The Walking Dead: I Sell Arms as a Sixth-Rate Seller in the Apocalypse

10:00 AM

Atlanta Police Department

At this point, everyone involved in the operation had gathered in Tompney's office, and Rick was the last to arrive, which made everyone quite dissatisfied.

Seeing this, Rick grinned and handed everyone a cigarette. When they saw that it was the "Hua Zi" cigarette that made Tompney feel so good, everyone's face lit up with excitement. Before they came, they had seen Tompney smoking in the office, his expression like a cat smoking catnip, looking like he was in heaven.

This aroused everyone's curiosity about the cigarette, but no one dared to ask Tompenny for one unless Tompenny gave it to them. Otherwise, no one wanted to be targeted to death for such a cigarette.

Seeing that his plan had worked, Rick secretly pulled a whole pack of cigarettes from his clothes, placed it in Tomson's hand, and whispered something.

"Boss, I was held up by something just now. I hope you won't blame me. Consider this cigarette as my gift to you. There's also a small gift inside."

Upon hearing this, Thompson carefully examined the Hua Zi packaging. He saw an oriental dragon and a phoenix intertwined there. The entire Hua Zi packaging was made of red and gold, and these two color schemes put Thompson in a good mood. He carefully opened the packaging and immediately saw a gold windproof lighter inside that was exactly the same as the one in his pocket.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the golden lighter.

Seeing this, Rick smiled and explained.

"This cigarette originates from an ancient Eastern country and represents the highest level of luxury. The lighter is made of pure gold. The entire carton of cigarettes comes in two types: dragon and phoenix. Both types of cigarettes are decorated with a golden dragon and an immortal golden phoenix, representing the East. In the ancient Eastern country, this cigarette is a collectible, and even money cannot guarantee that you can buy it."

Hearing Rick's words, everyone was shocked, especially Tompney, who was a heavy smoker. Although he didn't know anything about the ancient Eastern country, after seeing the real thing, he was completely convinced. After all, Tompney could tell at a glance whether the gold was real or fake. In addition, the effect of the cigarette was even stronger than that of the "legal tobacco" in California on the West Coast. This made him realize that this kind of cigarette, just as Rick said, could only be found in the ancient Eastern country.

Thinking of this, Tompney patted Rick on the shoulder and said.

“Young man, you have a bright future. You should stay by my side and protect me. Once we rescue Dr. Liz, I promise I won’t treat you unfairly.”

After finishing speaking, Tompney addressed a tall, muscular black man in SWAT combat gear among the crowd.

"Brian, you take this kid under your wing. The two of you will be responsible for my safety during this operation."

At this moment, the black man named Brian in the crowd stood up and responded.

"Got it, Boss."

Tompenny nodded to Brian and addressed the crowd.

"Go back and get ready. Everyone will meet downstairs in 10 minutes. Brian and Rick, you two stay here. The rest of you can leave."

Upon hearing Tompenny's words, everyone left Tompenny's office.

In the large office, only Tompney, Rick, and Brian remained.

Brian walked over to Rick, extended his right hand, and said...

"My name is Kobe Bryant, captain of the SWAT team's Alpha team."

Upon hearing this, Rick quickly pulled a brand-new box of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it to Brian, then shook Brian's hand and said...

"Just call me Rick."

When Rick heard the name Kobe Bryant, it sounded familiar, but he just couldn't remember who it was.

Brian and Rick shook hands briefly, then stood aside. Tompenny nodded at their interaction, lit another cigarette, and addressed them.

"This operation is very dangerous. I don't care about the lives of others, but you two must protect me. I don't need to elaborate on how dangerous this operation is. Although all the weapons in the armory are missing, I discussed it with Colonel Dross, and he will provide us with a batch of weapons. As for you two, don't worry about the others. Just protect me. After finding Dr. Liz, escort the two of us to safety immediately, understand?"

Rick and Brian exchanged glances and responded.

"Okay, boss."

“Very good, you two can get to know each other now. Brian, you explain my rules to him and let each other get acquainted.”

Upon hearing this, Brian gave Rick a look, and the two of them left Tompenny's office together, heading towards the SWAT team's office.

Ten seconds later

The two entered the empty SWAT office.

Brian went straight to his seat, while Rick sat down at his desk. The two looked at each other without saying a word, and the atmosphere remained like that for a few seconds.

Suddenly, Blake sprang up, grabbed Rick by the collar, and threatened him.

