The Puma helicopter hovered over the office building.
The rotors kicked up a gale, blowing debris everywhere on the rooftop.
Rick and Shane hunched over, covering their faces with their hands, squinting as they watched the helicopter cabin door open.
A rope was thrown down.
A figure slid down the rope quickly—Glenn, with a high-power military walkie-talkie clipped to his waist.
After landing, he gave a thumbs-up to the helicopter.
The cabin door closed, and the Puma ascended to a higher altitude to hover.
Glenn ran up to Rick and handed him the walkie-talkie: "The Boss wants to talk to you."
Rick took the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button: "This is Rick."
Wu Fan's voice came through the walkie-talkie, mixed with a bit of static: "What's the situation?"
Rick took a deep breath and quickly organized his thoughts: "There's a nursing home here with thirty-seven people. Twenty-five of them are elderly with limited mobility, and the remaining twelve are their caregivers—family members and staff. They're all good people. I guarantee they aren't bad people."
There was silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie for a few seconds.
Rick waited nervously.
He knew this request was excessive.
The helicopter couldn't fit that many people, and ground evacuation was too dangerous.
Plus, adding so many elderly people to the base served no purpose and would only be a burden.
But looking at those elderly people in wheelchairs and those who refused to abandon them, he couldn't just turn a blind eye.
"A nursing home?"
Wu Fan's voice sounded again, carrying a hint of oddity.
Rick didn't know that in another timeline of The Walking Dead, Rick had indeed had an encounter with a nursing home.
Those kind elderly people, those ordinary people who refused to give up, were eventually wiped out by the Governor.
"I understand."
Wu Fan said: "There's a construction site on the outskirts of Atlanta where there should be several container trucks parked. Go find a vehicle and transfer the elderly onto it."
Rick's eyes lit up: "What about the Walkerss?"
"I'll lure them away."
Wu Fan's order came over the walkie-talkie: "Glenn, stay on the roof to provide support. Rick, Shane, hurry up. I'm only giving you one hour."
Rick looked up at the Puma in the sky.
It had already begun to climb and change direction.
"Understood."
He said.
The walkie-talkie cut off.
Rick turned around and looked at Shane and Glenn: "Let's go! We don't have time."
Inside the nursing home, people were in a state of chaos.
The loud explosions from earlier had terrified everyone.
The elderly were crowded in the hallway, some in wheelchairs, some using canes, and some supported by family members.
Their faces were full of terror, not knowing what had happened.
Guillermo—that middle-aged man, the actual person in charge of the nursing home—was standing at the door, shouting: "Don't panic! Don't panic!"
Rick and Shane rushed in, and he immediately went up to them: "What's the situation outside?"
Rick explained simply: "Someone is helping us lure the Walkerss away, and we need to find a vehicle to evacuate."
"A vehicle?"
Guillermo gave a bitter smile: "Where would we get a vehicle?"
"There's a construction site on the outskirts, there should be trucks there."
Rick said: "We need someone to go with us to get the trucks."
A young man stepped forward: "I'll go."
Guillermo looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Be careful."
The young man ran out.
Rick turned to the elderly: "Everyone, get ready. We'll be able to leave here soon."
The elderly looked at each other.
An old woman with white hair sitting in a wheelchair spoke tremulously: "Child, don't worry about us. We old folks can't move anymore."
The middle-aged woman next to her immediately said: "Mom, what are you saying!"
The old woman held her hand, her eyes turning red: "You young people have a chance to live. Taking us with you will only drag you down."
Another elderly person also spoke up: "That's right! Don't worry about us. Before the apocalypse broke out, we old folks had already burdened our children enough. Now, let us go quietly."
Several elderly people nodded one after another.
Rick was stunned.
During this time, he had heard descriptions from survivors about the ugliness of human nature in the apocalypse—killing each other for a piece of bread, betraying friends for a bottle of water, abandoning family for a glimmer of hope.
But he had never seen a scene like this.
These elderly people, when they clearly had a chance to live, voluntarily chose to give up.
Just so they wouldn't burden their children.
Guillermo knelt in front of the old woman, holding her hand, his voice choked with emotion: "Ma'am, what are you saying? How could we leave you behind?"
The old woman's daughter also knelt down, hugging her mother, tears streaming down her face: "Mom, stop talking. You raised me, and now it's my turn to take care of you."
