"Shawn."
"Shawn!"
"…"
As Shawn walked into the Administrative Building accompanied by Rick, several exclamations came from inside.
Andrea, Amy, Sophia, Beth, Patricia…
Shawn didn't even know how many tears had been wiped on him.
"But to be fair, being missed by women with tears in their eyes, that feeling is quite nice."
Shawn was a little smug.
The reaction of these people made it worthwhile for him to risk his life entering the Prison.
Of course, Shawn also had the idea of doing 'Apocalyptic Missions' at the same time…
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, after all.
Reaching Lv28 and activating the Power Generation Room, this trip was quite fruitful.
If nothing unexpected happened, Shawn would at least reach Lv30 after tomorrow's operation.
After taking down the entire Prison, if he hadn't reached Lv40 yet, Shawn would quickly hunt Walkers to reach Lv40 as soon as possible.
Shawn hadn't forgotten the third Blood Moon; he would prepare in advance before the Blood Moon began.
This time, Shawn planned to endure the Blood Moon with the team.
"I'll go make you something to eat."
Carol, with a pair of somewhat swollen red eyes, whispered to Shawn, then turned and entered the kitchen.
"What did you experience in there? Shane said there were some Walkers you hadn't seen before?"
Before Shawn could catch his breath, Rick sat down beside him.
"Uh-huh." Shawn took a gulp of water, having already thought about how to answer.
"Some Walkers with special forms; they seem to have undergone some uncontrollable changes at the beginning of the infection."
"They look more bloodthirsty and aggressive than ordinary Walkers."
Rick had great potential, but Shawn didn't intend to tell him everything, so he spoke very vaguely.
Specifically, Shane must have already told Rick, and Shawn was just confirming Shane's account.
It wasn't a bad thing to make Rick aware of the crisis earlier.
Shawn didn't want to raise a male lion into a sheepdog.
Anyway, these things would be experienced sooner or later.
In the external lore, some of the special individuals Shawn had encountered also appeared.
They seemed to be products of experiments; they were fast, highly aggressive, and virtually upgraded versions of Walkers.
Some were covered in spikes, others had corrosive blood on their skin…
Even Shawn himself wasn't sure if other forms of Walkers would appear later.
Of course, excluding the Walkers that appeared under the influence of system missions, those experimental products were all ten years in the future.
They were not a concern for now.
Subsequently, Shawn vividly recounted what he had encountered upon entering the Prison.
As he spoke, he held a crowbar in his hand, mimicking fighting a horde of Walkers with a Stone Hammer, waving it in front of everyone.
They listened until Shawn mentioned being trapped by a horde of Walkers in a passage twice.
Everyone present couldn't help but frown, their consciousness following Shawn's perspective, wandering through yesterday's Prison.
"Hiss—"
"Doesn't that mean at least 300 Walkers surrounded you??"
Merle gasped.
He and Daryl had been trapped above a convenience store at a gas station, surrounded by hundreds of Walkers.
But that was in a vast open environment, and they still couldn't cope.
Now, Shawn had faced 300 Walkers alone in a narrow passage and even managed to escape.
Shawn… was becoming increasingly terrifying.
Just thinking about that scene, everyone present felt their scalps tingle.
At the same time, a hint of relief appeared in their eyes, grateful that Shawn was tenacious and had pulled through.
If this had happened to anyone else, there would have been only one outcome.
"Wait, you mean, when you woke up in the Power Generation Room, the surrounding horde had already dispersed?"
Hershel repeated Shawn's words.
"Uh-huh." Shawn nodded.
"As you said, both Sector B and Sector C passages have been cleared, so this time we can try a different approach."
Hershel took the hand-drawn simple map from Shane.
He put his index and middle fingers together, first tapping lightly on the map, then drawing a circle around the entire Prison with his fingertip.
"This time, don't go inside. We will clear the several outdoor recreation areas surrounding the Prison's perimeter."
"Once most of the remaining Walkers are cleared, we will go in and search every section of Sector A and the Sector A passage."
"The areas before Sector B are already safe, and Walkers cannot pass through that fence gate."
"With the combat suits, we can minimize damage to the greatest extent."
"We clear a little each day, clear a little each day…"
"This way, the Prison will be in our hands!"
Hershel grew more excited as he spoke, his small white beard on his chin trembling slightly, looking quite comical.
Reference
Upon hearing Hershel's words, the distance between everyone's brows loosened a bit, and a joyful expression couldn't help but appear on their faces.
They admitted that what Hershel said moved them.
To be able to successfully take down the rest of the Prison without taking huge risks.
That sounded pretty good.
"Sounds pretty good, Shawn, what do you think?"
Rick looked at Shawn, and everyone else's gaze also fell on Shawn.
Seeing that everyone was talking about serious matters, Shawn stopped joking and began to think seriously.
"Hershel's plan is very stable, but I suggest not clearing everything. Leaving some 'risks' is not a bad thing."
What did he mean?
Everyone was a little confused.
The existence of Walkers was a danger; since the Prison was to be a permanent residence, it should naturally be cleaned thoroughly, otherwise wouldn't that just create trouble for themselves?
At this moment, Rick's tightly furrowed brows in the crowd slowly relaxed.
"You mean to say…"
He looked at Shawn.
"Exactly."
Shawn imitated Hershel, joining his sword fingers, tapping lightly on the map, and drawing a circle on it.
"The Prison has too many entrances and exits; we can't block all paths at once."
"Although there are metal doors for separation, they cannot prevent other survivors from entering."
"With the outdoor recreation areas, Walkers can become our natural barrier, helping us guard our home 24 hours a day without interruption."
"And the most important point is that we are currently no more than 30 people, even with a generous count."
"With this number, we cannot fully control the entire Prison at all times."
"Right now, we should start building defensive measures centered around the Administrative Building."
"As our numbers increase in the future, we can gradually move closer to the interior of the Prison."
At the end, Shawn reiterated the central point.
"Nowadays, civilization has collapsed, and laws have crumbled."
"Those who have survived until now, besides those like Hershel who are extremely lucky, are only those who are decisive and ruthless."
"But no matter which type they are, they cannot just casually enter the Prison."
Shawn scanned the room, meeting everyone's gaze.
Finally, his gaze returned to the map in his hand, and he tapped it forcefully with his sword finger.
"Because the Prison is our territory!"
--
[Analysis]
After reading everyone's comments, there were voices like 'it's collapsing' and 'nothing left to write.' The author is wronged; these are all contents outlined in the plan.
If you are familiar with 'seven days to die,' you will find that the author's rhythm is somewhat similar to it: starting with solo development, doing missions, then gradually accumulating resources to build structures and defensive fortifications.
This entry into the Prison was actually a multi-pronged approach.
Bringing Shane in to cultivate rapport with him; dealing with the 5 people in the kitchen and starting shared secrets with Shane; at the same time, bringing two of them under his command to strengthen the Camp's power. This made the deepening of Shawn and Shane's relationship traceable, and also laid the initial foundation for Shane's 'army.'
And most importantly, it was for Shawn's individual development. The troubles he would face in the future would increase, besides the doubled Blood Moon, there were other troubles. The improvement of individual strength was all paving the way for what was to come.
The Prison was actually an important foundation for Shawn to reach Lv40.
Moreover, this trip to the Prison could also serve as a pre-emptive shot for other members who hadn't seen special Walkers, making the later encounter with the Blood Moon not seem abrupt.
Then, the most, most important thing was to make Shawn realize that he was not invincible, thereby highlighting the strength of the team.
The mission rewards given by the Prison later also served as a prerequisite for team-based development.
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