Chapter 6
1012words
Jenny huddled in the corner, wrapped in a blanket, eyes vacant. She hadn't recovered from the twin shocks of seeing her brother transform into a cold-blooded warlord and watching Mark get torn apart.
Jack ignored her.
Jenny was his last emotional tie to the past. Rescuing her and providing shelter was all he could offer. Psychological comfort? In the apocalypse, there was no time for hand-holding. Survivors had to pull themselves from the abyss or drown in it.
He focused on the drone footage streaming to his console.
The screen showed an aerial view of Pine Creek Town nestled in a valley. The small town had already fallen to the dead—hundreds of zombies shambled through its streets.
In the town center, a small community clinic showed the only signs of human life for miles. Its doors and windows were barricaded with furniture, but from above, these defenses looked ready to fail under the zombies' relentless pressure.
"Found it."
Jack zoomed in. Behind a second-floor window, several figures peered anxiously outside. Among them was his target—Isabella Ross.
She had short, practical hair and a face etched with fatigue, but her eyes remained sharp and focused as she directed the survivors around her. Even through the screen, her military bearing was unmistakable.
"Hold on."
Jack called to Jenny as he cranked the wheel and floored the accelerator.
The steel beast roared like a predator, launching from the mountain road toward Pine Creek Town!
...
Inside the clinic, tension hung thick in the air.
"Isabella, we can't hold out!" a young survivor cried, watching zombies mass outside. His voice cracked with desperation. "No food or water for three days. Those things keep hitting the doors—they'll break through!"
"Shut up!" Isabella snapped, eyes flashing. "Giving up is a death sentence! Grab anything useful and reinforce those windows!"
Her iron composure steadied their faltering courage. But she knew they were just postponing the inevitable. Without supplies or rescue, they had twenty-four hours at most.
As despair settled over them, a thunderous engine roar erupted from the town entrance!
Everyone froze, then rushed to the windows.
What they saw would be burned into their memories forever.
A massive black vehicle—more tank than SUV—charged down Main Street with unstoppable momentum, crushing everything in its path!
Zombies in its path were instantly pulverized, limbs and torsos flying in all directions!
"What the hell is that?" The survivors stared in disbelief.
Isabella's eyes narrowed. She immediately recognized that the vehicle's path wasn't random—it was systematically clearing zombies around the clinic, creating a perimeter.
BOOM!
The black behemoth executed a perfect drift in front of the clinic, coming to a halt. Around it lay a fifty-meter clearing, completely free of threats.
Before anyone could react—
"Whoosh—THUNK!"
A grappling hook shot from the vehicle's roof, embedding itself firmly in the clinic's third-floor railing.
A figure rappelled down the line with military precision, landing smoothly on the second-floor balcony.
The newcomer wore black tactical gear and a mask revealing only cold, calculating eyes. Though unarmed, the lethal aura surrounding him made everyone instinctively step back.
Isabella instantly raised her nearly-empty handgun. "Identify yourself!" she barked.
Jack didn't answer.
He simply removed his mask, revealing a young face bearing the weathered experience of someone decades older.
His gaze swept over the hostile faces, settling on Isabella.
"Isabella Ross. Former Army combat medic. Codename 'Doctor.' I know your file better than you know it yourself."
Isabella's heart skipped. Her grip tightened on the pistol. Her service record was classified—who was this man?
"You're out of food and water. Almost out of ammo. The horde outside could overrun this place ten times over." Jack's quiet voice carried like a physical force. "Your situation is terminal."
"What do you want?" Isabella demanded.
Jack didn't waste words.
He simply extended his hand and, as the survivors watched in confusion, made a casual gesture.
What happened next defied reality.
WHOOSH—!
Military rations, canned meat, bottled water materialized from nowhere in the center of the room, piling into a small mountain!
Next came crates of brand-new M4A1 rifles with loaded magazines!
Then mountains of antibiotics, bandages, surgical tools, and medical supplies!
In seconds, the hall overflowed with supplies—enough food, weapons, and medicine to make any survivor weep with joy.
The clinic fell deathly silent.
The survivors stood frozen, jaws hanging, eyes bulging. They stared at the impossible scene before them, minds unable to process what they'd witnessed.
Isabella's gun hand trembled slightly.
She was no sheltered civilian; she'd seen combat and its horrors. But this... this shattered her understanding of reality.
This man wasn't human. He was either a god or a demon.
Jack observed their reactions with perfect calm. This was precisely the effect he wanted. In the apocalypse, the most effective language wasn't words—it was power.
He turned to the stunned Isabella and spoke calmly:
"Now, am I qualified to talk?"
Isabella took a deep breath, wrestling her composure back from shock.
She slowly lowered her weapon.
As a pragmatic soldier, she recognized that against such power, resistance was pointless.
In chaos, following strength was the only path to survival.
And perhaps this man's power could actually end the nightmare!
She made the fastest—and wisest—decision of her career.
Isabella approached Jack and, as the survivors watched in shock, snapped to attention and rendered a perfect military salute.
Her eyes had transformed from wary shock to a mixture of respect, determination, and purpose.
"Isabella Ross, former Army combat medic, reporting for duty, sir!"
Her voice rang with conviction.
"Awaiting your orders!"
As she spoke, system notifications appeared in Jack's mind.
[Main Quest: Recruit Core Members (1/4)——Chief Medical Officer, completed!]
[Reward: Building Module Unlocked——[Mobile Genetic Research Laboratory]!]
[Reward: Follower Management Module has been unlocked!]
Jack regarded the capable military doctor before him with the first hint of satisfaction he'd shown.
He knew he'd gained not just a skilled physician, but a cornerstone for the empire he intended to build from the ashes of civilization.