Other family members also crowded around their elderly, some holding their hands, some hugging their shoulders, persuading them all at once.
"Dad, don't be like this, we'll leave together."
"Grandma, what will I do if you leave?"
"If you stay, I'm not leaving either."
Glenn stood at the door, watching this scene, his nose feeling a bit sore.
He walked over, cleared his throat, and tried to make his voice sound as stable as possible: "Everyone, don't worry. Our people have gone to find trucks, the container kind. They can fit everyone, elderly and children can all sit."
He paused and added: "Our Boss said, as long as you are willing, not a single person will be left behind."
The elderly looked up at him.
The old woman's tears flowed down, but this time, they were tears of gratitude.
"Okay... okay..."
She murmured: "We'll go, we'll go together..."
In the distance, the sound of explosions rang out again.
Over the city of Atlanta, the Puma helicopter hovered at a low altitude like a giant dragonfly.
Wu Fan operated the aircraft, his eyes fixed on the streets below.
Densely packed Walkerss were surging towards this side.
The missiles from earlier and the autocannon fire along several streets had already alarmed all the Walkerss in the entire East District.
They poured out of every alley, every broken door, and every ruin, converging into a gray torrent, chasing after the helicopter.
Not enough, still not enough.
Wu Fan pulled the control stick, and the helicopter flew towards the West District.
He pressed the launch button.
Whoosh—another missile trailed with exhaust flames, landing in a commercial district.
Boom! Flames shot into the sky, and dozens of Walkerss were blown away.
[Killed Walkers +10, Points +100]
[Killed Walkers +10, Points +100]
The points were still rising.
But Wu Fan had no mind to look at this.
He stared below, and the torrent of Walkerss began to turn, surging towards the new explosion point.
"Lure them a bit further."
He murmured.
The helicopter continued west.
He glanced at the dashboard.
Fuel was half left.
Ammo was enough for two more strafing runs.
That was enough.
On the streets of Atlanta.
Rick and Shane were sprinting on the rooftops.
They moved towards the edge of the city, building by building, along the wooden plank bridges they had set up earlier.
Each building they crossed brought them one step closer to their goal.
Behind them, the sound of explosions was getting further away.
Shane asked, panting: "Can he really lure them all away?"
Rick didn't look back: "If he says he can, he can."
Shane didn't ask anymore.
The two continued to sprint.
On the street below, there were also a few people running.
Those were the young people from the nursing home—sent by Guillermo. They were bold and ran directly along the street on the ground floor.
Anyway, most of the Walkerss had been lured away by the helicopter, and they could handle the few scattered ones left.
A young man ran through an alley, and just as he turned the corner, he ran head-on into a lone Walkers.
He reacted quickly, swung the baseball bat in his hand, and smashed it hard onto the thing's head.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The Walkers fell.
He panted, bypassed the corpse, and continued running.
Construction site on the outskirts.
A container truck was parked on the open ground, covered in dust.
Two young men rushed over, opened the door, and sat inside.
"Do you have the keys?"
"No, hot-wiring it."
One person skillfully dismantled the panel under the dashboard, revealing a mess of wires.
He found two, stripped the insulation, and touched them together.
Sparks flew.
The engine coughed twice, then roared to life.
"It worked!"
The truck started and drove towards the nursing home.
When Rick and Shane arrived at the construction site, Guillermo's people had already driven away.
Rick quickly found a van to start, and Shane, who was keeping watch nearby, heard the noise and quickly got into the vehicle.
Inside the nursing home, people were already prepared.
The elderly didn't have much luggage—a few clothes, some photos, and some small items they couldn't bear to throw away.
The young people pushed the wheelchairs one by one to the entrance, waiting for the truck to arrive.
The sound of an engine came from afar.
The white van and truck appeared at the street corner, getting closer and closer, and finally stopped at the nursing home entrance.
"Quick! Get on!"
The young people began to move the elderly.
Some were carried, some were on backs, and some were lifted onto the truck along with their wheelchairs.
The elderly didn't speak either, just clutching their luggage tightly, or holding their family members' hands tightly.
Glenn stood by the vehicle, counting the number of people.
Rick arrived in the van as well.
"Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three..."
The last elderly person was lifted onto the truck.
The doors closed.
The truck started and drove towards the edge of the city.
Behind them, the sound of explosions continued.
But it was getting further and further away.