Upon hearing Negan's exclamation, Lucille couldn't help but look into the distance. There stood a building resembling a castle, rising abruptly beside the desolate road outside the city.
This is the central base.
The biggest change in the prison over this time was that all the surrounding trees had completely disappeared, replaced by a third wall made of shipping containers, with the border now reaching the edge of the cleared forest.
There were structures inside that looked like new buildings, and right in the center, a massive structure appeared to be under construction. Even Glenn couldn't estimate the distance now — it was unbelievably huge.
"What is this? A city?"
Glenn also saw some familiar yet unfamiliar-looking structures in the distance and smiled. "That's our home — well, the first base our organization ever built."
Negan looked at the tall outer wall of the shelter and the numerous inner and outer barriers, which seemed to provide immense protection. He couldn't help but ask again, "You mean to tell me you've got more bases? This shit looks more secure than the White House! Are those turrets pointing at the sky?"
Glenn smiled and explained, "We haven't been back in several months. It wasn't like this when we left. I didn't expect such a big change in just a few months."
Looking at the large-scale base in the distance, Negan once again felt filled with expectations for his future life. He knew they were incredibly lucky to have met Jason.
The same exclamations erupted from all the vehicles behind them. Almost everyone who had followed them from Washington gathered around the truck windows, peering through the gaps in the armor at the prison in the distance.
Ezekiel stared and exclaimed, "God, this is the Ideal City!"
Jerry joked with a grin, "Your Majesty, compared to this place, the Kingdom of God is just a backyard."
Everyone around him looked at the burly man speechless. Did you have to be that honest?
Jesus gazed at the towering wall of the city in the distance with the same excitement. The Hilltop survivors beside him looked equally thrilled, several of them chatting animatedly.
"We'll definitely have the chance to move forward."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"Think about it — a base this big must have tons of farmland to operate, maybe even plenty of livestock. Isn't that what we do best?"
"Well, that makes sense…"
In another vehicle, Arturo — the leader of the construction crew — was discussing something with his people.
"Is it really okay to build it like that? Look at that wall — it's at least a kilometer long!"
"So what? As long as they've got enough containers, it's only a matter of time before they finish…"
"But where do they even find that many?"
"Heh, that's not for us to worry about."
Arturo silenced the discussion with a wave of his hand and said firmly,
"Judging by the current scale of this base, they'll definitely need to build a ton of internal structures later. We can already see construction happening in the distance."
"You're right. We may not be that great at killing walkers, but all of us have experience in construction!"
"So what I mean is, no matter what happens, we've got to prove our own worth. As long as we're valuable, there'll definitely be a place for us here. Got it?"
"Got it, boss!"
In another truck…
Elen's and Abraham's groups had gathered, and their reactions were no different from the rest.
Elen held Katie close as they looked toward the base in the distance. Her expression wasn't overly emotional, but the trembling hand she held betrayed her feelings — she was deeply shocked.
This Commander really is a formidable man.
While others struggled just to survive, he had already built a massive organization.
He even found the time to travel all the way to Washington, bringing back more than four hundred people here without apparent problems.
Meanwhile, Abraham's group looked into the distance with complicated expressions. If they hadn't been tasked with escorting Eugene, every single one of them would have chosen to stay without hesitation. But the current situation was too complicated.
There were six people in the group. Among them, Abraham kept insisting on continuing to Washington. Rosita should have talked more with Abraham — especially about what he was truly planning to do.
Including Eugene, yes! The whole reason he wanted to go to Washington was just a theory of Eugene's — his belief that there was a high probability a laboratory, which had remained in contact until recently, might still be active.
It could be true or false. By now, that place might already be completely destroyed — who could guarantee otherwise?
But Eugene was growing increasingly uneasy about this lie. The closer they got to Washington, the more trouble he had sleeping or eating.
Especially after witnessing the people Jason had brought back from Washington, he naturally asked them about the situation there — and the news he got wasn't optimistic.
Rick and Morgan had also questioned him, and now, except for Abraham — who hadn't spoken to him privately — everyone else had expressed disbelief about the state of Washington.
He even suspected that his biggest supporter, Abraham, had begun to doubt him too. Yet, because of Abraham's deep obsession with reaching Washington, he still reserved judgment and hadn't openly objected.
But Eugene knew perfectly well — once even Abraham stopped trusting him, who would protect him? He'd heard that Jason's people had a laboratory here, and judging by the massive fortress in the distance, he didn't doubt it.
Eugene looked at the base far ahead with a conflicted expression. He knew that once he entered, he'd likely be exposed, yet the sense of safety that the towering walls gave him made him unwilling to stop moving forward.
At the front of the convoy, a modified RV moved steadily ahead.
"In less than half a year, they've made huge progress!"
Jason looked at the approaching base. The rows of containers forming the inner wall stood out prominently. Now there were three barriers — the outermost made entirely of containers filled with sandbags, making them incredibly durable.
It wasn't quite a city, but in terms of safety and development, it was getting close to what he envisioned.
These had been his main ideas before leaving the prison. Since the central base was the productive heart of their food supply, every bit of space had to be used to maximize cultivation. Build more greenhouses for winter — and waste not even a grain of food.
At that moment, Shane was the one driving, taking the opportunity to brief him in detail about the base's recent changes.
Rick had been staying with his wife in the white RV ever since learning she'd been bitten. Everyone could see how devastated he was, and no one knew when he would recover from that emotional blow.
"During this time, we've been working with Sam Valdez, and our progress has been tremendous. Since the last report, we've been clearing the port and transporting all the containers either to Atlanta or the central base. The stores you mentioned were cleared out, and we delivered all useful supplies to their designated sites."
"When Elias arrived at the growth base to assist Sam, I came back to help Rick here. The outermost wall is still under construction according to plan. Right now, we can expand crop production and build temporary housing using extra containers while the permanent buildings go up. But considering time constraints, we have to act quickly."
Listening to the explanation, Jason gradually grasped the current situation of the base.
"Good — the progress is solid. I'm glad to hear that our weapons are being strictly managed and that firearm authorization is well regulated. The people I brought back — once they pass the main screening — can live in the temporary dorms. We'll speed up building construction using the workers we rescued from Washington."
"I also need to visit Atlanta. It's been a while since I last saw how things were going there."
"You're leaving again?"
Shane's expression clearly turned uneasy when he heard that.
"Yes. What's wrong?"
After a brief silence, Shane murmured, "It's Rick. This incident must've hit him hard. I think you should stay at the base for a while — let him readjust."
"I know. I'll consider it."
As soon as the topic turned to Lori, Jason's interest faded. He merely echoed a few polite words that everyone wanted to hear at the moment, and the two fell silent again.
Shane could sense something was off — after all, Jason rarely acted this way.
"Is there something you're not telling us?"
Jason shook his head. Seeing Shane's puzzled expression, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.
"I've just been a little tired these past few months, that's all."
"Heh, since you're back, take a few days off first. Don't push yourself too hard — you've done a great job."
"Yeah… what happened in Texas was more than enough."
As the base gates came into view, Jason fell silent once more, staring ahead — lost in thought.