The Walking Dead: A New Beginning From the End of the World

"What's wrong?" Jon broke into a cold sweat when he saw Edwin's horrified expression and couldn't help but ask what was happening.

"Speak now."

Panicked, Edwin grabbed Jason and ran in the direction they had come from, without properly explaining what was going on.

"Candace and the remaining investigators who were in the center when the infection broke out hid in the cold storage room. I couldn't draw the attention of all the infected—half of them turned back when I tried to distract them. Hurry, we need to save them!"

"Wait! There's nothing to worry about, everyone is safe right now."

Edwin, who was sweating profusely, stopped, and then an expression of relief appeared on his face. As other agents checked every corner of the facility, they walked toward the surviving investigators.

On the way, Jason grabbed the radio and contacted the others—they had to give the green light to the agents outside who were clearing the parking lot so they could enter.

When they arrived at the cold storage room, Candace was the first to see Edwin approaching and rushed to hug him. The others smiled as they watched the two and then stepped forward to embrace him one by one after they separated.

This touching scene had no effect on Jason, who was busy communicating with his agents. This time, more people had returned than were originally registered in the CDC, but at this point, it didn't matter.

By the end of the day, all his agents would enter the CDC, some of their family members would join them, and when the opportunity arose, the most essential resources would be relocated much closer to them.

"I'll take care of counting the weapons," said Tommy, who was swinging a massive axe. He nodded at the instructions he was given.

Seeing that everyone had finished their greetings, Jason asked Edwin directly, "Alright, tell me what happened here. Didn't I specifically instruct you not to open the door when we weren't here?"

"Their safety is crucial. They can't take that kind of risk unless someone is there to maintain security inside the center," Tommy said with a serious expression.

Edwin smiled wryly. Had his efforts not been enough to prove he could keep this place safe?

The sight of walkers devouring people had left a lingering fear in everyone. Those who had seen death pass before their eyes in mere seconds would definitely not take such a risk again.

That was the only advantage of having survived this catastrophe.

"It had nothing to do with Edwin—I was the one who opened the door," Candace cut into the conversation, expressing her apology to everyone.

"I'm really sorry. If it weren't for my mistake, this wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't have put our entire future at risk."

"No, no, you made a decision that we all agreed on. No one could have predicted this would happen."

After listening to Martha's explanation, Jason realized that a group of people had arrived at the CDC seeking help just as an army infantry unit was battling the walkers.

At that moment, Candace decided to take action and let them in.

What she didn't expect was that the entire group ended up in conflict long after the door was opened, and not everyone entered the center immediately.

The conflict seemed to arise from differing opinions within the group—some wanted to take control of the place, while others preferred to do nothing but wait.

The two factions began attacking each other. Those who wanted to take over the CDC were blocked outside and attacked by walkers.

Edwin and the others managed to close the main door, but many of those who had entered had already been killed, and others were severely wounded in areas where they had been bitten. The few unscathed individuals also became infected shortly after, once the dead started coming back to life.

Later, security footage revealed that many of the people outside had not moved. When they tried to check through another entrance away from the infected that had entered, both areas full of walkers became compromised, and chaos erupted.

Panicked, everyone fled to the cold storage room, the most isolated area where they could survive without being infected.

"People can be dangerous."

"No, this is entirely their fault, and some of the investigators who died here did so because of their decision to save others, which ultimately led to nothing." Jason was furious—where was these people's survival instinct? They had sacrificed everything for people who couldn't be saved.

Had Jason influenced that decision? He didn't know, but from now on, he would take responsibility for making the calls that could affect everyone's lives.

The entire group mourned what had happened as they reached the main hall. Just as they were about to start cleaning up the area, a noise came from outside.

A group immediately looked out the window, only to see a squadron of helicopters flying not far above the sky and a heavily armed force slowly approaching along the main road leading directly to the CDC.

"What are these troops here for?"

The investigators stood by the window, looking outside with excitement.

"It looks like the soldiers outside were just a reconnaissance squad. It seems the main force has arrived now."

As he observed, Jason realized what would happen next. He knew very well that these troops were here to establish a temporary base outside the CDC, assess the status of survivors, and secure the area.

As for what came next, there was likely a relevant transfer plan, but that temporary camp was eventually overrun by a massive wave of walkers.

Jason had been confused when he saw all the corpses and some of the soldiers' bodies outside the CDC. At first, he thought the soldiers had arrived much earlier, but he never imagined that they had arrived so soon after he reached the CDC.

Thinking about the future, Jason didn't dwell on it too much. Right now, his priority was to thoroughly inspect the place and ensure security inside the center.

Not long after, Tyler returned to the lab with a nurse, pushing an emergency bed at the same time. Rick was lying on the bed.

The others also brought in the bodies that would serve as experimental subjects. These subjects were properly restrained and moved to the laboratory.

A room was prepared, the nurse changed Rick's medication, and then she left.

The Jenners walked toward them, and Jason explained before they could even ask.

"This is a friend of mine. He was shot about half a month ago during a shootout with criminals. He's currently in a coma, and according to the nurse, he's showing no symptoms. I'll take care of him—there's nothing to worry about."

The Jenners exchanged glances. They didn't have much to say—after all, they themselves had put the center at risk not long ago, so they could only express their thoughts.

"Well, now that the CDC's rules and regulations are useless, I suppose this is good news for your friend. But he'll need a blood test…"

"No problem, you can do it as soon as possible."

A few hours later, Jason left the room, followed by the scientists, the Jenners.

"Alright, everyone, let's get some rest early today. You're all tired too. Go take a hot bath, rest, and we'll continue our research tomorrow."

After saying that, Candace dismissed all the staff who had been working on the cleanup.

Jason, during all this time, had been checking every corner of the CDC with his group, searching for any walkers that might have strayed. He couldn't sleep without going through every part of the place at least three times.

Although many people were exhausted at this point, they were still busy with their work, making them somewhat reluctant to leave. Many remained in front of microscopes, showing no intention of resting at all.

"That's enough for today. Listen to Candace and get some rest. This day has been full of strong emotions," Jason said with a slight smile, seeing how hard everyone was working to find new clues about the virus.

When he arrived at this place and explored it, he noticed that the research room had been moved from the upper floor to the underground level, and the electricity had been cut off on the upper floors, leaving only the lower areas powered.

Rick had also been transferred by Jason to an underground room.

So far, almost all of Jason's initial arrangements had been set up, and the next step was to wait for Rick to wake up.

Jason left Rick's room and walked toward the stairwell. At the stairwell door, he ran into the Jenners. The three of them reached a window on the first floor, gazing at Atlanta in the distance, where faint light flickered through the city's buildings.

Candace was the first to speak. She looked out the window and murmured, "Is this the end of the world?"

Edwin wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders, silently accompanying her.

Jason didn't think much about it and said, "I don't care if this is the end of the world. If it is, we will bring hope to it. As long as we are alive, we can rebuild."

Suddenly, massive bursts of flames erupted one after another in the distant city of Atlanta, instantly illuminating the once-dark sky.

The buildings in the distance became ghostly silhouettes against the backdrop of the flames and were gradually swallowed by the explosions. More fireballs appeared. The city exploded, soon turning into a sea of fire.

"Are they abandoning the remaining survivors? They're insane..."

Edwin's grip on Candace tightened unconsciously. Feeling her husband's unease, Candace reached out and took his hand.

Jason remained calm and spoke lightly. "We can't change the world, but we can change ourselves."

At that moment, the radio on his chest began emitting sounds.

"Zz... Jason, can you hear me? It's Shane. Have you seen it? Atlanta is finished! Now we have no way to reach a safe shelter."