However, they didn't rush to name the child.
They left this opportunity for Shawn, who hadn't returned yet.
Next was the matter of Shane and Andrea.
Although everyone knew they were always sneaking into each other's tents at night, when the two appeared hand in hand before everyone, everyone was still happy for them.
Especially happy for Shane; he had finally completely moved past his emotional block, which was a good thing.
Then there were Kenny, Martinez, and the others who had been locked in the Prison cells.
Half a month ago, Kenny had already been shouting that he had thought things through.
But Shawn had given instructions before he left not to release these people until he returned, so Rick and the others didn't make a decision on their own.
According to Shane, the idea was to continue to grind them down, to completely wear away their hostility before releasing them for training.
That's right, Shane still wanted to train them.
These people were in good physical condition, and Shane had long considered them part of the army.
After that, it was Lily, Ben, Clementine, and the others.
They had been very well-behaved since leaving the Prison cells and choosing to join the Prison.
Aside from leaving the Prison once in the middle to go to the Mine to collect the bodies of their subordinates, there were no other major movements.
Lily's actions were not superfluous; on the contrary, they made many people in the Prison look at her with new respect.
It was also from that day on that everyone accepted these newly joined members.
To quote Old Dale: "She is kind; I see her true nature."
Finally, Shane specifically mentioned the construction of the Prison.
But when Shawn wanted to understand in detail, Shane began to clam up again, playing coy.
"Alright," Shawn stepped on the accelerator, speeding towards the Prison.
He held the steering wheel with one hand and rested the other on the car door frame with the window rolled down; he looked incredibly relaxed.
With a gentle slide of his fingers on the steering wheel, Shawn saw the Prison standing not far away after turning a corner.
Seeing the Prison again, Shawn suddenly had a different feeling.
The last time he took over the Prison was not a pleasant process; Shawn suffered terribly from the pursuit of the Walker horde and special Walkers.
This time, seeing the Prison again, Shawn suddenly felt that the Prison was like a fortress, a castle.
It stood there steadily, filled with people he knew, people who had become family and helped each other after experiencing hardships.
The originally cold Prison even seemed to gain warmth in Shawn's eyes.
Shawn, leading a long convoy, drove into the 100-meter radius of the Prison.
It wasn't until all the trees on both sides disappeared that Shawn noticed that the ground within 100 meters of the Prison had been renovated again by them.
The tree stumps left from felling trees had all been pulled out, and as far as the eye could see, it was uniformly solid grayish-white ground.
Looking out, it was even more unobstructed than before.
"This should be concrete, right?" Shawn asked.
"Yes," Shane nodded, "Lily and her group put in a lot of effort; this concrete was found by her and Jacob when they went out."
Shawn clicked his tongue; this was no small project.
Combined with Shane's expression, Shawn could even imagine these guys working overtime continuously to give him a surprise.
That's why they were able to repair this 100-meter flat ground so smoothly in just one month.
And not only that, Shawn looked into the distance and saw the extended high wall on the back side of the Prison.
"With the experience of the front half of the high wall, our speed for the back part was much faster."
"And after you left, the number of people in the Prison also increased, so laying rebar was even faster."
"It's just that, as you know, the concrete filling the high wall needs time to dry."
"According to Jacob's estimate, it will take about one to two more weeks for the inside part to completely dry."
Shane's mouth couldn't stop smiling.
He was like a proud little boy, diligently showing Shawn the results of everyone's concerted efforts during this period.
But Shawn knew.
In fact, Shane was showing him his capabilities, the capabilities of everyone in the Prison.
Shane was using this method to tell Shawn that they were not just useless mud, that if Shawn could give for them, they could also give for Shawn.
After understanding Shane's meaning, Shawn chuckled softly.
It seemed that, without realizing it, everyone had grown up; no one was just standing still.
Shane suddenly remembered something, but just as he opened his mouth to continue speaking!
A bullet hit the protective barrier outside the fire truck, making a crisp sound, and Shawn slammed on the brakes.
Leaving a long trail, the fire truck slowly came to a stop.
Shawn's first thought was—someone had killed Rick and instigated the entire Camp to rebel.
But then he thought it was unlikely, and Shane had never mentioned it either.
He looked at Shane, who then remembered the message he had just transmitted to the Prison.
And after transmitting the message, he had smashed the radio, which led to this misunderstanding.
After listening to Shane's explanation, Shawn still felt something was off.
"Everyone in the Camp, even Lily, who just joined, should have seen my fire truck; why would someone still shoot?"
Shane's answer to this was: "The Camp has welcomed new members."
"Michonne met them when she was out scavenging for supplies, and after confirming they were not a threat, she brought them back to the Camp."
"The person who just shot should be one of the new members."
Speaking of this person, Shane seemed hesitant to speak, finally only giving a suggestive reminder.
"You should go see Beth when you get back; she misses you a lot too."
Shawn heard the implied meaning in Shane's words, raised an eyebrow, and suddenly found it interesting.
Shawn raised his hand to the dashboard, where there was a radio, the very one Shawn had been carrying before.
To save power, it had remained off the entire way.
"Rick, is this how you welcome me home? Speak."
Shawn's voice fell, and after a long pause, Rick's voice came through.
"Let me talk to Shane."
Rick was still so cautious, Shawn tossed the radio into Shane's arms.
After the two explained, Shawn saw the Prison's gate slowly open.
Rick led the people out in a rush, most of them with surprise and smiles on their faces.
However, in the crowd, Shawn felt a hostile gaze.
Shawn looked over; it was a boy about 19 or 20 years old, and when Shawn looked at him, he suddenly withdrew his gaze.
"Shawn!!"
A vibrant, lively cry of surprise came.
Shawn opened his arms, and a soft body with a golden ponytail swung directly into his embrace.
Beth wrapped her legs around Shawn's waist, her ears almost completely red, but she still couldn't bear to let go.
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