The shipping container was dim and stuffy. An oil lamp sat on a metal box, its flickering flame casting the shadows of several people onto the uneven walls, twisting them like ghostly apparitions.
Merle crouched in front of the toolbox, picking out items one by one like a child selecting toys—a large wrench, pliers, and electric clips—and lined them up on the table.
He picked up a gasoline can, gave it a shake, and nodded with satisfaction upon feeling that it was half-full of water, then placed it at the corner of the table.
Crowley was tied to a chair, a white sock stuffed into his mouth, leaving him only able to make muffled groaning sounds.
His eyes were wide as saucers, darting between the wrench, the bucket of water, and the metal clips wired to electricity in Merle's hands, sweat rolling down his face in beads.
"This is my first time using this thing..."
He walked over to Crowley, crouched down, and looked him in the eye.
"Do you know what this is?"
Crowley shook his head frantically.
(The following interrogation content is too bloody and cruel; it is not recommended for young children to watch...)
The white sock at the corner of Crowley's mouth was soaked through with saliva.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Merle asked.
Crowley shook his head with muffled groans.
Merle sighed, stood up, picked up the large wrench, weighed it in his hand, and gestured toward Crowley's kneecap.
"If you don't talk, you can say goodbye to this leg."
"Hey—hey—Merle!"
Daryl walked out from the corner and grabbed Merle's wrist.
He looked at the large wrench, then at the white sock stuffed tightly into Crowley's mouth, and rolled his eyes.
"Are you serious? You motherfucker, how is he supposed to talk if you don't even take the sock out of his mouth?"
Merle paused, looked down at the sock in Crowley's mouth, then back at the wrench in his hand, and realized his mistake.
"Oh..." He tossed the wrench back onto the table. "Forgot."
He reached out and pulled the sock out of Crowley's mouth.
Crowley gasped for air, tears and snot streaming down his face, his voice raspy and unrecognizable. "Mama mia—"
"Shut up!" Merle slapped him across the face. "If you scream again, I'll hit you again. Wait until you learn to behave before you talk."
Crowley bit his lip, forcing his sobs back. Tears were still streaming and his body was still shaking, but he didn't dare make a sound.
Merle pulled over a chair, sat down opposite him, and crossed his legs.
"Which faction are you with?"
Crowley's lips trembled. "I, I'm just a drifter from nearby... I didn't mean to provoke you..."
Merle stood up and kicked the chair he was sitting on.
Crowley fell to the ground, chair and all. Before he could even cry out in pain, Merle was already crouching down, covering his face with a sheet of white paper.
He tilted the gasoline can, pouring a stream of water onto the paper. It soaked through, sticking tightly to Crowley's nose and mouth.
Crowley struggled violently, the chair legs banging loudly against the floor. With his hands tied behind his back, there was nothing he could do.
Water rushed into his nasal cavity and choked his throat. He felt like he was being buried alive underwater; his lungs felt like they were about to explode, and his mind went blank.
Merle pulled the chair up and ripped the soaked paper off his face.
Like a fish pulled onto the shore, Crowley gasped for air, his face smeared with saliva, tears, and snot, his coughing echoing through the shipping container.
"I'll talk—I'll talk—" he cried out. "I'll tell you everything!"
Merle straightened the chair, sat back down, pulled a pack of Bailong cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and lit it.
"Don't bother, I haven't had my fun yet."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke and squinted at the row of tools on the table. "The wrench didn't work, the pliers didn't work, and we've only just begun."
Crowley shook his head frantically, his voice shrill and distorted. "Woodbury! I'm from Woodbury! Our leader is called the Governor—he sent us! Caesar Martinez told me to track you and find your base! I've told you everything! Everything!"
Merle took a drag of his cigarette and said nothing.
Crowley slumped in the chair, drenched as if he had been fished out of water, curled into a ball, his lips trembling as he kept repeating, "Told you everything... told you everything..."
Daryl leaned against the container wall with his arms crossed, watching the state Crowley was in, then looked at Merle. Merle flicked the ash from his cigarette, stood up, and picked up the oil lamp from the table.
