Chapter 71: *SPOILER*
Over the next few days, Gray worked around the clock to finish every single base. It took him just 5 days to build at least one massive base per state. Every single one followed the exact same high-tech design. Thanks to his dimensional farm, he left behind hundreds of Minecraft animals at each location, complete with automatic hopper systems underground to collect chicken eggs effortlessly.
He constructed hundreds of loft apartments inside each fortress, equipping them with independent battery packs and high-end amenities. Thanks to the new magical storage units he discovered while building the Dixon brothers’ treehouses, he didn’t have to worry about complex sewage lines... the waste simply vanished automatically after two hours. He also wired every single room with its own unlimited electricity and water source.
Gray then gave JARVIS his much-needed upgrade, allowing the AI to seamlessly control millions of Synth bodies across the country simultaneously. He installed heavy-duty radio towers all over the United States and launched state-of-the-art, self-repairing orbital satellites that JARVIS could reposition at will. Gray also remembered the EDITH satellite network from Spider-Man: Far From Home. He bought the entire space-drone defense system from the shop, upgrading the combat drones with automated tools so they could repair physical base structures from orbit.
Each state base was fitted with an underground school filled with SCP-5094 terminals. A few specific regional bases featured massive chemical factories to refine gas, diesel, and alternative biofuels.
The sprawling underground railway system was also 90% complete. Gray’s shadow clones, numbering in the hundreds, worked faster than ever by combining Earth Release with Toph’s Earthbending. Gray also put Hashirama’s Wood Release to great use, manifesting dense, protective forests around every base perimeter to keep them hidden from the outside world. He stocked the storage warehouses to the brim using his max-level Home Garden and level 25 Dimensional Farm resources. Certain outposts were built with unique resource specialties; for example, the new base in Montana was designed as a massive ranching hub holding thousands of live animals, which the local Synths would butcher and safely distribute to other states via the quiet, battery-powered electric trains.
VEGA also received a massive defensive upgrade, granting the military AI absolute control over millions of heavily armed T-800 and Code-8 androids to maintain an ironclad perimeter watch around every state.
Gray had originally planned to delay his world-jump until Dr. Jenner and Candace discovered a permanent cure on their own, but it looked like the human scientists still needed far too much time to crack the airborne virus. Not wanting to wait around any longer, Gray opened the system shop and simply purchased a cure for the pathogen. He walked down into the subterranean lab and handed the formula directly to the Jenners so they could reverse-engineer it for mass production.
Gray wanted to leave this universe very soon, and he absolutely did not want to risk taking the airborne walker virus with him to his next destination. Just thinking about accidentally infecting a brand-new universe gave him the literal shivers. If he landed in a high-power world like Marvel and accidentally triggered a Marvel Zombies apocalypse because he was careless, it would be an absolute disaster. He was wrapping up his loose ends, ensuring this world was a paradise before he clicked rebirth.
For the next few days, his training dimension became available again, but Gray chose to skip it this time. He wanted to stay in the real world to make sure the massive national network worked perfectly.
Down in the prison lab, the Jenners had been working with the cure for two days. They successfully reverse-engineered the formula and began mass-producing it in their advanced underground facility. A group of survivors volunteered to test the new vaccine. The Jenners injected them, taking blood samples every few hours and monitoring their vitals around the clock.
After a few days of observation, the tests showed nothing out of the ordinary, the cured volunteers were completely healthy and showed zero signs of the airborne wildfire virus returning to their bloodstreams. The lab staff celebrated the breakthrough. The doctors also tested the injection on a few captured walkers, which instantly went limp and stopped moving. It was exactly what they expected, since the virus was the only thing keeping the dead animated, removing it simply allowed the corpses to finally rest, without bringing them back to life.
It took Gray exactly one week to finish building at least one massive base in every single state across the country. He even constructed a few extra bases in the larger states to cover more ground. Once all the new high-tech radio towers and global satellites were online, JARVIS started broadcasting a continuous, 24/7 message across all frequencies. The broadcast announced that there was a secure, fully supplied safe space waiting for every single survivor who wanted a home, and that a permanent cure for the virus had been found and was ready to be distributed to anyone who wanted it.
Thanks to the broadcasts, the new state bases started filling up with people incredibly fast. A few heavily armed raider factions tried to attack the perimeters to take the luxury facilities for themselves, but VEGA’s upgraded network of T-800 and Code-8 androids dispatched them in minutes with overwhelming firepower.
Inside the walls, a few entitled groups tried to start riots and form internal factions to overthrow JARVIS and his Synth leaders so they could take control of the bases. Gray knew that humans naturally craved power and wouldn’t bend the knee easily to an automated system. But after seeing the flawless security, free electricity, hot water, and infinite food available to them, the fact that they still chose to create problems and try to steal the base angered him. Gray didn’t hesitate. He gave a direct order to JARVIS to instantly expel every single instigator from the bases and place a lifetime ban on their biometric data, preventing them from ever entering any base in the network again. If they wanted to cause destruction, they weren’t welcome anywhere near.
Since Gray still had plenty of time before his next major step, he expanded his shadow clone construction projects across international borders. He sent his clones to reclaim Canada and Mexico. He built the exact same automated base layouts there, linking them with deep underground railway lines. Building underground was especially perfect for Canada, ensuring the high-speed electric trains could move survivors and cargo safely through the heavy winter snow without any issues.
To streamline travel across the continent, Gray also constructed massive airports at several designated regional bases. If people needed to travel to far-away states or across countries, the trains would simply take too long. He opened his system shop, purchased state-of-the-art blueprints for various commercial and cargo airplanes, and put specific manufacturing bases in charge of building the aircraft and performing routine maintenance.
