Chapter 88
It wasn't a good sleep at all; on the contrary, it left Lina feeling sore all over and weak, making her feel very uncomfortable.
She heard whispers around her, and they suddenly fell silent as if they had noticed her. Someone walked up to her, and Lina opened her eyes, staring blankly at Daryl.
"...Why do you look so haggard?" This made Lina feel a little heartbroken. "Promise me you'll wash your hair first, or you can get it dyed. I only accept Professor Snape with slicked-back hair."
Daryl's concern was stifled by Lina. He glared angrily at Lina, wanting to say something, but the laughter behind him made him shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Lena sat up and found herself in a motorhome. A motorhome? Aaron? Alexander? Oh no, it's the Death Motorhome.
Lina's face turned ashen. She was just a patient; did they have to torture her like this?
"What's wrong?" Daryl sat behind Lina, making her sit closer to him.
"It's nothing," Lina said, forcing a smile, but she couldn't manage a genuine laugh.
“When we get to Alexandria, you’d better get checked out at the infirmary,” said a man with an injured foot. Lina thought he looked familiar and turned to Daryl with a questioning look, wondering who he was.
“This is Aaron’s boyfriend, Eric,” Daryl said.
“Hello, Eric, I’m Lina, Lina Lee.” Lina smiled at him. “By the way, Li as in Li.”
“Hello, so you and your brother are Chinese? There aren’t any Chinese people in Alexandria yet. Speaking of which, the establishment of Alexandria is related to a Chinese couple who invested in it. You’ll see when you get there,” Eric said.
“Um, yes, I am. Glenn is Korean,” Lina said.
Eric looked at Glenn apologetically, "Sorry,"
“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” Glenn said with a smile. Lina shrugged. “I won’t say anything that’s not good for Asian friendship.”
Glenn sighed and joked, "Why don't you go back to sleep for a while?"
"It's not like I'm sleeping. I feel like I've been beaten up. My head hurts, my legs hurt, my back aches. It's torture," Lina complained.
Hershel smiled. "You might remember what happened yesterday?"
Lina blinked. Yesterday, she... oh, she fainted unexpectedly, probably from falling down.
“How are you feeling now? Here’s some applesauce,” Amy said, handing Lina a jar and spoon.
“…Thank you, apart from the pain, there’s nothing else,” Lina said, ignoring the red stains on the ground.
“We’ll be there soon, Pete will definitely be able to solve your little problem,” Aaron said with a smile.
Although I don't know who Pete is, I hope he's not the unlucky guy Rick turned into a minotaur. No, wait, that guy seems to be a domestic abuser too. It's really a battle of morality.
The RV slowly came to a stop, and everyone looked ahead expectantly. Lina grabbed Daryl's hands anxiously; she was scared, she was really scared of encountering the Salvation Army.
Daryl, unaware of Lina's thoughts, assumed she was uneasy about Alexander and gave her a reassuring kiss on the top of her head.
Lina paused, then looked up at Daryl, "You don't mind my oily hair either."
"Do you have to ruin the atmosphere like this?" Daryl was speechless.
Lina shrugged. "I can't help it. It just pops into my head, and I just want to say it out loud."
Daryl rolled his eyes, poked Lena's forehead, picked her up, and got off the bus with everyone else.
Hearing the children playing inside, everyone relaxed and unconsciously smiled.
Lina glanced at Alexander's gate and uncomfortably buried her head in Daryl's arms.
"Daryl? Can you hear me?" Lina grabbed Daryl's clothes, her heart pounding.
"What? Children's laughter?" Daryl listened carefully. There were some faint sounds of conversation, but more clearly, it was the sound of children's laughter.
"No," Lina said, closing her eyes.
Come here, baby.
Lina gripped Daryl's clothes so tightly that her hands trembled.
“Relax, everything will be alright,” Daryl reassured him. “I’m here.”
"What if you're the first one to be taken down?" Lina joked with her eyes closed. "I'd be terrified."
“You wouldn’t,” Daryl said, pursing his lips.
"Am I some kind of cold-blooded woman?" Lina asked, pinching Daryl's chest muscles.
"Hiss—" Daryl gasped, "Stop messing around," not even afraid that he might slip and drop her.
Lina angrily let go of her hand. This playful scuffle had distracted her and made her feel a little more relaxed.
The iron gate was slowly pulled open, and everyone stood in front of it with a mixture of hope and unease.
Suddenly, a trash can nearby made a noise, and everyone jerked their weapons at it. Moore shot and killed a possum, picked it up and shook it. "Hey, here's the furry one you wanted," he shouted to Daryl.
Daryl glanced at Moore speechlessly. "Shut up."
Moore shrugged, hoisted the opossum onto his shoulder, and swaggered inside at Aaron's and the others' invitation. He could smell the scent of paradise.
“If you want to get in, you’ll have to hand over your weapons first,” Nicholas said.
“We haven’t decided whether to stay or not,” Rick said, frowning. Hand over the weapons? No, “If we wanted to use weapons, we would have already done so.”
“Relax, Nicholas,” Aaron said helplessly. “Let them talk to Deanna first. Rick, you go first?”
