Everyone gathered in the cafeteria hall of the Administrative Building.
When Rick and Shane stepped into the first-floor cafeteria, they immediately sensed the suffocating atmosphere.
And when Rick sat down, Lori, who was beside him, met his gaze and shook her head at him.
Little Carl was currently lying on her lap, sleeping peacefully.
Because of Shawn's words before he left, Carl had trained all day and had only recently fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Carl still didn't know about Shawn, and Lori didn't know how to tell him.
As Carl's mother, no one knew better than Lori the place Shawn held in Carl's heart.
Rick shifted his gaze and walked to the table, sitting down.
His eyes scanned everyone, finally landing on an empty stool.
On the stool was a bowl of mashed potatoes and a bowl of horse meat.
The food was steaming hot, as if Shawn was right there at that moment.
Compared to the warm atmosphere of last night, tonight felt a bit chilly.
The sound of spoons clinking against dishes came from the cafeteria; everyone just buried their heads, eating their own portion of food.
Without Shawn, they all felt a sense of emptiness.
Suddenly, the iron door of the cafeteria 'creaked' and swayed, and everyone instinctively looked up.
But they only saw Jim walking in from the doorway, his complexion much better than it had been that morning.
Everyone lowered their heads again, somewhat disappointed.
"Are you feeling better?"
Seeing Jim sit beside her, Amy asked with concern.
"Much better..." Jim still hesitated a bit.
But then, Jim still put down the mashed potatoes in his hand.
"I dug a big pit on the lawn this morning." Jim slightly raised his voice: "Originally, I didn't know why; digging up the lawn, I only saw some space in the middle of the corpses."
"But I just learned something... I..."
Before Jim could finish, Carol suddenly stood up and walked into the kitchen, tears in her eyes.
Everyone else looked at Jim.
Andrea sneered: "Go on, why aren't you speaking?"
"If you say it now, aren't you just trying to tell us that Shawn is dead?"
"I..." Jim couldn't speak.
Not only because of himself but also because of the looks in everyone's eyes, which also made him unable to speak.
They cared about Shawn.
Shawn had already become an indispensable and important member of this big family.
It's just that no one expected misfortune to come so quickly.
It was only when he met everyone's gaze that Jim suddenly understood.
In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that perhaps this time Shawn wouldn't be so lucky.
But they still couldn't help but believe, to hope... that perhaps Shawn still had a glimmer of hope.
Finally.
Jim gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and decided to explain clearly.
"Whether Shawn is dead or alive right now is very important!"
"If Shawn is still alive, of course we must do our best to rescue him."
"But if Shawn is already dead, I'm not sure if everyone going in together is the best approach."
"Even if we want to bring Shawn's body out for burial, we can also plan for the long term, no need to rush in... rush in..."
Jim didn't finish, but everyone knew what he was going to say next.
It was nothing more than words like 'rushing in to die'.
If even Shawn had fallen in there, how much better could they fare?
All the members planning to enter the Prison tomorrow morning had already prepared themselves for not being able to return!
What Jim said was the truth, and it was a relatively rational and calm decision in the current apocalypse.
But how could Rick not understand this principle?
Shawn had specifically warned them before he left—if he didn't come out, they shouldn't go in looking for him.
But Rick still resolutely decided to take people in to search for Shawn's whereabouts first thing tomorrow morning.
Just as Shane said: see him alive, see his body dead.
Otherwise, Rick was very worried.
The team, after losing Shawn, would not be able to make it through this winter.
Supplies were one thing, but more importantly was the place in everyone's hearts.
Shawn, in the past, was like an invincible God of War, unshakable in everyone's hearts.
Even Rick himself, on some nights, would feel a quiet sense of peace just thinking about Shawn.
As long as Shawn was still there, the team was still there, and everyone's pillar was still there.
But if something happened to Shawn, then morale would scatter.
If morale scattered, the team would be hard to lead.
Thinking of this, Rick sighed.
He was about to speak, to finalize the matter of entering the Prison tomorrow morning.
But in the very next instant, the lights above their heads suddenly turned on.
The yellowish-white light illuminated the entire cafeteria.
The combat backbone members of the team instantly sprang up, standing abruptly!
"What's going on?!"
The few of them exchanged glances, but they were all at a loss.
Carol walked out of the kitchen, her face filled with disbelief.
The moment before the atmosphere solidified, Shane suddenly stepped forward.
"It's Shawn!"
And just as Shane said this, the lights above them instantly went out again.
Shane's emotions wavered a bit, but when he met Rick's 'glowing' eyes in the faint candlelight, he stabilized again.
"What did you say?" Carol pulled Sophia into her arms and quickly stepped forward two paces to ask.
Even in visibility of less than 30%, Shane could still feel everyone's gaze converging on him.
"I said Shawn isn't dead yet, he turned on the generator, that's why the lights came on!"
"Really?!"
"But why did they go out again?"
Maggie couldn't help but ask.
"The generator's too loud..." Hershel drew out his words.
"Perhaps Shawn's current location is very dangerous; he just wants us to know he's still alive."
Shane immediately pulled out the map from his pocket, his finger pointing at the connecting passage between Zone B and Zone A.
"I knew it!"
"Shawn is in the Power Generation Room right now!"
Shane looked up again, his eyes seemingly rekindling with fire.
The map was in his hand, its edges crumpled from being squeezed.
Shane looked at Rick, speaking solemnly.
"Tomorrow, we enter the Prison!"
Thug Shane
...
"Little Wu, how much is pork per jin today?"
The old man walked unsteadily to the stall, patted the fresh meat, and asked with satisfaction.
"18 yuan 7 jiao 5 fen, Grandpa."
"How much, how much is 5?"
"18 yuan 7 jiao 5 fen, Grandpa."
"How much is 7 jiao what?"
"18 yuan 7 jiao 5 fen!"
"18 yuan and how many jiao and how many fen?"
Shawn's face was full of helplessness: "Just pick a piece you like, and I'll give it to you for 18 yuan."
"Alright."
"I say, Grandpa, how many times have you come to bargain? This bargaining method is quite trendy."
"What, let me go cut grass? At my age, what grass would I cut? I have children to raise at home."
"Alright, Grandpa, please take care."
"Alright."
"Still 'alright'..."
Watching the old man's retreating figure, Shawn shook his head, but the helplessness on his face was quickly replaced by a smile.
"Oh, isn't this Sister Emily?"
"Sister, would you like two pieces of pork?"
Greeting him was a graceful woman wearing a 'purple lace hollowed-out cheongsam'. Upon hearing Shawn's words, she covered her mouth and chuckled merrily.
"Where am I a sister? I'm almost forty."
Sister Emily spoke politely, but her actions were not so polite.
She walked to the pork stall, gently held Shawn's hand, and smiled as she stroked it repeatedly.
"Your brother isn't home today, would you like to come to my place for a bit and help me take the pork I bought back home?"
"How could I, Sister? That would look so bad."
Shawn also smiled.
He repeatedly stroked the noblewoman's fair and tender hand before feigning embarrassment and pushing it away.
But every time Shawn pushed it away, she would touch it again... pushed it away and touched it again... pushed it away and touched it again...
"Hey, Sister Emily."
"Using your hands is fine, but please don't use your teeth."
"Sister Emily... Sister Emily?"
Shawn groggily raised his head.
Seeing the scene before his eyes, his eyes instantly widened, and his heart was greatly alarmed!
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