Every region was given a specific focus to keep the continental trade network balanced. Some states were placed in charge of mass-producing vehicles, others focused entirely on heavy crop agriculture, and states like Montana acted as massive livestock ranchers. Gray had accomplished far more in the last ten days than he ever thought possible. Now, just 15 days after stepping out of his last training cycle, he had completely reclaimed three entire countries, building a safe, high-tech paradise that would never struggle to survive again.
Over the next few days, the bases all over the continent started filling up fast. Gray had already planned ahead for this massive migration, specifically building enough housing blocks at every location to easily hold hundreds of thousands of people. As the communities grew, certain survivors naturally started showing strong leadership traits. Whenever JARVIS noticed someone trustworthy stepping up to help others, he would officially offer them the option to join the council of their respective base to help run local logistics.
Seeing that the entire continental network was running flawlessly, Gray chose to get in one final training session before permanently leaving this universe.
He stepped inside the Training Dimension for his last 30-day cycle. Gray spent his time training under heavy gravity to keep building his physical stamina to maximum levels. He also spawned a massive army of shadow clones, assigning them to study under different masters to learn a wide variety of advanced fighting styles and martial arts from across the fictional universes. Thanks to his Gogeta talent, the clones absorbed the techniques perfectly. Just like that, another simulated month inside the void flew by.
Coming out of the dimension, he used his Jumper ability to teleport straight back into his private quarters at the Georgia prison base. He took a long, hot shower to relax his muscles, and then used his Clothes Beam magic to manifest a brand-new set of heavy, weighted clothes for himself. He designed the outfit to look exactly like Xeno Goku’s attire: loose, baggy black pants held by a blue sash, a long-sleeve black compression shirt underneath a dark red vest, and blue leg wraps over his black combat boots.
Adjusting the weighted fabric, Gray felt completely ready. He walked out of his house and headed straight to the main prison building to call the Council together for one last official meeting. He needed to let Rick, Shane, and the rest of the leadership team know that he was finally departing on his journey, and that he would not be available for a very long while.
Gray walked into the main room and told the council to gather for an urgent meeting. Within five minutes, every seat was taken. Rick, Shane, Negan, Abraham, Ezekiel, Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne all sat around the table, with Merle and Daryl leaning against the back wall.
Gray stood at the head of the room and looked at the faces of the people he had spent months saving, protecting, and organizing.
"I wanted to bring you all in to thank you for your hard work," Gray started, his voice calm and steady. "Everything across the country is fully stable, and because of that, I’m ready to head out on my journey."
Rick leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly on the table. "So, you’re really leaving then?"
"Yes," Gray replied with a nod. "Every single base across the states has new, trustworthy leaders stepping up. The cure is mass-produced, and the rail and satellite grids are entirely online. There are more places out there for me to explore. Besides, you guys have everything you need to continue running this place without me in the picture."
Merle stepped away from the wall, crossing his arms and spitting to the side. "What if I said I wanted to tag along, kid? Would you take me with you? I could use a change of scenery."
"No," Gray continued. "I don’t know exactly where I might be going, or just how dangerous it’s going to get out there. I can’t risk taking anyone with me."
From the entryway, Amy leaned against the doorframe, her expression soft and a bit worried. "Why do I feel like you’re actually saying goodbye? Like you’re not coming back at all?"
Gray looked over at her and gave a small, honest shrug. "Because that’s exactly what it is. I honestly don’t know if I will ever be able to come back here. That’s the exact reason why I spent the last few weeks working around the clock to leave absolutely everything perfectly ready for you guys."
The room fell into a heavy and long silence. They spent about ten more minutes speaking, with the council members expressing their deep gratitude to him, who had single-handedly dragged humanity out of the Dark Ages and built a continental utopia. Once the final goodbyes were said, Gray didn’t wait around for things to get overly emotional.
He activated his Jumper Ability and blinked straight into the subterranean biological lab. Dr. Jenner was waiting for him, holding a syringe loaded with the freshly reverse-engineered, mass-produced vaccine. Gray rolled up the sleeve of his black compression shirt, and Jenner administered the shot.
With the vaccine circulating in his Saiyan blood, Gray used his Jumper ability one last time. He teleported high into the open air, floating effortlessly miles above the clouds where the earth below looked quiet and peaceful.
Before clicking the rebirth option, Gray glanced down at his system wallet and noticed he still had an absolute mountain of Gold left over. Realizing it would be a complete waste to let all that wealth simply disappear into nothingness, he decided to look for any permanent quality-of-life upgrades he could buy right now. He opened up his inventory menu and started purchasing extra storage slots. He spent a decent chunk of his fortune expanding his carrying capacity until he had secured at least 40 individual inventory spaces, ensuring he would have plenty of room to hoard items and gear in the next universe. Satisfied with his preparation, Gray finally navigated back to the main menu and officially clicked the [Rebirth] option.
Instantly, a large, glowing prompt materialized right in front of his eyes.
[Please select the 3 powers/abilities you want to take with you to your next adventure]
Right beneath the text, a long, comprehensive list appeared, detailing every single item, perk, trait, and magic system he had purchased during his entire stay in The Walking Dead universe. Gray didn’t need to deliberate. He had already optimized his survival kit for the multiverse. He scrolled through the list and tapped his three chosen powers.
1.-{Saiyan Physiology}
2.- {Home Garden}(Max level, providing his infinite food, materials, and potential dimensional travel link)
3.- {Training Dimension}(With his massive custom roster of unlocked masters and enemies completely saved in the database)
The moment his fingers selected the third option, a system chime rang out in his mind. The sky around him began to blur, and the bright moonlight faded away as his vision started going pitch black. A heavy, peaceful weight pressed down on his consciousness, and Gray felt himself drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.
TITLE: Leaving the Walking Dead Universe.