If Salvation Army 4

"Seriously, Laura, don't you really think the name 'Salvation Army' is ridiculous? What kind of idiot would think they're the saviors? A psychopath?" Laura looked at the person in front of her, her smile extremely flamboyant, as if dispelling all the gloom.

“Negan must be having a chuunibyou phase. Every time I hear about the Salvation Army or the Salvation Hall, I feel so embarrassed, it’s so shameful.” Lena looked at Laura. “I bet you guys have thought the same thing!”

“Well…” Laura didn’t deny it, and a smile couldn’t help but appear in her eyes, though it was indeed a little awkward. “But when a group of people do it together, it doesn’t seem so awkward.”

“I still find it quite interesting,” after all, she was now a member of the Saviors, so Lina decided to be kinder to herself and speak more tactfully. “But you know, calling yourself the Savior in this world is really crazy. Just imagine Negan thinking he’s the Savior? Pfft.” Lina’s tact only lasted a second before she quickly overturned her decision.

The Salvation Army and such are just too toxic.

“Yes, this world…” Laura sighed, her gaze falling on Lina’s sun-drenched face, “But your existence is indeed salvation.”

“But you really are the savior, you know that, I’ve heard them say it,” Laura teased, nudging Lina’s arm playfully.

"Oh my god, I don't want to be a savior. You know, all those saviors have to die and come back to life every time. I don't have that ability. Die and come back to life, pfft." Lina waved her hand casually, not taking it seriously at all, and even blushed with embarrassment.

“Of course you won’t die…” Laura whispered.

"So, you're telling me you're all safe and sound, but Lena Lee died on the way? Seriously?" Negan paced back and forth in front of Laura, looking at the GG squad (the name Lena gave to the all-female team, with two possible interpretations: first, egg, the 'e' is silent; second, girls help girls. After coming up with this name, Lena felt incredibly powerful—that was true talent!).

“You know her. She went to rescue people, but the horde of zombies overwhelmed her. We had to leave and waited at the rendezvous point for a long time, but she never came back,” Lara said calmly.

"Laura!" Negan strode forward angrily, stood in front of Laura, and glared at her menacingly. "I sent you there so you could keep an eye on her, not so she could do whatever she wanted!"

“Sorry, I’ve already tried,” Laura said with a poker face.

"...Never mind, this is what happens to a pushover. See? Tsk." Negan suddenly calmed down. "Hopefully, this lesson will leave a lasting impression on you."

Laura was actually a little surprised. Negan didn't bring it up again. Apart from the fact that the GG team was scattered and infiltrated into other teams, he seemed to have really accepted Lina's death.

He really had to be.

Laura slung her bag over her shoulder, greeted the patrolmen indifferently, and drove away from the Church of Saviour in a car.

Lina died; it was their decision.

The world is like you've been constipated for three days, tried all sorts of laxatives, but still can't poop. When you finally decide to go to the pharmacy to buy laxatives, it suddenly comes rushing out without any regard for reason.

To put it simply, it's disgusting.

She was just someone passing by, but she was dragged along to clean up the mess left by those who had suffered massive diarrhea.

A hopeless, overly kind person.

Of course, Laura knew that if Lina heard this analogy, she would only say with disgust that she would definitely kill that disgusting guy with a knife, at least nine out of ten of him would be dead.

There was still some distance to go before Lara spotted the guy, who even had the leisure to wave at her.

Laura stopped the car.

"Hey! Luckily you came to pick me up, otherwise it would have been a real problem." Lina reached out to pull the car door, but couldn't get it open. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at Laura.

Laura turned to look at Lina, picked up a backpack from the passenger seat and tossed it to her. Lina caught the bag, puzzled.

“Let’s go. That place isn’t for you. I’ll tell Negan you’re dead,” Laura said.

"..." Lina raised an eyebrow and rummaged through her backpack, finding her photo album and bouncy ball. Lina sighed inwardly.

“Actually, we’re all quite grateful to you. You’re such a pushover, you’re such a pain.” Laura tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “I hate pushovers the most. It’s like everyone in this world has turned into a devil. I’d rather hurt them than be hurt myself.” Laura looked at Lina. “I don’t feel guilty about it.”

"..." Lina looked at Laura in silence; that was her answer.

“Actually, I’ve never felt guilty,” Lina shrugged. “It’s just that sometimes I wonder if I could have done better back then. This world makes it easy for people to turn into monsters, but I think I should try to be as human as possible.”

“See, that’s the difference between you and us,” Laura laughed. “You know our territory, so go away and don’t come back.”

