“If anything goes wrong at the farm, come find us at the CDC,” Rick said as he reached out and shook Magnus Vane’s hand.
His expression was serious, and it was obvious he still wasn’t completely comfortable with the group splitting up.
Magnus returned the handshake with a faint smile.
“Same goes for you.”
Magnus already knew there was a good chance Rick’s group would need help again sooner or later, but he had no intention of stopping them from going to the CDC.
Rick had only recently reunited with Lori and Carl, while most of the others still needed time to understand what kind of world they were living in.
Some lessons couldn’t simply be explained to people who still hoped civilization might be restored tomorrow.
They had to experience those lessons themselves.
After a few final words, the vehicles began leaving the quarry one after another.
Rick’s convoy headed toward Atlanta and the CDC, while the Morales family left on their own route toward Birmingham.
Dust hung in the air after the last vehicles disappeared down the road.
Magnus turned toward Andrea’s SUV, climbed into the passenger seat, and gave Daryl and Merle a thumbs-up.
The two Dixon brothers started their motorcycles.
With Magnus, Andrea, Amy, Daryl, and Merle split between three vehicles, the small group headed south toward the farm.
By the time darkness settled across the countryside, visibility had dropped enough to make continuing dangerous.
The headlights only illuminated a narrow stretch of road ahead, while everything beyond them disappeared into solid blackness.
Daryl and Merle eventually pulled their motorcycles to the side and cut the engines.
Daryl walked over to Andrea’s vehicle and leaned toward Magnus’s window.
“Can’t see a damn thing out there.
We keep riding like this, somebody’s gonna hit a wreck or drive straight into a ditch.”
Magnus looked toward the surrounding trees and nodded.
“We stop here.
You and Merle get inside for the night.
Everybody keeps the doors locked and the windows up, and nobody wanders around until sunrise.” There was no reason to risk traveling through unfamiliar rural roads when they were already close to the farm.
The group parked together, shut off the engines, and settled inside the SUV as best they could.
Once everyone was inside, Magnus reached into his gear as though searching through the bags.
In reality, he opened the system inventory and removed several supplies he had collected in Atlanta before finding Merle.
Canned food, crackers, and bottled water appeared among their belongings without attracting much attention.
It wasn’t a feast, but after everything they had been through, nobody complained about eating until they were full.
Merle and Daryl tore through their food as though they hadn’t eaten in days.
Andrea and Amy were considerably slower, taking small bites while the brothers practically inhaled theirs.
Amy occasionally glanced toward Magnus before returning to her meal, while Andrea seemed distracted by something else entirely.
Eventually she lowered the cracker in her hand and looked at him.
“So what exactly happens when we reach this farm?”
Everyone’s attention shifted toward Magnus.
Merle gave a dismissive grunt and kept eating.
Magnus shrugged.
“Like I said before, the owner is a decent man.
If the place is still secure, I’m confident he’ll let us stay nearby, especially if we help protect the property.” He finished the last of his canned food and set the container aside.
“A working farm means water, food, livestock, medical knowledge, and land far enough away from Atlanta that we shouldn’t have walkers constantly wandering through.”
That didn’t mean Magnus believed the farm was permanently safe.
He already knew better.
The place was far more secure than the quarry camp, but it still lacked the defenses needed for long-term survival.
Open fields and simple fences wouldn’t stop a large herd, much less hostile survivors with firearms.
Magnus viewed the farm as a temporary base where his group could rest, gather supplies, and prepare for something stronger.
He also needed time to improve himself.
The quarry battle had shown Magnus one weakness very clearly: swinging a heavy sledgehammer consumed enormous amounts of stamina.
Increased Strength made his attacks more destructive, but that only mattered if he had enough food and energy to keep fighting.
He would need to scavenge aggressively, build reserves, and kill walkers whenever he could safely do so.
More levels meant better odds the next time he got trapped somewhere without an easy escape.
Magnus had survived Atlanta because circumstances had gone his way.
He couldn’t expect that kind of luck every time.
A large enough herd could still surround him and tear him apart regardless of whether infection itself could be cured.
Other survivors were an even greater danger because many groups would eventually possess more people, better weapons, and far more ammunition than Magnus currently had.
Charging headfirst into every problem simply because he had a system would get him killed.
One step at a time.
There was no reason to rush.
“Get some sleep,” Magnus said, looking toward Andrea and Amy before glancing at the Dixon brothers.
