TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 282: Rosita’s Secret Stash (Patreon)

Joel’s heart jolted. His survival instincts kicked in immediately, and he tried to pull free and counterattack.

But the strength in that hand was terrifying.

Joel could snap a walker’s neck without much trouble, yet caught in that grip, he couldn’t move an inch. It was as if his arm had been welded in place.

Then an enormous force suddenly lifted him clean off the floor.

Joel: “???”

Was this guy even human?

“Click!”

The lights came on.

Joel narrowed his eyes, then finally got a clear look at the man holding him.

He was tall and upright, his expression perfectly calm. With only one hand, he had effortlessly subdued Joel, knife and all, without the slightest sign of strain on his face.

If anything, he looked remarkably relaxed.

It was Crane.

A genuine Harran Superman.

Across the room, Leon was leaning against the headboard, fully dressed.

He hadn’t been asleep at all.

He had been waiting there the entire time.

Sure enough, Joel had finally shown his hand.

“Couldn’t hold back any longer?” Leon asked, looking at Joel in Crane’s grip.

“I told you during the day. Anyone who comes here can live safely in the Commonwealth as long as they’re honest with us.”

“But in the end, you still couldn’t resist.”

Crane held Joel firmly in place, leaving him unable to move.

Joel didn’t make excuses or struggle.

He simply stared at Leon, his weathered face filled with frustration.

“If you would.”

Leon glanced at the hunting knife still clenched tightly in Joel’s hand. “Hand over the knife.”

Joel knew resisting was pointless.

The man holding him could lift him with one hand. The pressure around his wrist alone was enough to break his arm. Against that kind of overwhelming strength, Joel had no chance whatsoever.

His throat bobbed, then he loosened his grip.

“Clang!”

The hunting knife fell from his hand and hit the floor with a sharp metallic sound.

Joel slowly raised both hands and placed them behind his head, signaling that he was giving up.

Crane glanced at the knife, kicked it farther away, then pressed Joel against the wall with one hand while expertly searching him with the other.

He checked him from head to toe.

Aside from the hunting knife, Joel wasn’t carrying any other weapons.

“What exactly were you planning to do sneaking around in the middle of the night with a hunting knife?” Crane grinned. “I’m guessing you weren’t here for a friendly chat, buddy.”

Joel remained silent.

Crane looked back at Leon. “What do we do with him?”

“Let him go,” Leon answered immediately.

Crane raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

“He snuck into our room in the middle of the night with a knife. I doubt he came here with good intentions. What if he was after you? What if he planned to kill you?”

Despite his words, Crane looked completely unconcerned.

His current strength had long since surpassed normal human limits. Even the slightest disturbance around him was easy to hear.

“He wasn’t,” Leon said, shaking his head.

Joel wasn’t stupid. If he had broken into Leon’s room, it had to be for some other reason. What would killing Leon accomplish?

Ellie was still in the Commonwealth.

“He wasn’t after our lives. Even an idiot wouldn’t think he could fight his way through hundreds of guns. Not everyone is Luke,” Leon said. “At the end of the day, he’s just an overly paranoid lunatic.”

Leon looked at Joel, a trace of teasing in his voice.

“Right?”

Joel said nothing.

There was nothing he could do except stay silent.

Leon waved his hand.

Only then did Crane release him.

Freed from that crushing grip, Joel slowly straightened and flexed his wrist.

This man called Crane was practically Superman.

Joel considered himself pretty strong, but compared to Crane, he might as well have been a lamb.

Once he confirmed, just as he had with Leon, that Crane genuinely had no intention of killing him, Joel headed for the door.

Crane stepped aside to let him pass.

Out in the corridor, Joel frowned deeply.

He hadn’t learned anything.

And these were only two people in charge of the outpost, yet both were already this formidable.

How many more capable people were inside the [Ark]?

The only reassuring thing was that a city-state this large probably had no problem keeping itself secure.

What remained unclear was whether the Fireflies had managed to extend their reach this far.

And Ellie...

What was happening to her right now?

Joel spent another sleepless night.

...

Back inside the room, Crane picked up the hunting knife after Joel left and weighed it in his hand.

“You’re really just letting him go?” Crane asked. “That guy looks like trouble. A paranoid middle-aged man who distrusts the entire world. Someone like that could easily cause a serious problem.”

“His daughter is in the Commonwealth. That’s his weak spot. People with something they care about are easier to handle,” Leon said, leaning back against the headboard.

“I just want to know who that girl really is and why he gets so tense whenever she’s involved. Is being a single father really that different?”

There was genuine curiosity in Leon’s voice.

Tonight had only made him more certain that Joel was hiding something.

“I wonder how things are going with Sherry,” Leon said with a sigh.

Crane took off his coat.

Nothing else should happen tonight. He could finally get some sleep.

“What, missing your little sister again?” Crane laughed. “Claire’s with her, isn’t she?”

If Jade was overly protective of her younger brother, then Leon was just as bad when it came to younger sisters.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it,” Leon said, shaking his head.

Crane: “...”

Fine. You people with younger siblings win. Some of us are on our own, all right?

...

The next morning, Luke had barely been awake for long when Leon’s report arrived.

According to the report, Joel had snuck into Leon’s room during the night to gather information, only to be caught on the spot by Crane.

Since Leon judged that Joel hadn’t actually intended to hurt anyone, he had let him go.

Luke understood immediately after reading it.

Sure enough, Joel really couldn’t behave himself.

Now he was sneaking into enemy territory in the middle of the night.

Luke told Leon to handle the situation as he saw fit. He trusted Leon’s judgment, and even if something did go wrong, Crane was there as backup.

Joel’s weakness was obvious.

As long as Ellie remained in the Commonwealth, Joel wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble.

After giving his instructions, Luke wandered into the kitchen.

The moment he approached his sister-in-law, she accurately shoved a sandwich into his mouth.

His sister-in-law really knew how to take care of him.

Chewing on the sandwich, Luke looked toward the dining table.

Maggie had spread a thick ledger across it and was frowning slightly as she carefully went through the household’s income and expenses for the month, one entry at a time.

Luke might look like a playboy, but at home he was actually the easiest one to deal with.

He barely had any personal expenses. He ate, slept, and that was about it.

Anything related to outside business went through the Commonwealth’s accounts and had nothing to do with the household budget.

The real problem was Rosita and Beth’s spending.

Beth was fine. She was family, after all, and spoiling her a little was only natural. Her expenses could be counted against the two of them.

But Rosita...

Maggie looked up and glanced repeatedly toward the sofa.

Rosita was sprawled across it, her long pale legs swinging idly back and forth.

Noticing Maggie’s gaze, Rosita flashed her a brilliant smile.

You couldn’t exactly get mad at someone smiling at you like that.

Maggie narrowed her eyes.

She had to find some way to make Rosita hand over her secret stash.