In the two days following Jimmy's funeral, the students who had been taken in by the group began making decisions about whether to stay or leave. Of course, they really only had one option, but that was something Jason didn't tell them.
But this was not surprising; otherwise, how could he secure his territory from enemy hands? Due to the recent experiences of both new and old members of the community, everyone began to look favorably upon whatever had to be done to keep this place safe.
Because of Richard's injuries, everyone fully believed the words Jason had spoken that day and began mentally preparing for any situation.
After the majority of the students almost immediately agreed to join them, Nara started interacting with many people in the prison. Everyone had different views on the future, but when it came to Jason, no one had anything bad to say about him. They all expressed their gratitude for the help he and his people had provided in their time of need.
During that time, Nara thought these were just the opinions of the older members of the community. But as more and more people came into contact with her, it became clear that none of them were lying.
Through word of mouth, Nara's understanding of this mysterious community leader gradually filled in the doubts in her mind. According to what she had heard, he was a retired soldier who worked at the CDC before the virus outbreak. He had extensive knowledge of many things, and some even said he was prepared to face any situation.
There was a lot of information that people could talk about endlessly. Some even compared Jason to a unique leader for the future of humanity—something she found absurd.
Nara also believed that Jason had a habit of doing whatever it took to achieve his goals, which genuinely terrified her. She wanted to be sure it was safe to stay here and that Jason was not just a seemingly good leader hiding something sinister in the shadows. If he had truly taken care of all these people, then everything else was insignificant.
However, there was one thing Nara didn't know: Jason had ears all over the prison. Nothing could happen without him finding out, and within the first few hours, even Sam Valdez had volunteered to get rid of this troublesome young woman.
Jason seriously considered it. He wasn't entirely sure what this woman was trying to do, nor did he particularly care. Was she just making sure this place was safe? At first glance, she seemed like nothing more than a nosy and foolish girl, but she could be useful in many ways.
Taking all these factors into account, Jason decided to play along and let Nara work for the community. She was very intelligent and observant, and with the right training, she could become a highly lethal asset.
Finally, Nara approached Jason and formally requested to join his group.
Jason agreed. Knowing all the little games this girl had played proved that she was very careful and intelligent. Under Shane's watchful eye, he observed each student one by one and confirmed that they were good people.
On the first day that Nara officially joined the community, she was given a task right away. It was simple: familiarize herself with a polygraph device and use it to formulate a plan for screening new arrivals. The only requirement was to conduct the most thorough evaluation possible—analyzing their mindset, behavior, personality, and whether they posed a danger or benefit to the group.
Nara, who received this job, began preparing and studying in depth how to use a polygraph. Overall, she was quite satisfied with the task.
Meanwhile, Jason, occupied with important matters, began executing the biggest and most ambitious plan he had come up with since realizing he was in a world overrun by the undead.
The 200-Day Plan!
As the name suggests, it was crucial to carry out a major transformation of the prison in a maximum of 200 days and a minimum of 150.
But before that, the hierarchy within the community needed to be established. Jason wanted to create a much more sophisticated group—a community on another level. Power and authority would be clear and simple for everyone, and if he intended to expand his influence to other parts of the country, he needed order.
This order was divided into three levels, three ranks, each with increasing authority.
The first rank consisted of regular people—those who worked in the kitchen, carpentry, maintenance, and other jobs that contributed to the community's development.
First-rank members had no access to storage areas, weapons, laboratories, the infirmary, or any internal community information. The restricted areas at level one were designed to maintain security and prevent unauthorized access to crucial locations.
Next came the second rank—those with two levels of authority. These were the guards, scouts, and attack units of the S.C.T.. Rank-two members had access to weapons, storage areas, and more important information.
Rank two could only be granted to individuals who were former military personnel, police officers, or firefighters, and they were explicitly tasked with maintaining protection and order within the community.
