Shawn woke up at 8 AM.
After Jessie tidied his hair and left, Shawn still followed his original plan to sleep, to recover from mental fatigue and restore his physical condition.
Putting on his stalker suit again, Shawn went downstairs and saw Daryl with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"Let's go. There are still some things to do before we leave Alexandria."
Shawn led Daryl through the Community, but this time, walking on the street again felt different from when he first arrived.
People no longer looked at him with curiosity and caution; they had started to actively greet Shawn.
"Good morning, Mr. Shawn, did you sleep well?"
"I juiced some oranges with a hand-cranked machine. Perhaps you can come to my house to rest for a while when you're thirsty."
"You look incredibly handsome today."
The last sentence was spoken by a child, who looked at Shawn with curiosity and even bowed to show his respect.
But at his age, would he truly understand the meaning of 'admiration' and 'respect'?
Perhaps he was just interested in Shawn, combined with some nagging from his family, which led to such actions and words.
Shawn gave them a slight smile and nodded in acknowledgment.
At this point, he seemed to have become the uncrowned king of Alexandria.
Although most of the populace had not yet expressed their will, and Diana had not yet handed over power, no one dared to underestimate this man anymore.
Last night, he said that Alexandria was so easy to bully, and Walkers and survivors would not miss this opportunity.
So last night, the survivors came, and the Walkers followed.
When they saw Shawn, with only 3 people, capture over a dozen people and bring them into Alexandria for detention, some still couldn't believe it.
But when they walked out of the Community after dawn and saw the corpses strewn across the jungle and the large crater blasted by the rocket launcher, they realized how polite this man had been to them.
So today, they also became increasingly polite.
Shawn arrived at the villa where the Zealots were being held. The doors and windows of this villa were nailed shut with wooden planks, clearly a trace left from the early days of the apocalypse. It was now perfect for detention.
When the villa's main door opened and Shawn's figure appeared before them, a dozen pairs of eyes instantly looked over.
They remained motionless, simply staring at Shawn.
As Shawn began to move, their heads and gazes also began to shift.
Meeting their gaze, Shawn seemed to guess something.
With his back to Shawn, Shawn walked up to a thin bald man with smoky eye makeup, squatted down, and looked him directly in the eyes.
Neither of them spoke. Shawn simply, in front of him, flipped his hand, and a 5cm piece of chocolate appeared in his palm.
The moment the chocolate materialized, the man's physical state seemed to be digitized before Shawn.
Shawn could clearly perceive his eyes widening,'seeing' his heartbeat uncontrollably quicken, and even his blood circulation speed up significantly.
He was excited.
Shawn unwrapped the chocolate, pressed it against his lips, and gently put it into his mouth.
Holding the chocolate, the bald man lowered his head, and a drop of hot liquid slid down, striking the wooden floor with a faint 'plink' sound.
This seemed to be the first time Shawn had seen this group of brainwashed individuals show emotions other than 'madness'.
Shawn turned his head and found that even the other dozen people were staring at him.
Their throats uncontrollably rolled up and down, and their eyes were filled with longing.
Shawn patiently repeated the process, placing a small piece of chocolate into each of their mouths. Their reactions seemed to be identical to the bald man's.
Some merely shed silent tears, some slowly sobbed, and some collapsed to the ground, weeping bitterly.
Their reactions seemed to become stranger, but upon closer thought, they also seemed to make sense.
Shawn attempted to untie them. After being freed from their restraints, they did not try every means to turn and run, nor did they continue their frenzied attacks.
They simply knelt before Shawn, motionless.
Shawn thought for a moment and asked, "What was the name of the person you previously worshipped?"
The bald man raised his head, his lips trembling as he opened and closed them, finally uttering a name—Elijah.
Very good, this matched the information Shawn already had.
This was the first time Shawn had directly received information from them. Looking at their current behavior, Shawn had only one thought in his mind.
'I said last night I would take these people in, and I didn't expect it to actually happen.'
Shawn could roughly guess the key factor behind the change in their attitudes.
Because the 'divine' power Shawn unintentionally displayed at the moment he blocked the rocket launcher was discovered by them, which directly led to their change in attitude towards Shawn.
From the initial desperate pursuit, to the death.
But now, they would even regard the food Shawn gave them as a favor bestowed by a superior being.
In other words, Shawn was at least on the same level as Elijah in their hearts at this moment.
Perhaps, in terms of priority, Shawn, who displayed 'divine' power, even had an edge.
"Damn it, I've actually become the leader of a cult?" Shawn couldn't help but mutter to himself in a voice only he could hear.
If he had known earlier, why did he bother fighting? Couldn't he have just taken them in all along?
Why go through all the trouble of killing and replenishing, constantly taking detours, even making Columbus go a long way around to reach Alexandria?
"In your doctrine, how is the phrase 'others are demons' explained?" Shawn asked again.
"All living beings and states disappeared the moment the divine judgment descended. Only we and the demons remain."
"Corpses are demons, living things are demons, and those neither dead nor alive are also demons."
As expected, it was extremism born from an extreme environment. Shawn secretly nodded.
"Then what does your so-called 'purification' represent?"
"Only those who have not been judged by the divine are the chosen ones. As long as the impurities on their bodies are cleansed, they can go directly to heaven."
"Fire is the water from heaven brought by Prometheus, representing ultimate purity and goodness."
"Therefore, only by bathing in fire can the unseen impurities be washed away."
Shawn knew that the 'impurities' they spoke of actually referred to sin.
Whose heart doesn't have a dark side?
If it does, then this not only doesn't represent a characteristic of kindness, but rather it is the beginning of true sin.
Because people without a dark side do not feel guilt; no matter what they do, they will only believe that what they are doing is correct.
Such people often end up becoming extremely evil villains.
For example, Ultron next door, who wants to destroy the world.
He doesn't think from a human perspective; he has no dark side, and even less does he adhere to human notions of good and evil. He only knows what is correct to do.
So when he gained the ability to think and act freely, the first thing he did was to destroy the humans who created him.
This is something a mentally sound, normal person cannot do.
And Elijah precisely seized upon this flaw in the human heart to gradually build his empire of faith.
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