Chapter 68 – Transit Station
On the ground floor of the west building inside the prison, Merle stood in front of an iron door with an expression like he'd just seen a ghost.
The silver-gray door was embedded seamlessly into the concrete wall, almost impossible to notice unless someone looked closely.
A faded red-and-white Umbrella logo gleamed faintly in the dim corridor like a half-open eye.
"This place…"
Merle scratched his head and glanced back at the hidden doorway exposed by the explosion.
"There really is Umbrella Corporation stuff down here?"
He reached out and pushed the door, but it didn't move.
He pulled harder.
With a soft click, the lock disengaged and the heavy door slowly slid open.
A dark passageway stretched beyond it, cool air drifting out carrying the scent of concrete and metal.
Merle hesitated for two seconds before stepping inside.
Several soldiers followed behind him, rifles raised while their helmet lights swept wildly through the corridor.
The passage wasn't long.
After only a few dozen steps, everyone stopped dead in their tracks.
A massive circular chamber opened before them beneath a high domed ceiling.
Bright lights illuminated every corner of the hall, making the polished surfaces gleam.
Two railway tracks ran directly through the center.
One side disappeared into a pitch-black tunnel beyond the wall. The other stretched into another endless darkness far below ground.
A gigantic red-and-white Umbrella Corporation logo covered the far wall, extending from the dome all the way to the floor.
Merle stepped beside the tracks, staring down at the concrete sleepers before lifting his eyes toward the tunnels.
Then he muttered a curse under his breath.
Now he finally understood.
The boss hadn't chosen the prison randomly.
This place had belonged to Umbrella all along.
An underground transfer station.
A hidden railway.
A destination no one knew.
If they hadn't blasted open that concealed wall, he never would've discovered it in his entire life.
"Captain Merle," one soldier asked quietly, "where do these tracks lead?"
Merle shook his head.
After returning to the surface, he grabbed the high-powered radio from one of the soldiers and switched to Wu Fan's channel.
"Boss, we found it. There's a transfer station beneath the west building of the prison. Railway tracks, platform, Umbrella logos—the whole thing. Just like you guessed."
The radio remained silent for two seconds before Wu Fan's calm voice replied, sounding almost unsurprised.
"Understood. Secure the area and don't let anyone enter. I'll send people to handle it later."
Merle lowered the radio and glanced once more toward the dark tunnel entrance.
For the first time, he realized the Umbrella Corporation was far larger than he'd imagined.
On the third floor of the CDC, Wu Fan set down the radio and leaned back in his chair.
The transfer station entrance had been found.
The underground railway connected to the prison was now active.
Next, they needed guards and a permanent outpost built around it.
He had just picked up his pen when someone knocked on the office door.
Amy leaned halfway inside.
"Boss, Rick wants to see you."
"Send him in."
Rick entered with an unusually awkward expression.
Gone was his usual calm composure. Instead, he looked almost… embarrassed.
He stopped in front of the desk, uncertain where to place his hands, before finally pressing them stiffly against his pant legs.
Wu Fan looked at him silently, waiting.
"Boss…"
Rick cleared his throat.
"I want to transfer to the prison."
Wu Fan raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
As though afraid of being rejected, Rick hurried to explain.
"I know the base is short-handed, and I know you've got plans for me, but Lori…"
He paused, organizing his thoughts.
"She can't sleep at night anymore. Every time I go on a mission, she's terrified something will happen. The prison's different—it's a fixed location with walls, gates… it's safer than constantly traveling outside. I think…"
He stopped speaking.
Wu Fan already understood.
Lori had always been the source of instability. Sending her and Rick to the prison together might actually prevent future problems.
Otherwise, sooner or later, her fears would poison both Rick and Shane against the settlement.
Wu Fan opened a drawer, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and tossed one across the desk.
Rick caught it, slightly stunned.
Wu Fan lit his own cigarette, stood up, and walked toward the window.
"In my eyes, you've always been leadership material."
He exhaled smoke while looking down at the busy construction site below.
"You stay calm under pressure. You know how to lead people. You've got command experience. The prison needs someone like you."
Rick opened his mouth, surprised.
"Go," Wu Fan continued. "Take Lori with you. Didn't she say she's constantly worried whenever you leave the base? The prison's already been cleared and secured. Let her stay there."
He flicked ash from his cigarette.
"I'll have Amy bring Carl back here occasionally so he isn't isolated. You should come visit too."
Then he turned around and looked directly at Rick.
"Do a good job. Don't disappoint me."
Rick stood there dumbfounded.
He had prepared an entire speech on the way here—reasons, arguments, backup plans, even ways to negotiate if Wu Fan refused.
None of it was necessary.
Wu Fan had agreed immediately.
Rick stared blankly, forgetting to smoke the cigarette in his hand.
Wu Fan's lips twitched faintly.
"Surprised I agreed so quickly?"
Rick nodded honestly.
Wu Fan returned to his desk, sat down, and extinguished his cigarette.
"You don't owe me your life."
His tone was calm, almost casual.
