"Not bad, not bad at all. You look quite presentable."
Shawn smiled as he looked at Carl.
Carl, on the other hand, became embarrassed and said, troubled,
"Shawn, what do you mean by 'presentable'? This is how I naturally am."
Shawn chuckled, and it wasn't until he wiped the corner of his eye that he regained his serious expression.
"Alright, no more fooling around. Go put on the equipment I prepared for you, and we'll continue with the training."
Following the direction of Shawn's finger, Carl looked towards a traditional bow lying quietly in the corner, with a leather quiver lying beside it, containing about 20 crude wooden arrows.
This was an Lv5 bow and arrows that Shawn had crafted after upgrading his building skills through the 'magazine' last time.
The damage wasn't high, but it was enough for Carl to use.
Compared to firearms, Shawn believed that arrow-type weapons were also suitable for Carl.
If not, it wouldn't be bad to switch to other weapons once they reached the Prison later.
Seeing Carl fully equipped, Shawn nodded in satisfaction as he looked at him.
Carl's right arm was partially exposed, along with his clothing, while other parts were covered by wooden armor. A bow and quiver were slung across his back, making Carl's figure appear even more slender.
Shawn also found a dark gauntlet for Carl to wear on his right hand.
At this point, Carl's equipment was complete.
Taking Carl downstairs, the red overlord was parked by Shawn diagonally opposite. The two got into the car, and Shawn drove towards the highway.
…
highway.
"Using a traditional bow isn't complicated, and it doesn't require too much strength to draw. The main thing is to maintain accuracy."
"You haven't learned archery before, so it's better to start from the very basics."
After the horde, there were still a few Walkers wandering on the highway; all the others had been carried away by the horde.
Shawn pointed to a Walker approaching in the distance and said to Carl,
"Archery is divided into five steps."
"Holding the bow, nocking the arrow, drawing the bow, aiming, and releasing."
"When holding the bow, the center of gravity should be lower, and the force should be moderate. Even a little too much or too little force will affect the stability of the arrow after it flies out."
"The nock must be steady. The draw weight of this bow should be suitable for the arrows…"
Shawn meticulously explained the basic precautions for using a bow to Carl.
A traditional bow is not like a crossbow; it's not as powerful as a crossbow, nor is it as easy to use.
However, its advantages are that it's lighter and more mobile, which is exactly suitable for the small-framed Carl.
"Slow your breathing, adjust the aiming angle of the arrow according to the target distance, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Walkers are your excellent sparring partners."
Shawn leaned close to Carl's ear, quietly adjusting the aiming angle of the arrow for him.
With a crisp, whistling sound.
Whoosh—!
The arrow solidly pierced the Walker's eye socket, and the Walker crashed to the ground.
"Although a traditional bow is not as powerful as a crossbow and cannot easily penetrate bones, striking through weak points like the eyes and mouth can also effectively kill Walkers or even humans."
"Besides that, when attacking humans, there are also the heart, kidneys, knees, backs of the legs, and inner thighs."
"These areas can quickly incapacitate the opponent, leaving them at your mercy for a short period."
Shawn narrowed his eyes, and Carl responded softly,
"Got it, Shawn."
Carl began to practice on his own.
It seemed that from clumsily hitting a Walker's chest to accurately hitting a Walker's mouth, it only took one afternoon.
Shawn and Carl worked together to kill the remaining Walkers on the highway.
Until the seventh day.
An arrow streaked through the rainy weather, hitting the Walker's ear canal precisely and penetrating its brain.
"Shawn, that's where we hid from the horde."
Shawn looked in the direction Carl was pointing and saw an open space ahead, which must have been cleared by Rick and the others when they first arrived here.
And not far from there, a truckload of unopened bottled drinking water was quietly sitting.
Shane was the first to discover it, but because of the horde, they hadn't come to retrieve it yet.
After all, the Camp's food and water were already sufficient, so there was no need to venture out on a long journey.
Shawn took the opportunity to load all these bottled water bottles onto the truck and put them into the isolated water tank in the back half of the vehicle.
Then he took some oil from the abandoned cars and poured it into the fire truck.
Only then did the two continue walking forward.
After walking about two kilometers, the broken cars here visibly became sparse, scattered in twos and threes on the highway.
After another 500 meters, Shawn's eyes lit up as he saw a white cargo truck that had crashed through the highway guardrail.
Arriving at the back of the truck, Shawn gave Carl a gesture, looking at the securely locked cargo box.
After several days, Carl and Shawn had already developed a tacit understanding.
Carl nodded, then drew his bow to full draw, aiming directly at the cargo box.
Shawn raised his giant hammer high and smashed it towards the cargo box's chain.
Duang~~
The chain fell to the ground with a clang, the sound echoing for hundreds of meters nearby.
Shawn stepped forward and yanked open the cargo box!
Whoosh—!
The imagined foul-smelling Walkers did not rush out.
Instead, countless plastic packages fell to the ground, making a crashing sound.
Countless small cakes gushed out of the cargo box, piling up on the ground.
Shawn took a look, then happily picked up a pack and checked the product information on the back.
"Isn't it true that these things are the essence of human industry?"
"After all these days, they're still edible."
Looking at the expiration date, Shawn tore open a pack and handed it to Carl, while he opened one for himself.
The moment it entered his mouth, a fresh, milky flavor immediately came, followed by a faint hint of vanilla.
"Vanilla flavor."
"Shawn, mine is… strawberry flavor," Carl said, his words slightly unclear.
It had been a while since either of them had tasted these flavors, and they were craving them.
Then, he drove the fire truck over and threw all the small cakes into the isolated water tank to pack and take away.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Shawn suddenly relaxed and let out a long sigh.
"Do you remember what day it is since we left the Camp, Carl?"
"It's the seventh day, Shawn!"
Carl's eyes sparkled, and he responded with some anticipation.
"Let's go, back to the Camp!"
"Back to the Camp!!"
Carl raised his traditional bow with one hand, unable to help but cheer.
The training was over, and Carl could finally go back and see Lori and Rick.
He just wondered if Lori and Rick had been worried sick since Carl was only returning after all these days…