TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 73: If You’re Going to Transmigrate Me, At Least Do It Right 2 (Patreon)

By the time Wade found Dale, the older man was standing out in the open with his old radio, pacing back and forth as he continuously scanned through different frequencies.

Wade had to get fairly close before he could hear the faint static coming from it.

He paused for a moment and once again found himself impressed by just how thoughtful Dale was.

Crackle... crackle... crackle...

“Why is it gone? I could’ve sworn this was the channel...”

Dale muttered under his breath as he continued walking around, trying different spots in hopes of getting a better signal.

“Hey, Dale. Evening. Rick told me you heard someone calling for help over the radio?”

Dale stopped and turned around with a smile. “Evening, Wade. Uh, about that... I think I might need a little time to prove it.”

He sheepishly raised the old radio in his hand, which was still giving off nothing but static.

“No, no. You don’t have to prove anything. I believe you, Dale.” Wade stepped closer and asked quietly, “Do you remember what they said in the broadcast?”

Dale turned off the radio. There was a hint of worry beneath his gentle expression.

“He said he was from Harran. They were trapped on top of a tower, surrounded by walkers, and needed help. Then the transmission cut out.”

He raised the old radio again. “This old thing’s been with me for thirty years. It gets a little temperamental every now and then, haha.”

Wade listened, feeling an increasingly strong sense of familiarity.

Harran.

A tower...

Then it hit him.

A long-buried memory suddenly surfaced.

Dying Light.

The level of horror in that world was on a completely different scale from The Walking Dead. The infected there couldn’t even be compared to the slow-moving walkers created by the Wildfire Virus.

Even the ordinary infected could climb, run, and jump...

Tsk. Put them into this world, and even the regular ones would probably count as elite monsters.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the actual elite monsters. Volatiles, Screamers, Bombers, Gigantic Zombies, Toads...

What the hell was this?

A video game had somehow been thrown into this TV-series crossover too?

Holy shit. If you’re going to transmigrate me, at least do it properly!

Wade finally understood.

The Mutated Walkers they had encountered had absolutely nothing to do with the Wildfire Virus, nor were they some kind of natural mutation.

They were a terrifying kind of infected known as Volatiles.

And that name was well deserved.

At night, they were the very embodiment of terror.

They were fast, incredibly strong, naturally blended into the darkness, could climb walls, and were much harder to kill than ordinary walkers.

No wonder they had barely ever seen them during the day. No wonder they shed their skin and avoided sunlight and ultraviolet rays.

How the hell had he not figured it out sooner?!

And looking at it that way...

Holy shit.

Merle had been insanely lucky to survive.

Dale watched Wade’s expression change several times, eventually settling into something almost grim enough to look like he was grinding his teeth.

Concerned, he asked, “Wade, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

Wade stiffly shook his head.

He had no idea how he was supposed to explain any of this to Dale, so in the end he only said, “Keep monitoring the radio for the next few days. If you hear anything else, make sure you tell me.”

Then he walked away.

There was something about the speed of his departure that almost made it look like he was fleeing.

Ultraviolet light...

Ultraviolet light...

Wade suddenly stopped and looked toward Eugene’s tent.

He wondered if Eugene could somehow put together a UV lamp from scratch.

Wait.

No.

They already had an actual expert at camp.

And there was another problem they had overlooked.

Power.

They needed to solve the camp’s electricity problem too.

There had to be generators somewhere they could salvage. Fire stations, police stations, hospitals. Places like that were bound to have backup generators in their basements.

The only question was how big they were and whether they could actually move one.

If that didn’t work, he could ask Andrew to modify or build one.

And if even that failed, they would just have to get lucky and find a ready-made generator they could use.

Wade walked quickly enough that anyone watching could tell something was wrong.

Amy blinked and looked toward Andrea, only for Andrea to pull her tightly into her arms and whisper something into her ear.

Rick noticed Wade’s behavior and instinctively glanced at Shane.

Their eyes met for a moment before both of them quickly looked away.

Rick then turned to Glenn beside him.

“Glenn, go ask Dale in a bit if something happened just now.”

Glenn nodded and jogged over to Dale, who had already gone back to searching for a signal.

Daryl raised his eyebrows so high that three lines appeared across his forehead.

When he looked over at Merle, even the usual mocking grin on Merle’s face had gone a little stiff.

Noticing Daryl staring at him, Merle immediately blurted out, “What the hell are you looking at me for? I didn’t do anything.”

“...”

Wade walked over to Andrew and asked seriously, “Andrew, can you make ultraviolet lights?”

Andrew paused, then nodded. “That’s easy. Do you need high-powered ones or low-powered ones?”

“I’m not sure. I just need them to stay on throughout the night.”

Andrew quickly ran through the required materials, possible problems, and potential alternatives in his head before nodding.

“No problem. I can make them, but I’ll need some time.”

“How long? Are three days enough?”

“I’ll need help. At least two people.”

Wade visibly relaxed.

“Fine. I’ll give you T-Dog and Otis. If that isn’t enough, you can get Jimmy and Jim too. I just need this done as soon as possible. It’s important.”

Andrew didn’t ask why.

He simply nodded and said seriously, “Leave it to me. Two days from now, you’ll see them lit up at night.”

Wade nodded with a smile and patted Andrew’s thick upper arm in thanks.

With one of his biggest concerns taken care of, Wade finally relaxed a little.

“Oh, right. What about a generator? Can you handle that too?”

Andrew froze again.

This time, though, it was because he felt slightly insulted.

He had spent more than ten years working as an automotive engineer.

Building or modifying a generator was practically basic work for him.

“What? Is it difficult?”

Andrew took a deep breath and gave him a speechless smile.

“It’s no harder than eating with a knife and fork.”

“...Okay.”

He could’ve just answered the question.

What was with the jab?

Completely unaware that his own question had caused the problem, Wade turned around and headed over to Rick, waving Shane over as well.

He didn’t mention Dying Light.

Instead, he focused on explaining what Volatiles were.

After Wade gave them a basic rundown, with Shane backing up what he had personally seen, Rick finally understood why Wade’s expression had suddenly changed earlier.

“So these things are basically killers that come out at night?”

“What do you think? Starting tonight, every sentry post needs two people. Everyone on watch wears body armor and carries a shotgun. Shane, I need you to handle the assignments. Try to make sure every shift has at least one of our better fighters.”

Shane frowned slightly, then nodded.

“No problem.”

Wade patted Shane on the shoulder and added casually, “Take it easy on the alcohol tonight. We’ve got an operation tomorrow.”

“...I know.”