everything they needed, but how would he know if he didn't search?
A long convoy moved through the city, everyone scanning the stores in hopes of finding a suitable place.
Under Glenn's observation, they found a store that might have everything they were looking for.
The convoy soon arrived on the outskirts of the city, which seemed to be an industrial area. There were no residential houses nearby—only medium-sized factories. But Jason's eyes suddenly stopped on a tall sign.
"This is the place, George!"
"I see it!"
The convoy slowly approached the factory's main entrance. Jason got out with a group and headed toward the building in front of the factory. Ravi Kapoor, beside him, apologized, "Sorry, I said I knew the city well, but I had no idea there was metal here."
Jason waved a hand to let Ravi know it didn't matter, then pulled out his weapon and prepared to scout the inside of the factory.
Carlos and Michonne followed behind. Ravi looked at the factory door nervously but ultimately couldn't decide whether to enter. Merle, walking at the end of the line, looked at Ravi.
"Come on, Ravi, I thought you were tougher. Let's find those damn metal plates," Merle said as he pushed Ravi with a grin.
Though Merle had changed a lot, he was still the same person at heart, and the difference wasn't that big. As he caught up to Ravi, who had quickened his pace, Merle was about to speak when he heard something whistle past his ear and a sharp shot rang out in the distance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As for Ravi, who had been walking bravely at the front, his left chest exploded in a spray of blood, splattering violently before he fell to the ground.
Fierce gunfire from a machine gun also...