Chapter 118
“Oh my god, that’s a classic romantic scene,” Negan laughed, brandishing his baseball bat, a forced smile. “Seriously, I think the most interesting thing is watching you guys rekindle your hope, and then, pfft, extinguish it.” Negan beckoned behind him, and a subordinate handed him a gun, which he then passed to Dwight. “Be gentle with my dear Lucille,” he said.
Dwight gripped the baseball bat with trepidation, his heart filled with disgust. This freak.
“Now kneel back down, or I’ll blow his head off,” Negan said coldly. “Or are you planning to blow us all up? Wow, that’s really heartless. Can you do that?” Negan raised an eyebrow and looked at Lina with a mocking expression.
Lina was on the verge of collapse. She wanted to save everyone, she really wanted to, but she was afraid she would kill Daryl, who shouldn't have died here.
"Do it!" Daryl shouted.
“No!” Rick said frantically to Lina. He forced himself to calm down and looked at Negan. “We don’t need to do this. We can talk again.”
“Talk? No,” Negan smirked. “You still don’t get it. I sincerely gave you a chance, one head for all of your lives. I’ve already made that concession, but,” Negan shook his head, “you always disappoint me.”
“But, little girl, I think we can talk,” Negan stared at Lina. “You see, you’re a smart woman. Why hang out with these guys? If I were you, I’d put down what you’re holding and go home right now.” Negan tilted his head. “We’d welcome you. You don’t have to risk your life with these idiots. Anything you want, I’ll get it for you. As long as you make the right choice with your lovely RPG.”
Lina calmed herself down. "No way, let them go, or I'll really open fire!"
Lina whispered to Rick beside her, "...(Note) Back."
Rick paused for a moment, realizing that Lena wasn't telling them to back off. After thinking for a moment, Rick called everyone to get into the RV, stayed with Lena, and looked at Negan.
“Release our men, and we’ll call it even. This world is vast, and we’ll keep to ourselves. None of us will die today,” Rick was still trying to persuade Negan. There were too many of them, and even with Lena’s RPG, she couldn’t kill them all at once. Once war broke out, the outcome was uncertain.
“Oh, Rick, you’re getting a little annoying,” Negan rolled his eyes impatiently. “I’ve made myself clear enough, and besides, do you think I’m an idiot?” Negan shook his head; he was just too much.
“Lina, you and this guy stay here, and I can let the others go. But they’ll have to work for us from now on, no questions asked,” Negan said.
"...Do you think I'm stupid?" Lina rolled her eyes.
“Tsk, I brought this up in good faith,” Negan said helplessly. “Alright, alright, it seems we’re in a bind…”
"careful!"
Lina was pulled away by Rick, and the two fell to the ground. The RPG's cable was pulled, and one shot hit the Saviors on the right rear.
Negan turned and slapped Simon. Simon's sneaky shot missed Lena, and Daryl took the opportunity to struggle, but was quickly pinned to the ground by the Saviors.
Chaos erupted, and screams soon filled the air. Negan, no longer able to deal with Simon, grabbed his baseball bat and cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Walkers! A horde of zombies was quietly closing in!
He turned sharply to look at Lina, but the RV had vanished, and Rick, who was holding Lina, was nowhere to be found.
Negan kicked Daryl angrily; she'd be back.
After running a short distance, Lina shoved the RPG she was holding into Rick's hand. "I only took one round. I have the last one hidden in my basement."
"What are you going to do?" Rick grabbed Lina's arm tightly.
Lena looked at Rick seriously and slowly brushed his hand away. "I'm going to find Daryl. I won't leave him alone." If this is the retribution for changing the plot, then she will atone for Daryl with her life.
“No, we’ll go back and figure something out,” Rick said nervously and anxiously. “You can’t…”
“No,” Lina cried, tears streaming down her face, “Don’t stop me, please,”
Rick lowered his hands dejectedly. "...I will definitely find a way to save you, I swear."
“Thank you,” Lina hugged Rick, took off her longsword and handed it to him. “Tell Moore I’m sorry, and tell him to take care of himself. If he dares to do anything stupid, I’ll look down on him.”
After saying that, Lina turned and ran back to where she had just been.
Rick gripped the knife in his hand, painfully watching Lina leave. He should have knocked her unconscious and taken her home, but…
Looking at Lina's desperate yet determined eyes, he couldn't, he couldn't make Lina leave Daryl.
It's all his fault. He made the wrong decision. He has to find a way to save them.
Rick slung his knife over his shoulder and ran in the direction the RV had gone.
When they arrived at the agreed-upon location, everyone nervously gathered around the RV. When they saw that only Rick had run back, they all fell silent.
