Work in Atlanta had never stopped—not a single day had gone by where workers at this site had paused their labor, as they had little time to take, clean, and seal the city.
They had spent a long time here, and now the moment had come to gradually take control of Atlanta. The simplest and safest way to do this, without requiring much construction, was to transport shipping containers from the port to the base and slowly fill them with bags of soil once placed around the outskirts of the city.
With eight containers stacked in height and carefully positioned, they formed a very strong wall. Behind those containers, vertical containers were placed in the gaps to reinforce the structure and make it nearly impenetrable.
Once the containers were in place, a walkway was built so that the guards could monitor what was happening outside the wall without any issues. But that wasn't all Jason's community had done—multiple security perimeters were established long before anyone could even dream of reaching the container wall.
The city was cleared of cars, most of which were dismantled, while others were used to seal off specific zones. Only a few special routes, known exclusively by the S.C.T. community, remained open for movement. This not only provided the community with secure paths for vehicles to enter the city but also bought them time to see who was approaching the checkpoints.
The highways were sealed off, and multiple gates were built where soldiers guarded the checkpoints and prevented walkers from getting into the city. Taking the city piece by piece was a challenge—most buildings still hadn't been used, and thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of walkers had been incinerated to prevent infection.
Today, the most important half of Atlanta belonged to the S.C.T. community. In Georgia, Shane led efforts to take a vast amount of land, prioritizing the creation of weapons, vehicle modifications, and food production.
The food sent from the prison was not enough to feed thousands, so greenhouses were specifically built to ensure survival, even during the winter. Unused fruits were processed for preservation, so not a single gram of food went to waste.
There were amazing people everywhere, who contributed greatly to the community by refining areas that would have caused problems later. After some hesitation, exploration groups left signs in cities around Atlanta, and helicopters dropped flyers announcing there was a safe place in Atlanta.
Over time, the population in S.C.T. grew to more than sixteen thousand people, including forward operating bases and all installations under Jason's leadership. During that time, many people had to be killed, others arrested, and some punished publicly.
A strict system was enforced for second-rank officers, who very rarely abused their authority over rank ones. If they did, they were condemned accordingly. There were no prisons for detainees—they were either subjected to forced labor or sent directly to the labs as test subjects.
Vaccines had been distributed to all the bases, and it could now be said that no one would turn into a walker upon death. All of this was thanks to Candace, who managed to create a dominant pathogen capable of encapsulating the virus in the body at the moment of death, preventing it from spreading and turning the person into a walker once all motor functions ceased.
During that time, Candace and the lead scientists who had joined her to find a cure discovered that the infected with red eyes—those who could practically run—were humans carrying a virus called Rage. This virus was a mutated form of Ebola, created by a primate research center in New York. Its original purpose had been to develop an antidote to cure human rage.
According to the scientists in the community, it was initially believed to be a simple form of rabies. Consequently, they worked with the Ebola virus to try to eliminate rage from the human body. But when this virus was introduced into a test subject already carrying the Wildfire virus, it mutated unexpectedly, turning the walkers into a far more aggressive variant than any previously known virus.
Days after the virus was modified and introduced into the test subjects, no changes were observed, and the individuals were kept in isolation. Eventually, the Wildfire virus altered the Ebola strain, mutating it in a way that had the opposite effect—instead of neutralizing violence, it amplified it to extreme levels.
This explained why those walkers could run and were far more aggressive than regular ones. Jason's community classified them as runners, establishing new danger levels in their alert protocols.
But here's where things got interesting: the intelligent walker Jason had barely managed to kill was something entirely different, born from the mutation of the Wildfire virus. It had become a sentient walker, unlike anything they had seen before. When combined with the Ebola-based virus that turned walkers into runners, it gave rise to a new kind of walker—intelligent, strong, fast, and capable of surviving off non-living organisms.
This didn't mean its body wasn't decaying—it was still dead—but the decay was so slow that it could last for years without its abilities diminishing in the slightest.
However, one discovery alarmed everyone: saliva, a small scratch, swallowing its blood, or a bite could infect a human in seconds. This was witnessed during the transfer of civilians at the military base in Texas, where one person was infected and ended up killing Carlos.
With that knowledge in hand, the Arm-3J combat suits were upgraded to the Arm-4J model, which offered improved defense, camouflage, and mobility. It also assisted the user in several ways during battle.
The Arm-4J suit was more form-fitting, allowing greater movement and full-body protection. The gas mask was now integrated into the suit, creating a unified system that even reduced the overall weight. Firearms could now be attached directly to the body in a practical manner, making them easier to use.
Meanwhile, Richard developed a weapon—or rather, two—that were ideal for hand-to-hand combat against walkers. The first was a collapsible spear that could be carried on the back of the Arm-4J suit. Once in the user's hands, it extended in size, and the spearheads emerged via a button-activated mechanism.
From that point on, the large Arm-4J suits were designed to adapt users to an entirely new battlefield system. The second weapon was a sword, though not just any sword—it could even be considered a long knife, worn on the user's waist.
With these two weapons, a fascinating combat style was created, which many were learning. It consisted of a double-line formation, with long-knife users at the front and spear users behind. These warrior units were deployed solely to eliminate hordes of walkers, and thanks to their perfect formation, they could kill thousands without sustaining major losses.
Of course, this didn't apply to close-quarters combat. At that very moment, Shane stood in an open field where children aged five to fifteen were training with spears or knives. They stood in front of cardboard or recycled material dummies, aiming at the head or vulnerable spots like the knees.
"Switch!"
"Fua!"
"Switch!"
"Fua!"
The children, sweating under the intense training, followed the instructor's commands and changed movements every time he called out.
"We must protect these children with our lives..." Shane said with a blank stare. The people behind him listened silently, saying nothing.
"In one of my talks with Jason, he said something that stuck with me—'Let's protect the children now with all our strength, because one day they'll be the ones protecting us when we no longer can.'"
Shane turned to his men and said, "They'll enjoy the future we're building. Don't hesitate or do something stupid, or I'll personally kill you!"
"Captain Shane, some pirates attacked the hunting group. They're awaiting your judgment before proceeding," reported a soldier who had just arrived.
"You heard him—get to work!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shane headed toward the outer zone of Atlanta to deal with these individuals. Ever since Jason told him that killing wasn't always necessary when salvation was possible, he had slowly come to understand it—especially as his group's strength grew into one of the most powerful forces in the new world.
"You're always right, Jason…"