Chapter 2 – Reward: Hive Dungeon
By the time Wu Fan came to his senses, Maddie had already pinned a black man to the ground with her knee.
The guy was wearing a designer hoodie, three gold chains hanging around his neck, and his hands tightly clutching a bulging backpack.
He struggled desperately on the ground, shouting, "You can't do this! The people up ahead have gone crazy! They bite anyone they catch! I saw it with my own eyes—they bit off chunks of flesh and chewed them up like animals!"
"What the hell?"
Wu Fan was stunned.
That sounded exactly like Walker behavior.
"Cuff him first!" Maddie shouted.
Wu Fan quickly pulled out his handcuffs and, with a click, secured the black man's wrists.
Only then did he notice the chaos around them.
The entire street was in turmoil.
People scattered like frightened antelope.
A car had crashed into a utility pole on the roadside, flames rising from the hood and licking at the snapped electrical wires with loud crackling sounds.
But no one stopped to put out the fire. Everyone cared only about escaping.
In the distance, gunshots rang out continuously, as dense as fireworks on Independence Day.
Overhead, three Black Hawk helicopters roared across the sky, their cabin doors open. Inside, fully armed soldiers could barely be seen.
On the ground, a convoy of black armored vehicles sped through the intersection, large white letters spelling out "SWAT" on their sides.
"Hey, don't think we don't know what you people do during riots," Maddie sneered as she shoved the man toward the police car. "Stealing that much is enough to get you five years in prison. And don't worry, nobody's eating people out there. At worst, your ass will hurt a little in prison. Tough it out."
"Do you people even hear yourselves?" the handcuffed man yelled while struggling. "That's not something you can just tough out! Damn it, you women don't understand—"
He never finished his sentence.
A large refrigerated truck suddenly burst out from a side street like an out-of-control beast.
White smoke billowed from its tires as it skidded, but it couldn't stop.
"Damn it! Watch out!" Wu Fan shouted.
Maddie turned around, her pupils instantly shrinking.
Bang!
The massive impact made Wu Fan's eardrums ring.
The refrigerated truck slammed directly into the parked police car. The enormous force flipped it over like a toy before it crashed violently into the brick wall beside the road.
Bricks exploded everywhere as dust billowed into the air.
"Maddie!"
Wu Fan crawled to his feet, coughing as he waved away the dust cloud.
He saw Maddie lying beneath the overturned police car.
Her lower body was pinned under the vehicle as she lay among shattered bricks and broken glass, her face covered in dust and blood.
Her legs were trapped under the heavy car, completely immobile.
"Ahhh—!"
Maddie let out a scream so shrill it barely sounded human.
"Hey, hey, Maddie, stay with me!"
Wu Fan rushed over and knelt beside her. "I'll get you out!"
He crouched down to inspect the overturned vehicle.
A Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser, weighing nearly two tons.
The car was crushing Maddie's thighs, leaving her unable to move.
If he lifted the car recklessly, it could cause secondary injuries. Once the crushed bones shifted, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In theory, they needed a crane or at least a jack to safely lift the vehicle and distribute the pressure.
Wu Fan grabbed the walkie-talkie at his waist.
"Dispatch! Dispatch! This is Patrol Car 714! Officer trapped and requesting assistance! Repeat, officer trapped and requesting assistance! We need a crane or a jack immediately!"
Static crackled through the radio before the dispatcher's exhausted voice replied:
"Patrol Car 714... I'm sorry. The fire department is paralyzed... Repeat, the fire department is paralyzed. The 911 system has collapsed... Recommend finding shelter and surviving on your own..."
Wu Fan stared at the radio in disbelief before unleashing the foulest curse of his life.
A crane was impossible now.
His eyes scanned the surroundings.
Broken bricks littered the ground from the collapsed wall.
An idea struck him.
Wu Fan immediately began grabbing bricks like a madman, shoving them underneath the overturned police car one by one.
He needed to raise the vehicle enough to reduce the pressure on Maddie's legs.
He stacked the bricks layer by layer, using larger pieces to reinforce the foundation.
But the gap closest to Maddie was too narrow.
The bricks wouldn't fit.
"Ahh... my legs..."
Maddie's voice trembled with tears.
Wu Fan gritted his teeth, grabbed the police car's chassis with both hands, and lifted with all his strength.
Every muscle in his body tightened.
Veins bulged across his arms and neck.
His face turned bright red.
The vehicle didn't move at all.
He let go and looked around desperately.
A few pedestrians were running past.
"Hey!"
Wu Fan rushed over and grabbed a middle-aged man by the collar.
"Help me!"
"Get off me! Those monsters are coming!" the man screamed while struggling.
Wu Fan punched him square in the face, stunning him instantly.
Then he grabbed another young man trying to flee and dragged him back.
