Shawn stood by the extinguished campfire, holding the food Andrea had given him.
Carol sat quietly opposite him, her sadness almost gone save for her still-red eyes.
Everyone sat silently together, the only sounds being the clinking of spoons against metal mess tins.
"What are you all so gloomy about? We just won a battle!"
"Woah, woah, woah, just a few hours ago, we were working together to shove a Zombie's head into its own eye socket."
As he said this, Merle gave T-Dog a malicious look, shifting his feet back and forth, looking eager for a fight.
In fact, they had already fought once; T-Dog was pinned down and beaten by Merle. If the Camp members hadn't intervened, T-Dog would have been beaten to death today.
"Merle, can't you just calm down!"
Shane frowned, looking at him displeased.
He had enough worries these past two days; his girlfriend was gone, his future adopted son was gone, and his brother was back. If Merle dared to talk back now, he would beat him until he couldn't take care of himself.
Of course, if Daryl wasn't factored in…
"What should we do next?" Amy suddenly asked everyone, though her eyes involuntarily turned to Shawn.
"Perhaps we should listen to everyone's opinions."
As the elder, Dale was best at providing ideas. He didn't offend people, but he also wouldn't let others casually decide everyone's lives.
After speaking, Dale focused his gaze on Shane, Rick, and Shawn.
As for Daryl and Merle… any clear-sighted person could see that they couldn't offer any suggestions beneficial to the team right now.
"OK, everyone listen to me. Maybe we should go to Fort Benning military base. I heard it hasn't fallen yet, and it's only about 100 miles from here."
"We'll pack our things and leave now, traveling non-stop during the day. We can arrive in at most three days."
"There, we can get protection from the army, which is much better than fending for ourselves out here."
Shane naturally stepped forward, speaking while observing everyone's expressions.
When he looked at Rick and Shawn beside Rick, his tone softened slightly, adding a hint of consultation.
With the arrival of the lion and this barbarian, Shane might have also noticed the change in his status within the team.
Of course, besides that, it was more about caring for an old friend.
Shane cared about Rick… and his wife and children.
Rick bit his lip, pondering for a moment: "Perhaps the CDC would be a good choice."
"No one pays attention to it, but who knows if the CDC has already developed an antidote to the virus?"
"Our team has strong males, soldiers, weapons, and ammunition; we are very powerful."
"But we also have women, children, and elders; we also have our weaknesses."
"If the CDC has already developed an antidote, we can also get the best protection there."
"Perhaps from there, the virus has been dismantled, and the apocalypse no longer exists."
Rick stared into everyone's eyes, analyzing seriously.
After listening to Rick, many people present seemed deeply moved, and even Dale's light-colored eyes under his fishing hat couldn't help but brighten.
Just for the grand vision Rick painted for them, they could only say it was truly enticing, because it perfectly touched upon their vulnerabilities.
Women needed a sense of security, elders couldn't always be shouting and fighting with the young people, and children also needed a place to settle down.
Glenn adjusted the brim of his baseball cap, subtly standing behind Rick.
Compared to Shane, he was more willing to trust Rick and place his life in Rick's hands.
At least on the topic of rescuing members, Rick never backed down, while Shane's performance… seemed somewhat indifferent.
After Shane and Rick finished speaking, everyone, including Merle and others, unconsciously turned their gaze to Shawn.
This man, whom they had only known for two days, displayed a domineering presence and combat prowess that normal apocalypse survivors shouldn't possess. Most importantly, from the very beginning, Shawn had always considered the team's welfare.
If it weren't for Shawn's suggestion and that bag of weapons, perhaps many of the people standing here would have died.
So, at least in the Quarry Camp team, Shawn definitely had a say… even though he had only joined for one day.
"Hmm…" Shawn pondered for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
He had the perspective of a pre-cognizant, so he naturally knew where the safest dwelling nearby was.
However, Shawn did not possess the power of a veto vote in the Quarry Camp at this time.
When there are three different voices in a team, it will only lead to division and conflict.
If nothing unexpected happened, even if Shawn made a suggestion, he could only take a portion of the Camp's people with him.
And whether the divided team could take down the Prison was one thing, but whether they could defend it after taking it down was still a big problem.
The number of Zombies in the Prison was uncertain, and a large number of Zombies would relentlessly attack outside the Prison's iron bars every day.
To counter these, Shawn needed the strength of the entire Quarry Camp, or even more.
But would Rick change his mind because of his suggestion now?
Shawn guessed probably not.
Rick had just found his wife and child, and he would definitely choose what seemed like a more secure method.
After thinking for a moment, Shawn still spoke.
"When I was following the army, I discovered a Farm not far to the south."
"It's far from the highway, in the suburbs, like a secluded paradise, even normal people would find it hard to discover."
"Perhaps we can go there. The jungle will be our natural protective barrier, and the Farm owner there is skilled in medicine and farming. We won't need to worry about food and safety issues there."
Shawn sighed in relief. He knew that the Farm was far less secure and convincing than the Prison, but the Prison could wait a bit. He also needed to leave some time to improve himself; anyway, Rick's group would eventually go to the Farm.
The Farm
The CDC
Fort Benning Military Base
Listening to the three options thrown out, the Camp members looked at each other, the instability of suddenly having to change their current living situation making them feel lost.
Fortunately, the Camp was not lacking in leaders.
There was the cold-blooded and decisive Shane, the benevolent and rational Rick, plus the cruel and brutal Shawn when dealing with Zombies.
What seemed like a difficult choice was actually quickly decided.
Rick's team: Lori, Little Carl, Dale, Shane, Glenn, Carol (Carol), T-Dog, Jim (the man who should have been bitten), Jacqui (the black woman who gave Merle the middle finger).
At first, Shane resisted fiercely, but until Rick emphasized it again…
Lori: Let's go, to the CDC. Carl and I will go together, I'll be with Rick.
Shane: Then I'll go too…
"You'd better be saying 'go together'!" Shawn couldn't help but retort.
Turning his head, he looked at his own team.
Daryl and Merle, on their motorcycles, revved their engines at Shawn, a clear sign of urging.
The customized 'Honda CB750' and'Sport Chief Series' customized motorcycles were enough for them to travel long distances.
Andrea sat in the driver's seat of a stretched 7-seater car, and Amy leaned out from behind her seat, waving at Shawn with a bright smile.
"Alright, just four. I can't take care of more anyway. These four are already quite sufficient."
Shawn surveyed his initial team members, finally nodding in satisfaction, and then looked at the two red small cars nearby.
A man in shorts and a light-colored vest stood beside his wife and child.
"The Morales family." Shawn secretly shook his head: "After all, one must respect others' fates. Good advice cannot save those who are meant to die."
The Morales family's last photo
Shawn and Rick, following either one would have been enough to save their lives, yet this family, as if blind, insisted on seeking refuge with those uncertain relatives…
Do you understand what'seeking refuge' means?
Later, this family tried every means to survive but ultimately died. Their fate after leaving the Camp was no better.