Louis blinked and brought out the explanation he had prepared long ago: "Back at Harrison Hospital, I learned some... well, methods for training my observation and listening skills from a patient. I've been practicing them for a long time."
"Harrison Hospital again? What kind of hospital is that exactly?"
Hearing this, Glenn couldn't help but whisper a complaint, "That hospital wouldn't happen to be in Hawaii, would it?"
Louis's mouth twitched, and he almost couldn't maintain his expression.
Good grief! Louis Potter is being revamped into Louis Conan, is he?
It's a good thing you didn't say it was in Gotham City!
Unfortunately, the others in the camp clearly didn't get the joke.
Daryl just looked at Louis, then silently glanced at Rick beside him, mocking, "You also stayed in the hospital for so long; what did you learn?"
"Uh..." Rick pretended to think for a moment, then spread his hands and gave a helpless smile:
"I suppose I learned how to maintain high-quality deep sleep even in the middle of an apocalypse?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they all couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The nerves that had been tense all night, as well as the arguments and unpleasantness caused by Ed earlier, finally dissipated completely in this light and cheerful laughter... After the laughter, everyone began to deal with the follow-up matters. Clearing the Walker corpses, reinforcing the camp's defenses, and taking stock of the remaining weapons, ammunition, and supplies.
Andrea took advantage of this gap to quietly pull Amy back to their tent. A moment later, she took out an exquisite necklace and carefully placed it around Amy's neck.
It was a silver chain with a small and delicate Merperson pendant that shimmered softly in the morning light.
This was exactly the birthday gift Andrea had specially chosen for her sister back at the department store.
Amy looked at the necklace on her chest in surprise, then looked up at her sister, her eyes gradually turning red.
"I originally wanted to give it to you for your birthday yesterday," Andrea helped her tidy her hair, her voice carrying a hint of apology and lingering fear, "I didn't expect... I'm still a step late."
"No," Amy smiled and shook her head. She reached out and tightly grasped her sister's hand, "As long as you're by my side, any time is the perfect time."
She touched the pendant on her chest, a bright smile blooming on her face after surviving the ordeal: "Besides, I bet no one else has had a birthday party as exciting as mine!"
That might not be the case.
Louis happened to be passing by and, hearing this, silently complained in his heart.
The apocalypse has only just begun; there will be many more thrilling days ahead!
Shane also heard their conversation, and his heart stirred.
He remembered the first time he saw Louis; that child had also spent his eleventh birthday in an office building surrounded by a horde of Walkers.
Looking back now, at that time, he was so full of anxiety and guilt about being unable to go find Lori and Carl that he hadn't even said "Happy Birthday" to this child who also needed comfort.
An indescribable sourness and guilt welled up in his heart, making Shane feel a bit stifled.
He walked over to Louis, who was helping Morgan organize tools, and silently reached out to ruffle the boy's soft blond hair.
Louis looked up blankly, watching him in confusion.
Shane looked into the boy's clear eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally just said in a deep voice: "Everything will be fine from now on, Louis. I promise, you'll definitely be able to have a real birthday later."
Although Louis didn't understand what Shane was suddenly imagining, he still cooperated very well with the performance.
A smile filled with a bit of longing appeared on his face, and then he nodded heavily.
The sisters' belated birthday gift and the warm atmosphere also brought a touch of warmth back to the camp, which had experienced a bloody night.
Just then, seeing this scene, Duane seemed to remember something and ran excitedly back to the tent, then laboriously dragged out a large iron pot that looked quite old.
"Louis! This is my gift to you!" He pushed the pot in front of Louis like he was presenting a treasure.
Louis stared at the large pot, dumbfounded, not reacting for a moment.
Seeing him dazed, Duane explained even more proudly: "We found this in that empty house by the highway!"
"Weren't you unable to find a pot to make Potions before? This one is right here!"
Louis hesitantly took the large pot; it felt slightly heavy in his hands.
He looked inside; the pot contained a shallow layer of water, and a palm-sized fish was feebly flicking its tail inside.
"Oh right!" Duane slapped his forehead, as if he had almost forgotten the most important thing.
He turned and ran back to the tent again, this time bringing out a fairly large basket containing some wild vegetables, mushrooms, and various jars of seasonings.
"I don't know if these can be used to make Potions," Duane scratched his head a bit sheepishly, "but my mom said they're useful things, so I brought them all along!"
He pointed to the fish in the pot in Louis's hand: "Carl heard about you needing materials yesterday, so he used his favorite book to trade with Aunt Andrea for this fish! He said maybe you could use it?"
Then he pointed to the basket: "These wild vegetables and mushrooms were picked by Uncle Morales's younger siblings. They heard a new friend was coming and wanted to help."
After saying that, he also peeked around at the surroundings and carefully pulled out a can of meat from under the wild vegetables, lowering his voice:
"Also, Sophia secretly asked Aunt Carol for this and told me to hide it in here for you!"
After the explanation, Louis finally understood.
It turned out that this pot and these miscellaneous ingredients were a surprise specially prepared for him by the children in the camp to welcome his arrival.
They were also the gifts that were supposed to be given at the welcome party that was interrupted last night.
Louis looked at these so-called "Potion materials" and felt a bit amused in his heart.
But more than that, there was an indescribable warmth—for these children who still maintained their innocence and kindness in the apocalypse, and for the adults who silently cooperated.
Perhaps it's because the apocalypse has only just begun; most people in the camp still retain the kindness and tolerance from before the disaster.
Although this kind of goodwill might seem inappropriate in certain extreme situations, as the person currently surrounded by that goodwill, Louis was still somewhat moved.
After all, if it were himself, in a situation where his own survival was uncertain, if some kid asked him to take out food to give to someone else to make some "Potion," he might consider himself good-tempered if he didn't scold them.
Yet these parents in the camp seemed to have tacitly allowed the children's behavior, and even now, no one came out to stop them.
In fact, it was much as Louis thought.
The adults in the camp not only didn't stop them, but instead, watching the friendly interaction between the children, they seemed to see the long-blurred shadows of civilization and peace from before the apocalypse, and knowing smiles appeared on their faces one after another.
It wasn't until this moment, watching Louis dazed by a pile of ordinary ingredients, that they truly felt that this child, who had repeatedly created miracles, was ultimately just a child lost in fairy tales.
Louis took a deep breath, suppressed the complex emotions in his heart, and sincerely thanked the children.
Then, under the kind gazes of everyone, he carried the large iron pot and the basket of "Potion materials" into the small tent temporarily assigned to him.
Zipping up the tent, isolating himself from the outside sight and sound, he carefully placed the things in a corner.
Only now did Louis feel as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted, and he let out a long sigh of exhaustion.
He leaned back on his sleeping bag, rubbed his throbbing temples, and began to review the various events of the past few days, which had been like a roller coaster, as well as... his magic study plan for the next stage.