"..." The car drove away without looking back. Lina pinched her brow in melancholy. The long-awaited freedom did not make her feel relaxed. Instead, her mood became even heavier. That silly guy.

Lina slung her bag over her shoulder and continued along the road.

Interestingly, Lina spotted a campervan on the road, with people inside struggling to start it. After thinking for a moment, Lina hid in the woods. Who knew who those people were? But seeing the campervan reminded Lina of Rick's small group.

Lena stealthily made her way through the woods, unable to see the faces of the people in the car, but she wasn't too bothered; she could simply avoid them.

Then she saw a group of people creeping over.

It has a 'W' on its head.

Lina immediately drew her knife. She hated these guys. While searching for supplies, Lina had witnessed the devastation left by their rampages on several occasions.

This torture was a direct challenge to Lina's patience.

The problem is that this group is elusive, and we haven't been able to find their base camp, or rather, they don't actually have a fixed camp.

But whatever happens, if it happens, it's fate.

Five people, no guns, and like playing Fruit Ninja, Lina finished the fight in no time. The commotion from the car stopped, clearly indicating that they had seen what was happening here.

Lina felt something was familiar, but she didn't think too much about it and turned to disappear into the woods.

She has other things to do.

Rick, gun in hand, cautiously got out of the car. At the intersection of the road and the woods, he saw five corpses with blood-red 'W's drawn on their heads. Perhaps they had attacked Alexander.

This wasn't the first time Rick had seen a 'W' drawn on someone's head. The previous ones were carved on. He could roughly guess that the group that drew the 'W' had tortured and killed others and carved the same character on them.

Rick looked around; the girl had already left. He didn't waste any more time and went back to the RV to continue his research. The horde of zombies was approaching.

*

Even though Lina walked very fast, it was noon the next day when she arrived at the Salvation Hall.

I wonder if that unlucky Laura is alright? No, is she still alive?

The cold water woke Laura up. She was carried, still groggy, to the factory, where the furnace was burning.

“I’m really disappointed that you lied to me,” Negan grabbed Laura’s hair, forcing her to look up. “Now, your pretty little face is going to suffer.”

"..."

Negan bent down. "Laura, if you tell me where she is, I can let bygones be bygones. Of course, you know there are still some rules to follow, after all, you betrayed me."

“No, I didn’t,” Laura said weakly.

“Tell me where she is.” The flames crackled, and Laura’s eyes glazed over. “I don’t know, she’s dead…”

Is this a hallucination?

"What did she do? Why are they torturing her like this?"

Negan looked toward the door in surprise, while Lena leaned calmly against the doorframe.

Negan narrowed his eyes. "This is truly...surprising..."

“The horde of zombies is a bit of a problem. I found her backpack. If she had left a little later, I could have caught a ride. By the time I went around her, she was already gone. Tsk. She’s actually quite nice; she went to burn me souvenirs.” Lina turned slightly to the side, letting Negan see the backpack behind her.

Negan stared at Lena blankly for a long time, then suddenly laughed. "Welcome back." He released Laura, walked towards Lena, and put his arm around her shoulder. "You've been gone for a while now. We've made a few small adjustments, just a little..."

Lina glanced at Paula and nodded slightly.

The "minor adjustment" Negan mentioned was simply dismantling her squad and reassigning her to another team.

Tsk, shameless. They didn't want her back then, and she raised her with their love and care. Now she's reaping the benefits?

Lena's displeasure was palpable; her face was dark with rage, and she looked as if she wanted nothing more than to pounce on Negan and bite him to death.

"How about this, you can pick the people you're interested in again and form another team. Simon said a few days ago that he found a few good prospects, which is perfect for supplementing your team. It's settled then."

Are they using her as free labor? Are they going to raise her well and then take her away?

Lina grumbled as she walked toward her room, only to be grabbed by Paula and pulled into the stairwell.

"Why did you come back?" Paula lowered her voice. "We've already made all the arrangements, you..."

"Arranged my ass! The moment she handed me the photo album, I knew I was doomed." Lina looked at Paula helplessly. "What's gotten into you two all of a sudden?"

“Don’t talk like you want to stay here,” Paula frowned, her fingers irresistibly reaching for the cigarette pack in her pocket, but she held back when she saw Lina.

"Is Laura alright?" Lina asked.

“You got back in time, it’s nothing serious, you’ll be fine in a couple of days,” Paula said. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but ask Lina, “So, what are your plans now?”

"Trying something big?" Lina grinned mischievously.