TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 306: They All Got Pregnant (Patreon)

Time flew by.

Over the course of a month, Luke got plenty of exercise.

So did everyone else, especially Jade. She had already worked her way into the top tier.

After all, Jade’s stamina was the only one that could rival Ada’s.

Before long, the day of the North-South Alliance meeting arrived.

And Luke’s hard work finally paid off. On the eve of the summit, Maggie and Rosita both delivered good news one after the other.

Luke noticed the order.

Ada had gotten pregnant first, followed by Rosita, then Maggie.

From strongest Constitution to weakest.

Could it be that...

...

Over at Jade’s place, she had tied her hair back early that morning and was watching Ellie train on the balcony.

The girl wore boxing gloves and relentlessly hammered the punching bag.

Her attacks were fierce.

“Not bad. From now on, we can double your training load.”

Jade took Ellie’s training seriously. She no longer treated the girl as merely a task Luke had entrusted to her. The two had already developed something closer to a sisterly bond.

Given everything Ellie had been through growing up, it was hard for anyone around her not to feel protective.

“Jade, is Luke coming today?” Ellie asked casually.

“Probably not. He has something important to deal with, and besides...”

Before Jade could finish, a wave of nausea hit her.

She hurried into the bathroom.

Ellie’s heart jumped.

Damn!

“Jade?”

She followed her to the bathroom doorway and found Jade wiping her mouth while staring at herself in the mirror.

“Fuck. I didn’t even notice. My period’s late!”

Ellie immediately understood.

If Jade’s period hadn’t come, then there was hardly any doubt about what had happened.

“You two... don’t use protection?” Ellie asked, completely speechless.

Those two had been carrying out their “firefighting operations” almost every day, and they hadn’t bothered with protection?

Were they serious?

“I thought there was something wrong with him, so I didn’t bother!”

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve been with other men before?”

Jade tapped Ellie on the head.

“Of course not. My fiancé died in Harran a long time ago. That was more than a year back.”

Ellie hunched her shoulders slightly.

“Then you’d better face the facts. There’s no question about it. It’s his.”

Jade sighed.

“Fuck. I really didn’t expect this. How am I supposed to tell him? Will he even want the baby?”

Her concern wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

At first, she really had only treated Luke as someone she could use to unwind.

People couldn’t spend every waking moment working. Sometimes they needed a little something to relieve the stress.

That was perfectly normal.

But later...

Well, there was no need to explain.

Spend enough time together, and feelings developed.

Ellie clicked her tongue.

As far as she knew, that beautiful woman named Ada was pregnant too.

And Luke had several other women besides her.

Tsk, tsk.

At this rate, Luke could solve the population crisis all by himself.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that. He’s pretty...” Ellie trailed off, unable to find the right words.

Knock, knock!

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Jade, if you’re free, come with me on a mission!”

Luke stood outside fully armed.

Jade and Ellie both looked over at him.

Luke was smiling, but the moment he noticed the buff above Jade’s head, the smile vanished.

Then it immediately came back.

“You’re pregnant?”

Jade: “...”

Ellie: “...”

Were they really that obvious?

“Uh... I can raise the child myself,” Jade said, carefully watching Luke’s reaction.

Jade was normally decisive about everything.

Only now did she reveal a rare trace of vulnerability.

“What kind of nonsense is that? The father helped make the kid. You think I’m going to make you deal with it alone?”

Luke agreed without hesitation.

At this point, one more responsibility hardly mattered.

“We’ll talk properly when I get back!”

After settling Jade down, Luke turned and headed back out.

“Well... that was a little different from what I expected.”

Jade folded her arms and stared at the doorway.

Ellie looked up at her.

Jade ruffled her hair.

“You wouldn’t understand. Maybe it’s just what I’m used to seeing. A lot of kids grow up without their fathers around. Compared to that, he’s already... pretty responsible.”

Luke’s girls had suddenly gone from four to five.

Luke then went to find Claire.

“Claire, put Sherry’s situation aside for now. Come with me,” Luke said.

“But Sherry...”

“At least go see your brother. If Chris doesn’t get to see you, he might drop a helicopter on my head.”

The research involving Sherry was supposed to produce some preliminary results today, and Claire had even been willing to give up the chance to see her brother because of it.

But Luke didn’t have much choice.

Jade definitely couldn’t go anymore.

“Alright.”

Luke then headed to the outpost and picked up Crane.

Leon still wasn’t an option.

The man’s reputation as a Vehicle Killer was simply too well established.

The helicopter’s first destination wasn’t Atlanta.

Instead, it headed for Luke’s old camp, Greene Farm.

The Northern and Southern city-states had agreed to meet near Greene Farm for a preliminary negotiation, mainly to assess how much of a threat each side posed to the other.

Since the Commonwealth had proposed the meeting place, both sides had sent teams to the farm ahead of time to clear the surrounding walkers.

According to intelligence from Chris’s side, there had been quite a few dangerous mutants around the farm alone, including three Tanks.

The BSAA special operations team on their side was strong.

Jill had led the operation this time, and apparently they hadn’t suffered any serious casualties.

Luke could only say that was because Chris hadn’t gone.

If he had, things probably wouldn’t have been nearly that simple.

The helicopter slowly descended onto Greene Farm.

The place looked almost exactly as it had when they left.

Aside from the defensive barricades having been broken through, the surrounding fields and buildings showed little sign of damage.

Walkers chased living things.

They didn’t waste time destroying empty structures.

Outside the farm, the Commonwealth advance team’s white-armored soldiers were already lined up and waiting.

Not far away, the Southern City-State’s people were making their own preparations.

Their numbers were roughly equal.

Neither side had brought an overwhelming force.

This was their first negotiation, and there was no reason to make the atmosphere more hostile than necessary.

Three people stood at the front of the Southern delegation.

The man in the center appeared to be around fifty, with slightly graying temples and a calm, steady presence.

He wore a suit.

Even standing in the middle of an apocalyptic wasteland, he still carried himself with an air of composure.

This was Ashley’s father.

To the president’s left stood a huge man built like a tower.

He wore his hair in a short crew cut, and his muscles were almost large enough to rival a Tank’s.

He barely looked human.

Behind Chris stood Jill.

She looked almost exactly like her game counterpart. Sharp, capable, with refined features and a calm expression.

She was undeniably beautiful.

Luke stepped forward.

“President Graham, I’ve heard plenty about you!” he said. “We’ve talked over the radio for so long. Nice to finally meet you in person.”

Graham looked him up and down, his brow furrowing slightly.

There had always been some static and distortion over the radio, so he had assumed the other man was at least around forty.

So why was the person standing in front of him so young?

“You’re Luke Li?” Graham asked, surprise creeping into his voice.

“That’s me!”

Luke shook his hand.

“What’s wrong, Mr. President? Disappointed? Do I look too young to be intimidating enough?”

“A little.”

The president nodded.