Chapter 143

"Aaaaah—" Sean shoved the walkers aside with his body, his arm being bitten hard by the greedy carnivorous machines.

He panicked; he didn't want to die.

Moore raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, but that didn't stop him from taking the opportunity to hug Judith. Judith was so frightened that she burst into tears. She had never seen such a scene before in her life.

The baby's cries saddened everyone, but now was not the time to comfort her. All Moore could do was gently bounce Judith around, trying to calm her down with that familiar swaying motion.

Sean glanced at his left arm, his lip almost bleeding from being bitten, and his gaze toward Judith became complicated.

Moore frowned, picked up Judith, and slowly moved toward Sophia, not knowing what that madman Sean would do.

Before the group could make a move, another commotion came from the woods, sounding like a group of people running.

Mo'er's expression changed. Could it be that something went wrong at the mountain stronghold?

Moore grabbed Sophia and held Judith, then immediately fled in the opposite direction, no longer caring about Sean who was watching them.

Sean stood there, watching them leave, then took off his belt and tied it around his arms. "What the hell?" Sean gave a wry smile and pulled out a dagger.

Sean bit his belt and slashed at his own arm. Even the sharpest dagger couldn't stop the hard bones in his arm. Sean almost couldn't stand up, but he had no choice.

He needs an axe or something; this dagger won't do.

The voices grew closer and closer. Sweating profusely, Sean leaned against a tree and looked into the woods. It was the Salvation Army.

They scurried through the woods like headless flies, inexplicably turning a corner and running in the direction Moore and his friends had just left.

Sean licked his lips, picked up his gun, and began firing at them. His vision blurred and his hands trembled involuntarily. Sean didn't hit them at all, but he successfully drew their attention.

Having achieved his goal, Sean turned and ran in the opposite direction.

In that instant, he asked himself, was it worth it?

have no idea.

The tree roots were in the way, the ground was muddy and slippery. He didn't know how many times he had fallen or how many shots he had been shot. People were chasing him, and so were the walkers. As he rushed out of the woods, Sean's foot slipped and he rolled down the hillside.

The world fell silent, and Sean's last impression was of the blue sky, so clean.

*

Negan clutched his neck and collapsed. Rick turned around and saw Lina and Carl, along with everyone else slowly gathering behind them.

Not only their own people, but also a considerable number of Salvation Army members.

Rick opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't know what to say. He glanced back at Negan, then looked at the crowd again.

There is more than one future.

May my mercy overcome my anger.

"What I want... is for 'Negan' to die."

In an instant, many memories flashed through Rick's mind. Carl's words kept echoing in his ears. Rick's eyes fell on Lina, who was just looking at him quietly, as if she was still asking him, "Do you still want Negan to die now?"

Rick felt his throat was so hoarse that it was hard to speak, but he still opened his mouth, as if using all his strength, "Save him."

Everyone stared at Rick in disbelief. Rick raised his voice, "Save him."

Lena's eyes lit up. Siddiq ran past her toward Negan, and Lena ran after him.

Rick looked at everyone, then at the horde of corpses below the mountain in the distance, "...It's all over. Those...those were our real enemies..."

Lena knelt beside Negan, wanting to reach out and cover his neck, but afraid of disturbing Siddiq's work. She was at a loss, and after a long while, she took Negan's hand.

“You look like a pile of dog shit.” Lena’s voice choked with emotion. Negan’s eyes twitched, and he opened his mouth, but only blood oozed out; he couldn’t speak.

"You'd better hold on, the little dark room will be your private paradise from now on," Lina bit her lip. "If you dare to be so weak and die, I'll use your baseball bat to blow your back door open."

Siddiq's hand trembled in shock, and Rick, who was giving a speech, also paused. What was he going to say?

Negan's eyes darted around more rapidly; he clearly wanted to say something unpleasant. Finally, he hissed and reluctantly closed his eyes, which had been glaring like a bull's.

With red eyes, Lina watched as Negan slowly closed his eyes; the medication was beginning to take effect.

“We have to go back; I don’t have enough medicine with me.” Siddiq had composed himself and calmly said to Lina, as if he hadn’t heard anything at all.

"Thanks," Lina said.

“…No, you’re welcome.” Siddiq hesitated, though they were clearly enemies, but now it seemed they were more than just enemies.

Lena picked up Negan, looked at Rick, and Rick nodded. Under everyone's gaze, she walked to the car. The Saviors dared not make a move and could only watch helplessly as Lena and Daryl drove away.

it's all over.

*

The most troublesome thing after the event was the arrangement of the Salvation Army, although this was not something Lina should have to consider, even though that was what she originally thought.

