All along the way, Selene witnessed a world that had completely fallen into chaos.
After two days and nights of travel, the surrounding vegetation grew thicker, and before long, they spotted a railway line. Following it, familiar landmarks began to appear—signs that they were close.
Soon, a large concrete complex surrounded by barbed wire came into view.
Merle turned off the engine, and the three of them stepped out of the car.
Looking at the familiar prison, Merle's expression was complicated. "We're here."
The prison was massive. Even the yard within the fencing was the size of a football field. Each section was gated off, and aside from the main cell blocks, there were multiple watchtowers. The entire structure was built of reinforced concrete.
"This is perfect," Merle said, excitement creeping into his voice. "It's ours now."
"Don't get too happy," Daryl warned. "There are plenty of walkers inside."
The zombies wandering behind the fences proved the prison had already been breached. Still, since each section was separated by locked gates, they wouldn't all be clustered together.
"Merle," Selene said, her tone calm and focused, "use suppressors when you shoot. We'll clear one section first. From now on, this will be our base."
"Got it, boss."
"Start with the courtyard. Clear the walkers outside."
The zombies in The Walking Dead were pitifully weak—the lowest tier of the undead hierarchy. Slow, brittle, and brainless. Other than overwhelming by numbers, Selene couldn't fathom how the military had ever lost to them. Maybe it was the will of the world—or rather, the will of the writers.
All three were armed. Daryl kept his crossbow ready, while Selene and Merle carried both melee weapons and silenced submachine guns. Supplies weren't an issue—Selene had enough gear to arm a hundred people if needed.
"Let's move."
They advanced swiftly toward the barbed fence. A few scattered zombies loitered outside, but none could slow them down.
Pfft! Pfft, pfft!
Merle led the way, picking off every visible walker before sprinting toward a break in the fence. The suppressor kept the noise low, ensuring no distant horde stirred.
Once inside the prison yard, they split up—Selene to repair the fence breach, Merle to eliminate stragglers, and Daryl to shut the main gate.
With a sharp metallic clack, the gate slammed shut. The fence repairs were finished soon after, and no new zombies could get in. The courtyard was secure.
They didn't rest. After a quick equipment check, they pressed onward. The physical strain was nothing—Merle and Daryl's enhanced bodies handled it easily.
Within minutes, they cleared the entire prison yard, sealing every gap in the wire fencing. Then, it was time to move inside.
After dispatching several armored riot walkers blocking the entrance, Selene headed straight for the guard station. Inside, she searched the drawers and found a keyring and a full map of the prison.
Spreading the map across the desk, she studied it carefully.
The prison was single-story, divided into three wings: A, B, and C. The guard station was adjacent to C Block, which also contained the infirmary, the warden's office, and the guards' dormitory. C Block was mainly for administration, not inmates—meaning it was relatively safe.
A and B Blocks were the cell wings, housing prisoners. Naturally, they'd be crawling with more walkers.
"Clear C Block first. Same plan—seal it off, then clean it room by room. Once we secure the infirmary and the warden's office, we'll establish our base. The other wings can wait."
"Understood!" the Dixon brothers replied in unison before heading off to close the connecting gates.
Hiss...
"Handgun, flashlight, baton... hmm?"
While scavenging through the guard station, Selene paused—the Great Sage had come back online.
After a long dormancy, the world's rejection had faded, allowing it to awaken once more.
Selene didn't bother with formalities. "Display my data panel," she ordered.
World: [The Walking Dead]
Main Objective: Connect to the World Core and trigger the Descent of Honkai.
Full Recovery Countdown: 18 days.
The new interface was clean and straightforward. After so many years, Selene had realized something—her "Great Sage" behaved like the one from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime simply because her subconscious imagined it that way. It manifested itself according to how she perceived it.
In essence, it could take any form she needed.
But now, Selene had no patience for playful Q&A sessions. She instructed it to shift into a more practical format—something like the control panel of a main god space, with simple and efficient data tables.
The Great Sage's reawakening was good news. It meant Selene's spatial abilities were now fully restored. Though she had been able to retrieve supplies before, there had been strict volume limits—preventing her from accessing her more powerful equipment.
Now, that restriction was gone.
She could finally bring out her ultimate weapon—military robots.
