Chapter 111
She knew what was going to happen, but she couldn't stop it from happening. This had happened more than once before, but this time the fear it brought her was unprecedented.
Can she save Glenn and Abraham? Can she really?
Along the way, many plots have led to the same conclusion, following similar paths. What is destined to happen will happen, but variables are also allowed to occur.
Will there be any changes this time?
Lina didn't know that her head was throbbing and she couldn't think of any good solutions. All she knew was that she had to do her best to protect them.
Lena didn't attend the meeting at the church. Actually, she later realized that confronting the Salvation Army was inevitable. They had already circled around this area and would soon find Alexandria. At that time, Rick was right; they would be in an even more passive position.
Since she was going to kill them, she might as well kill them thoroughly. Lina let out a long breath. Just like when she killed W's group, she could do it. As long as she found the location of the Savior Hall, which was a factory, there were many abandoned factories nearby. But given enough time, she might be able to find it.
Once she had cleared the outpost, she would set off with her RPG.
But there were too many people there, and she couldn't fight them all. Even with an RPG, it wouldn't have made a difference. She only had two rounds of ammunition left. Lina rested her chin on her hand. It was a pity that Eugene couldn't make ammunition for the RPG.
If she could find the Church of Saviour before that night, she could kill Negan when the group arrived in Alexandria.
It seems that time is still too tight, and she has to shorten the search area.
Lena found a map in the study and ran out of the house, searching all over Alexandria for Eugene. She wasn't good at this kind of work, but Eugene could definitely help.
"What happened, child?" Herschel stopped the flustered Lina and asked in confusion.
“I thought you were at the church… oh right, the church,” Lina slapped her forehead. “Is Eugene there?”
“Yes,” Herschel said, her brow furrowed, clearly troubled. “Are you going too?”
“I’ll go protect Maggie,” Lina said, judging from Herschel’s expression. She could roughly guess that he didn’t support the idea, but she didn’t have a better choice. Those so-called Salvation Army people didn’t sound like they could be communicated with.
“Thank you, Lina.” Herschel forced a smile. “You know, she’s been getting more and more stubborn lately.”
"'Also'?" Lina pouted. Even so, she couldn't resist dissing her.
“Sorry, I accidentally blurted out my true feelings,” Herschel winked playfully. “Be careful.”
"Don't worry," Lina nodded and continued to grab Eugene. Not wanting anyone to know her plans, Lina grabbed Eugene and headed towards a secluded place.
Daryl caught sight of the two suspicious individuals, but he couldn't get away for the time being. They needed to prepare and discuss; they were going to act that night.
He'll keep an eye on Lina when they take action tonight.
"Can I ask you what you want me to do?" Eugene, who was being dragged along, raised his hand tremblingly to ask. Although he was tall, he couldn't outrun Lina's strength!
“I need to use your brain,” Lina said. There was no one in the corner. Lina let go of his hand and opened the map. “This area is Alexandria, and that area is Hilltop. Circle the factories that are not too far from both of these places.”
"The factory?" Eugene looked at Lina with a puzzled expression. "Do you think that's their main base? Why?"
“If they have a lot of people and don’t do production, then obviously a factory would be a good place to accommodate them,” Lina casually made up an excuse.
“That makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense. There are better places, like us, to build communities, or…” Eugene began to ramble on.
"Alright, just circle the possible factory areas for me first," Lina interrupted Eugene impatiently.
“I would love to help you, but I can’t,” Eugene stammered. “There are too many to search them all, and it would be pointless.”
“Eugene!” Lina narrowed her eyes and glared at him fiercely. “Don’t make me beat you up,”
“Okay,” Eugene immediately picked up his pen. “I estimate that this area, this area, this area, and this area are all suitable in terms of distance.”
“You drew almost everything…” Lina gave him a speechless look.
“Because statistically speaking, it’s possible, and the chances are pretty much the same. No one would use a factory as a base. It’s not suitable for people to live in for long, except for being empty. They would starve to death inside,” Eugene said.
"So they were just looking for a sucker, weren't they?" Lina rolled her eyes and put the map away, realizing she'd been hoping for Eugene's help all along.
“If…if we follow your logic,” Eugene suddenly said with a somber expression, “it would be a mistake.”
"They're like spiders, with one head and many limbs. We might only be looking for one of those limbs. They have a long-term 'trade' contract. Why would the number suddenly double? If it's not a recent surge in numbers, then there were already quite a few to begin with."