"Why did you make such a fuss? Now you're giving us all so much trouble. Couldn't you have just taken them and gone back to farming?" Lina said, grumbling as she changed Negan's bandages.

The three communities and the seaside hotel have been meeting for several days, but no one has a plan on how to deal with the Salvation Army. After all, no one wants to live with those lunatics.

Not only would the large number of Salvation Army members consume resources, but many people in various communities also have deep-seated hatred towards the Salvation Army. At most, they would keep to themselves and not interfere with each other. How could they live together?

Nobody wants to accept those people, but we can't just leave them alone in the Salvation Hall, can we? What's the point of their victory then? These remnants will come back sooner or later.

Negan was imprisoned in a small, dark room in Alexandria, where he would, unsurprisingly, spend the rest of his life.

"I don't want to be a farmer." Negan's voice was a little hoarse. He hadn't fully recovered from his injury, and he couldn't help but cough when he spoke, which made his neck ache.

"Looking down on farmers? You Americans!" Lena rolled her eyes and tied a bow on the bandage around Negan's neck.

Negan didn't say anything, he just shrugged.

Lena sighed and looked at Negan. "You'd better watch your mouth from now on. I'll suggest Rick send you to a labor camp in Alexandria!"

Negan's face turned green. He didn't want to at all! Who wants to play with shit every day?!

Lena pursed her lips, "How pretentious." She straightened the medicine and bandages in her hands, then looked at Negan seriously. "I'm going to the Church of the Saviour. I told Rick I'd go there to take care of them." Daryl would go with her. With her gone, Negan's life in Alexandria would only get worse, but he deserved it.

"What?" Negan looked at Lina in surprise, then coughed again.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. They’re not exactly peaceful people, so someone has to keep an eye on them,” Rick and Daryl had managed to subdue them, but there were bound to be some who wouldn’t give up. Plus, there were already a lot of conflicts between them, so it was the right thing to do not rush into a merger.

"Good luck, or they might not feed you if you keep talking nonsense," Lina said gloatingly. Serves you right for not feeding me back then! Hahaha! What goes around comes around!

Negan watched with a sullen face as Lena locked the door and left. The dark little house fell silent. Negan sat there for a long time before hunching over and curling up on the bed.

Daryl sat on the steps outside, lost in thought, waiting for Lina, until the sound of the door opening brought him back to his senses.

"...Are you alright?" Daryl blinked and asked.

“It’s alright,” Lina said, placing the medicine packet on the steps and sitting down next to Daryl.

She looked around. The reconstruction work in Alexandria was going well. The Salvation Army was a handy workforce. They were the ones who destroyed it, so it was their job to repair it.

“Noah and they rebuilt it,” Daryl said, looking at the wall.

"What about the hilltop stronghold?" Lina asked.

“He’ll go help in a couple of days,” Daryl turned to look at Lina. “Are you really going to the Salvation Hall?” His face scrunched up, his disgust evident.

“Just think of it as getting a job as a warden,” Lina paused and then laughed. “We actually lived in prison.”

Daryl smiled. "I'll stay with you."

“I bet you’ll run away in a couple of days, to the woods outside, or anywhere else, but definitely not the Saviour’s Church,” Lina said to Daryl with a smile.

“…Maybe,” Daryl, knowing his own character, quietly agreed with Lina. He was already getting impatient before even going there.

“It’s not about opportunities, it’s about watching them so we can protect our people.” Lina gently squeezed Daryl’s hand. “At the very least, you have to beat them all up for me first, beat them into submission.”

Daryl raised an eyebrow. “Of course,” he couldn’t be happier.

Unexpectedly, Lina also developed a strong sense of career ambition, but the Salvation Hall, that godforsaken place, was truly a headache.

“I need to have a serious talk with Rick. He needs to lend me a few men first,” Lena grabbed Daryl’s hand and pulled him up. “You have to put in a good word for me!”

Darliton paused, "..."

Lina narrowed her eyes, reached out and pinched Daryl's soft waist. Daryl remained unfazed. "I'll try my best."

Lena pouted. Fine, fine, he'll be like this. Lena helplessly dragged Daryl along, "Anyway, we have to take Eugene away!"

The factory needs this kind of talent!

“…” Daryl’s lips twitched. If Eugene went to the Church of the Saviour, he probably wouldn’t dare to close his eyes at night.

“And Mor, I need a bastard boss to keep the bastards in check!” Lina said enthusiastically.

"..."

"We also need to bring that old man Herschel over. What if the Church of Salvation can grow something? Or at least raise some animals, right?"

"And Siddiq, we have to get him too, doctors are essential..."

The two figures gradually disappeared into the distance, and their words faded away with the wind. Tomorrow is a poem, filled with hope between the lines.