Kapitel 173: Elimination Operation, Part 5

Looking at the bloodied man, Dominic signaled two of his soldiers to enter and secure the weapons room immediately. Shortly after, the sound of a gunshot echoed from inside the room.

Bang!

"Clear, sir, there's no one else!"

"Very good. Close that door and communicate with the people outside to secure this place and make sure none of these survivors do anything stupid."

As he said this, Dominic looked at the man who was still on the ground and, after hesitating a bit, said, "Something tells me you prevented that door where the weapons are stored from being opened. May I ask why?"

The man covered in blood looked at Dominic, his eyes wide open, and said, "The cult is my enemy."

"Then why are you here?" Dominic asked again, interested.

"These people kidnapped me. Once the gunshots were heard outside, I managed to escape. I got to this room, saw a man panicking, and I attacked him."

Dominic nodded in understanding. It was a believable story, ignoring many aspects. This black-skinned man was somewhat muscular, had a fierce expression, and seemed to have been through a lot. "I'm Dominic. I'm looking for a man named Teddy, so it would be very helpful if you happened to know where he is."

The black-skinned man hesitated a bit and then, without much thought, said, "I'm Liam... I'll take you there since I know the way."

"Then I thank you. Now give me a few seconds while I clear up some misunderstandings among the crowd." Dominic then turned around and spoke to the crowd that had been gathered in a corner while being held at gunpoint.

"My name is Dominic, and I am the leader of those attacking you right now. I want you to know that I am not the villain in my story. Your people attacked one of my helicopters and ended up killing an important friend. Initially, I wasn't interested in attacking this place, and I can swear that to you.

With a loud voice, Dominic shouted to the crowd, "But then I found out that your leader wants to screw the world over with nuclear weapons. That's a damn bad decision, and I'm here because I don't want to die from radiation."

"I tried to negotiate with Teddy, but that bastard wouldn't say a single word. My people and I are slowly rebuilding civilization. We need civilized people who want to keep living. Maybe my people have killed your parents, your mothers, or your brothers.

Dominic looked at everyone and, with a cold voice, said, "I can swear to you that you will live as long as you don't hold any grudges against my people. No one is truly bad. We all want to survive. If you want to live, you will work fairly for it, and together we will be unstoppable. But if you do something stupid, I will make sure someone else dies, and the living will suffer the consequences."

"Don't do anything foolish, and I promise none of you will die. We can still fight together and forget all that new-beginning crap. There is no such thing as a new beginning; the new beginning is in our hearts and wills. Ask yourselves if you want something like that."

"Sir, walkers!"

At that moment, dozens of walkers arrived. With indifferent eyes, Dominic just waved his hand and said, "Get rid of them. I want you to keep an eye on these survivors, and if they do something stupid, you can kill them without any problem."

When Dominic said this, he signaled two people, and along with Liam, they headed directly to Teddy's office.

Just when the battle outside seemed to be losing intensity, Dominic's group climbed some stairs. Before turning down a hallway, Dominic made everyone stop. Once they were ready, Dominic and the others advanced with extreme caution.

Bang! Bang!

With two shots, both guards outside a room were eliminated. Their bodies fell to the ground, creating a dull thud. Seeing that there was no one else, the four of them continued moving and stopped outside the door of the room.

Dominic removed his rifle and handed it to one of the soldiers. After waiting a few seconds, he decided to lightly knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"It seems you're here. Why did it take you so long?"

An old voice came from the other side of the door. After signaling the people behind him, Dominic nodded and opened the door. With their weapons raised, two soldiers, followed by Liam and then Dominic, entered the room.

But the scene in this place was chaotic. There were two bodies lying on the carpet and an old man, who could only be described as Teddy, sitting on a sofa and calmly drinking tea.

"Your people have indeed caused quite a problem outside. Was it necessary to kill them all?" asked the old man while looking at Dominic without any fear.

"We're just surviving. They would have killed us if not for this. But you and I know who caused all this commotion, don't we?" Dominic walked unperturbed to an empty armchair and sat down, carefully observing the old man.

"Ha, ha, ha, it seems we don't understand each other."

The man called Teddy by his people sighed and said, "What have you found outside of this place besides death and decay?"

Seeing where this conversation was heading, Dominic replied simply, "An opportunity."

"Is there really something as simple as that?" Teddy didn't expect this answer, so he said, "Everything is dead and not completely; do you understand? I was just trying to find a complete restart so that life could be reborn in the right direction. Is it so hard to understand?"

Dominic frowned, knowing how insane the person leading this cult had to be. Now he was slowly understanding his way of thinking. It's not so difficult to understand; Teddy seeks a final judgment to eliminate both the walkers and the people. But what good life can be born from that?

"There is a big difference between our organizations. I thought your cult was an organization in a different category. I could have killed all of you by sending just one combat helicopter, but I wanted to do it personally because life is important, and I was curious to see if there were good people in this place."

"I killed all your followers, Teddy. I will personally take charge of directing the future from now on. To achieve that, I need the key you have to open the briefcase on that table."

Teddy touched his beard and asked curiously, "Why do you need the key and the briefcase if the nuclear weapons won't be used?"

"Who knows if I might use them in the future? I plan to establish a new order, something different from the fragmented and shitty society we had. Difficult times create strong people, and I plan for my people to remain strong even after defeating the walkers."

"My name will be remembered even after my death. I don't just want to restore order in our country; I'm also looking to see the state of the entire world and if this is all we have left."

As he mentioned this, he stood up and walked towards the window. By this time, the bullets had already stopped, and Dominic's people were now bringing the survivors and those who surrendered to the center of the square.

"We've already won."