Chapter 135: Walker Horde
Moonlight shone on the flat grassland, covering the prairie with a thin veil.
Torches were planted everywhere throughout the town. Though not as bright as pre-apocalypse lighting, they carried a feeling of civilized times.
In a small cabin, Daryl lay on his bed wearing that old set of black clothes, his crossbow placed beside the pillow.
Bang, bang, bang—
Someone knocked on the door.
Daryl's eyes opened. He casually drew a knife from under the pillow, his gaze clear—obviously he hadn't been asleep.
He moved sideways toward the door and looked through the peephole.
"Daryl, hurry up. The boss is calling us to the council hall."
Outside the door was Morales, looking travel-worn, some red veins in his eyes—very tired.
Daryl opened the door and glanced at Morales and the warriors behind him. "You're back? Where's Merle?"
Morales answered, "Merle's fine. He's already at the council hall. You hurry over."
"I still need to find others. I'm off!"
After saying two sentences, Morales turned and mounted a horse, galloping away with a shout.
Watching several people's hurried appearance, Daryl's brows furrowed.
Something happened!
Daryl turned back into the house, put on his sleeveless jacket, took his crossbow, and slung the quiver on his back.
Straddling his motorcycle, his right hand twisted the throttle. The motorcycle drove toward the council hall.
Besides Daryl, the other combat squad leaders all received Morales's notification.
The council hall had been renovated. Compared to before when it was entirely wooden construction, now it mixed stone and concrete—much more solid and tall.
Outside the council hall, many fire basins and torches were placed. Bright firelight shone on everyone's faces.
Daryl glanced at the people standing outside the council hall—warriors from Caesar's direct combat squad.
Their entire bodies were covered in blood and some flesh fragments. Obviously they'd been through a fierce battle in Atlanta.
Daryl thought of this and nodded to the warriors, greeting them.
He walked quickly into the meeting room.
The meeting room was very bright—electric lights on inside.
Seeing Daryl enter, Caesar pointed to the position beside Merle. "You sit there."
Daryl sat next to Merle, scanning him up and down several times.
"What are you looking at, little brother? Miss your big brother?"
Merle's mouth corners lifted. He extended his hand to rest on Daryl's shoulder, saying intimately.
Daryl's mouth corner twitched. He didn't answer Merle's words.
Just as Merle knew him, he also knew Merle—knew Merle was deliberately joking around to avoid his questioning.
Several minutes later, everyone had arrived.
Caesar raised his chin. "Let's start the meeting."
Morales and T-Dog stood at the meeting room doorway and closed the door.
Dr. Jenner was first to ask, "What's the matter that you called me here?"
Dr. Jenner was very puzzled. Usually for battles or crises, they wouldn't call him because calling him was useless—he had no combat ability.
Caesar raised his hand, signaling Dr. Jenner not to rush.
"Merle, you speak."
Merle nodded, supporting the chair to adjust his sitting posture, and spoke seriously.
He explained clearly everything that happened in Atlanta.
After listening, the meeting room fell quiet.
Caesar knocked on the table, swept his gaze over everyone. "Merle and I have the same view—there are no people left to eat in Atlanta. The walkers are beginning to migrate outward."
Caesar pushed the map before him forward. On it was Atlanta and the surrounding regional and satellite city map. From Atlanta, a blood-red arrow symbol was drawn in one direction.
Everyone's gazes gathered on the map. Caesar's voice sounded.
"I suspect the walker migration position is in our direction."
That blood-red long arrow pointed directly at Black Pine Valley.
Glenn looked twice, then raised his head. "Has the walker horde already left Atlanta's city area?"
"No." Merle shook his head.
"Then how do we confirm they're migrating in our direction?" Glenn asked.
Caesar also didn't explain, because in the original story the walker horde migrated this way. But he couldn't possibly use this explanation to prove its authenticity.
"No, they are possibly—no, they will definitely migrate this way."
Dr. Jenner stood up. His white lab coat produced rustling sounds from his movement. He bent forward, extending his hand to point at the map.
"Walkers are like all animals—migration is for survival. They definitely won't migrate toward places without food."
"Just like animals won't specifically migrate to a dead end with no food, no water sources, and no climate conditions."
These words made everyone at the meeting table fall silent.
The logic was this logic, but it still left people somewhat unconvinced.
Dr. Jenner paused, continuing to explain.
"I have a hypothesis—walkers can sense humans' existence."
"The larger the human gathering place, the more population, the more shocking the number of walkers faced."
"This is also the walkers' migration direction. They'll advance toward places with food. Although I temporarily can't figure out the principle, this phenomenon exists."
Dr. Jenner was a professional researcher—he wouldn't speak without basis.
The doubt on everyone's faces slowly dissipated. Caesar nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Whether the walker horde comes or not, we must prepare well to face the walker horde's attack."
"Fortunately, Black Pine Valley's geographical position is superior. Even if large numbers of walkers attack, we only need to control Buffalo Pass."
Caesar wore a smile, soothing everyone's emotions, telling them not to panic.
"Caesar, should we hide this matter from the residents?"
Hershel placed both hands on the table, slowly asking.
Caesar pondered a moment, his eyes firm as he said, "Don't hide it from residents."
"All of us in Yellowstone are one body. In this apocalypse, only unity allows survival."
"I can't conceal the news that the walker horde is about to attack. Even if it might cause residents' panic, I believe we have the ability to eliminate this crisis."
"Actually, we don't need to eliminate the walker horde."
At this time, Dr. Jenner spoke.
Caesar turned his head toward Dr. Jenner. Others did the same.
Dr. Jenner leaned back in his chair, hands crossed. "Walkers have very weak vision, keen sense of smell, and if they don't discover food, they'll wander away."
"Daryl, I'll ask you a question." Dr. Jenner asked.
Daryl shook his medium-length hair. "Speak."
"If during animal migration, they don't find food—what happens?"
"They continue forward." Daryl answered without thinking.
Right, we don't need to directly confront the walker horde.
A smile appeared on Caesar's face. "You mean we don't need to eliminate these walkers—they'll leave on their own."
"Exactly. That's what I mean." Dr. Jenner answered.