When Elias asked that question, everyone turned their heads toward Ferdinand, waiting for his response. It was clear sothing was going on—and it wasn't good. If it was so easy to take the resources from that place, why hadn't anyone done it?
"That's because of the legend…"
A dead silence filled the room, then Ferdinand pointed to the red dot on the map and said, "We lured the entire horde of walkers to this part of town. Our objective was to retrieve weapons and anything useful from that military camp."
Ferdinand pointed at the blue dot on the map—where they were now, in Fredericksburg—then slid his finger backward, made a wide arc from the left, and finally pointed at a dense forest. "They say sothing more terrifying than a walker lives in this area—sothing that kills every living being that enters it."
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances. This was far more frightening than a horde of walkers. Jason, seeing their reactions, knew morale was dropping fast, but he didn't intervene.
"When the military was stationed at that shelter, there was a lot of gunfire. They pointed their weapons in all directions and ended up killing each other. But one man escaped and said whatever killed his squad was a monster—sothing that moved at incredible speed. It was faster, more agile, and stronger than anything they'd ever imagined."
"The number of walkers there is lower. In the past, even though we were afraid, we managed to get close to the outskirts and collect so weapons and guns from fallen soldiers, but we never dared to go inside."
"Well, that's quite a story."
Jason nodded without paying much attention to the man's words. If he truly wanted them to believe this, he should've ntioned walkers holding weapons or climbing. But faster and more flexible walkers?
At this point, the rotting bodies of older walkers were pretty easy to handle. Everyone in their community knew that—aside from hordes, of course.
But if there was one thing Jason had learned since ending up in this world, it was to read the environnt and adapt. The current situation was unclear, and he couldn't make a solid judgnt yet.
With all this in mind, Jason asked, "You said your group moved most of the walkers from this part of town to the red zone. Then you ntioned you got close enough to retrieve weapons from the military shelter. So why didn't this thing you talk about attack you? How many of your people has it killed for you to be warning us now?"
"They're probably lying. If I were them and ca across a large group of people, I'd scare them off with spooky stories so they wouldn't take the important supplies from that place."
"In that case, wouldn't they have avoided ntioning the weapons and the military camp at all?" Daryl looked at his brother, then pointed out an important detail.
Hearing those questions and argunts, Ferdinand spoke up directly: "I'm really not lying. There's sothing in that camp, and it's not like any walker. I know it all sounds crazy, but several groups have died recklessly trying to get close."
"Many survivor groups have died in that place…"
Those words made Jason close his eyes, thinking through the possibilities. But he quickly refocused and laid out the mission objective for everyone.
"Well, since things are getting out of hand, if there really is a rabid bear in that shelter, we'll select the best n in our group, and with , we'll scout the surrounding area."
"If it's a variant walker like the ones I've ntioned before, we'll take it out. If it's an animal, we'll take it out too. Once the area is cleared, we'll gather all the resources while silently eliminating the walkers with lee weapons. That way, we can split the effort and reduce the overall pressure."
"You all know we've been through a lot these past days. Now you belong to my people, and I promise I won't send you to your deaths. We just need to take out the walkers. It's a relatively open area, and we estimate there are no more than a thousand walkers."
Hearing that number, everyone exchanged complicated looks. "That many walkers…"
"Will it really be that easy to get those supplies?"
Upon hearing that question, Jason replied directly, "Yes, but we have to stay silent. Any noise will alert the walkers in the red zone on the map."
"The first group will be led by rle. Even though he's injured, I'm sure he can take out more walkers than most of you, so he'll be a good leader."
"Next group will be led by Daryl. anwhile, a smaller group will move with to scout the area and find out what's really in that place."
"It's not an animal…"
The ntion of that word made Jason's thoughts heavier, but he tried to keep his focus on what needed to be done.
If the soldiers died suddenly while fleeing, if survivor groups died upon entering the camp, and if soone from Ferdinand's group actually saw what lived in that place, then their attention needed to be sharpened.
At first, Jason thought maybe a chemical compound had been released in that area. But he dismissed that theory after realizing that so people didn't die instantly after stepping into the place.
However, considering other factors… could it be so kind of compound that causes hallucinations? Otherwise, how could sothing faster than an average walker exist there?
Jason knew that in France, there were faster walkers, and the infection in their bodies spread much faster than in the U.S.
"A more aggressive and vicious virus… Virus." Jason shook his head slightly, making sure no one noticed. This situation was definitely not normal.
Rubbing his forehead with a headache, Jason sighed and said, "There are two clear plans you all need to keep in mind."
Everyone turned to Jason and waited in silence. They all trusted him. After all, if they hadn't been picked up along the way, many of them had been rescued by him long ago.
"First, take out the walkers silently. You need to understand we'll be in a sensitive part of town. A single noise could attract a horde. You have good leaders who will watch over you. There won't be any problems."
"Second, once my group scouts the military camp, we'll clear it out and load up all the supplies into trucks. If we can take trucks, Humvees, or tanks—anything—we'll bring it all back for our group."
As he said that, Jason looked at Glenn beside him and added, "Don't be afraid. The survivors in our community grow stronger every single day."
"Everyone, head outside and wait."
Hearing that, everyone nodded and left the room—including Ferdinand—leaving only Jason's most trusted people behind.
"Do you think there's really sothing in that military shelter?"
Jason looked at Jon and shook his head, then explained, "It could be anything, but I don't want to be caught off guard. That's why we'll do an initial recon to avoid any losses."
"It could be anything. Maybe it's a three-ter-tall walker," Glenn joked as he looked around.
"Your jokes are definitely worse than Jason's…" Daryl muttered under his breath so no one would hear him.
"This is such a pain…"
Although Jason didn't want to admit it, it was very possible this was also a trap—and they were walking straight into an ambush. So, considering everything that could happen, he would be ready.
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