Following rank two was rank three. These were the leaders of different areas within the prison, responsible for ensuring that everything ran smoothly. To achieve rank three, one had to gain approval from both the community leader and all small group leaders.
Level-three leaders had the power to issue orders, make announcements, and lead important discussions. This rank represented one of the highest levels of authority, and their commands could not be ignored by ranks one and two.
Lastly, but most importantly, was the community leader. The leader was the ultimate authority within the group and had the final say on major decisions affecting the development and future of everyone.
This structure ensured that newcomers couldn't wander freely around the prison and that restrictions were placed on new members. This system gave Jason peace of mind, knowing that if he ever had to leave the prison, he wouldn't have to worry about authority being compromised.
Ranks would be displayed on a bandana that every member of the community had to wear on their shoulder or another visible part of their body.
If someone failed to wear their bandana, they would be immediately detained. If they resisted, they would be subdued with whatever force was necessary. However, there was a secret that only rank threes knew—each of them would receive a small tattoo on their wrist to ensure that their authority could never be challenged.
Only rank threes and a select few undercover rank-two members, under Jason's direct orders, could request to verify the tattoo—solely for identification purposes.
Once the hierarchy was clearly established, everything else would quickly move forward under Jason's next plans: the complete transformation of the prison.
The scope of this renovation was vast. It included the construction of laboratories, large walls surrounding the prison, additional watchtowers—fully armed—renovations to housing areas, power systems, water systems, agriculture, and livestock breeding.
At the same time, with the newly established chain of command, many scouting operations would be conducted around the area near the prison. The first objective was to recruit new survivors. The second was to gather all kinds of supplies—food, firearms, ammunition, construction materials, and any other useful resources.
Jason was fully focused on these plans. Aside from the few carpenters and construction workers in the community, he was responsible for sharing all collected information through books, with the fundamental goal of ensuring that everyone completed their training tasks.
As for the plan to rebuild the entire infrastructure, the first step was constructing the laboratory. Ensuring a stable power supply for the entire prison was critical. With this in mind, Jason had acquired energy storage devices, equipped with photovoltaic generators—or in simpler terms, solar panels—and had even secured the possibility of generating wind power.
Regarding the wall, Jason thought a lot. Given the destructive power of a piercing projectile, no matter how thick a wall might be, it wouldn't help defend against an explosion.
He couldn't make the walls too powerful; weapons and equipment were the same for everyone around the world.
Considering all this, he decided not to overthink it. As long as the walls could defend against ordinary bullets and explosions, they would be a great help to everyone. Therefore, the structure would be built this way: eight meters high and about three meters thick, with the most critical areas reinforced by a steel layer in the center.
Behind these walls, armed towers would be placed at every corner of the perimeter, alongside the already existing watchtowers. Once the required weaponry was installed, the entire base would be fully protected by a formidable firepower network.
After designing the security facilities with the help of an architect from the community, Jason also outlined the interior areas, such as dormitories and storage rooms. The cells, for instance, were too dark and somewhat damp; many rooms had no lighting, so power installation needed to begin as soon as possible.
The interior needed to be painted. Painting the originally dark walls white would also help improve illumination.
There was also the issue of a reliable water source. To solve this problem, several experts suggested digging a well in the courtyard. Although there was an external water source that made resource collection convenient, the quality of river water wasn't guaranteed. Therefore, it was better to create a well. This way, the water quality would be superior to the external source due to the natural filtration effect of the soil.
With the entire layout on the table, the land was distributed more efficiently, and areas for crops and livestock farming were designated. Crops were the easy part—Jason had prepared well with high-quality seeds and materials. As for livestock, it would be necessary to gather animals from different places.
Jason planned to clear an area outside the prison to expand the territory used for growing food. He would remove one of the fence lines around the prison and enclose the farming area to keep it protected. With this setup, even if a walker approached, it could easily be taken down from the fence.
After finishing everything, Jason gathered a stack of papers and called a group of people in charge for a meeting with the architect.