The central base—the heart of the S.C.T. community—and its growth had progressed smoothly, and the special teams constantly transporting materials from different places were returning to base.
At the same time, the exploration of various military bases was also advancing slowly under the leadership of Shane and Rick. To be precise, the camps that had been cleared out by Sam and his team weren't real military bases. All those outposts were just temporary camps built to manage the chaos when the world ended. But that didn't mean they didn't have valuable resources.
Nevertheless, all of them had been carefully secured by the forward base led by Jesus, so the focus had now shifted to the major military bases scattered around Atlanta.
But the process was slow. Many teams needed to gradually clear massive roadblocks before advancing and expanding the community's special routes—all while staying cautious of walker hordes that could appear at any time. Sometimes, special teams spent days clearing roads with vehicles, which was extremely frustrating.
And over time, as expeditions increased, deaths slowly began to occur, something that made Rick feel particularly burdened.
When Jesus was at a base, he carefully planned everything before heading out. His orders during battle and his role in base development helped prevent many dangerous situations. But since he left, Rick especially had struggled to manage such a massive base—there were too many trivial and complex matters demanding his attention, leaving him completely exhausted.
Watching members of the community unload anti-aircraft artillery from large military trucks in an open field, Rick walked over to Shane, who had arrived that morning. Seeing the tension on his friend's face, Shane was immediately intrigued.
"What's wrong?"
Rick extended his hand and pointed to the anti-aircraft artillery, shaking his head with a bit of uncertainty. "Shane, now I truly realize how difficult it must've been for Jesus in the beginning—managing a shelter, all of it. It's beyond exhausting. No wonder he relied on so many people to help him with the job."
Shane smiled and replied casually, "Brother, don't underestimate what you're doing. Jesus made sure to choose people who shared his mindset and potential to take on important roles like this. We're not bad leaders—we just don't lead the same way he does."
Hearing this, Rick's voice softened a little. "No, no... Ever since Jesus left this place, there have been so many deaths—again and again. When he was in charge here, there weren't any casualties except Jimmy, and his death was… probably because of Lori. Since then, I've killed a lot of scumbags out there—and I've kept it from Lori."
Noticing Rick's shifting attitude as a leader, Shane placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Jesus had a lot of problems in Texas. He lost a lot of people, and a damn lunatic cult nearly killed him. Losses are inevitable these days."
"Don't think that way—we've done a damn good job with the bases we've secured. Look how strong we're becoming. Few people could pull off what we've managed together. When Jesus promoted us, he suggested we lead important bases because he recognized our abilities."
Rick listened to Shane and nodded. The dead would rest, and the living would carry them as a weight of motivation. No one blamed Rick's leadership. In fact, everyone respected him and spoke highly of him. It would still be a while before Jesus returned, so they would do everything possible to prevent this place from falling into chaos.
"All we can do is judge people fairly and ensure everything continues to grow in an orderly way. We can't prevent accidents—but we can eliminate potential threats."
…
Just as Rick was struggling with doubts about his leadership, Jesus was also facing a few problems.
It had been more than a month since he made a pact with the Hilltop and Kingdom communities. From the moment he arrived in Alexandria, he realized that Hilltop had refused military assistance—making it the perfect target for what he intended to do next. With that in mind, he took Daryl and Merle to conduct an extensive survey around Alexandria.
In a short time, Jesus confirmed the location of Jadis's community in the junkyard and also found Oceanside. However, he decided not to contact those two strange communities just yet. Daryl and Merle didn't question his decisions.
As for the Salvation Army's whereabouts, Jesus didn't really care much. He did wonder if they were still at the factory as they originally were—was he really that far ahead of schedule?
With that question in mind, Jesus found one of the Salvation Army's outposts from the original timeline—a satellite station—but discovered it was empty. Aside from a small number of supplies, there was no one in sight.
Unwilling to believe they were truly absent, he then located the factory that used to be their headquarters—and found nothing there either.