Though she hardly needed them anymore—her abilities alone were more than enough for protection—it would be entertaining to test their performance.
With a casual wave of her hand, a purple flash shimmered through the air as a dimensional portal opened.
In an instant, more than a dozen matte-black military robots materialized in the guard station, filling the entire room with their imposing, metallic presence.
Height: 2.32 meters
Weight: 191 kilograms
Running Speed: 28–32 km/h
Arm Strength: 62 kg per arm
Drive System: Servo indirect variable-speed mechanism with automatic reduction control
Main Control: Military Robots Type-1 System with wireless transmission capability
Power Source: Dual 30V rechargeable micro Honkai energy reactors
Armament: SIG SG-551 assault rifles, grenades, and grenade launchers
With machines like these, Selene felt that even without her superpowers, she could still walk through the apocalypse unchallenged.
"Boss, what are you...—holy shit!" Merle's voice echoed from the corridor. He had finished his assigned task a few minutes earlier and rushed over after hearing the noise from the guard station.
When he stepped inside and saw the dozen hulking black robots crowding the room, he froze in shock. Only after spotting Selene did he manage to breathe again. "Uh... boss, what are those things?"
"Military robots," Selene replied simply. "Don't just stand there. Take them and clear out C Block."
Seeing that she didn't elaborate, Merle wisely didn't press for answers. He might've been bold, but he wasn't stupid—there were things better left unquestioned. "Yes, ma'am." Leaving two robots to guard the area, he led the rest out to continue clearing the zombies.
Selene, meanwhile, sat down with a suitcase-like data terminal she had retrieved from her storage space. Linking it to the robots' system, she began monitoring their operation remotely, viewing the entire C Block through their visual feeds.
As per the original plan, they sealed off sections before engaging—but with the robots joining the fight, the results were overwhelming. In less than fifteen minutes, C Block was completely cleared, most of that time spent just moving between areas.
Satisfied, Selene revised her plan. Instead of stopping, they would clear the entire prison in one go. She had no intention of sleeping with zombies next door.
After Merle and Daryl returned, she let them rest briefly, then said, "We'll clear B and C Blocks today. Stay sharp—no mistakes."
The two nodded, and the operation resumed.
B and C Blocks were indeed heavily infested. At one point, they even ran into a concentrated horde in B Block, but against the robots' superior firepower, the battle was over in minutes.
Within half an hour, A Block fell as well.
During the sweep of A Block, Daryl stumbled upon a sealed room—the door was locked shut with handcuffs. Using the thermal imager, he was startled to see several heat signatures inside. "Boss, we've got survivors."
After the incident at the rural village, Daryl had grown cautious—distrustful of strangers.
"The cafeteria?" Selene asked, already knowing the answer. She walked toward him. The locked room had to be the one from the original story—the hideout of the five prisoners.
Selene ordered a robot to kick down the door. With a loud bang, the door was torn off its hinges.
"What the hell—who are you?! You wanna die—" A burly white man burst out, gun in hand, fury in his eyes. Before he could finish shouting, a robot slammed him to the ground, pinning him effortlessly.
Click—clack!
Over a dozen guns leveled at the remaining four men inside. Seeing no chance to resist, they immediately dropped to their knees. "Don't shoot! We surrender!"
"Daryl, check the warden's office. See if you can find their records. If any of them deserve death, put them down," Selene said coldly.
Daryl moved quickly. Before long, he returned with the files.
The ringleader was a gang member—loan shark, murderer, drug trafficker. He had been sentenced to death before the outbreak spared him.
The other four had lesser crimes—fraud, theft, assault.
"What should we do, boss?" Merle asked, though he already suspected the answer.
Selene glanced at the ringleader's trembling form. "Kill him. The rest—keep under watch. Put them to work moving corpses."
Merle didn't hesitate. In this world, killing had become routine—especially for someone who already deserved it.
After the executions, Selene teleported into the warden's office to begin setting up her personal quarters. It would serve as both her residence and command center.
Clearing the prison was no small task, but with the four surviving inmates cooperating—and the robots covering them—the process became far more efficient.
...
Half a month later, the work was done. Every corpse in the compound had been removed, every gap in the barbed wire repaired. Military robots patrolled each critical point. The entire prison gleamed with order and security once more.