The world turned upside down.
Despite having the 'Helmet Light Mod', Shawn inevitably felt the world darken for a few seconds.
In a daze, a ceaseless buzzing sound filled his ears, as noisy as a hundred Walkers roaring at once.
Veins popped out on Shawn's neck. He took a deep breath and his complexion only improved after a while.
When he finally gasped out the first breath, all negative statuses seemed to recede.
The buzzing sound disappeared, and the blurry, fragmented world finally coalesced into a complete whole, everything gradually becoming clear.
After recovering, Shawn's mind was still a blank.
Vaguely, he seemed to only remember a line of text on the bazooka held by that person.
"Infantry Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher"
Using an anti-tank weapon to attack people, are you a beast?
Then, Shawn's second thought was, 'I'm so awesome, I took a hit and didn't die'.
He almost subconsciously opened the system interface, only to see that besides his health bar dropping by less than 30 points, not even a single negative status was left.
Gradually, staring at the system interface, Shawn recalled everything that had just happened.
The rocket hit the ground, perhaps hitting a rock, or perhaps the shell used a delayed fuse, exploding immediately upon activation after launch.
In any case, it was a good thing Shawn was quick, instantly using the metal baffle and iron ingots he had stored in his backpack to block in front of him.
Otherwise, that one blow just now could have directly zeroed out Shawn's current health and armor values.
Zeroed data was equivalent to Shawn's death.
'Fortunately, fortunately.'
Shawn took a breath, then remembered that it wasn't over yet; he was still in the jungle, facing those crazy Zealots and the Walkers that could attack at any moment.
He reached out but didn't find his Crescent Blade. He propped himself up with his hands and sat up from among the bushes.
But the next second, he saw more than a dozen people surrounding him, wearing black rings around their necks, and his breathing hitched.
These Zealots had actually crept up to Shawn while he was in a daze.
They could have easily killed Shawn, yet they held back, and even the weapons in their hands had fallen to their feet at some unknown point.
Shawn's heart jolted. He reached out and went straight for one person's throat, but stopped just as he was about to touch their skin.
Shawn noticed something strange; the state of these people was somewhat odd.
Facing Shawn's actions, they neither dodged nor flinched, not even making a reflexive step back.
They just stared at Shawn, their eyes shining.
Shawn remembered the first time he saw them; people like them seemed to have much more white in their eyes than pupils.
But now, they were like a group of cats staring directly at the only light, their pupils involuntarily dilating as they looked at Shawn, all their attention focused on him.
Shawn slowly stood up, looking past them to see Daryl, who had arrived behind them, raising his crossbow to shoot.
"Wait, don't move yet."
Shawn called out, and after hearing Shawn's voice, a look of joy clearly flashed across Daryl's previously dark face.
"Are you alright?!"
Daryl still fired that arrow, but it was aimed at a Walker emerging from the tall grass nearby.
Aaron arrived from behind. He was wearing a dark windbreaker and holding a pistol.
Heath hadn't appeared, but Aaron knew he was right behind, aiming a long sniper rifle at them.
"Actually…" Shawn turned to look at the Zealots who had encircled him: "I don't know either."
...
Half an hour later.
Inside the Alexandria walls.
The Zealots were no longer as frenzied as before; they were just like quails, allowing themselves to be tied up, walking along the road with their heads bowed.
Although Shawn's instructions were a bit confusing, Diana still arranged a separate villa for these dozen or so people to serve as their temporary residence.
Fortunately, Alexandria suffered no casualties this time, and Diana even provided them with some water and food.
Shawn originally wanted to go to the villa to wash up first; his hair had been singed by the flames that had entered during the rocket explosion, and his face and body were covered in soot.
But before he could enter the residential area, Daryl and the others dragged him towards the Community Hospital.
Denise was there at this time, but Peter, who should have been the chief physician, hadn't come.
Denise gave Shawn a simple physical examination, followed by a soothing and relaxing massage to loosen his joints.
Until the last massage movement stopped, Denise breathed a slight sigh of relief. She looked at Shawn under everyone's gaze.
"Your body is truly the strongest I've ever seen. Not even a single bruise was left. I'm even starting to wonder if you all are playing a trick on me."
"Did the rocket really explode right in front of you?"
Shawn put on a short-sleeved shirt and stood up, shrugging his shoulders as he replied casually.
"Maybe he was too nervous, so he missed."
Knowing that Shawn was fine, the residents gathered outside the Community Hospital gradually dispersed.
Shawn had just given them a second option for survival; they certainly didn't want Shawn to die like this.
By the time Shawn returned to the villa, it was already 4 AM.
Shawn simply rinsed his body with cold water. The chilly water flowing over the valleys of his body finally calmed his restless heart a little.
Turning off the cold water tap, Shawn vaguely heard a soft knock on the door downstairs.
When he went down, he just saw Columbus open the door, revealing Jessie's figure outside.
She was wearing a light blue top that hugged her body, and tight jeans that bound her two round thighs.
Despite having a child, Jessie still inevitably exuded a youthful and graceful charm all over.
When Shawn came down wrapped in a bath towel, she was chatting with Columbus about something, and both of them gave an awkward laugh.
It wasn't until Shawn appeared at the stairwell and Jessie saw him that her lips visibly curved into a smile.
She raised her hand and waved the tool bag in her hand at Shawn.
"I heard you still need some help."
Columbus looked at Jessie, then turned back to look at Shawn, then looked at Jessie again, and finally, tactfully turned and left.
Backyard.
Using a lamp embedded in the back door frame of the villa, Jessie draped an apron over Shawn's shoulders.
She didn't rush to start cutting his hair; she just gently massaged Shawn's shoulders through the apron.
Jessie's strength wasn't great, and her technique was even less comparable to Denise's, but being massaged by Jessie felt like two clouds lightly dancing on his shoulders, a unique sensation.
She patiently combed out Shawn's somewhat matted hair.
Warm yellow light fell from above, seeping into the gaps between her hands and his hair.
Jessie didn't say anything, just focused and held her breath as she cleaned Shawn's hair. Perhaps the last time she was so serious was when she was combing her late father's hair.
The comb gently swept over the ends of his hair again and again, and only the crisp sound of scissors filled the quiet air.
Until Jessie handed a mirror to Shawn, and he looked at himself in the mirror.
He didn't know when it started, but his eyes now held a hint of the vicissitudes and maturity that came with experience, despite his face still being young.
Jessie had combed all his hair back, layered and clearly textured.
The previous casual abandon had lessened slightly, replaced by a touch of civilization and refinement.
Yet, this hairstyle, which contrasted with Shawn's temperament, actually made his features appear even more wild and arrogant.
Jessie asked cautiously, "How is it, is it good?"
Shawn looked at himself in the mirror and Jessie's careful face, and smiled.
"It's good."
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