Meanwhile, the rest of his group had been regularly traveling to the Hilltop to conduct small trades and gather information. They had become particularly familiar with two people: Billy and Bob.
Jesus hadn't sent soldiers to Hilltop. Instead, he sent survivors—and these two men were very well-liked in the shelters. They helped with many tasks, including handling trade logistics.
On one visit to the Kingdom to deliver a report and gather needs, Billy had resolved a critical issue—and Jesus, who had come to trade, witnessed it firsthand.
Bob, on the other hand, mainly helped people who needed medical evaluations. While Hilltop did have two doctors—an obstetrician and a gynecologist—Bob was a true military doctor. He was quite skilled at treating common illnesses and trauma.
In the Kingdom, people often got sick due to lack of proper medical care. Originally, Ezekiel's first option had been a nurse, but whenever he wanted to consult Jesus about something, the leader of the S.C.T. was nowhere to be found. So Bob was the most reliable person to speak with.
Initially, both sides traded primarily materials. But after several interactions, Jesus began requesting the things he needed to improve Alexandria—offering in return what Hilltop and the others wanted. Even though Hilltop hadn't joined his leadership, it didn't prevent him from building relationships—especially with Ezekiel.
Everyone was amazed by the combat power of Jesus's group. With only a dozen people, they still left strong impressions, proving that each had unique skills. Most of them were survivors—not soldiers like those guarding the Kingdom or Alexandria.
Among them, Jesus regretted the most that Hilltop had refused the protection of his people. Still, he was surprised that even so, they hadn't shown any hostility toward him. And before long, he had made many friends while going out alone.
Now, following Jesus's team—even though a large portion of supplies would be distributed—efficiency didn't increase much, making him realize that some of the people seemed stiff or uneasy.
After a recent outing, Jesus's group stayed in Alexandria, as they were exhausted from the frequent missions. Jesus told everyone to rest so they could think clearly about their next moves. Since arriving in the community, many Alexandria residents had joined his group and followed his orders.
After a month of training, they all seemed to have a more confident look in their eyes—which was exactly what Jesus had hoped to see from the start.
In a quiet spot, Jesus looked at Madison's group, who were sitting with many familiar faces. He greeted everyone before sitting down.
"How's everyone been doing this past week?"
Nick, sitting nearby, smiled sincerely. "This place is just like you promised. All these people are starting from scratch, just like you said—so it was easy for us to fit in."
"It's a good place, Jesus…" Madison added, gazing at the peaceful and beautiful community that was Alexandria.
Everyone from Texas nodded at those words, and many remained silent.
Merle joked with a grin, "Well, I had to train one of the kids you brought from Texas—Nick, right? Don't forget to learn from me if you want to be a real warrior."
Everyone laughed at that.
And the natives of Alexandria had become more familiar with Madison's group, joining them in this small gathering. During this time, their training could be described as rapid progress. Most of them could now handle large groups of walkers on their own. While there were still some accidents, they had become excellent trainees, learning from their mistakes.
The first dozen Alexandria residents who joined the training had gradually grown to over thirty. And now, with Madison's people, Alexandria had become a large community of hundreds.
In the distance, Deanna observed the group in the open field with thoughtful eyes. Over the past month, the changes brought by Jesus's group were obvious. One could see it in the shifting attitudes of her own people. Even though there were only a dozen or so closely connected individuals, they were all people who used to venture out regularly in Alexandria.
She agreed with many of their actions—but her position as a leader restricted some of her behavior. If she were just a regular member of the community, she would've joined Jesus's team without hesitation.
But there were still concerns weighing on her conscience. She knew she needed to have a proper conversation with Jesus—once and for all—and finally learn what he hadn't told her since arriving in this place.
Down below, the group was chatting cheerfully, but only Alicia noticed Deanna's movements and immediately showed a thoughtful expression—wondering what was really going on.