Shane did not answer right away.
His gaze moved past Luke Li’s shoulder to the pickup and SUV behind him, lingering for a few seconds on the faces behind the windows.
Women, children, and the elderly.
Luke Li knew Shane was assessing the threat level.
A group with women, children, and old people was far less threatening than a group of fully armed adult men.
That was exactly why he had put all the guns away.
“From Jacksonville?” Shane’s tone carried scrutiny.
“That’s not close.”
“It took us nearly two days.
Normally, it should be three hours, but you know what the roads are like now.”
Shane did not respond.
His gaze returned to Luke Li, sweeping him from head to toe.
Military boots, solid build, steady eyes, and no unnecessary movements while speaking.
This was not an ordinary civilian.
“What did you do before?”
“Firefighter,” Luke Li said.
“Savannah, airport station.”
He had prepared that answer long ago.
A firefighter’s identity was clean, positive, and easy to trust.
It also explained his physical fitness and ability to react under pressure.
Shane’s buff shifted slightly.
[Aggression – Restrained] eased a little, but [Alert] remained.
“How many weapons do you have?”
Luke Li did not lie.
Lying at a time like this was pointless.
Once exposed, trust would collapse permanently.
But he did not tell the whole truth either.
“A few.
Not many.
Handguns, a shotgun, a crossbow.
Just for self-defense.
We don’t want trouble.”
Shane’s brow relaxed slightly.
But someone behind him did not buy it.
“Shane.” A voice came from the side.
T-Dog walked up beside Shane with an axe over his shoulder.
“More people?
Do we have enough food?”
The others in the camp were watching too.
Luke Li noticed Lori stand up and pull Carl behind her.
Glenn leaned halfway out from beside a vehicle, still holding the map he had forgotten to put down.
T-Dog’s concern was normal.
In the apocalypse, every extra mouth meant more pressure.
Supplies did not fall from the sky.
This was the problem every survivor camp had to face: accept them or turn them away?
Luke Li decided to show his cards.
“We won’t eat for free.”
He turned, walked to the bed of the pickup, and lifted the waterproof tarp.
Several boxes of MREs were stacked inside, along with two spare fuel cans, a case of bottled water, and a bag of canned food he had brought from Walmart.
This was the part he had deliberately left outside the system backpack for situations like this.
A small greeting gift for the locals.
“Enough military rations to feed twenty people for a week,” Luke Li said.
“Two five-gallon cans of gas and one case of clean drinking water.”
He looked at Shane.
“This is our entry ticket, not charity.
We trade supplies and labor for a place to camp.
Fair exchange.”
Shane’s gaze stayed on the supplies for two seconds.
The buff above his head changed.
[Alert] was still there.
Beside it, a new marker slowly lit up.
[Recognition – Initial].
Warm yellow, faint.
T-Dog also looked into the truck bed.
He did not say anything else, but he shifted the axe from his shoulder to his side, clearly lowering his aggression.
At that moment, Dale climbed down from the RV.
The old man walked over with his rifle slung over his shoulder.
He first looked at Luke Li, then at Emma behind the pickup.
The little girl was peeking out timidly, clutching the firefighter doll.
Dale’s expression changed.
The old man’s buffs were clean: [Caution], [Compassion], and a very bright [Goodwill].
“Shane,” Dale said, his voice gentle, almost pleading.
“They have a child too.”
In the apocalypse, children were the most fragile existence, and also the final test of human decency.
A group willing to travel for two days with children and the elderly could not be that bad.
Shane was silent for a few seconds.
“Your group,” Shane finally said again.
“Who’s in it?”
Luke Li gave a concise introduction.
“Me, firefighter.
Danny, hunter, and his wife Karen.”
“Sarah, with her four-year-old daughter.
Linda, someone we picked up along the way.”
“In the car behind us, there’s Marcus, a plumber, his wife and child, and Mrs.
Jones, who hitched a ride.”
“A plumber?” Shane raised an eyebrow.
“He can repair generators, pipes, and wiring.”
Shane turned and exchanged a look with Dale.
Dale gave a slight nod.
The camp was not short on fighters.
Shane himself was a cop, and Daryl was a top-tier hunter.
But they lacked technicians, people who knew how to fix things.
The generator in Dale’s RV had already been broken for three days.
“All right.” Shane made his decision.
“Set up on the east side of the camp.
Keep at least ten steps away from the other tents.
You keep your own weapons, but no drawing guns inside the camp.
If there’s a problem, come to me.”
He paused, then added,
“You’re on probation.
If anything goes wrong, you leave.”
Luke Li nodded.
“Fair.”
He turned and waved toward the pickup.
Danny was the first to get out, followed by Karen, Sarah, Emma, and Linda.
The SUV door opened behind them as well.
Marcus led his wife out, while the baby in her arms was wrapped tightly in blankets.
Mrs.
Jones came out last, with Marcus’s son holding her hand to keep the old woman from falling.
The people in the camp watched them with mixed expressions.
Curiosity, caution, indifference, and goodwill.
Glenn took a few steps toward them, grinned at Luke Li, and lifted the map in his hand, as if he wanted to say something but did not know where to start.
The buffs above his head were interesting: [Curiosity], [Friendly], [Social Anxiety – Mild].
A very young, kind person who had not yet been worn down by the apocalypse.
Most importantly, the two of them had similar faces.
Luke Li nodded to him.
Glenn’s smile widened a little.
Lori stood in the distance, her gaze lingering on Sarah and Emma for a long time.
One mother looking at another mother.
Among her buffs was a faint [Empathy].
Luke Li was not in a hurry to socialize.
He directed Danny and Marcus to move the vehicles to the open area on the east side of the camp, unload the tents and supplies, and start setting up.
Two tents, one large and one small.
The large one was for Sarah, Emma, Linda, and Mrs.
Jones.
The small one was for Danny and Karen.
Marcus’s family slept in the SUV.
They were used to it.
Luke Li slept in the bed of the pickup.
Forty minutes later, their camp was set up.
He moved the supplies he had promised from the pickup bed to the communal area in the center of the camp: MREs, gasoline, and bottled water.
Shane came over to take inventory.
He did not say a single “thank you,” but the [Recognition – Preliminary] buff above his head brightened a little.
Luke Li sat on the edge of the pickup bed and watched the people in the camp.
Everyone gradually returned to their routines.
Sarah sat in front of the tent with Emma in her arms, soaking up the last bit of sunlight.
Danny was helping T-Dog chop wood.
Marcus was already studying the generator in Dale’s RV.
The old man crouched beside him, passing him tools, and the two seemed to be getting along well.
Integration was already happening.
According to the timeline, Rick Grimes would probably need another week or two to wake from his coma.
Before that, the story of this camp had already begun.
Walker night raids, supply shortages, and wavering morale.