Thinking of this, Shawn cast it all out of his mind and quickened his steps.
Rounding a row of residential buildings, Shawn arrived outside the auto repair shop.
When Shawn arrived, the repair shop's rolling shutter door was tightly closed.
Standing in front of the gate, Shawn did not speak rashly, but only knocked on the gate with a'short-long-three-shorts' rhythm.
After three seconds, the gate slowly opened.
Daryl subtly aimed his crossbow at the outside, and only when he saw Shawn's face did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
"There was no danger on this trip, right?"
Daryl looked at Shawn, confirming.
"If you're talking about Woodbury, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
Shawn made a joke.
Where he appeared, most of the time, others were in danger.
Daryl nodded knowingly, but then, after putting away his crossbow, he spoke again.
"You didn't encounter danger, but we ran into some trouble."
Saying that, Daryl led Shawn towards the warehouse at the back of the repair shop.
When Shawn pushed open the door, everyone's eyes fell on Shawn, but Shawn's gaze fell on the several people kneeling on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs.
"They attacked you guys?"
"Why not just kill them?"
Shawn looked at Shane, a bit puzzled; this wasn't Shane's usual temper.
"They didn't attack," Shane leaned close to Shawn and explained softly.
It turned out these people had followed the fire truck all the way to the repair shop.
They approached with their hands raised, their attitude more proper than a fresh graduate.
They kept muttering words like 'want to join' and 'take us in'.
Before figuring out if they could be trusted, Carol had already tied them up here.
"Oh?" Shawn found it interesting.
He looked at the seven men kneeling on the ground, his gaze finally falling on the man on the far left.
His somewhat faded jeans still had a layer of mud, his hair was short and natural, his eyes bright, his brown beard thick, and his brow was constantly furrowed, making him look serious and somewhat stern.
Shawn walked up to him, scrutinized him for a moment, and then suddenly spoke.
"Were you a worker before?"
"Mm-hmm." The man looked up at Shawn, a bit surprised, but still answered frankly.
"What's your name?"
"Jacob."
"Does someone in your family read the Bible?"
Jacob in the Bible means 'God bless'.
"Mm-hmm." Jacob's answer was still a bit muffled.
"What are you looking for them for?"
Hearing Shawn ask this, Jacob looked up at him and said something somewhat unexpected.
"We aren't looking for them, we're just looking for you."
"Looking for me?"
"You probably need workers, and we can work, as long as you can provide food and safety."
Jacob met Shawn's gaze directly this time, and he didn't seem to be lying.
"You're that confident I can give you what you want?"
After hearing this, Shawn didn't answer directly, nor did he ask how they knew, but instead slowly took two steps, then suddenly inquired.
This time, Jacob first looked at his own disheveled appearance, then gave a bitter smile.
"It can't get any worse."
"Before, there was a very formidable group of guys roaming around nearby, snatching food everywhere, and we were robbed by them too."
"And when your fire truck was stolen at that time, we also saw it."
As soon as Jacob said this, everyone present suddenly focused their gaze on Shawn.
Feeling the many gazes, Shawn's old face immediately flushed red, feeling a bit embarrassed.
He cleared his throat: "Don't change the subject, keep going."
Jacob nodded seriously.
"Originally, we thought it would be another unlucky person, but later, when we saw the fire truck drive back, we guessed that you might be a strong man."
"Or even if you are a weak person, at least the Camp you rely on must be very strong."
Shawn listened and waved his hand decisively: "You don't need to say the latter part."
At this moment, Shawn suddenly realized that Jacob and this group of people were actually the survivors who remained in the industrial area back then.
Perhaps because of the Kenny Party's plundering, which would intentionally or unintentionally clear out nearby Walkers, they actually had a chance to survive.
They had witnessed the entire process of Shawn being plundered before, and then saw Shawn drive the car back.
If so, they must have also seen Shawn take away the concrete mixer truck.
No wonder they knew the Prison needed workers at this time.
"Then why didn't you come out last time?"
Shawn remembered that he had stayed in the town for quite a long time.
Jacob was a bit embarrassed: "Last time we were a bit worried you were..."
"But anyway, coming to find you actively was a decision made after an internal vote."
"If you can provide food and safety, we will join you and work for you."
Jacob's tone became increasingly firm.
It was like getting a pillow when you're sleepy; the Prison was just starting construction, and it happened to need experienced people for the work, which would greatly increase efficiency.
Shawn thought for a moment, just about to speak, but the next second, two urgent sounds came from outside the warehouse.
The sudden sound immediately startled everyone present.
Now, the only ones who could come, besides Woodbury, could only be the companions of the few people in front of them.
Merle immediately pulled out a small knife and pressed it against one person's neck.
"Looks like some people aren't being honest, we should teach them a lesson first."
Merle's idea was simple: since they were a group, there would be no mistake in controlling them first.
But Jacob, who had just spoken, waved his hand a bit flustered, especially when he saw Shane had already pulled out his gun, and Daryl with his crossbow, and Michonne tightly gripping her katana, all moving towards the door.
He had clearly heard the sound of the warehouse door, which didn't sound like a human knocking, nor a Walker banging, but rather like the pawing sound of some creature's claws.
"It shouldn't be human." Saying that, Jacob gently blew a whistle.
The next moment, the area outside the warehouse door instantly became quiet.
Daryl looked back at Jacob in surprise, then cautiously pushed open the warehouse door.
And then he was met with a creature about half a person's height, sitting on its rear end, poised at the doorway.
"Is this your dog?"
"I call it Doudou." Speaking of the dog, Jacob was uncharacteristically not serious, the corners of his mouth upturned beneath his thick beard.
Doudou
"Anyway, we truly have no ill intentions, we just want a place to survive."
Seeing him get straight to the point, Shawn didn't beat around the bush either, directly stating the benefits and the responsibilities that needed to be fulfilled.
"We do need workers now, but we will temporarily keep you under control and manage you uniformly; you will only be released when it's time to work."
"You will only gain your freedom when we deem it appropriate."
"Of course, the benefits are that you will get food and the most precious safety currently available outside."
"If you can accept, then come with us; if you cannot accept, we can let you leave."
After speaking, Shawn quietly waited for Jacob's answer.
Upon hearing this, Jacob first glanced at his fellow workers beside him, then looked at Shawn, and asked cautiously.
"Can Doudou come along too?"
Pfft--
The people from the Prison couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Shawn naturally wouldn't let go of these workers, and suppressing his laughter, he nodded.
"Of course."
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