In Depth (Part 4)

As the situation unfolded, T-Dog and Morgan, who were crouched down, braced themselves to withstand the impact of the walkers at the front of the group trying to get closer. Their muscles tensed, but the impact never came—only the sound of gunfire echoed from behind, and the roar of the walkers came from in front of them.

Both men lifted their heads, filled with curiosity, to see what was happening ahead through the gaps in their shields. They quickly realized that the walkers in front of them had already been taken down, and there wasn't a single one in sight.

Bang!

Finally, with the last gunshot fired a few seconds later, all the walkers were eliminated. Letting out a sigh of relief, everyone couldn't help but look at Jason, somewhat stunned.

Among them all, only Jason held a gun in each hand, firing with precision at every walker before him.

No one was blind—except for Rick, who was one of the best shooters in the group, others occasionally missed their shots. From time to time, a stray bullet escaped from the rest, but they had definitely seen many walkers drop to the ground with a single shot to the head. So who had taken down the large number of walkers that had just fallen moments ago?

It went without saying that everyone knew Jason had not only taken out the fallen walkers but had also supported the others by handling the ones behind them. This allowed everyone to clear out the large number of walkers much faster.

However, considering that Jason was the leader of his own group, the others felt reassured upon witnessing his shooting skills. They were also leaders of their respective squads, but it was not uncommon to feel relieved knowing that the one leading them was so skilled.

Without any rush to move forward, Jason stepped forward, shining a flashlight attached to his gun over the fallen walkers. He hadn't expected so many to appear at once, and many of them had gathered together, forming a horde.

Jason, armed, could take down many walkers. If a small team with weapons could eliminate so many, what would happen if his group of experienced ex-soldiers cleared this prison?

Things now seemed to be going more smoothly than he had imagined. Not only had they managed to clear this place with relative ease, but no one had been injured. Seeing that there were no living walkers left, Jason called everyone to move forward.

Knowing that a single misstep could result in someone being bitten, Jason wasted no time and remained highly vigilant of his surroundings.

But for now, he pushed those negative thoughts aside. He and several others behind him stepped over the corpses, and Jason then grabbed the radio on his vest and said:

"Zz... Shane, send some people in our direction to clear the bodies and pile them up with the others."

"Zz... Roger!"

As they continued forward, Jason and his group cautiously cleared the path. Regardless of what had just happened, everyone was eager to press on.

Shortly after, they reached a door blocked by walkers and noticed that it was a double door, locked with a padlock. Looking at the door in front of him, Jason gradually recalled an old memory—this door likely led to the cafeteria.

Considering the distance they had covered and the fact that their group was not yet in a secure location, as there were still people living in the cafeteria at this moment, Jason decided not to open it for now for everyone's safety.

In the dark hallway, they continued moving forward. Occasionally, they encountered one or two walkers inside the cells and rooms on either side, but these didn't even require gunfire; they could be dealt with using knives.

Soon, they reached the door of the next unit. It had the same design but contained many more rooms than the previous unit. Estimating around forty rooms between both floors, no one bothered eliminating the walkers locked in the cells.

After Shane continued sending people to clear the bodies in the hallways, several others kept advancing.

After some time, they had cleared two more units. Finally, at a corner, Jason reached out and touched T-Dog's shoulder, who was ahead of him. T-Dog instantly froze in place. With tactical understanding, almost the moment T-Dog stopped, the others did as well.

Stepping out of the formation, Jason reached the corner, listened carefully for any sounds, then leaned forward, aiming his gun toward the other side.

Bang!

A sharp sound struck metal. As soon as Jason lifted his gun, those behind him instinctively raised theirs, ready to fire.

Hearing the noise stop, Jason moved behind a corner of the wall when another gunshot rang out.

"It's Jason!"

"Here, Shane!"

Jason signaled that they were out of danger. Lowering his weapon, he stepped out from behind the wall.

"What's the situation there?" Jason asked, glancing down the corridor behind Shane, which appeared clear of walkers.

Shane also holstered his gun and pointed behind him. "We cleared everything up to here and found two cell blocks much larger than the previous ones. There were also several cells and large rooms in the corridor, around 120 rooms. How did it go on your end?"

Morgan stepped forward and said, "Counting the first unit, we cleared a total of four units, plus the hallway rooms—around 200 rooms in total."

Rick, excited, said, "With these, that's more than 500 rooms! We can easily accommodate between 500 to 1,000 people. This place is great."

Jason also nodded at Rick's words, surprised by the size of the prison. However, he reminded them, "This is likely the largest area of the prison. Other sections are probably smaller, but we shouldn't have a problem housing more than a thousand people."

After saying that, he pointed to the corridor with evident burn marks and explosion damage and asked, "What's the situation over there? Did you check it out?"

Shane looked over, nodded, and said, "We went to check it out. That wall should be the back side of the prison. The corridor led to a unit, but it looks like it was destroyed. That unit is no longer usable, including the back wall."

"The yard wall is also damaged, so for now, we can only close the gate here to prevent the walkers in the forest from getting in."

Jason understood that this must be where Tyreese's group had entered. If it weren't for Carl, that group would probably have ended up joining the prison group.

"Alright, we need to move now."

"Everyone, come with me! There are still some areas that haven't been cleared yet!" Jason turned and led the group toward several sections along the way.

Jason remembered that there was an indoor activity area in the prison. That place was probably full of walkers, most likely locked inside. He wanted to move now and find that area to clear it out.

As they cleared the hallways, several people discovered many special rooms. Some of them were different from the prison cells they had passed along the way. Logically, these should be some of the prison's support facilities.

Several people entered the first special room and discovered that it was the prison infirmary. Aside from some medical equipment, there weren't many medications, but there were gauze and disinfectants. This area was definitely valuable.

As Jason moved from room to room, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. There was a small problem—they needed a suitable place to relocate the CDC lab later. Finding a large enough area to set up the lab was now a priority, and it had to be separate from the sleeping quarters.

While thinking about this, Jason turned his head and said to Shane, "Tell the people outside to check if there's a separate structure on-site. It needs to be a large space. If they find one, it has to be cleared immediately."

"Got it!"

Some people left the infirmary and soon reached the second room next door. The door here was made of heavy metal, but it wasn't locked. As the door was slowly opened, the growls of a few walkers could be heard from inside.

Jason opened the door and saw several metal machines on both sides of the room's entrance. Looking further in, there were only two walkers heading toward the door.

Crack!

A crossbow bolt and a dagger pierced the walkers' foreheads at the same time. Jason pulled his knife out of the walker's head while turning to nod at Daryl. Daryl nodded back, and both of them entered the room.

The place resembled a factory room filled with equipment and pipes. There were various types of machinery, including generators, pipelines, and power sources. If conditions allowed, electricity could be generated sooner than originally planned.

Daryl walked toward the large generator, took a look, and discovered that Jason was surprised to see there was still fuel in the tank. There were also several oil drums next to it, all filled.

Even though they already had a lot of fuel stored, who wouldn't want more for the future? Everyone got excited upon realizing that this place was incredible and full of hidden resources.