Shawn's words made Wales grit his teeth in anger.
He wanted to find something to retort with, but after racking his brain, the only words that had any impact were things like, "You'll be devoured by demons," or "qingqiangqiong."
However, if he opened his mouth, even before Shawn could speak, Shane would make him regret it.
Then everyone, including Beth, would look down on him.
So, Wales turned his dissatisfaction into strength, secretly vowing to make the arrogant Shawn look foolish.
"You'd better figure out how to beat me!"
Shawn heard this and wasn't annoyed; in fact, he had never felt any emotion towards Wales.
Would a human be angry at the defiance of a small insect?
Of course not, and so it was with Shawn.
As Shane called out "Start," and amidst the jeering counts of the crowd, the gossip drama they most wanted to see had begun.
"1…"
"2…"
"3…"
"4…"
"…"
As time passed second by second, the number reached 213.
It must be said that Wales had indeed trained; perhaps before the apocalypse, he often frequented gyms or street workout spots, otherwise, an ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.
But when Shane called out 214, Wales just couldn't go down.
At this moment, his head was crimson, sweat continuously rolled down from the top of his head, flowing into his eyes.
His arms became like butterfly wings, trembling and shaking uncontrollably.
In a daze, he saw Shawn do one more single-finger push-up, then look up with concern and ask him a question.
"Are you alright?"
It was fine before he asked, but as soon as he asked, Wales felt a surge of anger and his consciousness blurred; the world before his eyes kept showing countless specks, and he collapsed to the side, gasping for breath.
Seeing this scene, there was still no laughter from the crowd.
At least the number Wales could do had surpassed most people; they were still not as good as him.
It was just pitiful that Wales had gone up against Shawn.
Shawn got up, not looking at Wales, but at Shane.
"Continue tomorrow."
Shane nodded in return.
He observed Shawn's face, which was almost the opposite of Wales's.
Not a single drop of sweat was visible, he looked in excellent condition, and apart from a slight flush from blood flowing in reverse, Shawn didn't even breathe heavily.
Shane secretly praised him, thinking: If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been subdued back then.
Poor Wales, he was defeated by Shawn on his first day joining the army.
"Take him back, don't let a Walker eat him by accident."
Before Shawn left, Shane called him back, reminding him specifically.
"There are still some guys locked up in the Prison, don't forget."
Hearing Shane's reminder, Shawn slapped his forehead.
"I knew I felt like there was something I hadn't done yet."
After this round trip of thousands of miles, Shawn had almost forgotten about those people who had been locked in the Prison.
Taking quick strides, Shawn found Oscar and opened the side door of Cell Block C.
In the second area of Cell Block C, Shawn first saw Martinez.
He was restless in the Prison, using a towel hung on the bars to do prisoner workouts.
The previous gunshot wound had almost healed, and Martinez's physique was quite good.
It wasn't until he heard the Prison door being knocked "clatter, clatter" that Martinez thought it was time to eat, so he quickly turned around.
The next second, his gaze moved upwards from a man's chest.
It wasn't until he saw Shawn, who was a head taller than him, that a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Warden? You're back?"
Actually, Martinez had already suspected something when he heard the commotion outside the Prison last night, but it wasn't until Shawn stood before him that he completely relaxed.
Hearing Martinez's respectful address, a smile appeared on Shawn's face.
As expected, he was good at handling things; after a month, Martinez was still so polite.
Throwing him the key he had gotten from Oscar, Shawn said.
"It's been a month since I left, and I heard the work I assigned you was completed quite well."
Martinez eagerly opened the Prison door from the inside, and the moment he smelled fresh air, he felt like he had been reborn.
He respectfully nodded: "Kenny wants to see you."
Martinez's words made Shawn look towards the Prison cell right next to him on his right.
At this moment, the Kenny Party, who had been locked up, were leaning on the bars, looking over with eager anticipation.
Compared to a month ago, they no longer shouted, and their gaze towards Shawn was inexplicably much more reverent.
In the middle of the group, Kenny stood silently in place.
He had grown some beard, and although the Prison was very safe and they had daily meals, he seemed to have aged a few years.
His demeanor at this moment, compared to a month ago, was completely transformed.
When Shawn looked at him, he suddenly came to his senses and met Shawn's gaze.
"I heard you want us to join the Prison?"
Kenny's voice wasn't hoarse, but it had gained a certain depth; his slightly magnetic voice was even more charming.
He looked at Shawn quietly, as if he had understood something, no longer displaying the brutality of their first meeting.
"I need soldiers." Shawn swept his gaze over the Kenny Party: "Your people are good."
Seeing Kenny being so direct, Shawn didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
There weren't many people left in the Kenny Party, but under Kenny's leadership, at least they were all wolves.
For them back then, all survivors other than those in their Camp were sheep; what was wrong with wolves eating sheep?
And this point formed a strong contrast with the laborers Shawn brought back.
Whether it was the people from Alexandria or the people from the Hospital, most of them were not suitable to join Shane's army; their specialties lay elsewhere.
The Zealots were Shawn's direct power; Shawn couldn't hand them over, nor could he.
They regarded Shawn as a god and Elynn, who was originally a stand-in, as the sole prophet; they would only listen to Shawn.
Even if Elynn wanted to command them, he had to add "by Shawn's divine will."
Not to mention that Shawn actually had other plans for them.
However, the Kenny Party before him was a good choice.
Let them join Shane's army; after all, Kenny's original goal was to ensure the survival of the Mine.
He didn't directly conflict with Lili; instead, he would even resort to snatch (looting) to ensure the people in the Camp were fed.
He and Lili didn't get along; both sides disliked each other, but the food they looted would still be shared with the Lili Party for consumption.
In others' eyes, Kenny was just a plunderer, with no discernible good qualities.
But Shawn could see the shining qualities hidden beneath Kenny's brutal exterior.
This was also why Shawn was always willing to give him a chance to join.
Firstly, the Prison indeed needed people at that time.
Secondly, Kenny was a promising talent, and Shawn needed him to serve the Prison.
With such people around, the people of the Prison might not live like wolves, but they certainly wouldn't be sheep to be slaughtered.
Thinking of this, Shawn moved closer, facing Kenny across an iron door.
"I need your loyalty."
Kenny
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