"Lorenzo?" Calista's voice was as calm as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her. "He's dead. At Sentinel Station. I killed him myself."
The words hit like a boulder dropped into still water, instantly stirring up a storm.
"What?! You killed Lorenzo?! How dare you!" André's eyes bulged with rage as he shook the iron bars madly, making them clang and rattle.
"You damned bitch! Do you have any idea what you've done?! The Calabria family won't let you get away with this! They have influence in Italy, across all of Europe! They'll find you and tear you apart!"
Marco also began screaming hysterical curses, spitting all kinds of vicious words in Italian, cursing Calista to die horribly and Rock Fortress to be reduced to ashes.
Faced with that flood of filth, Calista did not even blink.
After all, she could not understand a single word of Italian.
She only tilted her head slightly and asked in a tone full of absurd disbelief, "Family? Influence?"
Calista laughed softly. There was no warmth in it, only the mockery of someone who had seen through reality. "It's the apocalypse. There are thousands upon thousands of flesh-eating walkers outside.
Do you really think a Mafia family all the way in Italy still has many people left? Even if they do, with the entire Atlantic Ocean between us, what are they going to use to come after me? The power of love? Telepathy?"
Her gaze swept over André and Marco's rage-twisted faces, as if she were looking at two pitiful fools trapped in their own delusions.
"They're on the other side of the world. What the hell do I have to be afraid of?"
They were just the two extras Lorenzo had dragged along with him. Now that Lorenzo was gone, they still could not read the room. Calista truly did not know what else to say.
She rolled her neck, reached to her waist with her right hand, drew the Glock she carried, and, in front of everyone, calmly took the suppressor from her tactical belt and clicked it into place.
Before anyone could react, pfft, pfft.
Two short, muffled shots rang out in the enclosed dungeon. The sound was not loud, but the smell of gunpowder quickly spread through the air.
The bullets struck André and Marco precisely in the heart.
Their curses stopped abruptly. The crazed expressions on their faces froze, replaced by utter confusion, as if they could not believe death had come so suddenly, so cleanly.
Their hands slipped weakly from the iron bars. Their bodies collapsed limply to the floor, and blood quickly poured from the bullet holes, spreading beneath them in a glaring dark red pool.
The entire dungeon fell into a moment of dead silence.
Mikey's mouth fell open. "Holy shit!"
Jason and Wagner, locked in the neighboring cells, were completely stunned.
Jason slid to the floor like a pile of mud. A wet patch quickly spread between his legs, and a thick stench filled the air. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Only his teeth chattered violently.
Wagner's face also turned deathly pale.
He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, disbelief filling his eyes.
Based on Calista's previous attitude toward them, Wagner had thought the worst would be torture or long-term imprisonment. He had never expected this woman to kill so decisively, so casually.
It was as if something about her had changed after this trip.
Even Leah, Carver, and Mike, standing behind Calista, were momentarily stunned by the sudden, ruthless execution.
They knew Calista was not soft-hearted, but seeing her suddenly execute two prisoners who had been locked up for so long still shook them slightly.
Leah's gaze swept quickly over the two bodies, then landed on Wagner in the next cell, his face pale. An unreadable emotion flashed deep in her eyes.
Calista acted as if she had only done something insignificant. With a flick of her wrist, she ejected the magazine, checked the remaining rounds, then neatly holstered the pistol.
"Mikey," she said.
Mikey, who had been standing guard at the door, immediately stepped inside. When he saw the bodies on the floor, his eyes sharpened.
"Take that one," Calista said, pointing at Jason, who had wet himself in fear. "Drag him out, wash him clean, and hand him over to Rickson. Tell him he's labor now. Give him the dirtiest, hardest jobs. Just make sure he doesn't die."
"Understood." Mikey wasted no words. He stepped forward, opened the cell door, and dragged the limp, foul-smelling Jason out like a dead dog.
Jason did not even have the strength to resist. He only made hoarse, gasping sounds.
Now, only Wagner remained.
Wagner watched Mikey drag Jason away, then looked at the two still-warm bodies in the neighboring cell. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
He thought he would be next.
This woman's coldness had exceeded his imagination, and Leah's presence guaranteed nothing.
Besides, he and Leah were only old acquaintances. They had done a few arms deals together, but they could not even really be called friends.
A fierce will to survive crushed everything else. Wagner rushed to the bars, his attitude completely different from before, and said urgently, "Wait, don't kill me! I'm useful!"
Only then did Calista truly turn her gaze on him. She said nothing, merely watching him quietly with those beautiful gray-blue eyes, waiting for him to continue.
Wagner swallowed and spoke quickly. "Lorenzo… his arms production line, the technology behind it! When I was helping him manage it, I kept an eye out. I secretly wrote down a lot of the key technical details, and those little improvements he tinkered with.
I know how to maintain those machines. If conditions allow, I even know how to replicate part of the production line. You need that, right?"
The news surprised both Calista and Leah slightly.
Calista raised an eyebrow.
In her original plan, because Wagner had some old connection with Leah, she would not have minded keeping him as another laborer with combat experience and survival skills, as long as he behaved and submitted.
After all, the base was expanding and needed all kinds of people.
She had not expected this unexpected gain.
Lorenzo's arms production technology was exactly one of the gaps Rock Fortress needed to fill for long-term development.
Leah also looked at Wagner, her eyes carrying a little more scrutiny.
She had not expected him to have kept something like this in reserve.
Calista did not respond immediately. She stayed silent for several seconds, and that brief silence felt like centuries to Wagner.
"Fine," Calista finally said. "You'll become part of the base's labor force, same as Jason."
Wagner immediately let out a breath of relief, almost collapsing.
"But," Calista continued, changing tone, "you'll still work separately for a while. A probation period. We'll see whether you're truly obedient, and whether you've truly understood your situation."
Leah looked at Calista. "Cali, do we give them points? If we do, how should the points be calculated? And what about similar prisoners in the future?"
Calista thought for a moment, then answered, "Since they're laborers converted from prisoners, their treatment naturally can't be the same as full members before they prove their loyalty and value.
We'll set a redemption threshold. Before reaching that number of points, they receive only the minimum survival guarantee, have no right to use weapons, and their range of movement is restricted. Once they meet the point requirement and pass an evaluation, they can become full members and receive normal treatment under the regular point distribution system."