The bonfire meeting ended.
Shawn leaned against a tree outside the wooden house, watching the excited people walk around the Camp, while listening carefully to the faint sounds coming from inside the wooden house.
Ever since the meeting concluded and Hershel uttered those words, the sounds from the second floor of the wooden house had barely ceased.
Hearing another heavy slamming of the door, Shawn picked up a wooden stick from the ground, inserted its tip into the dirt, and drew a straight line downwards.
Beside this line, there were three other identical marks.
"Tonight, that's the fourth door slam."
Shawn chuckled.
Even now, Hershel stubbornly believed he could survive without leaving the Farm.
The facts were laid out before everyone; even if the Farm employees Jimmy, Otis, and Patricia remained silent, Beth, with her gentle nature, wouldn't defy her father's decision.
However, Maggie couldn't possibly tolerate it, and she absolutely wouldn't.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Prison was safer than the Farm, and staying at the Prison was a consideration for the future.
Not to mention the crucial element of Glenn, which firmly bound Maggie to the Quarry Camp side.
Maggie didn't want to leave Glenn.
Young, infatuated lovers, how could they consider what was too logical or not?
Not wanting to be separated was the truest reflection of their deepest feelings at that moment.
So when Hershel said, 'I still need to consider it,' Shawn wasn't anxious at all.
Because he knew that even if he didn't persuade Hershel, someone else would help him do it.
And Maggie, as the eldest daughter, intervening would be far more effective than Shawn doing so.
Playing the emotional card, of course, it's best for family members to do it.
After all, at this point, winning or losing wasn't the most important thing.
Whoosh—
Just as Shawn thought of this, another sound of a door opening suddenly came from inside the wooden house.
The wood groaned, and then a burst of muffled arguing erupted.
Shawn smiled as he picked up the wooden stick and added another mark next to the four existing ones.
"Fifth time."
And as Shawn's words fell, another heavy door slam echoed from inside the wooden house.
This situation continued almost until 6 AM.
The sky was already faintly bright, the Camp had disappeared, replaced by six vehicles, including the 'red overlord'.
One RV, one fire truck, two cars, and two motorcycles.
All supplies had been packed into the vehicles by everyone, and they all looked back.
The wooden house door behind Shawn creaked again, but this time it didn't close immediately.
Shawn turned around and saw Hershel emerge, wearing a dark yellow hat and a dark brown suit jacket over his overalls.
Hershel now had two faint dark circles under his eyes; it was clear without guessing that he hadn't slept at all last night.
Behind Hershel, Maggie and others walked out of the wooden house, carrying large and small bags.
Their faces were wreathed in smiles, their eyes curved, clearly overjoyed.
Glenn rushed forward, disregarding Hershel's gaze, and immediately gave Maggie a hug.
The two unabashedly kissed in front of everyone.
"Your father agreed?"
Glenn glanced at Hershel.
"Mm-hmm." Maggie's face was slightly red as she nodded.
Upon hearing this, Glenn immediately took the luggage from Maggie's hand and started to leave, but he stopped when he passed Shawn and stared at him expectantly.
There was almost no extra space in the convoy... except for Shawn's fire truck, which was half-filled with supplies.
"Go on, go on." Shawn rolled his eyes at him and waved his hand impatiently.
Still showing off their affection in the apocalypse, this scoundrel...
"Thanks, Shawn!"
Glenn grinned foolishly, then busily delivered the luggage to the isolation tank.
"I thought you'd stay behind alone."
Shawn walked forward with a smile, teasing Hershel.
"The Farm is my everything, but without my daughters, the Farm would lose its meaning."
Hershel sighed, his gaze complex as he looked into the distance; this was the place he had lived for decades, the culmination of his life's work.
But between the Farm and his family, Hershel wrestled all night, ultimately choosing his family.
Perhaps for him, wherever his family was, that was the Farm.
His few employees successively placed the supplies and luggage into the isolation tank, filling it completely.
Before getting into the car, Hershel took one last look back at the solitary wooden house.
With a soft 'bang'.
The vehicles drove off, leaving long tire tracks, slowly moving forward.
This was the road ahead for the vehicles, and also the path forward for everyone's future.
The wheels rolled, kicking up dust in the bright sun gradually emerging from the clouds, reflecting a ethereal glow.
...
"As long as we're moving, we still have plenty of time."
"So there's no need to rush too much; it's best to proceed steadily."
Rick said from the passenger seat of the 'red overlord'.
In the back seat, Lori and Carl sat on one side, while Carol and Sophia sat on the other.
In front of the 'red overlord' was the slowest-moving RV, and behind it were two smaller cars.
The motorcycles, driven by Daryl and Merle, were at the very front, scouting the way for everyone.
All the larger vehicles maintained the RV's speed so that no one would fall behind.
Rick checked his watch: "We'll have lunch and replenish our energy in about 5 hours and 30 minutes."
"If we're lucky, Daryl and Merle might even find some game along the way."
"No problem." Shawn, in the driver's seat, smoothly shifted down a gear, indicating his agreement.
Today was sunny and bright; aside from being a bit hot, the road conditions were clear and unobstructed, and they didn't encounter any special situations.
The Walkers that darted out from both sides of the jungle along the way couldn't even keep up with the slowest speed of the convoy.
After chasing for a few meters, they were quickly left far behind by the convoy, and before long, they once again fell into a state of aimless wandering.
Rural roads in the US don't have rest areas, but there's a motel every few dozen kilometers along the way.
It was approximately close to one in the afternoon.
At Shawn's signal, Rick squeezed the handheld radio.
"It's almost time; we'll stop at the motel to rest for a bit, eat something, and then leave... Over."
After only a few seconds, voices from other vehicles successively came through the handheld radio.
"Received... static... Over."
"Received, I want to refuel here as well... Over."
"Received, Daryl just came over to ask when we could eat, haha... Over."
"No one would think you were lacking if you didn't speak... static..."
As if remembering something, Daryl immediately added another sentence.
... Over.
Shawn heard everyone's responses, and it seemed everyone was in good spirits at the moment.