The two of them were stunned at the same time and slowly turned around.
They saw a man in a striped shirt, with a shaved head and fierce eyes, pointing the black muzzle of a handgun directly at Merle's head.
Facing the sudden threat from behind the street corner, Merle subconsciously pulled the weak Louis behind him while a provocative smile appeared on his face.
"Hey, look at this. Which dog hole did this dumbass crawl out of?"
He tilted his head, the madness and contempt in his eyes completely undisguised. "Do you fucking know that the grass on the graves of people who dared to mess with me is already three feet high?"
Louis's mind was somewhat groggy due to the fever and weakness.
He frowned, looking at the bald man in front of him, feeling that behind those angry eyes, there seemed to be some kind of misunderstanding hidden.
"What do you want to do to that child?"
The bald man ignored Merle's provocation, his gaze cold and locked tightly onto Merle's hand, which was still resting on Louis's shoulder.
Hearing this question and seeing the other party's disgusted gaze, Merle thought of his own actions just now. His eyes widened as if he had realized something.
He looked down at Louis, then back at the other man's eyes filled with disdain and killing intent, and he exploded on the spot.
"Fuck! What kind of dog shit is in your head?!"
He began a frantic output of 'elegant and gentle' profanity, "I like hot girls with big chests and big asses! Do you understand? They have to be at least grown-ass women, for fuck's sake!"
"I have zero interest in a brat whose hair hasn't even grown in yet!!"
The bald man clearly didn't believe him, his eyes still full of suspicion. He looked at Louis, seemingly wanting to get confirmation from him.
However, Louis was currently in a double state of weakness from a high fever and physical exhaustion, so his reaction to nod was half a beat slow.
In the bald man's eyes, this 'dazed' appearance was undoubtedly a sign of being threatened and frightened into submission.
Thus, that suspicious gaze, along with the muzzle of the gun that had been slightly lowered, aimed at Merle once again.
"Fuck!" Merle was practically going crazy with anger. "He's my son! I'm fucking feeding him medicine! You dumbass!"
"Your son?"
Hearing this, the bald man acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
He carefully sized up Louis's delicate and handsome face, which was hard to hide even under the dust, then looked at Merle's... er, weather-beaten face, and immediately gave a cold sneer.
"Do you think I don't have eyes?"
"I think what's on your fucking face aren't eyes! It's an asshole, right?!" Merle was completely enraged. If it weren't for the gun and Louis behind him, he would have wanted to fight the man directly.
"Cough, cough..."
Louis finally regained some strength. He coughed twice, preparing to explain this ridiculous misunderstanding.
However, at that moment, a sudden rush of footsteps came from behind him!
Before he could react, two pairs of strong arms reached out from behind him, hoisted him up from the ground, and quickly dragged him toward a car parked nearby!
"Damn it! What do you think you're doing!"
Merle was shocked and subconsciously wanted to rush forward to snatch Louis back.
But the other party had more people and moved fast. In the blink of an eye, Louis had already been stuffed into the car!
"Bang!" The car door slammed shut.
The small car let out a roar and drove away without hesitation.
"Fuck! You guys just wait!" Merle shouted curses at the receding car but was powerless... Inside the car, Louis was sandwiched between two men who looked like gang members.
He could feel that although these people were rough in their movements, they had no intention of hurting him.
"Kid, are you okay?" The person driving glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his tone softening considerably.
"We're here to save you." A young man beside him also spoke up, "Don't be afraid. That guy didn't do anything to you, did he?"
From their scattered conversation, Louis finally figured out the situation.
This group of people was actually the caregivers and staff from the original story who had been staying at the Nursing Home to protect a group of elderly people!
To protect the Nursing Home from being disturbed by evil outsiders, they deliberately disguised themselves as a fierce gang to deter those with ill intentions.
"Cough, cough, you've misunderstood. He's actually a good person..."
Although Louis really wanted to explain for Merle in detail, his high fever, weakness, and the nerves that had been tense for days completely relaxed after confirming this group meant no harm. An irresistible sense of fatigue hit him like a tide.
Louis's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and he finally passed out completely before he could say much... While Louis was getting some temporary rest after a thrilling adventure, many things had also happened to Rick on the other side after he left the city.
The time goes back to two days ago.
Rick was driving the truck, carrying everyone at full speed toward the camp.
Originally, when escaping the department store, Rick had intended to return to Atlanta alone.
After all, his bag of guns was still by the tank, which contained weapons and the walkie-talkie used to contact Morgan. That bastard Merle had also been locked upstairs by him and wasn't brought out.
Most importantly, Louis, the child who had led away the horde of Walkers alone to save him, was still missing, his life or death unknown.
However, he was persuaded otherwise by Morales.
"Rick, calm down!" Morales pressed his hand on Rick's shoulder and said earnestly, "Merle is a bastard. He's not worth all of us risking our lives for him again!"
"I understand you're worried about your son, but now, look outside."
He pointed to the setting sun. "It's almost dark, and you don't know where your son is. Wandering aimlessly in the city will only get you killed too!"
He paused and continued, "If that child is as capable as Glenn says, he might have already found a safe building to hide in."
"Don't let it be that your son is fine, but you end up surrounded by Walkers again and he has to go back to save you!"
"It's better to wait until dawn tomorrow to make plans."
He paused as if thinking of something and continued, "And... Merle has a brother who is very capable. He might return to find his brother tomorrow as well. If you go together then, you'll at least have someone to watch your back."
Rick thought about his reckless and impulsive actions earlier because he saw the helicopter, and then looked at the darkening sky, giving up his plan to leave alone.
Thus, he ultimately had no choice but to take these people back to the camp first.
However, just as Rick jumped off the truck and saw that familiar figure in the crowd, he was completely stunned.
That familiar long dark curly hair, that face that haunted his dreams... "Lori?"
"Rick?!"
Lori couldn't believe her eyes. She covered her mouth, and tears instantly burst from her eyes.
She rushed forward like crazy and tightly hugged the husband she thought was dead.
"Dad!"
Carl also rushed out from the crowd. The family of three, in this apocalypse, hugged each other tightly and wept bitterly.