After recounting the events of the past few days, Rick looked at Shawn and Daryl and finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask.
"How are you all doing?"
Rick carefully observed the few people who had parted ways from the Quarry Camp, and their condition was surprisingly good.
Not just materially.
This feeling was more like… there was finally hope for the future.
"If Jacqui had chosen to follow Shawn back then, perhaps she wouldn't have chosen to commit suicide, right?" Rick wavered slightly.
"Us?"
Shawn and Daryl exchanged glances. Daryl suppressed the upward curve of his lips, using a small twig to poke at the bonfire.
Shawn turned his head, a look of composure on his face, and spoke truthfully.
"We don't really have much."
"Just plenty of food, plenty of water, a stable Camp environment, and friendly neighbors, that's all. Besides that, there's nothing else."
When he mentioned 'friendly neighbors,' Shawn specifically glanced at Hershel and the others.
For this apocalypse, Hershel was truly one of the few good people, a benevolent and kind old man.
However, what Shawn casually referred to as 'basic conditions' sounded completely different to the others.
Lori held little Carl in her arms, looking at Sophia, a hint of envy well-hidden in her eyes.
Sophia had only been at the Farm for one day, and she already looked much better.
Poor little Carl had been traveling all this way, and only today could he finally eat a warm meal.
As soon as she thought of this, a worried expression appeared on Lori's face.
Old Dale, sitting beside her, adjusted his fishing hat, his eyes slightly open as he looked at Shawn and confirmed.
"You have a lot of food and water?"
Having rushed away from the Centers for Disease Control, they were chased by Walkers and barely had time to catch their breath. Plus, without Daryl and Merle, their skilled hunters, they were almost out of supplies.
Even the RV, which had always been running, was almost ruined and had been temporarily abandoned on the road they came from.
Tsk—
A scoff came from behind them.
Merle still couldn't hold back. He guided everyone's gaze towards the fire truck, raising his hand and pointing forcefully into the air.
"Shawn went to the town to the east by himself to Search for two days and two nights, almost filling the entire fire truck. The food he brought back is enough for us to eat for half a year."
"Now that you all are here, I think we'll need to resupply in two months at most."
Merle's words were a bit harsh, but they were also the truth.
So, uncharacteristically, upon hearing Merle's sarcasm, even Shane remained silent.
They were living so well, was it all because of Shawn?
Everyone silently elevated Shawn's importance by several notches in their hearts.
Being able to eat and drink their fill, and having a safe, long-term place to live, was already the greatest happiness for these survivors who had been whipped by the apocalypse.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Daryl threw the twig into the fire, still deciding to speak.
"On the way, Merle's and my motorcycle was stolen."
"Shawn personally took us to that group of survivors' Camp and got the motorcycle back, and also taught those people a lesson."
"What survivor Camp?" Glenn couldn't help but ask.
He had always been the team's living map, which relied on his agile movements and excellent memory.
They had traveled across the highway to find Sophia, and met Daryl halfway, who then led them all the way to the Farm.
But in Glenn's memory, he didn't know of any survivor Camp; there were only aimlessly wandering Walkers.
"Roughly in the center of the town, a two-story building in a square area."
Daryl stuffed a strip of meat into his mouth, recalling and describing the survivor Camp he had seen that night.
It was… that place?!
Glenn's heart instantly tightened upon hearing this.
He couldn't forget that survivor Camp filled with dense corpses; everything inside had been thoroughly plundered, leaving nothing but shattered skulls.
Just hearing Daryl's description, Glenn couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, a chill running straight up his spine to the top of his head.
"That was almost 20 people, and there were dense bullet holes nearby. They were actually taken out by Shawn with just two people??"
This almost exceeded Glenn's comprehension. He swore that in the first 20 years of his life, he had never seen anyone so fierce.
Looking at Shawn again, a hint of fear entered Glenn's gaze.
But if Glenn knew that this group of survivors originally had 30 people, and almost half of the remaining ones were taken out by Shawn himself with the Berserkers, he would probably be even more shocked.
"In just a few days, they've done so much… while we've only been concerned with escaping…"
This was almost the silent thought of everyone from Rick's team present.
Hearing Daryl and Merle's words, even Shane became more cautious towards Shawn.
Shawn's oppressive presence was as strong as ever.
In the apocalypse, people could be without food, but they couldn't be without guns.
And in a team, one could be without guns, but one couldn't be without someone like Shawn.
Even if such a person did nothing, just being in the team was a powerful and undeniable deterrent.
"Actually, it's nothing; it's just that if people don't offend me, I don't offend them."
Shawn smiled, and everyone's reactions, big and small, fell into his eyes.
If they knew I still had half a backpack of thermal weapons and half a backpack of heavily stacked food, wouldn't they be even more surprised…
Shawn thought to himself.
However, he didn't take out these supplies at this time.
Firstly, the team was difficult to lead; Shawn had only been with the Quarry Camp for a few days, and more time was needed for them to gel.
Secondly, it wasn't the right time. Currently, they weren't short on food, nor were they facing a major enemy. The important supplies in his backpack could be used as 'hidden backup energy.'
Moreover, providing help in a critical moment is completely different from adding to something already good.
Shawn didn't stop Daryl from speaking because he wanted to make himself more and more important in the team… until he became an inseparable part of the entire team.
Upon hearing Shawn's response, everyone present, including Rick, nodded secretly.
"That's right, 'if people don't offend me, I don't offend them,' that's perfectly put!"
"Do you… have any other plans or suggestions going forward?"
A familiar question, a familiar formula.
However, this time Old Dale didn't choose democracy but directly asked Shawn for his thoughts.
After all, the facts had already proven that Shawn possessed foresight and strength beyond most people in the team!
Old Dale