"I don't care what your name is, now that you're in my team, put away your sycophantic act. Franklin's tricks won't work on me. In this damn apocalyptic environment, flattery won't save you, kid."

Seeing Brian's fierce expression, Rick had a general understanding of Brian's personality. Instead of immediately confronting Brian, he coldly addressed him.

“Captain Brian, I’m not a violent person. Since Tompney told me to follow you, I won’t disobey you during the operation. But you’re right about one thing: flattery won’t make the zombies go easy on me, but for the human rulers here, having someone who knows how to flatter can often pave the way for them. Although I don’t know about your relationship with Franklin, based on my observation, Tompney dared to entrust the protection work to you and me, so you and I are more important to Tompney than Franklin. Therefore, we have no conflict of interest. I just hope to survive this operation and hope that you won’t attack me during the operation.”

Hearing Rick's words, Brian's violent expression softened. He released Rick, lit a cigarette, and savored the mental pleasure it brought him. He looked at the newcomer with a penetrating gaze. Brian was becoming more and more interested in this newcomer. He had been a police officer here for more than ten years, rising from the bottom to become the captain of the Alpha team.

During this time, Brian witnessed many shady dealings, especially the current director, Tompney, who used every means to oust former director Jefferson and take the position himself.

Tompney abused his power and colluded with the deputy mayor of Atlanta to engage in bribery. The most obvious instance was when he abused his power to do dirty work for the deputy mayor, framing a Korean-American woman who ran a Korean barbecue restaurant across from the North Side Church with a bunch of charges and sending her to prison, almost driving her family to ruin.

Thinking of this, Brian exhaled the smoke from his mouth and said.

"Alright, I figured it out a long time ago. You're not a member of the SWAT team at all. I don't know where you got this uniform, and I don't want to delve into it. Once this mission is over, I just want you to leave. Tompney is no pushover, and neither is that Colonel Dross."

Upon hearing this, Rick was initially startled, but then regained his composure and asked.

"why?"

"Because, many of the people in the office will die in this operation. Although they are a bunch of scoundrels who eat, drink, gamble, and whore, before the apocalypse broke out, several of them were model police officers. It was just that this environment changed them."

Rick asked upon hearing this.

"Can you tell me what's down there?"

Brian exhaled a ring of smoke from his eye.

"Below the police station is a massive laboratory conducting some kind of experiment. The target of this operation is Dr. Liz, the head and chief researcher of this laboratory. Just a few days ago, we lost contact with the people in the underground research institute. That day, I was leading the Alpha team on guard duty outside. When I heard a commotion coming from inside the laboratory, I heard a roar like a wild beast regaining its freedom. I heard Delta team members say on the walkie-talkie, 'The giant zombie is out of control, everyone evacuate the laboratory.' I ordered my team to open the door and prepare to receive Delta team members at any time. But at that moment, Tompney ran out of the laboratory first, shouting to close the door as he ran. When one of my men refused to close the door, citing that 'there are still people inside,' Tompney pulled out his pistol and shot the man in the head, threatening us fiercely. There was no other way but for the others to comply, closing and locking the door. Then, screams came from the walkie-talkie and behind the door."

Hearing this, Rick roughly understood what was going on, and he asked Brian.

"And then, what about today's operation?"

Brian didn't hide anything from Rick and told him everything.

"The mission is to break in, kill or hold off that giant zombie, and bring Dr. Liz and all the experimental data out of the laboratory."

Rick didn't dwell on the issue after hearing this, but instead spoke to Blake.

“Captain Black, now that things have come to this, I’m coming clean. I’m not a SWAT member. I was with the group of soldiers you arrested the day before yesterday. They were my men, and that gray-black tactical MTVR truck in the police station parking lot is mine. I hope you’ll keep this a secret. I promise to help you complete the mission Thompney assigned you, but I need you to use your authority to release my two men. This operation cannot succeed without their help.”

After hearing Rick's words, Blake pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Can you guarantee that your two men won't cause trouble? I can guarantee that I won't tell Tompney about this, but you must keep your men in check. You should understand the importance of this operation."

Rick nodded in response.

"Yes, I understand. I promise you, I'll take responsibility for both of them. You just need to explain to Tompney that after this operation, we'll go our separate ways."

Upon hearing that he had reached an agreement with Rick, Blake got up and led Rick toward the prison where Dixon was being held.