Chapter 23: Joining
"My base is relatively small with limited recruitment capacity, so I can probably only take in some people."
"If everyone wants to join, register with Jimmy."
Caesar put on a troubled expression, as if he truly couldn't accommodate everyone, and patted Jimmy's shoulder.
At this, everyone exchanged glances.
Carol suddenly stood up. "I want to join."
"Mm, Jimmy, register her." Caesar's eyes lit up as he urged Jimmy to record it.
"Huh? Oh!"
Jimmy froze for a moment, then turned to search for a notebook to make records.
Carol registered first, which triggered many others to shout out their registrations one after another.
For a moment, nearly everyone in camp had registered.
Glenn, T-Dog, and other lone individuals went with the flow and chose to register.
The Harrison sisters Andrea and Amy, the Morales family, and others also chose to follow to Caesar's base.
Rick and Shane didn't take a stance.
Rick still harbored fantasies about the CDC. He believed what Caesar said—the CDC probably really didn't have many people.
But the possibility of developing a vaccine still existed, even if pitifully small.
Rick still wanted to take a chance. Only if it truly wasn't viable would Rick join Caesar's camp.
As for Lori and Carl, Rick turned to look at his wife and son. The meaning in his eyes made Lori realize something.
Lori shook her head. In the firelight, her orange-yellow pupils carried determination. She said quietly but firmly, "Rick, don't even think about leaving us behind."
As for Shane, he stole several glances at the whispering Rick couple. The dejection on his face couldn't be hidden.
Perhaps it was time for him to leave.
Seeing so many people register, Caesar's face bloomed with happiness.
If he recruited all these people at once, the ranch's personnel would expand by twenty or thirty people immediately.
You could say he'd instantly possess five or six times the labor force.
Even if they weren't skilled workers, they were young and strong—not much difference.
After registration ended that night, Caesar still reminded them, "Everyone who's registered, you can think it over carefully after returning to your tents tonight."
"If you're unwilling, I won't force you. Just cancel your registration tomorrow morning."
Caesar's attitude satisfied quite a few people in camp.
It made them feel respected rather than forced to choose, even if there weren't many options.
At night in camp, bonfires burned quietly.
On the RV, outside the forest, on the gravel road—all had two armed warriors patrolling, ensuring someone could give warning if walkers attacked.
Dawn broke quickly.
In camp, only several burned-out fire piles remained. Anything useful had been loaded into vehicles.
Caesar emerged from the cargo truck and walked toward Shane and Rick.
"Are you two walking alone? Or do you have a few people willing to follow you?" Caesar inquired.
Rick shook his head helplessly. He clearly knew his choice wasn't wise. "Only Jacqui and three young people are willing to follow me."
"What about Carl and Lori?" Shane's brow furrowed.
"We're going together." Rick sighed.
Shane's face immediately darkened. "Do you know what you're saying? Do you know how dangerous the road to Atlanta is?"
"You're making Lori and Carl follow you, taking such a huge risk!"
"Rick, is your brain not working?"
Rick didn't want Lori and Carl following him either. Their group lacked combat power and had no experience.
"You think I don't know that?" Rick shot back, face full of anger. "I want them to follow Caesar too, but they're unwilling."
Shane opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
This was Rick's family matter. What Lori and Rick decided—he had no right to pursue it further.
"Shane, you've decided to go alone?" Caesar paused and looked toward Shane.
Shane nodded.
"Do you have a vehicle? Gasoline?"
"Uh..." Shane froze. He'd planned to get a vehicle in Atlanta, but gasoline would be very hard to find.
Caesar showed an "I knew it" expression and patted Shane's shoulder. "Don't worry, I prepared early."
"There's a place called the train station. It has plenty of gasoline and some abandoned vehicles. I'll have Rip take you. After you get the vehicle and gas sorted, he'll come back."
"Thank you, Caesar." Shane was somewhat moved, nodding repeatedly.
"Don't be so polite."
Caesar smiled too, but the smile looked somewhat strange.
After eating breakfast, vehicles drove out of the valley one after another.
On the highway outside the valley, the convoy drove toward Atlanta.
Caesar had newly recruited twenty or thirty people. Only then did he realize how terrifying the speed at which these extra people consumed resources was.
Initially, although only a small portion of what they'd taken from Atlanta in the cargo truck was food, the truck was so large that the base amount wasn't low.
But Caesar had just taken in these people yesterday and naturally provided some food.
With this consumption, Caesar suddenly felt the ranch's food reserves couldn't last long at all.
Caesar decided to make a supply run to Atlanta, collecting at least enough resources for twenty or thirty people to live for a quarter.
He could also find several more cargo trucks to use for blocking the mountain pass.
The CDC was also in Atlanta. Both groups were going the same way.
Rip drove the pickup, taking Shane, and separated from the main force at an intersection.
Shane watched the departing convoy, his eyes full of melancholy.
Rip turned to glance at him. "You got dumped?"
"Hm? No... no." Shane quickly shook his head.
Although he felt sad about Lori's sudden heartlessness, he understood her.
In this matter, he was indeed at fault.
Moreover, their relationship couldn't see the light of day.
Rip smiled. Some things were better left unsaid. Probably many people in camp had noticed something off between those two.
The scenery on both sides of the pickup gradually grew desolate. Abandoned cars along the roadside increased.
Those cars had burned after accidents, leaving only skeletons.
Shane frowned and asked, "I've never been to this area before. So desolate!"
What a coincidence—you haven't been here, and neither have I.
Rip nodded coldly. "Precisely because it's desolate, the gasoline at the train station hasn't been taken by others."
The train station was Black Pine Valley slang. There was a place over by Black Pine Valley—a pitch-black ravine, extremely deep.
If someone fell in, you couldn't even find them.
Plus, that place was where three states converged—a no-man's-land zone.
People from all three surrounding states would dump bodies there.
Caesar instructed him to take Shane to the train station—meaning to find a place to dispose of Shane.
Screech.
The pickup stopped. Rip got out first and glanced around.
Mm, mountains, water, and a cliff. A good place.
Then Rip pulled Shane's backpack from the truck bed.
Shane sensed something wrong. He got out of the vehicle, keeping distance from Rip. "Rip, what is this place?"
Rip acted as if he hadn't heard, casually tossing Shane's luggage off the cliff.
Shane's eyes widened. He walked forward two steps, but before he could speak—
A cold gun pressed against Shane's head. Words carrying cigarette smoke fell beside his ear.
"See that?"
"A very long black train!"
BANG—