Chapter 52: Exchanging Armored Vehicles
Three Days After the Horde
It took three days after the zombie horde for the CDC to fully stabilize.
The gray-white tide on the highway had finally dispersed, leaving only scattered walkers that patrol teams cleaned up one by one.
But everyone understood clearly—this was not the end.
It was only the beginning.
Atlanta's massive walker migration meant the entire distribution pattern of the dead across Georgia was shifting.
Today they moved southwest.
Tomorrow they might turn east.
The day after, they might crash into your wall.
Construction Site
Jackie stood at the edge of the unfinished wall, her brow tightly furrowed.
The northern section had blocked the main force of the horde, but walkers pouring in through both flanks had nearly reached the barbed wire.
If another wave of this scale came again…
She didn't finish the thought.
"Amy! The boss is looking for you!"
Amy called from the main building.
Jackie adjusted her helmet and ran inside.
Third Floor Office
Wu Fan stood in front of a large map of Atlanta.
Red circles marked walker clusters.
Blue crosses marked cleared zones.
Green dots marked possible survivor locations.
He was thinking.
A new problem.
Jackie entered, slightly out of breath.
"You wanted me?"
Wu Fan motioned for her to sit.
"I'm more anxious about finishing the wall than you are," he said directly.
"But concrete is too slow."
He tapped the map.
"A smart person suggested using shipping containers as temporary walls."
Jackie's eyes lit up.
"That's viable. Containers can be stacked, welded, filled with gravel or soil, reinforced with steel plating—construction speed would increase tenfold."
She continued quickly, already visualizing it.
"They can also serve as patrol platforms and troop corridors."
Wu Fan nodded.
"After the concrete wall is finished, they can be converted into housing, warehouses, and guard posts. Nothing wasted."
Jackie immediately began planning logistics.
"Where can we get the most containers near Atlanta?"
Without hesitation, she replied:
"The intermodal rail freight station. Northern Atlanta. Tens of thousands of containers. Half an hour by road if it's clear."
"Elsewhere?"
"City logistics parks," she said. "But those are dangerous—tight spaces, walkers everywhere."
"And Savannah Port?"
Jackie shook her head.
"Too far. Over 400 kilometers. Fuel and risk aren't worth it."
Wu Fan made the decision instantly.
"Then the train station."
Half an hour away.
Same-day round trip.
Jackie stood.
"I'll prepare welding gear and reinforcement materials."
Personnel Selection
After she left, Wu Fan began assigning roles.
He called Amy.
"Check how many truck drivers we have."
After a pause:
"Five."
Enough.
Then he wrote the list:
Merle — long-range firepower and chaos control.
Rick — team leadership and stability.
Glenn — navigation and terrain knowledge.
Andrea — sniper training.
Daryl — scouting and survival.
Dylan and Kyle — close combat support.
Seven total.
Plus himself.
Eight in all.
Then another decision.
Sean stays.
He's unstable right now. The base also needs someone strong enough to hold order.
Sean was the only option.
Armored Vehicle Exchange
Wu Fan opened the system interface.
His eyes landed on military vehicles.
Stryker APC — fast, heavily armed.
BRDM-2 — lightweight reconnaissance, amphibious.
Heavy APC — expensive but powerful.
Tracked heavy machine gun vehicle — a mobile fortress.
He stared at it for a long time.
A monster like that would be unstoppable…
But who could drive it?
No one here.
And even if he learned, no backup operator existed.
Too risky.
He closed it off.
Finally:
[Exchange completed: 1 Stryker APC — 100 points]
[Exchange completed: 1 BRDM-2 — 100 points]
Two vehicles materialized on the Hive lift platform.
Departure
At dawn the next day.
Two armored vehicles stood under the rising sun.
The Stryker loomed like a steel beast.
The BRDM-2 looked smaller but sharper, like a hunting dog.
Merle circled the Stryker.
"Boss… are we moving house or going to war?"
"Both," Wu Fan said.
"Get in."
Eight people squeezed into the Stryker.
Five truck drivers entered the BRDM-2.
The convoy rolled out.
Highway Breakthrough
Abandoned cars blocked the road.
The Stryker didn't slow down.
It crushed through them like a steel rhino.
Merle laughed like a child.
"This thing is insane!"
Rick sat beside Wu Fan.
"With this, walkers won't be a problem at all."
"I'm not worried about walkers," Wu Fan replied.
"I'm worried about time."
Railway Freight Station
The station was massive.
Tracks stretched like veins across the ground.
Containers stacked like mountains.
Glenn scanned ahead.
"Few walkers nearby… but over there—"
He pointed.
A cluster of over a hundred walkers circled an overturned freight car.
"Clear them quietly," Wu Fan ordered.
Merle climbed onto the turret.
Suppressor shots cracked softly.
Heads dropped one by one.
Rick, Dylan, and Kyle rushed in with blades.
Efficient. Clean.
Discovery
While loading containers, Glenn suddenly returned, tense.
"Boss… there's something here."
"What?"
"People. Alive. Behind the containers."
Wu Fan followed him.
Behind stacked metal boxes—
Seven or eight survivors.
Dirty clothes.
Makeshift weapons.
A woman shielding children.
The leader, a bearded man, stared cautiously.
"Military?"
"No."
Wu Fan replied.
"Umbrella Corporation."
Confusion spread.
They had never heard of it.
Wu Fan didn't waste time.
"We're taking containers. Anyone who can drive trucks can join us."
"You'll get food, shelter, protection."
"But you work. You follow rules."
"If you don't, you leave."
The woman immediately stepped forward.
"Really? You'll take us?"
"Yes."
Within seconds, she ran toward the armored vehicle with her children.
The rest followed.
Survival required no persuasion.
Only opportunity.
The last man approached Wu Fan.
"I drive trucks," he whispered.
"My friend too."
Wu Fan nodded.
"Load containers. Follow the convoy back."
The freight yard began moving again.
Steel containers were lifted.
Chains clanked.
The apocalypse, for a moment, felt like logistics instead of chaos.