Shawn looked over.
He scrutinized Lili; two tear streaks ran down her cheeks, and her thick dark circles indicated the undue pressure she bore at her age.
Her beige short-sleeved shirt was stained with blood and sweat.
Shawn then turned his gaze to the Governor at the far rear, their vehicles rolling in with an imposing momentum.
At this moment, everyone in the Prison had awakened under Shawn's warning, and they quickly gathered around the gate.
Seeing this, Shawn opened the barbed wire gate, allowing the people from the Mine Camp to enter.
"Where are Kenny and Clementine?"
"They're still here, in the car behind."
Shawn and Lili exchanged places, roughly sharing information.
After the last power struggle, the Mine Camp was left with only a little over 20 people.
More than half of them perished in the recent Woodbury attack.
Even Lili's confidantes, those who had followed Shawn in shouting 'For Lili' back then, also died at the Camp.
It seemed just as they had said, they were willing to give everything for the Mine Camp, willing to give everything for Lili.
In the end, Lili only managed to escape by car with the remaining Lili Party, along with Kenny, Lee, Clementine, and others, driving non-stop according to the address Shawn had given her.
The Mine Camp was effectively defunct.
Shawn had no time for lamentation; he merely used the brief moment of opening the gate to approach a spot about 5 to 6 meters outside the barbed wire gate, quietly burying something, then retreating.
As he retreated, Shawn clutched an extension cord in his hand.
Note, that fuse was pure red.
After doing all this, Shawn looked back at Rick, Shane, and the others, seeing the caution in each other's eyes.
"Everyone get ready. I want you to watch every watchtower carefully. Do not expose your heads easily."
"Now we have high walls and deep pits; they cannot enter directly."
"All non-combat women and children are to take shelter in the Administrative Building."
"Additionally, Michonne, Daryl, I want the two of you positioned inside the Prison. If they force their way through the fence gate behind the Prison, you must let me know immediately."
"Carol, take these people and confine them to the remaining cells in Section 1 of Block C of the Prison!"
Shawn urgently arranged everyone.
The two top combatants, having long roamed the wilderness, were skilled in tracking and counter-tracking.
Although there were only two of them, having them guard the rear of the Prison would not be an issue.
As for the Mine Camp, at least for now, Shawn had no way to allow them to move freely.
There was already the external threat of Woodbury; if an internal disturbance were to disrupt the Camp's rhythm and stability, that would truly be drawing the worst lot.
Who could guarantee that the Mine Camp hadn't already been taken by the Governor?
Did Lili specifically stage this escape to save her people?
In reality, was Lili waiting for an inside-outside attack to take the Prison in one fell swoop?
One can choose to gamble on human kindness, but Shawn could not afford to gamble.
Shawn no longer needed to imagine the consequences if the Prison were breached; 'history' had already explained everything.
But this time, with Shawn present, 'history' would not repeat itself, and the original trajectory would veer in a different direction.
Within the tight timeframe of Shawn's arrangements, the dozen or so vehicles had approached the Prison, stopping in an open area less than 20 meters outside the Prison.
They used the vehicles themselves to shield their bodies. Because Shawn had cleared away the weeds and tall trees beforehand, the figures of the Governor and his people were conspicuously visible.
"Nice high walls, but my people say… it seems these high walls weren't there before?"
The Governor dragged out his words, calling out at the Prison gate.
He had one foot on a tree stump, his right hand resting lightly on his thigh, and despite his heroic eyebrows, there was a hint of suppressed ferocity.
Seeing no one reply from inside the Prison, the Governor took a megaphone from Martinez's hand, turned it to maximum volume, and held it to his mouth.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am from the Woodbury Community, and they call me the Governor."
"I believe there seems to be some misunderstanding between us."
"In this world overrun by Walkers, some misunderstandings always create discord."
"So I think… perhaps you could open the gate first, and we can discuss the issues between us."
"Maybe we could even join forces, become allies, talk about the future, drink some tea, and so on."
It started quite normally, but as he continued, the Governor's jackal tail couldn't help but show itself.
Hearing the Governor's words, Shawn couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"Damn it, this bastard is still putting on an act with me."
Others might not understand the Governor, but how could Shawn not understand him?
Forget about his specific personality; just seeing the Governor, it's best to assume the worst-case scenario. There's no need for so many twists and turns.
"Tell him we don't believe a word of his nonsense."
Shawn raised his head and spoke to Merle, who was aiming his gun from the watchtower.
Merle poked his head out, then pulled it back in. About three seconds later, Merle's booming, raspy voice began to exert itself.
"Jackals will coat their tails with pine resin and gold dust, making them look like moving gold bricks."
"But this gold will rust, and desire can never fill a grave."
"You son of a bitch!"
"Still trying to trick us into opening the door? Did a Walker kick your brain?!"
"What you've got hanging down there probably isn't even as big as the meat floss stuck in my teeth last night!"
"God, look at these guys, their mothers must have raised them in a goat pen."
Merle's Sayings
After the first two lines, Shawn nodded in satisfaction, thinking that Merle could even use allegories to mock now.
Unexpectedly, his civility lasted less than three seconds, and in the following lines, Merle couldn't hold back and started cursing directly.
Shawn's mouth twitched, and he looked up again.
He saw Merle sticking his head out and giving him an 'OK' gesture, then grinning.
It was as if he was saying: "It's all part of my duty, you don't need to praise me."
'Praise you for what? Do you want an award too…?'
Looking at Merle's expression, Shawn almost couldn't keep a straight face.
But in the end, Shawn still didn't blurt out that sentence, because he knew that Merle would really shamelessly ask him for a reward later.
Compared to Shawn, the people outside the Prison were not as calm.
A ripple went through the crowd of Community members, and then everyone looked at the Governor.
The Governor seemed to ignore these gazes, merely lowering his head and smiling, not angry or annoyed. Instead, he gripped the megaphone and continued,
"Alright, I admit there are some conflicts between us."
"But God sprinkles raindrops of kindness and wisdom upon the world; there is no conflict that cannot be resolved."
"As long as you hand over Michonne and your weapons and ammunition, I guarantee you can all live safely in Woodbury in the future."
"I will treat you as I treat my own Community members."
Well, hearing this, Shawn knew it was confirmed.
What did he mean by 'treat them as I treat my Community members'?
In the original plot, how many Community members were still alive under the Governor's rule?
A large portion of them were ruined by him alone.
Even the Rick team might not have killed as many as he did, both openly and covertly.
Woodbury
A 'utopia' on the surface, a 'living hell' in reality.
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