Plus, there were 5 magazines that dropped.
And the magazines Shawn and his group searched for at the Georgia State Library on their way.
A total of 71 books.
After using all of them and opening the system interface, at least nearly one-third of the magazines had already reached Lv40.
Among them, it is worth mentioning that a volume magazine named Lucky Looter was finally completed.
The volume magazine has 7 sub-volumes and 8 effects.
They are: currency, ammunition, brass, lead, junk, food, and medical supplies, each increased by 20%.
Finally, the max-level effect of the 7 combined volumes is an additional 20% loot drop rate from all enemies.
However, these were all incidental.
Shawn's biggest gain on this trip was actually the parts he collected, and the basic resources accumulated from dismantling every vehicle he encountered along the way.
Before returning, Shawn made 30 torches.
Thanks to the game mechanic where torches do not automatically extinguish, Shawn planned to make 30 Stirling Engines at once to produce energy.
They would run 24 hours a day, producing electricity non-stop and feeding it into the generator sets.
He would observe for about a week, and if the results were good by then, he would gradually expand the scale of the engines.
"People can rest, but machines can't stop. In the past, wouldn't I be considered a conscientious entrepreneur?"
Shawn was very satisfied with the gains from this trip.
But when he returned to the Prison, he called out for a long time outside the gate, but no one came to open it.
Shawn got out of the car and kicked the forged steel gate twice, and then he saw Guillermo hurriedly open the gate, and when he saw it was Shawn, he forced himself to hold back his foot that was about to step out.
"What's wrong?"
Aside from the incident at the Nursing Home, this was the first time Shawn had seen Guillermo show such an expression.
"Shawn, it's good that you're back. Those seeds, they really bore fruit!"
Guillermo couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Any survivor who had been active in the outside world understood what this meant.
The seeds' growth cycle was only about 4 to 5 days, and they actually grew edible fruits.
Shawn really hadn't lied to them!
Shawn understood immediately upon hearing Guillermo's words.
He had been out for two days, and he estimated that the time was about right for today.
When Shawn led his people into the Prison, he saw a large group of people gathered in a circle from afar, and exaggerated exclamations continuously came from the center of the crowd.
"These guys are always making a fuss." A smile appeared on Shawn's face.
Before Shawn could get close, he saw Hershel suddenly bend down and stand up, his body straight, his fingers clasped together, holding a calf-high plant in his soil-stained palms.
"It's yellow, the leaves are really yellow!"
No one could understand the excitement in their hearts better than Hershel, who had spent his entire life dealing with livestock and land.
He shouted excitedly, and exclamations came from the crowd again.
They might not understand what yellow leaves meant, but they could clearly see the several large fruits attached to the roots of the plant Hershel was holding, pulled out of the soil!
They looked like lumps of mud, perfectly round and weighing a full pound.
Seeing these plump potatoes pulled from the ground, and considering that these seeds had only been sown a few days ago, everyone couldn't help but want to laugh heartily.
Rick was currently in the middle of the encirclement.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, but he tirelessly used his hands to feel the dampness of the soil, digging out the remaining potatoes one by one.
He didn't shout like the others, but simply wiped the sweat from his face with his wrist, nodding continuously.
It seemed that in his eyes, the future hope of the Prison had become even more concrete.
Rick had witnessed the growth and expansion of the Prison all along, and he felt very complex at this moment, an indescribable feeling.
He looked at the crowd, and like captured spoils of war, he displayed the potatoes in his hand to everyone.
Suddenly.
Rick saw Shawn outside the crowd.
He carried the potatoes and struggled to squeeze out of the crowd, coming to Shawn's front.
Rick rubbed his chin, and his muddy hands left several marks on his cheeks, making him look more masculine.
Rick looked at the potatoes in his hand, then at Shawn.
"This time, leaving was good. You are indeed always right, Shawn."
Rick said sincerely.
But it made Shawn look confused; wasn't he going for the Stirling Engine this time?
He hadn't done anything else, so why was he being told he was always right?
Before Shawn could speak, Rick leaned closer and whispered in Shawn's ear.
"From day one, everyone has been worried if this might be a trick, a deception, so they were all very nervous."
"When you left, they stopped being nervous."
"You left the Camp, completely removed yourself, and let the seeds grow under everyone's attention, so no one would have doubts."
"Your departure was correct. On the contrary, if you had stayed in the Camp, the effect produced at this time would not have met expectations."
Upon hearing this, Shawn suddenly realized, so that's what it was about.
But then Shawn reacted again.
'It seems my position in Rick's heart is really high, he's even starting to rationalize my decisions on his own.'
Shawn was a little helpless, who made him so charming?
The crowd looked in the direction Rick left, and at the same time discovered Shawn's figure, and cheers came from afar.
"Calm down, calm down, ladies and gentlemen."
Shawn had seen big scenes.
He slowly walked to the middle of the crowd and took a cleaned potato from Hershel's hand.
"I guess this should be our dinner tonight, right?" Shawn stared at the potato.
A rich man's laughter came from the crowd.
"Anyway, thank you all, thank you for being willing to believe me, and for choosing to continue staying in the Prison."
"I can assure everyone that this is far from the end; on the contrary, it is the beginning of everything."
"In the future, I will gradually restore everything that human civilization should have. Please wait and see."
Shawn did not waste this good opportunity to win people's hearts. By leveraging the first ripening of the system seeds, he gained a significant boost in goodwill.
A round of applause came from the crowd, their palms red from clapping.
At this moment, they suddenly realized that Shawn really hadn't deceived them, and hope truly lay in the southeast corner of the continent, within the high-walled Prison.
The appearance of high-yield seeds represented survival, represented reduced population consumption, and represented that everyone had a chance to live until tomorrow.
This tangible material evidence, right before their eyes, was more convincing than any words.
Some members who had been wavering secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
They were glad that what Shawn said was true, glad that Shawn had shown everything with his actions before they made their choice.
Otherwise, if they left the Prison, they truly wouldn't know where to go.
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