The next morning, as Jason had promised, he gathered Abraham's group to discuss the issue that had been troubling them ever since they arrived at the central base.
After some negotiation, Eugene finally couldn't withstand the pressure anymore and told the truth.
Abraham was naturally furious, but he couldn't land a third blow on Eugene because Jason stopped him.
Enraged after losing everything he thought was real, Abraham struggled against Jason, who only wanted to restrain him, and after several clever maneuvers, he eventually fell to the ground, exhausted.
Abraham was a strong man, and the fight had used up all his physical strength, giving Jason an initial disadvantage. Even with his incredible power, Abraham still managed to land a punch on Jason's cheek, though Jason only defended himself.
Amy was furious and about to shoot the man, but Jason stopped the commotion, shook his head, and told all the guards to lower their weapons.
After some persuasion from the group, Abraham could only make a few grunting noises out of sheer anger. But upon further thought, he realized the place they were in had an advanced laboratory, and the virus vaccine he had been injected with wasn't fake. Those facts gave him hope, and unlike in the original story, Abraham wasn't completely lost.
Just when Negan and the others were ready to leave, Abraham—armed and resolute—stood beside Jason.
"You're leaving too?"
"Yes. Since hope is gone, I can't stay here for free. And you're a good leader, so I'll follow you from now on."
"Then let's go."
...
The destination of this trip was Birmingham, where, according to reports from the base's checkpoints, there were supposedly survivors. The resources in Atlanta had already been secured by their people, so there wasn't much left to do in Georgia except produce supplies, defend, and train.
Therefore, after discussions among all the organization's leaders, it was decided that Birmingham would become their new expansion point and that a base would be established there.
However, since many roads were packed with abandoned cars, the group Jason led had to take several detours.
After hours of travel, they were getting closer and closer to their destination. If they could take Alabama this time, with Georgia already under their control, Florida would be within reach—and with it, access to the sea.
Jason's plan was to open large bases in each of those territories and gradually gather every useful resource, implementing the strategies he had been developing for a long time.
Birmingham was a fairly large city, and its resources could be vital to Jason's people. After all, it was believed there were no major communities ruling the area.
On their way, Jason and his people saw that many shops were still full and in better condition than they had expected.
Their goal this time was to locate survivors. This was the organization's first step in opening new territories. Once Jason gave the green light, helicopters would depart from Atlanta, sending hundreds of soldiers.
After that, the plan to clear the city of walkers would begin. For now, Jason's mission was purely observational—to determine whether the place was truly worth it.
A convoy of three armored vehicles stopped in front of a shopping mall. The soldiers stepped out, wearing far more advanced combat suits than the first prototypes, so everyone felt confident in what they were doing.
The group exited the vehicles and looked toward the mall's main entrance. Several corpses were scattered across the street, their flesh nearly rotted away. It was clear that ordinary people would quickly fall ill if they tried to live in such a decayed environment.
A few birds pecked at the corpses and, startled by the sound of the armored vehicles, flew off not too far away.
The once-bustling shopping mall now lay in ruin. However, the people who were already used to such scenes didn't pay it much attention. As soon as they got out of the vehicles, they scattered, clearing the walkers that had been drawn by the noise.
"We need to classify this area, identify what kinds of walkers are here, and assess the condition of the streets. When the main force arrives, we'll need a good spot to establish the primary base."
Holding his bat, Negan smashed the heads of several walkers one after another, then turned to look toward the mall entrance.
He was the most active of them all—after all, his wife needed medicine—and he was also the most grateful man in the group. So, he led Jason's people forward.
The sound of movement echoed through the silent mall. Once inside, they didn't rush to explore. The soldiers, equipped with combat suits, turned on the flashlights attached to their weapons and began to spread out.
"Don't split into groups of fewer than five people. The goal is to scout the area around this mall and see if it can be useful for our people to settle here."
"Sir, it's very quiet—no walkers in sight."
Jason looked around, uncertain whether this place would truly be useful for their future operations.
"Is anyone here? If not, we're going in."
When Jason arrived at what appeared to be an outdoor equipment store, one of his men shouted a warning and then opened the door.
Negan grinned, hefting his baseball bat beside Jason.
"The hospital isn't far from here. Honestly, that's a key location to keep in mind. This place could serve as a support point for expanding across the entire state."
"Yes, we should take it."
Negan gave them a strange look and asked, equally puzzled, "Have you already made a decision?"
"Do we need to?" Daryl suddenly interrupted.
"There are just over twenty of us, most of them elite soldiers, so clearing this place won't be a problem."
"I know—the problem is cleaning the crap off the walls," Negan said with a grin.
"We should mobilize at least a thousand people, and most of them should be soldiers…" Jason said as he continued observing the area.
Just when several people began to grow bored, there was finally some movement inside the mall.
A dark figure emerged from one of the stores. Peeking cautiously toward the entrance, he spotted several silhouettes in his line of sight. Startled, he whistled softly toward the shadowed corner of the wall.
"Hey, man, I just saw you. We don't mean any harm—but if you run, my big bat will crush your head like a ripe watermelon."
Negan's voice reached the figure hiding inside the store where Jason's group had stopped.
"What do you want?"
"My people are taking over this mall, so I need to know how many of you are here." Hearing Jason's tone change, the people inside began whispering among themselves.
"Alright, we'll open the door."
Click!
There was a sound of a lock turning, and soon a young man with slightly dark skin appeared before them.
Cautiously, he peeked his head out, and upon seeing the corpses on the ground, he quickly waved his hands in panic.
"Quick, come inside! The brain-eating zombies can see you!"
A group of eight people entered the store, while the others likely continued clearing the mall of walkers.
Turning to look at these strangers, the young man finally extended his hand toward Jason.
"Nice to meet you—I'm Logan!"
"Jason."
The two shook hands warmly, and Logan then greeted the others with a smile.
"Where are you from?"
"Atlanta. The army, which has now become an organization called S.C.T., led by my people. We came to assess the state of Birmingham and see if it's worth reclaiming."
They followed the young man inside until they stopped at the door of a restaurant. He opened it, and everyone went in after him.
"Are you the only one here?" Negan asked, gripping his bat tightly.