“We should reach the farm tomorrow.
If everything goes well, we’ll have somewhere safe to stay for a while, and we can figure out the rest from there.”
Andrea relaxed slightly.
Amy gave a small nod.
Even Daryl seemed satisfied with the answer.
Magnus understood that keeping a group together required more than simply being the strongest person in it.
These weren’t followers generated by a game system; they were people with their own fears, opinions, and limits.
Rick had given his group hope by promising that the CDC might offer answers.
Magnus needed to give his own people something equally important—a future they could actually imagine reaching.
Eventually the interior of the vehicle grew quiet.
One by one, everyone fell asleep.
Magnus remained awake a little longer and opened his 7 Days to Die skill interface.
One unused skill point remained from reaching Level 4 during the quarry attack.
His base Strength attribute was already Level 3, which had unlocked the second rank of Skull Crusher.
Magnus selected it.
[Skull Crusher Lv.2 / 5 — Sledgehammer]
[Sledgehammer melee damage increased by 20%.]
[Block damage increased by 40%.]
[Power attacks gain a 30% chance to knock targets down.]
[Normal attack stamina cost reduced by 15%.]
[Power attack stamina cost reduced by 30%.]
[Improved chance of finding sledgehammers and sledgehammer parts.]
Magnus flexed his fingers slowly.
The change wasn’t as dramatic as increasing Strength itself, but he could immediately feel that his control over heavy weapons had improved.
The Horse-Bone Sledgehammer suddenly seemed more familiar in his hands, as though he had spent far longer practicing with it than the few days since arriving in this world.
Satisfied, Magnus closed the interface, leaned back in his seat, and finally fell asleep.
The next morning, he woke to furious yelling outside.
“Son of a bitch!”
Magnus opened his eyes.
“Goddamn it!”
Merle’s voice.
Magnus frowned, opened the passenger door, and stepped outside.
Merle stood beneath a nearby tree, repeatedly kicking its trunk hard enough to shake leaves loose from the branches.
Several landed directly on his thinning hair, which only made him angrier.
“What happened?” Magnus asked.
Before Merle could answer, Amy came up beside him and lowered her voice.
“He got up this morning to use the bathroom.
The motorcycles were parked right over there last night.”
Magnus followed her gaze.
The spot was empty.
Both motorcycles were gone.
His expression immediately darkened.
Daryl was already standing nearby with his crossbow loaded, his face grim enough that he looked ready to track whoever had taken them across half of Georgia.
For the Dixon brothers, those motorcycles weren’t simply transportation.
They were among the few possessions either man genuinely cared about.
Magnus rubbed a hand across his forehead.
Someone had stolen both bikes while they slept only yards away.
Even he felt his temper rising.
Daryl started toward the tree line, but Magnus stepped in front of him.
“Hold up.”
Daryl glared at him.
“Move.”
“I know you’re pissed.”
“You got no damn idea.”
Merle came over as well, still furious.
“We don’t need anybody helping us.
You take the girls to the farm.
Me and Daryl are finding our bikes.”
Daryl nodded immediately.
“Damn right.”
Magnus didn’t move.
“You two disappear into the woods chasing tracks, and we could spend the next week trying to find each other again.
That’s not happening.” He pointed past the road toward the open countryside visible through the trees.
“Look around.
We’re already seeing farmland, which means we’re close.”
Daryl’s jaw tightened.
Magnus continued before either brother could interrupt.
“We reach the farm first and ask around.
Whoever owns the place might know who’s operating in this area or whether anyone passed through during the night.” He glanced between them.
“Once we have somewhere secure to leave Andrea and Amy, we can search properly instead of wandering through unfamiliar woods with everything we own on our backs.”
Merle cursed under his breath.
Daryl looked toward the empty place where the motorcycles had been parked.
Magnus understood exactly why they were angry.
“If we don’t find them, I’ll help you get replacements,” he said.
“And if whoever stole them is staying anywhere around here, sooner or later we’ll cross paths.”
Daryl remained silent.
Merle kicked the tree one final time.
Magnus looked toward the road leading deeper into the countryside.
“Farm first.
Bikes second.”
The Dixon brothers clearly hated it, but letting them vanish into the woods alone while angry and poorly supplied would be even worse.
Whoever had taken their motorcycles had made one serious mistake.
The Dixons weren’t the kind of men who forgot something like that.