The Walking Dead: Rebuild

Chapter 42 Carol’s Awakening
On the second underground floor, in a private apartment.

Ed asked Carol to bring him hot water. This grumpy man soaked his feet and drank white wine, shouting:

"Shit, I spent a day moving corpses outside. It's smelly and tiring, but my wages are less than one-third of those who hang out with guns."

"That guy named Custer is also a bastard. I am obviously the best machine control worker in the factory, but when I come to him, I can only live by selling myself as a coolie."

"We should not have listened to his rhetoric in the first place, but should have looked for other refuges. Maybe that way, we could live a better life."

Ed’s voice was loud, and Carol was afraid that his complaints would reach other people’s ears, so she walked over and whispered:

"Ed, at least we are safe here. I will work harder to make life better."

This sentence seemed to stimulate some of Ed's nerves, and he slapped Carol hard on the face, causing the woman to stagger.

"Asshole, are you looking down on me?"

In this way, Ed was still angry. He took out his belt and slapped his wife again and again. Sophia, who was studying in the room, heard the noise outside and hurried to her father, trying to dissuade him, but was stopped by the furious man. He was pushed down, his forehead cut a gash on the corner of the table, and he fell to the ground.

In the evening, Leon was reading in the office, and Amy walked in with a heavy face.

"Boss, there was a murder in the apartment on the second basement floor."

Leon's face darkened when he heard this, and he asked quickly:

"Who died? What happened?"

"Ed, an employee of the logistics department."

"According to their neighbors, Ed was drunk at the time and was domestically abusing his wife Carol. Later, their daughter Sofilia was also involved. Finally, Carol resisted and accidentally killed her. killed his husband."

Hearing that it was this pair, Leon nodded thoughtfully and asked the little secretary:
"How are Carol and Sophia? Are their injuries serious?"

"Both of their injuries were not serious. Ms. Carroll suffered minor fractures and multiple bruises, and Sophia hit her head and suffered a minor concussion."

Leon took a sip of hot coffee and continued:
"Since Ed was the one who committed domestic violence first, it can be considered excusable. Let's wait until Carol and the two of them recover from their injuries before deciding how to punish this matter."

"By the way, has Ed's body been disposed of?"

Amy nodded, walked behind Leon, and massaged his shoulders.

"It's been dealt with, it's been popularized by all the Umbrella employees about us turning into zombies when we die."

"No one will ever forget."

Meanwhile, in the base medical room.

Carol's face was filled with tears, and she endured the physical and mental pain. She looked at her unconscious daughter on the other bed with mixed feelings in her heart.

Although she killed her husband with her own hands, although it was for self-defense, even though it was impulsive, and even though she was angry that her daughter was hurt, the moment she resisted, it seemed that some shackles were opened in her heart.

She discovered that she was not a person lacking courage, she was just too resigned and had forgotten to resist.

Now, only she and her young daughter are left at home to depend on each other. No matter what, she must bear the corresponding responsibilities for her children and herself.

Maybe I should live a little braver.

At noon the next day, Leon was still playing games leisurely as usual, when Professor Amlin came over with a serious look on his face.

"Mr. Custer, our radio system has detected a suspicious signal."

"On Interstate 30, 85 kilometers south of our base, there should be a communication system built into the vehicle."

"I suspect they are a group of well-equipped survivors. They may have seen our recruitment information and are coming to the base." Leon's expression also became heavy.

"What's their speed? How long will it take to reach our base?"

"Their speed is not fast. Based on their current speed, they will arrive at our base in about two hours."

Leon nodded, before Professor Amlin said:
"Okay, I understand. You can continue to do your work, Professor."

Time was running out. When Amlin left, Leon immediately took out the radio, tuned to the channel of the Security Department, and said:

"Moll, Daryl, suspend the construction of the wall and bring back all the employees in the logistics department. We have important tasks."

Although the two captains were a little puzzled, they immediately replied:
"I know, boss, we'll be right back."

It would take a while for them to finish cleaning up, but Leon didn't wait. He put on his combat uniform, drove a modified jeep and took the lead on the journey.

After calculating the distance, Leon drove the car to a hillside twenty kilometers away from the base, took out his telescope and started observing.

A few minutes later, a convoy gradually appeared in the telescope, led by two military trucks, followed by two tanks, several military jeeps, and finally some ordinary vans and cars.

Through the car window, Lyon could also see some survivors dressed as soldiers and civilians, and even some elderly people and children.

Seeing this, Leon secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In this kind of world, a group that can take in the elderly and children at least has a basic moral bottom line.

Such groups should not be predators.

He took out the radio, tuned the channel, and said:
"Moll, Daryl, you set up an ambush at the intersection of Interstate 5, 85 kilometers away from our base. I will come over now to join you."

"Move quickly, we don't have much time left."

The radio answered immediately.

"Yes, boss, we have already set off. We expect to arrive at the ambush point in 10 minutes."

Putting down the radio, Leon used another route to the ambush point as quickly as possible.

Seeing that Moore and others were already in place, he ordered the soldiers to hide on the roadside or beside a building, in a position that could not be seen clearly from a distance.

He and the two captains parked three modified military trucks on the road and pointed three heavy machine guns in the direction where the convoy was coming.

After about 10 minutes, a convoy headed by military trucks gradually appeared in the eyes of Lyon and others. They also discovered the modified trucks parked on the road. Although they slowed down, they still slowly approached.

When the distance between the two sides was almost 100 meters, the convoy stopped moving, and a middle-aged officer wearing a military cap and a stubble on his face stepped out of the truck.

He walked alone in front of Leon and others and shouted:
"I'm Colonel William Hanke, formerly the defense commander at the CDC in Atlanta."

"Excuse me, are you from the umbrella company?"

Leon got out of the military truck and came to the middle-aged colonel. He looked at him and said:
"I am the manager of the Umbrella Company, Leon Custer. Please tell me, what is the purpose of Colonel William coming here?"

Colonel William observed Lyon carefully for more than ten seconds, then stretched out his right hand, shook hands with Lyon, and said with a serious expression:
"We have lost contact with our superiors and gathered some survivors along the way. After hearing the news that the CDC still exists, I decided to bring my soldiers back here to protect humanity's glimmer of hope in defeating the virus."

Leon said with a smile on his face but in a serious voice:

"Colonel William, you and your soldiers have high moral character, but the Atlanta CDC is the territory of our umbrella company and does not allow people from other organizations to be stationed nearby."

"Will you and your soldiers join us?"

(End of this chapter)