Unexpectedly, Rick, whom he hadn't seen in many days, suddenly approached him, and although Jason was pleasantly surprised, he was still a little worried about the current state of this good man.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Rick looked back. The hollows of his eyes were sunken at that moment, and his face was filled with fatigue. It must have been caused by not resting well for several days, but fortunately, he seemed to be in good spirits.
When he saw Jason come in, Rick showed his first smile in days. Although it was a little forced, it didn't matter much.
"Jason, did you finish?"
Jason nodded and walked to the front of the desk to grab a glass of water. He was thirsty, and right now, that was the only thing he wanted to do.
"Ha!"
With a deep breath, Jason finally felt alive again. He had been sweating all morning, so he was very interested in having stable energy at this base.
After considering everything he wanted to achieve, he aimed to improve the quality of life in this place as much as possible.
With biogas tanks and other facilities that made living more convenient, how many places could compare to this one in the future? Jason knew that anyone who arrived here would never want to leave.
Walking toward a desk, he picked up the fan lying on it and fanned his face fiercely. Then, looking back at Rick, he asked, somewhat puzzled, "Aren't you resting? Why are you here?"
Rick gave a bitter smile before speaking, but his voice was clearly hoarse. "I don't want to rest anymore. Give me some work. I can do anything. I'm even considering helping with the upcoming constructions. It doesn't matter what it is — I can do it."
"You think that as long as you stay busy, you can forget all your suffering?"
Thinking about this, Jason stood up from his chair and walked over to Rick to say a few words with more closeness; he didn't sit at all but placed his hand on him.
"Unfortunately, the two of us didn't get to know each other before all this began. A year and a half is long enough for me to see what kind of person you are. Do you think I'm upset about things from the past?"
Rick lowered his head, a little pensive when he heard those words, and replied in an apologetic tone, "Aren't you…"
"No!"
Jason raised his hand to interrupt Rick's words, so he fell silent, unsure of what to say next.
Suddenly, the fan in Jason's hand stopped, and the room fell silent. After a while, Jason's voice sounded again: "I don't want you to be confused. The reason I never planned to blame you for Lori's actions isn't because she apologized to me. You know better than anyone that I'm not a good person to those who hurt me. But I do have a judgment that I take very seriously — and you are the only reason I didn't decide to make this a big problem."
"I know you're a righteous man. You always have been, and still are now. I know that even if Lori betrayed me in such a selfish way, if you were in my place, you wouldn't have blamed her. I know you're a good man who wouldn't betray anyone, and I also trust that in the future this place won't be so exhausting."
"If someday, someone I trust the most decides to betray me, I'll analyze the situation — and if there's a solution that doesn't affect the stability of this organization, I'll be the first to take it, even if it means leaving this place."
Bang!
Suddenly, a sharp sound was heard outside the door, like something falling to the floor.
Jason quickly stepped toward the door and opened it abruptly, only to see a small figure who had just turned around and stepped back a few paces.
"Carl?"
It was Carl who had run off, and at that moment Auron shouted at him, freezing him in place.
Rick was also shocked when he heard the words. He suddenly stood up, even knocking over the chair, and ran straight to the door.
Carl turned around slowly and looked up. Only then did the two of them realize that two lines of tears had already run down his face, and his eyes were still filled with them.
Jason adjusted his tone and asked softly,
"Carl, how long have you been standing at the door?"
"Hoo… for a long time."
Jason looked at him but didn't know how to respond. Although he was very intelligent, he had no experience comforting children.
Rick walked directly to his son, knelt down, hugged him, and said in a calm tone, "What did we agree on? You're a man now — you shouldn't be crying all the time."
Jason was about to speak but stopped. "Carl, your mother didn't intend to hurt me. She's not a bad person — she was just worried about seeing you and your sister one last time."
"You're right… she was just worried." Carl cried uncontrollably.
Jason knew that was very true, but even though he had once been angry, that anger had faded long ago.
Rick, standing beside them, showed a grateful expression.
Now, all that mattered to him were his two children, and every decision he made or would make was to ensure their healthy and safe growth.
After a while, the two people originally in the room suddenly became two and a half.
Carl insisted on coming in with his father, saying he had the right to know more since he was a man, and Rick, unable to stop him, could only drag him into the office.
The three of them sat down, looking at Carl, who was sitting there with a serious face like a little adult. Rick, who wasn't in the best mood, couldn't help but smile.
"All right, let me tell you about my next plan. I'm planning to go to the power company northeast of here early tomorrow morning to check things out. The base is still running on generators. Although we still have enough fuel, it's not something we can rely on forever."
"Now then, in Georgia, they've already solved this problem. We need to work to do the same here at this base."
After speaking, Jason walked to the map on the wall. Next to it, he marked several locations with a pen.
"Here, here, and here — in order. They're all power companies, and there's even a nuclear power plant from their company to the south that's already part of Georgia's base plans."
Rick listened attentively without saying a word.
"So you want to find some power company employees? The chances are too low, don't you think?"
"Well, yes, very low. But I don't have to find them. I just need to locate more photovoltaic power generation equipment and see if Georgia has found a solution."
They kept talking, while Carl sat still beside them, his eyes drifting constantly between the two.
Finally, half an hour later, their discussion gradually came to an end — but then there was another knock at the office door.
"Come in!"
When the door opened, two slim figures appeared in their line of sight — Michonne and Amy had entered.
As soon as the two came in, they exchanged glances, and Michonne made a modest gesture, clearly wanting to say something.
"What's going on?"
After their previous discussion, Jason's mood had relaxed a bit, and he was also a little curious when he saw their expressions.
"We want to join the expedition."
"You two?"
He looked at Michonne suspiciously but saw her clasp her hands and raise her eyebrows, as if to say the decision wasn't hers.
But Amy quickly explained, "Andrea, Jennifer, Carol, and I don't want to stay at the base anymore. We want to request the opportunity to go out."
"Do you know how many trained soldiers with advanced military equipment died taking Birmingham?" Jason frowned, annoyed that he had to explain this once again.
"What the hell is going on with the bored people at this base?"
"No, didn't you say you wanted to go to the nearby power company? Can't we go there with you?"
Looking helplessly at Rick, Amy suddenly spoke after noticing he had glanced at her several times.
"It's not far anyway, is it?"
Amy hadn't expected to get Rick's support. She looked at him in surprise but then nodded with a smile.
Carl, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Can I go?"
The veins in Jason's head nearly burst from the restrained emotion. He looked at Amy, then at little Carl.
Was this some kind of damn field trip where they'd be finding turtles?
They'd only be a nuisance! Lori died thinking she was a scavenger. And now these women wanted to go out — well, Michonne was a warrior who could handle herself. But Amy? She died early in the original story — to regular walkers. What could she possibly do against mutated ones?