Chapter 67 – Transit Railway
Wu Fan had been staring at a button on the system panel for quite some time.
"Switch Region Mode."
He had never noticed the option before. It sat at the bottom of the interface, gray and semi-transparent, like a dusty glass bead hidden in plain sight.
Today, however, for reasons he couldn't explain, he clicked it.
The panel rippled like water.
As the waves settled, a map slowly emerged.
A map of the entire state of Georgia.
Two glowing points stood out clearly on the screen.
One green dot blinked steadily over the CDC.
Roughly seventy to eighty miles south, another point flickered faintly.
Gray.
Half-lit, half-dark, like a bulb waiting to be powered on.
Beside it was a line of small text:
West Georgia Correctional Facility Transit Station — Not Activated
Wu Fan's breathing paused for a second.
He zoomed in.
The map sharpened immediately.
The prison's layout became crystal clear—the walls, the buildings, even the arrangement of the cell blocks.
On the western side of the prison, where a concrete wall should have stood, there was an entrance marker identical to the one beneath the CDC Hive.
Wu Fan tapped the icon.
A notification window appeared.
Would you like to spend 1,000 points to unlock the West Georgia Correctional Facility Transit Station?
After unlocking, the station will connect to the Hive Metro network, enabling the transportation of personnel and supplies.
Note: This station is a secondary transfer station and does not possess independent Hive functionality.
Wu Fan leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.
A subway system.
He had always assumed the underground rail tracks beneath the Hive were merely decorative—something the system used to justify where supplies came from.
Now it seemed they had an actual purpose.
Smoke drifted slowly through the office as he stared at the screen.
In other words, for only one thousand points, he could establish a direct underground transport line between the CDC and the prison.
He zoomed farther out.
Several gray dots surrounded Atlanta.
Farther away, more appeared.
One in Virginia.
Two in California.
Another in Nevada.
Each was labeled either Transfer Station or Hive Branch, and the unlock costs ranged anywhere from one thousand to one hundred thousand points.
Wu Fan closed the map and returned to the main interface.
Current Points: 12,000
He stared at the number for three seconds before pressing:
Confirm Construction
West Georgia Correctional Facility Transit Station — Under Construction…
Construction Complete
1,000 points consumed
Remaining Points: 11,000
Hive Metro Network Expanded
New Station Added: West Georgia Correctional Facility Prison (Secondary Transfer Station)
On the western side of the prison stood a damaged brick wall partially destroyed during the earlier assault.
Broken bricks littered the ground, while rust-covered steel bars protruded from the cracked concrete.
Under the cover of night, the ruins began to move.
The collapsed debris shifted aside as though some hidden mechanism had awakened beneath it.
An underground passage slowly revealed itself.
It looked almost as if the destroyed wall had accidentally exposed a secret tunnel buried beneath the prison.
The entire process lasted less than a minute.
At the bottom of the passage sat a monorail freight transfer station.
A silver-gray metal door emerged from the darkness, the familiar red-and-white Umbrella emblem embedded into its surface.
With a soft mechanical hiss, the door slid open.
Stairs descended into the illuminated station below.
At the end of the stairway, the lights flickered on one by one.
The next morning, Wu Fan stood by the third-floor window holding a cup of coffee.
Downstairs, a crowd had gathered around the public notice board.
Amy had posted the announcement the previous night.
The message was simple and direct:
Recruiting Prison Branch Managers
Requirements:
– Management experience
– Ability to make independent decisions
– Leadership capability
Interested applicants should contact Amy.
Wu Fan watched the people reading the notice while taking a slow sip of coffee.
The prison needed someone capable of holding it together.
Not another fighter like Merle.
Someone reliable.
Someone capable of building something stable.
Compared to the CDC, the prison was simpler. There were fewer civilians to protect and fewer researchers to manage.
But it was also closer to Woodbury.
Closer to danger.
Closer to the roaming walker hordes outside the city.
Whoever took charge needed to be decisive—but not reckless.
Ruthless—but not cruel for cruelty's sake.
Several names crossed Wu Fan's mind.
One by one, he rejected them.
In the end, he decided to let people volunteer themselves.
Lori stood in front of the notice board, silently rereading the same lines over and over.
She had just picked Carl up from school, but the moment they returned, the boy had run off to play with his classmates.
Now she stood alone before the notice.
Prison Branch Management.
Her thoughts immediately drifted toward Rick.
If Rick took over the prison…
He wouldn't need to constantly lead scavenging missions anymore.
He wouldn't need to search dangerous ruins or fight strangers on abandoned highways.
And every time he left, she wouldn't have to lie awake wondering whether he would ever return.
The prison had walls.
Gates.
A permanent base.
It was far safer than wandering outside.
Lori unconsciously tightened her grip on Carl's backpack strap until her knuckles turned pale.
"Mom?"
Carl had somehow wandered back without her noticing.
He looked up at her curiously.
"What's wrong?"
Lori lowered her head and forced a gentle smile.
"Nothing. Let's go home."
She took Carl's hand and started walking away.
But after only a few steps, she looked back at the notice once more.
On the opposite side of the board stood Carol.
Lori hadn't noticed her earlier.
Carol remained there even longer, carefully memorizing every word.
That evening, Lori cooked Rick's favorite stew.
She had traded for a piece of frozen meat at the market and simmered it slowly for two full hours until the meat practically melted under a spoon.
Carl ate enthusiastically, cheeks puffed full of food.
Rick finished two bowls.
Lori barely touched her own meal.
"Rick…"
As she served him a third bowl, she spoke softly.
"Let's move to the prison."
Rick paused.
"What?"
"I saw the notice. You could manage the prison instead of constantly running missions."
Rick slowly set down his bowl and looked at her.
This time, Lori didn't avoid his gaze.
"I can't sleep peacefully when you're out there every day," she admitted quietly. "The prison has walls, gates, and a permanent base. It's safer."
With his mouth still full, Carl asked vaguely:
"Where's Dad going?"
"Eat your food," Lori replied, placing another piece of meat into his bowl.
Rick remained silent for a long time.
Eventually, he picked up the third bowl and began eating again—slowly this time.
"I'll go take a look," he finally said.
Lori's eyes brightened instantly.
Rick lowered his head and continued eating without meeting her eyes again.
He still didn't know whether he truly wanted the position.
But he knew one thing.
He couldn't refuse the look she had just given him.
When Carol returned to her small room later that night, Sophia was already asleep.
Carol sat beside the bed for a long time, quietly watching her daughter's peaceful face.
Eventually, she stood and walked to the old table in the corner where the paint had already begun peeling away.
From the drawer, she pulled out a wrinkled registration form.
It was the form she had filled out when she first arrived at the base.
She unfolded it carefully and stared at the line labeled:
Occupation: Housewife
After a long silence, she picked up a pen.
Then slowly added several more words beneath it.
Capable of combat.
Carol stared at the sentence for a very long time.
Then she folded the paper neatly and placed it into her pocket.
Tomorrow, she would go see Amy.
No.
She would go see Wu Fan personally.
She wanted to place that form directly in front of him and tell him:
She wasn't only capable of sewing, cooking, or growing vegetables.
She could learn to shoot.
She could fight.
And she could do anything a man could do.