As the familiar van slowly drove into the quarry camp, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and went to meet it.
The doors opened, and Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog jumped out one after another.
Immediately after, a figure that took everyone in the camp by surprise emerged from the back—it was Merle Dixon.
"What? Are you bastards surprised to see me back?"
Merle stretched his neck, dusted himself off, and broke into a provocative grin.
"Sorry to disappoint you. I'm alive and well."
Most people in the camp were used to his behavior and ignored him.
Morales stood at the back of the crowd, his eyes filled with wonder. He carefully observed the returning group and found the atmosphere a bit strange.
He had thought that after being abandoned, the Dixon brothers, especially Merle, would be at odds with Rick and the others.
But looking at them now, although they still didn't have friendly expressions, that tense sense of confrontation seemed to have eased quite a bit.
What exactly did they experience on this trip?
Just as he was lost in thought, another figure stepped down from the vehicle, causing his pupils to shrink suddenly.
It was a blond boy who looked to be barely in his early teens.
Huh?
Morales's eyes widened, and he glanced again at the now-empty van.
Didn't Rick go back this time to find his son? Could it be that this child is... "Oh, my god!"
Before he could figure it out, Andrea's voice, filled with a hint of admiration, rang out from the crowd.
"Rick, where did you bring back such a little angel for us?"
Everyone followed the sound, their gazes passing through the gaps between several adults, finally seeing the child who had been blocked behind them.
It was a blond boy of about eleven or twelve. He wore a blue jacket and carried a large hiking backpack that was extremely disproportionate to his size.
Most striking was the wide, brownish sheriff's hat on his head; beneath the brim was a face with features so delicate they made one's eyes light up.
Seemingly unaccustomed to being the center of attention, he smiled somewhat awkwardly, his deep blue eyes holding a trace of curiosity about the new environment.
At this moment, Louis had just taken a shower at the nursing home, secretly used "Scourgify" on himself, and changed into the new clothes he had collected.
Now, he was playing his far-beyond-ordinary appearance to its full advantage. With just one look, he won the favor of almost everyone in the camp.
Especially the women who had children of their own; looking at Louis's clean and well-behaved appearance, their gazes instantly softened.
Rick was tightly embracing his wife and child. Hearing Andrea's words, he let go of his family, a look of relief on his face as he solemnly introduced him to the others in the camp:
"He is the one I told you about, my other son, Louis."
The camp fell silent for a moment, followed by an even louder burst of discussion.
"Huh? What did you say?!"
"This is your son?"
"My god, he looks barely older than Carl!"
Andrea, with her blonde ponytail, was even more astonished. She looked at Glenn in disbelief:
"Glenn, you didn't see wrong, did you? Louis is just a child! How could he kill Walkers while riding a horse?"
"Everything I said is true!"
Glenn felt questioned and spread his hands with a look of grievance. "If you don't believe me, ask T-Dog and the others! Louis was the one who saved Merle yesterday!"
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Merle again.
"That's right," Merle snorted, confirming it without hesitation. "Yesterday I saw it with my own eyes. This kid used those little gadgets of his and took out three Walkers in an instant."
"He's much better than you bunch of useless trash who only know how to stay in camp and rot."
Louis was originally trying to play the role of a newcomer, a child cautiously observing everyone. Hearing Merle's words, his scalp suddenly felt numb.
He hurriedly stepped out from behind Rick, his face showing a bit of shyness and unease after being praised, and explained in a low voice:
"I was just lucky. Before, at Harrison Hospital, I learned some techniques for dealing with Walkers from a patient."
It was actually true!
Looking at Louis's harmless face and then thinking of the scene where he cleanly took out Walkers, everyone felt a huge sense of incongruity and shock.
Andrea walked straight to Louis's side and couldn't help but reach out to ruffle his soft blond hair.
She looked into the boy's eyes, her face showing undisguised admiration. "Although that guy Merle always talks nonsense, he's right this time."
"You are indeed much better than some people who only hide in camp and do nothing! Welcome to the group, little guy."
Ed, who was sitting by the fire waiting boredly for dinner, seemed to feel someone was insulting him. He glanced over with dissatisfaction but ultimately said nothing.
"Child, you must have suffered a lot before."
The camp's good man, Dale, walked over. This old man with graying hair and beard looked at Louis and sighed with heartache.
"You were actually able to handle Walkers on your own, good Lord..."
He patted Louis on the shoulder, his tone gentle but firm. "Don't worry... from now on in the camp, we will definitely take good care of you."
As he spoke, he also cast a disapproving look toward Rick.
Before, hearing Glenn's description, Dale had thought Louis was a rebellious youth in his late teens or early twenties, so he hadn't said much.
But seeing him now, he realized the other party was just a child around ten years old!
This made him completely unable to agree with Rick's action of letting Louis face Walkers alone in Atlanta.
Especially when he noticed that Louis's blond hair was completely different from the brown hair of Rick and his wife, some of his own guesses arose in the old man's heart, making him determined to have a good "talk" with Rick later.
Most people in the camp had attitudes similar to Andrea and Dale.
The appearance of this child and the "legends" surrounding him formed a huge contrast, which made them feel a sense of curiosity while also giving Louis a heartfelt sense of pity and favor.
Rick felt the complex gazes from everyone and was already mentally prepared for it.
He didn't mind everyone's dissatisfaction; rather, their attitude of wanting to protect the child made him trust the camp a bit more.
However, he didn't plan to explain anything right now.
He just waited until the people surrounding Louis had dispersed slightly before leading Lori forward and giving Louis a warm hug.
Lori also knelt down, gently kissed Louis's forehead, and then took a fruit candy out of her pocket.
"Are you okay, child?" Her voice was very soft. "I've already heard from your father about what happened before. Go and get some good rest first."
Louis looked at the candy, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He carefully took it and said softly, "Thank you..."
At that moment, Glenn looked on, and as if thinking of something, said to Lori, "By the way, Lori, weren't you always wanting to warn survivors not to enter Atlanta? Louis thought of that too!"
"When we were coming back, he had already made a warning sign and even stood it up at the intersection with us!"
Hearing this, Louis looked at Glenn with some surprise, seemingly not understanding why he suddenly brought this up. Glenn winked at him playfully.
Lori was indeed overjoyed. "My god, I didn't know you guys did that!"
Louis scratched his head sheepishly. "No... I didn't make it. Rick did most of the work; I just helped write a few words."
"Everyone helped with installing the sign later. Uncle Merle's hand was injured, but he still helped us hammer the rebar into the ground."