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Due to the heavy consumption of magic, Louis slept very soundly this time until he was awakened by a burst of urgent shouting and shaking.
He snapped his eyes open, coming face-to-face with Shane's face, which was filled with anxiety and gravity.
"What happened?" The hazy sleepiness he had felt moments ago vanished instantly. Louis sat up with a start, subconsciously beginning to worry.
But immediately after, he felt that familiar, replenished warm energy within his body, and his heart settled significantly.
"We might be in trouble," Shane lowered his voice, his tone carrying an irrepressible anger.
He pointed out the window, gesturing for Louis to see for himself.
Louis quickly moved to the window and peered out cautiously. With just one look, his heart sank.
The Walkers that had previously begun to disperse were now, for some reason, congregating toward their office building again! Their numbers were even greater than yesterday!
They clogged the streets, completely sealing off all their paths of escape.
"How could this happen?" Louis asked in shock.
"I don't know!" Shane ran his hands through his hair irritably, pointing east. "About half an hour ago, a car alarm in that block over there suddenly went off, and it kept ringing for several minutes before it stopped!"
He punched the wall and cursed under his breath, "Even though the alarm has stopped now, all the Walkers in the vicinity have been drawn to our area!"
"Some idiot must have accidentally triggered the alarm while scavenging a car and then ran off, leaving all this trouble for us! We're completely blocked in!"
Shane's voice was filled with uncontrollable rage. He paced back and forth irritably in the small manager's office like a trapped beast.
He had been trapped here... for nearly three days!
Three days!
In today's world, seventy-two hours was enough for any number of terrible things to happen.
He had thought that with the herd dispersing today, they would find a chance to leave this damn cage. But now, because of some unknown bastard's foolish actions, all their hopes had vanished into thin air.
Outside, having lost the source of the sound, the Walkers began to roar and collide aimlessly again. The heart-pounding 'thump-thump' sounds rang out from below once more. Danger was approaching again, but that wasn't even what Shane was most worried about.
What truly made his heart burn with anxiety were the wife and child of his distant friend—Lori and Carl.
His best friend, Rick, had basically been declared dead.
And he had promised Rick before that he would take good care of his wife and child.
But now? Not only had he failed to reach them immediately, but he was also trapped here, barely able to save himself!
The thought that his brother's wife and child might be facing the same predicament as him, or even worse—surrounded by Walkers, lacking food and water, struggling in endless fear... Shane felt as if his heart were being squeezed hard by a red-hot iron hand, the pain making it hard to breathe.
He wished he could grow wings and fly to their side immediately!
But he couldn't. All he could do now was be trapped in this building like a prisoner, watching time slip away bit by bit.
This intense sense of powerlessness was almost driving him insane.
"Officer..."
A familiar voice came from behind, interrupting Shane's thoughts.
He turned his head sharply, only to find that Louis had stood up behind him at some point, looking at him with those clear blue eyes, filled with a hint of worry.
"Are... are you okay?"
Seeing the cautious concern in the boy's eyes, Shane realized that his loss of control just now might have frightened him.
The pent-up rage and anxiety were like being doused with a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing most of it.
He took a deep breath, forcing his tense nerves to relax.
"I'm fine, child." He walked over to Louis and crouched down, trying to make his voice sound as steady as possible. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
"You look... very sad," Louis pointed out softly.
"Yeah," Shane gave a bitter smile, not denying it. In front of this child, he seemed to always unconsciously let down his guard.
"I was just... thinking about my family and friends."
He looked at Louis, a hint of pain and struggle showing in his eyes. "When all of this happened, I wasn't with them. Now, I don't know how they are, if they're safe, if they're... still alive."
"Are they still waiting for you?" Louis asked.
"Yes." Shane nodded, his voice becoming a bit raspy. "They are my brother's family, and my family too. I promised him that no matter what happened, I would protect them."
"But now... I'm trapped here like a useless person."
He laughed self-deprecatingly, glancing around the small room and the dense crowd of Walkers outside the window.
"I can't even protect you well. There's a pack of monsters downstairs ready to break in at any moment, and we don't know how long we'll be trapped here. I..."
He couldn't go on.
The immense sense of responsibility and the reality of his helplessness weighed on his heart like two mountains.
Louis listened quietly without speaking. He could feel the man's despair at this moment.
He reached out and gently patted Shane's arm.
"They will definitely be okay."
The boy said nothing more, but the statement was very firm.
Shane looked up, meeting Louis's eyes, which were startlingly bright in the dim light, and felt a slight startle in his heart.
"You and they will all be fine," Louis repeated, a flash of light appearing in his eyes. "Maybe... we'll be able to leave tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
Shane was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. He only took it as a child's naive comfort.
Facing that nearly endless herd of Walkers outside, leaving tomorrow? How was that possible?
But he didn't have the heart to shatter that innocence and only sighed tiredly.
"Let's hope so, kid."
He stood up and walked back to the window to continue observing the situation outside, failing to notice the thoughtful expression on the eleven-year-old boy's face behind him.
Since the nearly perfect effect of the invisibility cloak had been verified and he had the most basic means of survival, Louis had no intention of continuing to waste time here passively.
Waiting?
No, waiting was equivalent to entrusting one's life entirely to luck. And in the depths of Louis's adult soul, he never believed in ethereal luck.
He had to take the initiative and create a chance for survival!
The primary goal right now was to use his advantages to search for some basic survival supplies, especially weapons for self-defense, to ensure his safety in the time to come.
And to do that, it would be best for him to act alone.
After all, both the invisibility cloak and magic were trump cards he couldn't reveal.
Staying with Shane would certainly provide the protection of an adult, but it was also like putting a set of shackles on himself, preventing his greatest advantages from being exploited.
Although he liked these characters and didn't mind helping them when he was able, the prerequisite was ensuring his own safety.
So he had to first figure out all his abilities on his own, scout out the surrounding situation, and then decide whether to join the main cast or other survivor groups.
Just now, at the moment he comforted Shane, a bold plan had already formed in his mind. A foolproof plan that would allow both of them to escape safely and logically allow them to act separately.
However, the core of this plan couldn't be told to the police officer beside him for the time being.
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