"Democracy?!"
"In this shitty apocalypse, you still want to talk about democracy? Are you in a hurry to die?"
"Do you know why the army is always one step ahead of panic?"
"It's because of people like you, constantly chewing on the word 'democracy'."
"When a Walker is standing right in front of you, can you still talk about democracy with it?"
"Can you? I'm asking you, can you?!"
Shawn's tone was severe, showing no indulgence for Lori's temper.
Every word that came out of his mouth struck Lori's heart forcefully, making her face look somewhat pale.
"Don't take your anger out on a woman."
Shane stood in front of Lori, blocking Shawn's gaze, and narrowed his eyes at Shawn, as if warning him.
"What can you do to me?"
Shawn tilted his head, his cervical vertebrae making a 'crack' sound.
Not intending to reason with Shane, he directly dragged his Stone Hammer in front of Shane, with only 10 centimeters between them.
Shawn's height of 1.9 meters combined with the massive-looking Stone Hammer created an extraordinary visual impact.
If this Hammer hit a Walker, it could directly smash the Walker's head, and if it hit a person, then...
Merle swallowed, stepped forward, and pulled Shawn's arm: "Brother, listen to me... let it go, it's not worth fighting for them."
Although Merle's words were not pleasant, everyone knew his intention was to persuade Shawn to stop; at this moment, he seemed less of an asshole.
Glenn also stood by, protecting Lori, and patted Shane.
Meanwhile, Merle's own brother, Daryl, stood motionless.
He let out a soft 'hum', his gaze falling on Shawn's hand gripping the Stone Hammer.
"Holding the Hammer in a reverse grip, could it be that Shawn intends to hit people with the handle? And at this distance, a Hammer is not as effective as a fist."
"He's just trying to scare Lori and Shane."
If Shawn could hear Daryl's thoughts at this moment, he would immediately applaud and praise him, having not expected Daryl to be so observant.
Indeed, Shawn was actually using the friction with Lori to pick a fight with Shane.
He knew that if Lori felt wronged, Shane would definitely step forward.
Just like ancient people taming eagles, this was only the first step for Shawn to subdue Shane—first, to overwhelm Shane with his presence.
Hearing Merle's dissuasion, Shawn breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he also had someone who could be useful at a critical moment... but why was it Merle who stepped forward?
Previously, Shawn's ideal candidates were actually Daryl or Andrea.
However, as long as the problem could be solved, it didn't really matter.
Shawn glanced at Shane, who remained silent with flickering eyes, and dragged his Stone Hammer back.
Propping up the Hammer, Shawn looked at the others, whose expressions varied.
"I don't know how you did things in Rick's group."
"But my rule for doing things is this: those who don't listen, get out!"
"And the benefits of listening... I think you've seen and experienced them firsthand."
As Shawn spoke the last part, his tone softened slightly, and he spread his hands to his sides, gesturing for everyone to look at everything around them.
And when everyone heard Shawn say this, they thought to themselves: It's true!
They had democracy with Rick, but things didn't go well; they were constantly chased by Walkers, and even the CDC was like a mirage, a beautiful dream that only lasted for a short while.
But what about Shawn?
He had four people with him—Daryl, Merle, Andrea, and Amy.
These four people never lacked food, and they were almost never chased by Walkers in such a pathetic state.
Shawn even took back a motorcycle with only two people from a group ten times their size, making the other party pay a heavy price.
Even Hershel, the Farmer, praised Shawn endlessly.
It was as if Shawn wasn't resting on his land, but rather he was resting on Shawn's land.
Coupled with Shawn's clear vision for the future, he had even set his goal—the Prison—a long time ago.
Shawn was a capable person; being able to achieve all this, it seemed... a little authoritarian wasn't a big problem.
After all, those familiar with Shawn knew that he, like Rick, was actually a good person who contributed a lot to the Camp.
After using strong-arm tactics, Shawn also planned to try a softer approach.
"Perhaps many of you will feel that exposing children to weapons is a cruel thing."
"But please don't forget where we are now and what kind of situation we are in."
"Kindness and democracy cannot save everyone, and overprotecting children only limits their proper growth."
"And I have never said that children need to confront Walkers at close range."
"I just want to teach children the methods and means to fight Walkers, so that even if you are not by their side one day in the future, they will have the ability to protect themselves."
This time, Shawn spoke much more sincerely.
Hershel, Carol, Andrea, and even Lori, these elders with children by their side, all breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Compared to the tension just now, they were now somewhat moved.
Rick and Shane were once police officers; to join the police union in the United States, they must have undergone long-term professional training.
Daryl and Merle were good at using ranged weapons and were also excellent hunters.
Glenn was the team's live map, active around Walkers for a long time, with clever positioning and rich experience.
As for Shawn, there's no need to mention him; who present would dare say they could take a Hammer blow from him head-on?
In terms of close-combat cold weapons, Shawn said he was number one, and no one dared to disagree.
Be it knives, spears, swords, or halberds, one force breaks all laws!
Such a group of people gathered together, and willing to wholeheartedly teach the children—wouldn't these conditions make a large group of people in other teams ecstatic?
And just now, they actually felt resistance...
Several people suddenly understood, and even Lori suddenly felt a surge of regret.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have objected just now..."
Children will grow up eventually; instead of sharpening their spears at the last minute, it's better to start learning now.
Even in the apocalypse!
Children also have their starting line!
At least Carl and the others would be far ahead of their peers by then, and this was absolutely not an exaggeration.
A prince should act like a prince, not grow up to be a naive sweet idiot.
Moreover, from Carl's perspective, he had long been clamoring to fight Walkers, so this was certainly not a bad thing.
"I will help everyone get familiar with firearms." Rick finally breathed a sigh of relief at this.
Internal conflict was definitely not what he wanted to see, but with Shawn around, there would be much less trouble in the team in the future, which was also not a bad thing.
Rick himself had been troubled by the issue of democracy for a long time.
If every decision had to take everyone's feelings into account, then was this family still a family?
You have to understand, this was not peacetime, where they could have a picnic and then take a walk.
They even had to vote to decide on going to the bathroom...