"Lift together!"
Three people. Six hands.
All gripping the police car's chassis.
"One, two, three—push!"
Pain tore through Wu Fan's shoulders as he pushed with everything he had.
Creak—
The police car shifted slightly.
"Again!"
Creak... creak...
Finally, the tires rolled over the stacked bricks, and the vehicle slid partially back onto the road.
Wu Fan panted heavily, ignoring the trembling in his arms as he rushed to help Maddie.
"Can you stand?"
Maddie's face was pale, but she nodded weakly.
Wu Fan wrapped her arm around his shoulder and helped her up.
She couldn't put any weight on her left leg and had to hop on one foot.
After opening the passenger door and helping Maddie inside, Wu Fan hurried toward the driver's side.
Then—
"AHHH!"
Maddie screamed again.
Wu Fan yanked open the door.
Inside the back seat—
The handcuffed black man—
No.
The thing that had once been a black man—
Had its face pressed tightly against the partition window.
Its eyes had turned cloudy gray-white.
Black blood dripped from the corners of its mouth.
Its jaws stretched unnaturally wide, revealing jagged, broken teeth.
One arm reached through the partition opening, fingers gripping Maddie's blonde hair like iron claws and pulling her inward.
"Holy shit!"
Wu Fan cursed. "Let her go!"
The creature ignored him.
Its face pressed harder against the partition screen, skin bulging grotesquely through the metal grid as it desperately snapped its jaws toward Maddie.
It didn't care about anything except the flesh within reach.
Wu Fan pulled out his Glock and pressed the barrel against its forehead through the partition.
"LET HER GO!"
The creature's cloudy eyes rolled toward him.
But it only tightened its grip.
Tears welled up in Maddie's eyes from the pain.
Bang!
Wu Fan fired.
The bullet pierced the creature's shoulder, black blood splattering across the partition.
But the creature showed no reaction whatsoever.
It kept pulling Maddie's hair while lunging forward with its jaws.
Wu Fan's mind went blank.
Shot in the shoulder...
No reaction?
This wasn't human.
This was a Walker.
Everything that man had said earlier was true.
That was why everyone had been running in terror.
Why helicopters filled the sky.
Why armored vehicles rushed through the streets.
Why 911 had collapsed.
"Damn it... it really is a Walker?"
Wu Fan muttered in disbelief.
"Does that mean Atlanta isn't some parallel world... but actually the world of The Walking Dead?"
He remembered the TV series he once watched.
That hopeless world.
A world ruled by the living dead.
Bang!
The second shot rang out.
The Glock was pressed directly against the Walker's forehead as the bullet pierced its skull, exploding into a spray of black blood.
The Walker finally released Maddie's hair and collapsed lifelessly into the back seat.
Maddie fell trembling into Wu Fan's arms.
Part of her scalp had been torn open, blood running down her face, but she was alive.
Ding—
A crisp notification suddenly echoed inside Wu Fan's mind.
Not from his phone.
Not from the car.
But directly within his consciousness.
[Congratulations to the Host for killing the first Walker. Hive System activated.]
[Binding System... Binding complete.]
[Current Status: Hive Level 1 Locked]
[Main Mission: Reach the CDC in the outskirts of Atlanta to unlock the first level of the Hive.]
[Mission Hint: The CDC is located approximately 30 kilometers northeast of the city and may still be under military control. Immediate departure is recommended.]
Wu Fan froze.
Hive System?
He stared at the Glock still smoking in his hand, then at the Walker slumped in the back seat with half its skull blown apart.
A transmigrator's cheat ability?
In a world overrun by Walkers?
"Wu Fan..."
Maddie's weak voice pulled him back.
"What's wrong with you...? Hurry... those things are coming..."
Wu Fan looked up.
Through the shattered window, he saw countless figures staggering toward them from the far end of the street.
Not one or two.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
Their movements were stiff and unnatural.
Bloody mouths hung open as they shuffled forward.
In the distance, the sound of helicopters faded away, while the armored vehicles had already disappeared around the next block.
Atlanta had fallen.
Wu Fan took a deep breath, slid into the driver's seat, and started the engine.
"Put on your seatbelt," he said calmly, far calmer than he expected.
"W-Where are we going?" Maddie gasped in pain.
"The CDC."
Wu Fan slammed the steering wheel and drove onto the sidewalk to avoid the blocked intersection.
"There should still be medical equipment there."
He didn't tell her the truth.
But he had to go.
Because the voice had said—
Unlock the first level of the Hive.
And in this world of the living dead, any chance to become stronger was a chance to survive.
The battered police car roared northeastward.
Behind them, black smoke covered the skies of Atlanta while sunlight struggled through the haze, casting a dim, apocalyptic yellow glow over the dying city.