“Who is Deanna?” Daryl asked.
“She can tell you everything that’s going on here,” Aaron said.
Rick looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said, "Sasha."
Sasha turned around, raised his gun, and shot the walker in the head from a distance.
This demonstration is really something.
"By the way, is Pete in the infirmary?" Aaron asked.
“Yes,” Nicholas nodded, glancing at Lina, who was being held by Daryl. “What happened to her?”
“He had a fever yesterday, and maybe some low blood sugar? We’ll probably have to let the doctor decide,” Aaron said.
Nicholas was getting agitated. "You can't..." He glanced at Rick, "not now."
“After we meet the person you mentioned,” Rick glanced at Daryl, who nodded, and then said to Aaron.
“Well,” Aaron said helplessly, after all, he had already made many exceptions for them.
Rick went inside first, while the others waited outside. The people in the community, especially the children, watched them curiously from a distance, as if they were some rare animal.
Lina turned her head away in frustration, burying herself in Daryl's arms to avoid seeing him.
“…” Daryl’s lips twitched. “Could you take your hands off my chest?” He was really fed up with being stared at by Carol with a teasing look.
Everyone was watching what was going on like a performance, and the worst part was that he couldn't do anything to the female lead.
"Oh, now they won't even let me touch them," Lina said, feigning grievance.
Amy and Beth tried hard to suppress their laughter.
“…Whatever,” Daryl was numb, so he simply hugged Lina, who was clinging to him, and sat down to the side to start messing with the opossum that Mor had hit.
As soon as he drew his knife, Lina immediately climbed off him and obediently sat down to the side. "Don't splatter blood on me, or I'll beat you up," Lina said sweetly.
"..." Daryl plunged a knife into the opossum's eye and began skillfully skinning it.
Actually, it didn't take long before Rick came out and made his decision to stay.
Of course, no one would object; the most important thing is that everyone is together.
“Since you want to stay, our conversation can continue a little longer. You can put down your weapons first, and Aaron will take you there. By the way…” Deanna’s expression froze when she saw Lina.
"My God! Lina? You're still alive?" Diana looked at her in surprise. "They told me you wouldn't leave, I thought... Oh my God." Diana covered her mouth excitedly.
“Reggie and Spencer will be happy to see you. By the way, Aiden, do you remember him?” Deanna stepped forward quickly, but Daryl blocked her way.
Deanna glanced at Daryl with a puzzled look, then looked at Lina behind him.
"By the way, I heard you have amnesia. Don't you remember anything?" Diana asked, sounding a little disappointed. "It's okay, we have plenty of time, if you'd like to hear it."
Lina nervously licked her lips. She was completely bewildered. Just how powerful were her parents? How did they know everyone?
“Oh, by the way, in that case, your house should be returned to its rightful owner,” Deanna said. “It was the first house built in Alexandria. Your parents oversaw the construction, and it was made of cement and steel. It was arguably the safest house in Alexandria. We discussed returning it to its rightful owner when you were 15…” Deanna paused. They didn’t live to see that day.
“I just don’t know if you still remember the password,” Deanna changed the subject.
Lina was in a daze under everyone's gaze; she knew nothing.
“Don’t bother her,” Daryl said, looking at Deanna with some annoyance.
Deanna frowned, scrutinized Daryl, and then looked at Rick.
Rick stroked his beard and looked away.
Deanna turned her head and smiled at Daryl, "We'll talk about it later."
“I will not put down my knife,” Lina said.
“…Then you have to make sure it’s at home while you’re in the community,” Deanna said.
"Okay," Lina said, standing up irritably. Aaron walked over from a distance and led everyone away. Lina took a couple of steps and turned back to look at Deanna, who was standing there, smiling and watching her.
"So the Chinese couple who invested here are your parents?" Aaron asked, somewhat surprised. "I thought you looked familiar. I think I saw you in Deanna's video? Sorry, I'm not sure, but it was a Chinese couple and their child who looked a lot like you."
Lina became irritated. "I don't know, don't ask me." She walked in front, irritated and ignoring everyone. If it weren't for her legs occasionally buckling, you wouldn't have guessed that she had just recovered from an illness.
"See that house?" Aaron pointed to a luxurious building not far away. "That's her house. Let's put it this way: if they didn't need to come out to find food, the people inside could live out their lives in peace. It has high-density security doors, even the windows. There's not a single place for anyone to sneak in. It's completely sealed from the inside, equipped with solar panels, a fresh air system, and complete electricity and water storage functions. It also has an internal emergency password, so there's no chance of being locked out."
"At first, Deanna and the others tried to get in, but they didn't have the password, and even bombs couldn't break it open. I'm also very curious why they went to such lengths to build such a house; it's like some kind of apocalyptic frenzy."
"Later, Deanna said that their daughter did indeed have severe paranoia and was somewhat fascinated by the apocalypse, so she guessed correctly. Unfortunately, the couple passed away three years ago."
The timing matches up, and she's been recognized—it's definitely Lina.
Rick sighed as he watched Lina's retreating figure. Coming here might not be a good thing for Lina. He looked at Daryl with concern.
Daryl shook his head helplessly.
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