Jason was completely focused, and his P90 was raised right behind the people holding ballistic shields at the front of the group. Just as he had thought, the first group was the smallest since they were only exploring and assessing the general situation of this secret base.
To be honest, he would like to turn this place into a future secret base for the S.C.T., but that would involve much more than just assigning personnel. If this place were discovered by the CRM first, they could take it in a short period of time.
However, what he could do was take over the secret supply points in Alabama and secure those locations, since his community had already moved to hide in that area.
But returning to the present, he did not know what was inside this secret base. This point had to mean something, and that was what he was about to discover along with his people. He could not deny it—he had also thought that this place might hide things far more terrifying than simple walkers.
What he appreciated about all of this was that their Arm-3J combat suits were designed to handle this kind of situation, giving them a significant advantage compared to conventional military gear.
Not only were they protected against toxic gases, but walker bites would not be able to penetrate the strong suit, which could even withstand impacts from lower-caliber bullets.
Moreover, many of the men with him now were experienced soldiers—men who knew only how to follow orders and whose loyalty had recently been tested. Jason knew he was surrounded by reliable allies, useful soldiers who would be willing to die at his side if necessary.
Everyone remained calm. Going out on a mission with the commander of an organization that had brought peace to more than fifty thousand people said a lot about who he was and what he was capable of. Therefore, they were more than willing to give their lives for Jason.
"Do you think this place is as bad as it feels? You know, I don't want to sound pessimistic, but I don't think anything good is stored here..."
Jason, who had been pulled out of his deep thoughts, replied, "It's true that everything seems strange. We shouldn't forget about the walkers above. Since there are military guards here, at least we might find weapons and food. But it's strange—if those two people died, it means that for some reason they didn't reach the lower floors or never dared to do so."
Pausing, Jason analyzed it further and pointed out, "There's an elevator, and these facilities still have electricity, so there must be a reason why those two soldiers died without being able to get food."
"But I might be overthinking things. There could be an obvious reason why those soldiers didn't go down, or maybe they realized they were infected and had already been walkers for a long time."
Welles, who wanted to understand what was happening in this place and what they were getting into, had a layer of cold sweat on his face, and he gripped his weapon tightly.
"Then, if the elevator door opens and there are dozens of walkers right in front of us, will we get trapped here?"
Jason remained silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly, raised his weapon, and said, "There's nothing to worry about. We are well prepared for any kind of situation we might face."
Thinking about Jason's excellent results in all his operations, Welles gradually calmed down and pressed the button to descend to the next floor.
It wasn't that Welles feared death—no, his fear was not being able to meet the demands of this place and becoming a burden to everyone. But that was something Jason had never thought about Welles, since he was always present whenever he was needed.
The elevator descended slowly, and the steel cables above their heads tightened under the force of the motor, but the mechanical sounds around them did not affect their focus at all.
Welles had wanted to go on a mission for quite some time, so Jason took this opportunity to involve him. He knew that after losing his limbs, Welles had worked very hard to walk with his prosthetics, but the results were incredible. Jason knew that if he did not consider him in future operations, Welles might feel useless. Therefore, he trusted him and brought him on this mission.
"Everyone, stay alert!"
Ding!
They had now arrived at the fifth floor of this massive secret base.
As the elevator doors slowly opened, the group could clearly see the situation a few meters ahead.
The first thing Jason noticed was that the particle meter in his hand showed that the air quality was far below acceptable levels, meaning the place reeked of decay. The particles responsible for the peculiar smell were detected by the device.
Jason put the meter back into his bag, and when he looked ahead, he could see stains on the ground with the help of his night vision.
Blood!
Black and dark red dried blood was everywhere—on the floor and walls—and the roar of something could be heard not far away.
Stimulated by the senses, Welles instinctively wanted to close the elevator door.
"Wait!"
As Jason spoke, he quickly leaned out of the elevator, grabbed both sides of the doorway with his hands, and looked into the corridor with his head lowered.
It had to be said that everything was dark, so there was nothing that could reveal their position to the walkers, who were guided by sound.
About a dozen meters from the elevator, there was a group of figures surrounding a door, and everything indicated that they were ordinary walkers.
After quickly observing them, Jason estimated that the number of these undead likely exceeded one hundred.
After scanning the surroundings, Jason nodded and returned to the elevator.
Looking up, he nodded again, but the sound from when the elevator had opened had clearly alerted the walkers. Some of them turned their heads toward the source of the noise, but the darkness prevented them from seeing anything.
"Close the door."
With a soft reminder, Welles was about to press the close button when the sound was drowned out by a deafening roar that startled everyone.
"How many?"
"There are around a hundred of them."
"They seem to be normal walkers, sir."
"Then do you want to go to the next floor?"
"Let's ignore the walkers on this floor and observe the overall situation to see if it's worth it!"
Ding!
After passing the fifth floor, Welles' heart was still on edge, and even the crisp sound of the elevator doors opening felt extremely harsh.
Soon, they arrived at the sixth floor.
"Grrr!"
As the elevator doors opened, the first thing they heard was the roar coming from the corridor.
Immediately after, the particle meter emitted a sound, and everyone became more alert, positioning themselves defensively without acting unless ordered.
The next second, when the door fully opened, dense crowds of walkers filled the elevator entrance.
The people with ballistic shields at the front pushed forward with all their strength against the mass of figures that had not yet fully surged in, managing to knock some walkers to the ground.
Welles instinctively pressed the close button, but the entrance was already being forced by the walkers.
"Fire!"
Jason remained calm and immediately pulled the trigger of his weapon in automatic mode. Dozens of bullets fired instantly, striking only one target—the heads of the undead.
The bullets penetrated the skulls of dozens of walkers, and the situation became chaotic as black blood splattered everywhere.
"Close the door!"
Jason had already assessed the situation on this floor, so now it was time to regroup and eliminate all the walkers with a more optimal plan.
The others were ready to fire at any moment, and when Jason's order came, everyone opened fire immediately against the undead.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After creating an opening, the doors slowly began to close, and those inside remained alert for anything that might come through.
Pieces of flesh and blood stained the ballistic shields, some heads were severed as the door closed, and it could be said that the experience was intense.
The elevator returned to the level where they had entered, and everyone felt more at ease after going through that chilling situation.
Ding!
"It's us!"