Chapter 56: Gas Station
Smelling the meaning behind Michonne's words, Shawn had a realization. "So you were here all along, just waiting outside and never came in?"
The sound of the bell had rung when Shawn was facing the countless Feral walkers. According to Michonne, she had already been near here while he was unconscious. She had definitely seen the walker corpses before now. Perhaps it was precisely because she saw the mountain of dead walkers that she hadn't rashly entered the church.
"Mhm," Michonne nodded. Her caution was the reason she had been able to survive alone in the apocalypse until now. Michonne just couldn't imagine that under the siege of such a number of walkers, and in this inescapable church, Shawn had actually managed to carve out a bloody path? Unbelievable!
Combined with the strength Shawn had just displayed, Michonne had immediately sheathed her katana. Because if Shawn truly wanted to kill her, any resistance would be futile. The gap between them was too large.
But what Michonne didn't know was that if Shawn hadn't just equipped three pieces of set gear, he probably wouldn't have been able to react to her attack. Michonne was agile, and her blade was too fast. To some extent, one could say Michonne was a counter to Shawn. Unless it was an all-out, desperate bloody battle, just like when he faced the Blood Moon. In that case, the one to die would definitely be Michonne.
Michonne could land five, even ten blows on Shawn, but he only needed to hit her once. One time was enough to end the fight. Shawn had this confidence!
Shawn looked at Michonne, the coldness in his eyes instantly receding as he gave her a friendly smile. "Don't bother looking. I'm the only one here. There's no one else."
"You mean you killed all these walkers? By yourself?" Michonne asked, looking at the simple 'splint' on Shawn's right arm. The moment the question left her lips, she already knew the answer.
Shawn spread his hands. "As you can see."
Shawn stood in front of the church, covered in walker blood, his arms open wide. Behind him was a mountain of walker corpses. Seeing this scene, even Michonne couldn't help but be a little dazed.
While she was stunned, Shawn circled behind her, looking with interest at the two walkers she had leashed. "Remove their arms and lower jaws, and the walkers lose their ability to attack, even their basic bloodlust. This is the second time I've seen such quiet walkers."
Shawn clicked his tongue. The first time was the old lady at the motel. "A good idea, and excellent courage."
"This is much more elegant than those people who smear walker guts all over themselves."
Shawn did not hold back his praise for her. He imagined that maybe in the future when he was alone, he could also get two such 'guardian generals' for himself. But after some thought, he decided against it.
First, with his strength, there was no need. Second, he couldn't get enough of killing walkers; how could he possibly raise two of them?
Faced with Shawn's praise, Michonne said nothing, just quietly looked at him. After a long moment, she picked up the leashes of her 'guardian generals' again and turned to walk away. "If you don't mind what happened just now, we can part ways here."
Michonne left decisively. Shawn didn't stop her, just called out loudly, "It looks like you don't have a team. If you're looking for a place to rest in the future, you can come to the Prison in the south. I'll be there."
In response, Michonne just waved her hand without looking back and didn't stop walking. Only when she was far away did Shawn shoulder his hammer and sigh.
"With Michonne's personality, she probably won't join a group easily unless she observes them herself and genuinely approves. Forget it. We'll talk about this later. My business here is done. It's time to find Daryl and Merle."
Shawn wasn't worried about Michonne at all. Fighting alone was her norm, and that was why she didn't trust anyone easily. If she couldn't adapt to the apocalypse, she would have died long ago. But if she did die… well, she died. What could he do?
He turned and walked Into the woods. Shawn chopped down a tree, found some plant fibers and stones, and upgraded the Stone Sledgehammer in his hands to Lv. 5. As for Lv. 6, it required a special component—a Legendary Fragment—to upgrade further. But even Lv. 5 was a huge improvement for him.
[Sledgehammer Lv. 5]
Introduction: This hammer is the best weapon for smashing skulls!
Melee Damage / Power Attack Damage: 25.1 / 47.1
Stamina Cost: 22
Before, his Lv. 2 Stone Sledgehammer's melee damage was only 18.
He returned to the village, pushed an old-fashioned motorcycle, and rode off into the distance.
"My current location should be west of where the convoy was. I didn't get back by dawn, and I don't know how long I was unconscious. Rick has probably already taken them to the Prison.
Based on the direction Daryl and the others left, I just need to keep heading north from here. So much time has passed. If they're not dead, they won't just be wandering in place. Once they leave, they'll definitely try to find a way to the Prison to meet up with everyone. So I can search to the north, and if I can't find them, I'll go directly to the Prison. If they're okay, they'll probably be there too."
Shawn held the motorcycle handlebars with one hand, the other hanging freely at his side, looking quite dashing. He rode north from his current position. The countdown for his fracture in the bottom-left corner was already halfway done, with only about two hours left. In just two more hours, he would be back at his peak state.
Shawn rode through grasslands and plains before finally finding a straight asphalt road. After riding for about another 2 kilometers, the motorcycle sputtered twice unwillingly, and its speed dropped sharply.
Frowning, Shawn twisted the throttle a few times, but it still wouldn't speed up. "Looks like it's out of gas."
It was an abandoned village; Shawn hadn't held out much hope. But he didn't expect it to run out of gas after less than 8 kilometers.
But fortunately, Shawn looked ahead, and in the distance, a large gas station sign was instantly visible. Even from a kilometer away, he could make it out.
Shawn pushed the motorcycle forward. Under the large gas station sign was a public restroom. He pushed the bike around the restroom, but two seconds later, he backed up again. His face went stiff. He leaned against the wall, his heart thumping unsteadily.
Behind the wall he was leaning on, an entire horde of walkers was wandering! They weren't moving on, just milling around the gas station, as if something was attracting them.
"Dealing with a hundred or so was already enough for me. How am I supposed to handle several hundred…" Shawn felt conflicted.
*****
Hey guys,
If you're eager to know what happens next, you can now read up to 20 chapters ahead over on my Patreon.
I've also posted some chapters for free, so feel free to check them out as a little sneak peek!
Patreon.com/CanonTwist
P.S. psst... Don't forget about the Power Stones.