"Hmm?"
To Merle's surprise, Louis wore a look of complete confusion. He tilted his head slightly and asked, "Why? Is it because resources are limited now... and we need to save water?"
Merle's attempt at a profound expression froze on his face. He had wanted to see the kid look guilty or argue back, but instead, it seemed the boy hadn't understood his implication at all.
Then, before he could react further, Daryl impatiently slapped him on the back.
"Oh damn! What'd you hit me for!" Merle immediately cried out in pain, grumbling in dissatisfaction.
Daryl ignored him, pushing Louis by the shoulder toward the RV. "Don't listen to his nonsense, there's something wrong with this guy's head."
Louis glanced back at Merle and whispered to Daryl, "Don't say that. Uncle Merle looks quite healthy... he's probably just not very smart..."
Watching Daryl push the kid away without looking back, Merle gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
However, that bit of suspicion in his heart dissipated with those few lines of exchange.
He had indeed felt that Martin's death was a bit too coincidental. Coupled with the strange vibe Louis gave off, he had instinctively made a connection and prepared to give him a few subtle hints.
After all, the kid was sharp. If he had found something wrong with Martin and set a trap to lure him in... such a scenario wasn't impossible.
But now that he calmed down and thought about it... with this kid's personality of constantly handing out kindness everywhere, how could he ever have the heart to do something like that!
He really was worrying over nothing, just bored!
After they had walked a few steps away, Louis looked up at Daryl and said, "Actually, I think I know what Uncle Merle meant."
Daryl paused for a moment, suddenly unsure if he should say something in Merle's defense.
"Does he think Martin's death had something to do with me?" Although it was a question, Louis's tone was very certain.
Daryl clicked his tongue and looked away. "Nobody thinks that except that idiot. It was an accident."
"Yeah." Louis nodded, looking at the glass door of the gas station convenience store. "It really was an accident."
"However, even if there hadn't been an accident..."
He paused, turned back, and continued in a voice that was no different from before:
"...if he really was a scumbag like what was written in the notebook, I don't think I'd mind taking out the trash."
Daryl stopped abruptly. He looked down into Louis's calm, rippleless eyes and realized the boy wasn't joking.
"Hell..." Daryl cursed under his breath, pacing a few steps in frustration before standing still and staring intently at Louis.
"You kid... you sure talk in circles, don't you?" He lowered his voice, his tone carrying a trace of complexity he hadn't noticed himself. "Listen, even if it came to that, it wouldn't be your turn to do the dirty work."
"What are you two chatting about?"
Before Louis could answer, Andrea walked over.
The calmness on Louis's face was instantly replaced by a harmless smile. He turned to Andrea and said, "Nothing! We were just saying the camp is a bit messy, and Uncle Daryl was just saying he wants to help everyone clean up!"
Hearing this, Andrea looked at Daryl suspiciously. The latter was glaring at Louis with a 'what the hell are you talking about' expression.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Cleaning up? The sentiment is appreciated, but don't make more of a mess."
Then, Andrea tilted her chin toward the other side of the gas station. "If you really want to help, go help Morales. He found a lot of diesel over there and is worried he doesn't have enough hands to move it to the vehicles."
Daryl looked at Louis deeply for several seconds, but in the end, he said nothing. He gave a "tsk" and turned to stride toward Morales.
And so, amidst a mix of worry, relief, conflict, and indifference, the convoy set off again.
Around noon that day, they finally reached their destination.
That modern building with its massive glass curtain wall standing on the edge of the city; this was the CDC.
The convoy slowly came to a halt dozens of meters away from the tightly closed main gate.
The flat ground in front of the CDC entrance was scattered with a large number of soldiers' corpses; clearly, a brutal battle had taken place here.
Since it was still daytime, most of the Walkers were inactive, with only a few stragglers wandering among the distant roadblocks.
Everyone got out of the cars and, with apprehensive hearts, successfully made it to the tightly closed blast-proof shutter doors... Meanwhile, deep in the dark underground of the CDC, Dr. Edwin Jenner was preparing to start yet another experiment destined for failure.
He was the last person remaining in this massive institution.
His wife, who was also the top virologist here, had unfortunately been infected during the early stages of research. To preserve precious samples and data, she had requested Jenner use her for experiments before she died.
Jenner stayed behind, partly out of obsession with the research, but more importantly, because of the promise he made to his late wife that he would stay and continue her work to find the answer.
But as time passed, hope turned to despair. The more he studied, the more he realized the walker virus simply could not be conquered.
Perhaps he had never truly expected to finish the research. This was just a coward who had lost his loved ones, finding an excuse for not being brave enough to face the destruction of the world.
In any case, there wasn't much backup power left. Perhaps when the energy hit zero, leaving this place together in the purifying flames would be a good choice.
But just as he was about to enter the lab, a movement on the master console's monitor caught his attention.
Living people??
Dr. Jenner felt a bit dazed. How long had it been since he'd seen a living person?
He leaned closer to the screen, switching camera angles.
The group was well-equipped, consisting of men, women, and even children. They looked exhausted but remained highly vigilant.
"Is anyone there?!" A man in a police uniform was banging hard on the shutter door.
"Damn it! Why are all these shutters down?!" another tall man looked around anxiously.
A few Walkers, drawn by their noise, were wobbling over from the shadows of the plaza.
A man with a crossbow on his back turned without hesitation, an arrow piercing the skull of the nearest Walker.
"Rick! We have to go!" Shane raised his gun and began to back away. "This place has clearly stopped operating!"
"Ha! Why don't we let our 'Friendly Cop' issue a search warrant?" a noisy voice mocked. "Maybe the door will open itself."
The anxious conversation of the survivors came through the external microphone, and Jenner's expression became hesitant.
They seemed to realize the danger as well and began discussing retreating to the cars.
But at that moment, the man leading them seemed to notice something. He suddenly looked up and stared dead at the security camera!
"I know you're watching!" Rick roared at the camera. "We just want to live! We aren't infected!"
Jenner's finger hovered over the control panel.
"Don't waste your breath!" Shane tried to pull Rick away. "There's no one here!"
"Please! Help us!" Rick didn't give up, pointing behind him. "We have old people! And children! Please!"
Jenner's gaze fell on the children hiding behind the adults. His long-numb heart seemed to be lightly touched by something.
He sighed and finally pressed the button to open the door... "Rick! It's no use! Let's go!" Shane pulled at Rick anxiously, preparing to cover everyone's retreat.
The others also raised their weapons, preparing to fight the Walkers that were closing in.
Just as everyone was about to give up and retreat to the cars for a final stand—
Rumble—
A heavy, long-drawn rumble suddenly came from in front of them!
The blast-proof shutter door, which seemed to separate two different worlds, began to rise slowly accompanied by a harsh grinding sound!
Blindingly bright light instantly shot out from inside the door, casting a long path of light across the dim plaza. The light was so brilliant that everyone instinctively raised their arms to shield their eyes.
The door was open.