Chapter 90: Open the Door! Let the Walkers In!

Once the Antibiotics and Painkillers took effect, Magnus Vane’s recovery accelerated rapidly. After roughly two hours, most of his injuries had already stabilized, and the worst wound across his trapezius had formed a thick scab, leaving mainly dark bruising across his back. During that time, Magnus opened the system crafting interface and repaired the Quality 5 Stone Sledgehammer he had wedged through the generator-room door handles. Combat-weapon repairs consumed relatively little material, and the supplies stored in his backpack were more than enough, so the entire process took only a minute or two.

Magnus stood behind the reinforced door afterward, rubbing his chin while considering whether that was enough protection. In the end, he used most of his remaining wood to craft six Wooden Spike Traps, arranging them around the entrance as another defensive layer. They wouldn’t stop a large horde for long, but if the door suddenly failed, the traps could slow the first walkers enough to give him time to react. Deep inside a prison still crawling with the dead, a little paranoia was healthier than overconfidence.

“Better safe than sorry.”

Having survived the previous day, Magnus was in surprisingly good spirits despite the terrible sleeping arrangements. He spread spare clothing across the concrete, lay down between the silent generators, and almost immediately felt exhaustion dragging at his consciousness. His eyelids became heavier until the dark generator room faded from his awareness, and for the rest of the night nothing managed to breach the door.

By early morning, Magnus’s eyelashes twitched and his eyes opened instantly. His first reaction was to look toward the entrance, and only after confirming that the spike traps, door, and sledgehammer brace were exactly as he had left them did he finally stretch. “You know, sleeping inside a generator room really gives you a different kind of appreciation for life.” Despite the hard floor, he had actually slept deeply enough for the dream from his earlier unconsciousness to continue.

In that dream, the woman from his old butcher-shop neighborhood had remained every bit as enthusiastic as before. Magnus had eventually agreed to carry her groceries home, though as far as his dream was concerned, he insisted that only a couple cuts of pork had actually made the trip and absolutely nothing else worth discussing had happened. “Young guy, system-enhanced body, too much energy. Can’t blame me for what my brain does while I’m asleep.” With that excuse firmly established for an audience that didn’t exist, Magnus prepared breakfast from half a package of crackers, two small cakes, and coffee.

After eating, he carefully stepped through the Wooden Spike Traps and pressed one ear against the metal door. The walker growls outside were much quieter than they had been the previous night, and the sounds came less frequently, suggesting most of the horde had finally wandered away after losing track of him. Magnus considered waiting longer but quickly rejected the idea. Shane had probably escaped Cell Block C by now, and if the others understood the brief burst of electricity from last night, there was a good chance they would attempt a rescue today.

“I can’t sit here waiting for them.”

Magnus looked through a small exterior opening toward the brightening sky. His plan was simple: restart the generator, use the noise to draw whatever walkers remained near the utility room, then clear a path outward rather than trying to fight through hundreds at once. If Shane and the others were already coming back inside, Magnus could meet them somewhere along the route and use the opportunity to begin reducing the prison’s remaining walker population properly.

About twenty minutes later, daylight had fully arrived. Magnus removed four of the six Wooden Spike Traps, leaving only two directly behind the doorway to form a narrow defensive choke point, then returned to the main generator controls. He pressed the green start button, and the large industrial units began coming alive one after another with a deep mechanical rumble.

Magnus manually shut down half of the generator bank and left only six units operating at their lowest useful output. Even reduced, the machinery produced noticeable noise inside the room, but at the same time lights began flickering on across more than half the prison. Magnus looked up at the fluorescent fixtures overhead as they filled the utility room with pale light, and a faint smile appeared.

“Yesterday you nearly buried me.”

He rolled his shoulders.

“Today I’m rested.”

Then Magnus opened his status panel.

[Magnus Vane]

[Level: Lv24 — 98%]

[Available Skill Points: 1]

[Health: 124/124]

[Stamina: 124/124]

[Food: 124/124]

[Water: 124/124]

[Body Temperature: 70°F]

[Walkers Killed: 283]

[Hunter’s Bow: Lv10]

[Scrap & Salvage: Lv5]

[Hammering the World: Lv10]

[Strength: Lv10/10 MAX]

[Skull Crusher: Lv4/5 — Bone Breaker]

[Heavy Weapon Handling: Lv1]

[Fortitude: Pain Tolerance Lv1 / Healing Factor Lv1]

[Status Effects: None]

Magnus was fully rested, well-fed, hydrated, and back at maximum Health and Stamina. He opened the skill interface and first considered putting his remaining point into Fortitude’s basic attribute, but his finger stopped before confirming it. Memories of yesterday immediately returned—running through Cell Block B with an entire horde behind him, his stamina collapsing while the Walker Centipede kept gaining ground.

Magnus moved farther down the Fortitude tree.

Then smiled.

[Rule 1: Cardio — Lv1]

[Improves stamina regeneration and allows longer sustained running]

It didn’t directly increase his damage or durability, but before the Agility tree unlocked, very few available perks could improve his mobility this effectively. Yesterday had already proven that there were situations where running farther mattered more than hitting harder. Magnus spent the point without hesitation.

“Never thought running away would become a combat skill.”

With his preparations complete, Magnus returned to the door and removed the Stone Sledgehammer from between the handles. He unlocked one side of the double doors and opened it only slightly, deliberately leaving the entrance narrow enough that walkers couldn’t pour through together. The metal hinges gave a low creak, and the generator noise immediately carried farther into the corridor.

Magnus stood behind the two remaining Wooden Spike Traps with the sledgehammer ready.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then something dragged itself through the opening.

Magnus’s tense expression immediately relaxed.

The walker had no lower body.

Only a rotten torso and two arms remained as it slowly pulled itself across the floor, leaving a dark trail behind it. Its crawling speed was so poor that even a completely inexperienced survivor could have walked circles around it, and compared with the Howler, Exploding Walkers, and Walker Centipedes Magnus had faced yesterday, the creature looked almost friendly.

“Well, look who it is.”

Magnus stepped sideways and coaxed the crawling walker around the spike trap.

“Morning, Experience Delivery.”

The walker growled and clawed toward him.

Magnus gently placed the broad face of the sledgehammer against its forehead, keeping it pinned at arm’s length while its hands waved uselessly. “Easy. You made it all the way here. I should at least make this quick.”

He lifted the hammer slightly.

“Better luck next life.”

CRACK!

One downward strike destroyed its skull.

Golden light immediately surrounded Magnus.

[Level Up: Lv24 → Lv25]

[Skill Point Gained: +1]

[Skill Point Available]

Magnus blinked.

“That was convenient.”

The crawling walker had provided exactly enough experience to push him over the threshold.

He didn’t get time to examine the new point.

Several more walkers were already squeezing through the partially opened doorway, drawn by the constant generator noise. Because Magnus had opened only one side, the entrance naturally restricted how many could enter at once, turning the doorway into exactly the kind of choke point he wanted.

Magnus stepped back behind the two Wooden Spike Traps and raised the Stone Sledgehammer.

More growls came from outside.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

“Come on, then.”

One walker stumbled onto the spikes.

Magnus tightened his grip.

“Breakfast is served.”