“I think we should rule out the possibility of greed. After all, Hilltop is already their storehouse. If they didn’t need it, there would be no need for them to take so much at once. So I tend to think you’re right.” Eugene nodded seriously, seemingly very much in agreement with his analysis.
“The problem is, we have no evidence,” Lina said, folding the map and stuffing it into her pocket.
“Wait a minute,” Eugene said, “I might have a little something else to say.” Lina, puzzled, pulled out the map, and Eugene took it and drew on it again.
“I think the Salvation Army, the name itself has a meaning; clearly, this group doesn’t really intend to save the world,” Eugene said, looking carefully at the map.
"Like you?" Lina teased.
“…Let’s move on,” Eugene said with a helpless glance at Lina. “These three places have churches nearby, so maybe you could start by looking in those three places. If you see any religious buildings, I recommend you search the surrounding area first. There must be a reason for such a blatantly sarcastic name.”
"It cannot be denied," after all, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Church of Saviour.
"Thanks," Lina said, this time actually putting the map away. "Are you going tonight?"
“No, no, I’ve only just started learning about these things, and I’m not used to it yet. I mean, you know…” Eugene said nervously.
“It’s alright, it’s just a checkpoint, there won’t be many people, they can handle it,” Lina said confidently.
"And you? Are you going to search now?" Eugene asked, puzzled.
“No, I need to take care of this first,” Lina sighed wistfully.
“I have a feeling we’re in big trouble,” Eugene muttered.
"You'll get used to it, that's the world." Lina shook her head helplessly. "I'm leaving. Remember to keep an eye on the house."
“Although there’s a high probability that such a significant task won’t fall to me, my answer is, okay, I’ll take good care of the house,” Eugene said.
"Hey, Eugene, aren't you planning to tinker with some inventions in your spare time? Anything is fine, we might need them sooner or later," Lina casually said to Eugene before leaving.
“…I know I’m smart,” Eugene muttered as he watched the figure disappear, “but it’s a pity not everyone realizes that.” An invention? A useful invention? Eugene pondered as he headed home; this was a huge undertaking.
*
With the help of the mountain stronghold's men, they quickly arrived at the outpost. It was still daylight, so they didn't get too close. Instead, they prepared the necessary materials, namely, to forge Gregory's head.
Almost all of Rick's capable fighters came this time, except for the younger ones, whom he left behind to guard the house.
“Do you really think we’re doing the right thing?” Andrea hesitated as she walked to Rick’s side. “We’re starting a war.”
“No, we’re ending the war,” Rick said. “I know you want to try talking to those guys, Andrea. You know how they talk? They kill one of us first, and then they say, and we listen.” Rick sighed, hands on his hips. “Maybe it’ll be Amy who gets chosen, maybe it’ll be Carl? Sophia? I don’t know. I just don’t want that to happen.”
Andrea glanced back at Amy. “…You’re right,” she took a deep breath, “we have to do it.”
After a brief chat with Andrea, Rick looked at Morgan beside him, who had been listening the whole time. "And you, Morgan, what do you think?" Morgan hadn't really supported the operation at the church, but he still came anyway.
“…I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately,” Morgan said with a wry smile. “In the end, I have to admit that I’m selfish. I can’t imagine losing Dwayne again. I’ve tried, I… I don’t dare. As for Pete, I’m sorry.”
“That’s not your fault,” Rick frowned. “I don’t think you did anything wrong either. How can having hope be wrong?”
"Hope?" Morgan shook his head with a wry smile. "Perhaps..."
“Don’t worry, I know what to do, I’ll do it.” Morgan smiled at Rick and patted him on the shoulder.
"Carol, can you stay and keep Maggie company?" Lina grabbed Carol, who was smoking nearby. "How did you become so bad?" Lina moved away in disgust.
“Sorry, don’t tell Sophia,” Carol said, tossing away her cigarette. “But didn’t you say you were going to stay?” She looked at Lina curiously, wondering what mischief she was up to now.
“I want to walk around and see if anyone has escaped, but I don’t want Maggie to be alone,” Lina said, blinking her eyes and pleading with Carol.
“Alright,” Carol nodded helplessly, “but you, you’re not allowed to take any risks, understand?”
Lina nodded obediently. She really didn't plan to do anything; she was just going to lie in wait in the tree again. But Maggie needed someone with her to feel at ease.
The sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, and night fell.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com