“Let’s go to the hilltop first,” Rick said. “We need manpower.”
*
Going back, Lina found the Salvation Army's territory engulfed in flames and filled with countless zombies, gunfire erupting everywhere, a scene of utter chaos.
She hid in the shadows, searching for Daryl's whereabouts. He was by the car, with Negan and the others nearby.
But they were in the middle, and Daryl and she were both badly injured, so they couldn't rush in and out.
Lina took a deep breath. The Saviors' panic had gradually subsided, and they were beginning to counterattack the horde of zombies. She couldn't think about it anymore.
Lena raised her pistol, aimed it at Negan's head, and killed Negan and Simon first.
Sweat streamed down her forehead and dripped into her eyes, burning them, but Lina didn't dare blink. She stared at Negan, her hand slowly moving to the trigger.
【Bang--】
"F#uck!" Lina roared as two walkers pounced on her from behind. Lina instinctively reached out to block them, but luckily she reacted quickly, shoving her gun into one of their mouths and blowing it in the head. She then kicked away the other walker and fired.
"Put down your gun."
Lena slowly turned around, and Dwight pointed his gun at her. Not only Dwight, but the surrounding Saviors also gathered around.
Lena had no choice. She threw the gun at Dwight's feet and glared at him.
Kicked the gun away, and Dwight grabbed Lena and dragged her to Negan's side.
“See, I knew you’d come back,” Negan said with a knowing smile. “Get her in the car.” He told Dwight.
"Let her go!" Daryl rushed forward, shoving Dwight aside and pulling Lena behind him as a shield.
"Tsk," Negan clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. Dwight immediately called for reinforcements, and a group of people pulled Daryl aside and began punching and kicking him.
"Let him go!" Lina angrily lunged forward, trying to pull the men away, but Negan grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and then bent down to look at Lina. "If you dare to make another move, I'll have them beat him to death. Do you understand?"
Lena glared at Negan resentfully, biting her lower lip as she nodded.
Negan snorted and stood up. "That's enough," he said, glancing at Lina and Daryl. "Throw them both into the car, clean up this place, and head back."
No one questioned Negan's decision; Lena and Daryl were roughly thrown into the truck bed, and the door was slammed shut.
"How are you?" Lina grabbed Daryl's hand; it was pitch black inside, and she couldn't see anything.
"You're alright. How about you?" Daryl asked worriedly. "Your gunshot wound..."
"It's okay, I'm fine." Although she really wanted to cry, this wasn't a situation that allowed her to be delicate, so she wouldn't cry.
Daryl silently hugged Lina, patting her back reassuringly, "You should have fired the cannon just now."
"No, I can't," Lina said, fighting back tears. "I'm sorry,"
“I’m sorry,” Daryl said, “if I hadn’t run away, you wouldn’t have… suffered so much.”
Daryl hugged Lina tightly, and the two huddled together, drawing strength from each other.
“It’s all my fault,” Lina said, her voice trembling with tears. He wouldn’t have been hurt; it was all her fault. “No matter what happens, you have to live.”
“No, you are,” Daryl said.
"..." Lina pursed her lips and remained silent.
Daryl sighed. "You said you'd never leave me, not even if it meant death." Daryl nuzzled Lina's fluffy head. "Lina, it's okay."
“No, I don’t want you to die,” Lina gripped Daryl’s clothes tightly. “You won’t die. Even if I die, I’ll cling to you.”
Daryl silently hugged Lina tightly. He had to think of a way. He wasn't afraid of dying; he was just afraid that Lina would encounter misfortune.
She was so proud, so beautiful, she deserved all the good things in the world, even if the world was a pile of dog shit.
“We’ll be alright,” Daryl kissed Lina on the head. He had to protect Lina, even if it meant selling his own soul.
Soon the car began to shake, and Lina, who had already lost too much blood, didn't last long before she fell asleep in Daryl's arms, feeling dizzy.
If she were with Daryl when she died, that would be fine too.
“…anti-inflammatory drugs…no…surgery…”
"...inject...to reduce fever..."
"The brain...is not..."
"Abdominal...impact..."
The surroundings were extremely noisy, and her vision was blurry with the blinding light of the incandescent bulbs swirling around her. She thought she saw a rainbow, but soon, amidst the noise, Lina fell into unconsciousness again.
“...my younger brother…”
She was exhausted and cold. She had saved Glenn and Abraham, temporarily, but she had harmed Daryl... She couldn't die yet; later, she still had to overthrow the Salvation Army, and she had to protect everyone.
Daryl, Daryl, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...
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