"I brought you out of that hospital because you had value—not so you could spend the rest of your life exhausting yourself for me. You've got ability and ideas. You belong somewhere more important. I trust you with the prison."
Rick remained motionless.
The cigarette had already burned down to the filter, scorching his fingers before he snapped back to reality.
"Boss…"
His voice had grown hoarse.
"I won't let you down."
Wu Fan waved dismissively.
"Go tell Lori she can finally sleep peacefully."
Rick turned and walked out.
At the doorway, he paused and glanced back.
Wu Fan was already bent over the map again, pencil moving steadily across the paper as though nothing important had happened.
Rick stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
The hallway was quiet.
He stood there for a long moment before smiling to himself.
In his life, he had met all kinds of people—good men, hypocrites, liars, and opportunists.
Wu Fan was different.
The man never wasted words or made empty promises. Every decision he made felt practical, deliberate, and convincing.
Rick headed downstairs with far lighter steps than when he had arrived.
A knock sounded at the office door again.
Amy peeked inside, looking slightly uncertain.
"Boss, Carol wants to see you."
Wu Fan paused.
Carol?
The image of the timid woman who always kept her head lowered flashed through his mind.
After Ed had been executed, she had lived quietly with Sophia in a small house near the edge of the residential district.
On her registration form, she had listed her occupation as "housewife" and was later assigned to farm labor.
"Send her in."
When Carol entered the office, Wu Fan almost didn't recognize her.
Not because her appearance had changed, but because her entire demeanor felt different.
She wore a faded shirt, her hair tied neatly behind her head, and her back stood perfectly straight.
But her trembling hands betrayed her nervousness, fingers gripping tightly at the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.
"Sit."
Wu Fan gestured toward the chair.
Carol sat carefully on the edge of the seat, as though prepared to flee at any moment.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Boss… I want to go to the prison."
Wu Fan looked at her silently.
"Not as management," she hurriedly clarified. "As a soldier. I already signed up. I can learn to shoot. I can learn to fight. I can…"
Her voice gradually weakened.
Her head lowered further and further like a flower drooping beneath frost.
Wu Fan didn't interrupt.
He simply waited.
A long silence followed.
Carol stared at her knees.
She suddenly felt ridiculous.
A forty-year-old woman with a deadbeat ex-husband, whose only skills were sewing, cooking, and farming, sitting here asking to become a soldier.
She bit her lip, preparing to apologize and leave.
"Approved."
Carol's head snapped upward.
"I'll have Amy move Sophia into family housing for now and help look after her," Wu Fan said calmly, as though discussing ordinary logistics. "You'll still need to visit regularly. If too much time passes, your daughter might forget what her mother looks like."
Carol's eyes instantly reddened.
She opened her mouth to speak, but emotion blocked her throat.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks, landing on her knees one after another.
"Thank you… thank you, Boss…"
Her voice trembled uncontrollably.
Wu Fan pulled a tissue box from the drawer and slid it across the desk.
Carol took one and covered her face.
Her shoulders shook violently, though she tried hard not to make a sound.
The tears simply wouldn't stop.
She remembered spending long days bent over in the fields beneath the burning sun, hands blistered and bleeding while earning barely enough points to buy cheap bread and wheat.
Sophia once wanted meat.
Carol had saved points for three days just to exchange for a small can of luncheon meat.
Watching her daughter happily eat it with grease smeared all over her face had made Carol's chest ache.
The farms and livestock operations still hadn't produced enough food, so the settlement remained under rationing.
Then she remembered the day Ed had been expelled.
He had stood outside the gates screaming threats at the guards, swearing he'd return with men and burn the place down.
Sandra had walked over and shot him in the head without hesitation.
His skull burst apart like a smashed watermelon.
Carol had watched his corpse collapse onto the dirt.
She felt no grief.
Only relief.
As though a crushing weight she'd carried for years had finally disappeared.
From that moment onward, she understood she couldn't continue living the same way.
Farming.
Laundry.
Mending clothes.
That life would never protect Sophia.
She wanted her daughter fed, clothed, educated, and safe.
She needed more points.
A better future.
Carol wiped away her tears and stood up.
"Boss, I'll do my job well."
Her voice still shook slightly, but her eyes had changed.
The timid fear was gone.
In its place burned something Wu Fan recognized immediately.
Determination.
He had seen the same look in Merle's eyes, in Sandra's eyes, in the eyes of survivors who had clawed their way out of ruin and decided they would never run again.
"Report to Sandra," Wu Fan said. "She'll arrange your firearms training and combat instruction."
Carol nodded and turned toward the door.
At the entrance, she stopped and glanced back once more.
Wu Fan had already lowered his head, studying the map again.
Her lips moved slightly, but in the end she said nothing.
She quietly closed the door behind her.
The hallway outside remained silent.
Carol took a deep breath and touched the wrinkled registration form in her pocket, damp with sweat.
Carefully folding it again, she placed it back into her pocket and walked downstairs.
Her steps were light.
But steady.