TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 245: Leave It All to Luck (Patreon)

“See that? This is the power the Lord has bestowed upon me! Your pathetic brute strength is nothing before true divine power!”

Ramon had gone straight into his final form.

“Hand over the sacred relic quietly, and perhaps I’ll even grant you the mercy of... leaving your corpse intact!”

The mountain of flesh thrashed its tentacles around. Every violent movement sent foul-smelling slime flying toward Luke.

Ashley went pale with fear. She quickly picked up the Glock and aimed it shakily at Ramon.

Luke barely paid attention to her.

He turned to Luis instead. “Just focus on making the antidote. It might only target Plaga, but for my research team, this could be crucial to studying the virus behind the apocalypse!”

“Don’t worry. This synthesis formula already has my brain fried!”

Luis didn’t even look up.

Luke motioned for Ashley to close her eyes, get behind him, and stay out of the way.

Ashley nodded and immediately ran for cover. This version of her was much easier to deal with. She knew she couldn’t help, so at least she wasn’t screaming nonstop like her game counterpart and driving everyone crazy.

Luis kept his head down, completely absorbed in synthesizing the antidote.

“Transforming is good. That means you’ve reached the final phase!”

Luke glanced around.

The laboratory was spacious enough, and it was enclosed...

Ramon was still outside the door.

At this distance... it probably wouldn’t bring the entire castle down, right?

Leave it to luck!

Luke pulled out an RPG without a second thought.

“I already sent Grandpa Village Chief on his way. Now it’s Grandpa Castle’s turn. Come on, have another taste of my big gun!”

He dropped to one knee and aimed directly at Ramon’s core.

“Goodbye, shorty!”

“Whoosh. BOOM!!!”

A blazing white trail tore through the air.

Luke immediately hit the control for the laboratory’s steel door, then threw himself aside.

The rocket shot through the opening and slammed straight into Ramon.

“BOOOOM!!!”

Inside the enclosed space, the blast was far more devastating than it would have been outdoors.

In an instant, the massive heap of living flesh was torn apart by overwhelming force.

Flesh, carapace, tentacles. Everything was scorched and vaporized by the heat, scattering into dust and debris.

“Aaagh!!!”

Whether that was Ramon screaming or simply the air collapsing under the force of the explosion, no one could tell.

Either way, Ramon didn’t even manage one last coherent sentence before he was gone.

“...”

Luis clutched his head and cautiously peeked out from beneath the lab bench, staring at the violently shaking door.

“Where the hell did that explosion come from now? Did you activate the lab’s self-destruct system?!”

Luke tossed the empty launcher aside.

“There was an RPG sitting in the corner. Didn’t you see it?”

“Why the hell would there be an RPG in a laboratory?!” Even Luis, normally fairly composed, had completely lost his patience.

He was trying to synthesize an antidote here!

This was a biological experiment!

Meanwhile, Luke was setting off explosives like he was trying to bring the entire castle down.

How was anyone supposed to work like that?

“I can’t exactly pull an RPG out of thin air, can I? Maybe it was part of the lab’s security system.” Luke spread his hands.

Luis stared at him for several seconds.

This guy’s luck was ridiculous.

Every time he ran into a powerful enemy, an RPG just happened to be lying around.

Luke looked up at the ceiling.

The entire laboratory was still trembling from the explosion, and bits of stone and dust kept falling from above. Fortunately, the structure had survived the blast.

Now that was how you used luck properly.

“All right, false alarm. Luis, how’s the antidote coming?”

“Uh... after you nearly blew everything up, I think I’m actually almost done.” Luis immediately went back to work.

Working around this man forced you to triple your efficiency.

Otherwise, there was a real chance he’d blow you up before you finished.

A little over an hour later, Luis finally let out a long breath.

He held two pale blue syringes in his hands.

“Done!”

Excitement was written all over his face. “This is the real antidote. Once injected, it’ll completely eliminate the Plaga eggs inside the body!”

“Only two?” Luke raised an eyebrow. “Can’t you just hit the mass-production button?”

Luis stared at him in disbelief. “You’re lucky I managed to make two! You want more? Look around and remember where we are!”

“Fine.”

Luke took the two doses.

“Ashley, you do realize my fee is extremely high, right?”

He kept one dose and injected the other into Ashley.

Throughout the entire process, Ashley kept staring at his face, her gaze growing softer by the second.

“Thank you, Luke!”

“Your father now owes me twenty thermobaric rounds.”

“Uh... wasn’t it forty?” Ashley asked, trying to ignore the sting of the needle.

Luke was gentle with the injection, and the pain quickly faded.

“You really are your dad’s favorite daughter!” Luke’s eyes lit up.

This girl understood how things worked.

Definitely someone worth staying on good terms with.

Luke watched as the [Infected...] status above Ashley’s head slowly faded away.

Getting rid of the Plaga parasite seemed almost too easy.

But as the negative status disappeared, another one immediately took its place.

[Admiration - Budding]

That... counted as a positive status, right?

Luke looked away helplessly.

...

“Bzzzt...”

The radio at Luke’s waist crackled.

It was Ada.

“Luke, are you finished?”

“Just wrapped up. I’ve got the antidote. That guy of yours really wouldn’t quit, though. He even broke the knife you gave me. You’d better make it up to me.”

“I’ll reimburse you later.”

“That’s my girl.”

“Quit fooling around. Things have changed on the island. Saddler is moving personally. There’s a hidden passage behind the castle that leads straight to the coast. I’ll wait for you at the exit. We need to leave by sea before Saddler gathers the island’s entire force.”

“Got it.”

Luke nodded.

“Be careful. I’ll be waiting for you.”

The transmission ended.

The three of them and Bruce immediately set off.

Just as they left the laboratory, the corridor behind them began collapsing section by section.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are we seriously about to get buried alive under this castle?” Luis had just taken out a cigarette when dust started falling onto his head.

“Look what your smoking did. You choked the whole castle to death!”

Luke snatched the pack of Marlboros from him, tossed it onto the floor, scooped Ashley up, and sprinted toward the end of the passage.

“Hey, buddy! If you’re that strong, carry me too!” Luis shouted as he ran for his life.

The structure behind them continued to collapse.

The explosion had apparently damaged the castle’s main supports far more severely than expected.

Luke moved incredibly fast.

Luis practically ran himself into the ground just to stay behind him as they reached the first floor and scrambled toward the main entrance.

Almost the instant they made it outside, the entire castle came crashing down behind them like an ancient giant finally giving way.

Outside, several guards were wandering around.

They stood almost lifelessly, as if something had drained the will from them. They muttered under their breath while slowly moving in the same direction.

“What’s wrong with them?” Ashley asked.

“Saddler is gathering his followers!” Luis gasped, drenched in sweat.

“He’s mobilizing everyone on the island. He’s planning to hunt us down no matter what. We’re screwed, buddy!”

Luke didn’t seem concerned at all.

Gathering his followers?

How many divisions does he have?

The group picked up the pace and soon entered a hidden passage near the castle grounds.

It led through the rear mountain and opened onto a cliff overlooking the sea.

The ocean breeze carried a cold, damp chill.

Far below lay a rocky shoreline.

A black speedboat was waiting by the coast.