"Where is Woodbury?"
"South of Atlanta... about forty-five miles... it's a closed-off town..."
Merle nodded and walked out of the shipping container carrying the oil lamp.
Daryl followed behind, glancing back at Crowley.
He was slumped in the chair, his eyes unfocused, still muttering something that couldn't be heard.
Daryl closed the door and caught up.
"Do you think—" He walked beside Merle and lowered his voice. "—that Governor will come looking for trouble?"
Merle didn't answer, but simply quickened his pace.
In the third-floor office, Wu Fan finished reading the handwritten intelligence report and placed it on the table.
Woodbury, forty-five miles south of Atlanta, a closed-off town, over seventy armed personnel, the leader is called the "Governor."
He leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.
The Governor.
He hadn't expected that he hadn't even provoked the man yet, and already he was coming to probe his defenses.
Wu Fan was silent for a moment, then said to Merle and Daryl, "Understood. You two go ahead and head down."
After the door closed, he opened the system panel.
The Hive's fourth floor, Advanced Virus Laboratory, requires 20,000 points to unlock.
A golden lock icon shimmered on the screen.
He stared at the icon for a long time, then asked, "Red Queen, after the fourth floor is unlocked, are there any t-virus samples inside?"
The calm voice of the Red Queen came from the ceiling speakers: "No. t-virus samples must be purchased from the SS-level authority system shop."
"Then what is inside the fourth floor?"
"An empty advanced virus laboratory, containing equipment such as P4 biosafety cabinets, fully automated gene analyzers, high-resolution electron microscopes, and virus cultivation systems, but no biological samples."
Wu Fan was silent for a few seconds, opened the system shop, and scrolled to the very bottom.
C-level, B-level, A-level, S-level, SS-level, SSS-level—the last two levels were all greyed-out locks, and the icons couldn't even be seen clearly.
He tapped the SSS-level icon, and a line of text popped up: Insufficient authority. Please unlock the corresponding floor of the Hive first.
He took a deep breath.
In other words, spending 20,000 points to unlock the fourth floor, and there's nothing inside—just an empty laboratory?
Just to raise the authority level so he could unlock the things that followed?
He closed the panel, stood up, and walked to the window.
It was very dark outside; only the searchlights on the surrounding walls were still slowly rotating.
The distant container yard was pitch black; nothing could be seen.
He lit a cigarette. 20,000 points.
Rick and Glenn had pulled off a big job yesterday, and their points had surged, but 20,000 was still painful to spend.
Spending it just to buy "upgrade experience"? Wu Fan flicked the ash off his cigarette, reopened the panel, and stared at the golden lock on the fourth floor.
"Red Queen, after unlocking the fourth floor, can I unlock the SSS-level shop?"
"No. After unlocking the fourth floor, the authority level will be raised to SS-level, and the SS-level shop will be opened."
What a rip-off. To unlock the SSS-level shop purchasing authority, wouldn't that mean needing to unlock up to the seventh floor or higher?
Wu Fan's fingers, holding the cigarette, froze.
He was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many points does it cost to buy things in the SS-level shop?"
"The prices of items in the SS-level shop range from 5,000 points to 50,000 points."
So expensive!
Even more expensive than those weapons and helicopters!
Wu Fan looked out the window, took the last drag of his cigarette, and stubbed it out on the windowsill.
"Unlock the fourth floor," he said.
[The Hive's fourth floor, Advanced Virus Laboratory, has been unlocked. 20,000 points consumed. Current remaining points: 18,760.]
[Authority level raised: SS-level.]
[SS-level shop is now open.]
Wu Fan reopened the system panel. The icon for the fourth floor was lit, and a new tab had appeared next to it: SS-level shop.
On it:
[t-virus X1, 5,000 points to redeem]
[t-virus serum X1, 7,000 points to redeem]
[Universal Virus Serum X1, 10,000 points]
[Hemostatic Healing Spray X1, 5,000 points]
...
Wu Fan stared intently at the Universal Virus Serum.
~~~~~~
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