Meanwhile, at Hershel's farm on the other side.
"Kid, what did you say?" Hershel looked at Louis in disbelief. "Go back to save them?"
Dale was even more worried. "Louis, I know you're worried about them, but..."
He let out a long sigh, not knowing how to persuade this stubborn child.
"But you have no idea how terrifying those people are!" Hershel finished the sentence for Dale.
He wasn't speaking to Louis, but to the adults like Glenn and Miranda.
"Their base is a large canning factory with high walls and barbed wire; it's easy to defend but hard to attack."
Hershel's face was filled with helplessness. "More importantly, their core force is a group of well-trained soldiers, well-armed, and they obey that The Shepherd's every command."
"It's impossible for outsiders to sneak in," he said, shaking his head. "A frontal assault? With just a few of us and hardly any guns... it's no different from suicide."
These harsh facts calmed the angry crowd slightly.
But Louis didn't give up.
He walked up to Hershel and continued to press relentlessly, "Do you know the specific layout of that factory? What about the personnel assignments?"
"Your children are in that organization; you must know something, right?"
"I..." Hershel hesitated, looking into the boy's eyes, and finally nodded. "I do know a bit, but not much."
"After they joined, they were all required to live in the factory and could only return once in a long while."
"It's fine." Louis nodded. He pulled out a pen and paper from Miranda's backpack. "Tell me what you know first."
Under everyone's complex gazes, Louis listened to Hershel's intermittent descriptions while quickly sketching and labeling on a map.
At this moment, his mind was racing.
This group definitely had to be dealt with. But how?
He really wanted to rush straight in and use Wingardium Leviosa to summon a pile of boulders to crush those guards into meat pies.
Unfortunately, all he knew was Wingardium Leviosa, not Pain's Chibaku Tensei.
He had magic, but magic wasn't omnipotent.
Just like during the day, when he saw that woman being refused entry into the car by Rick, he thought they had dodged a bullet. In the time it took to take a nap in the car, they were ambushed by a rocket launcher.
Although he tried to use Wingardium Leviosa to control the extent of the car's overturning at the moment of impact, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to leave if Maggie hadn't been among those checking the wreckage.
No matter how well a plan is made, it's impossible to perfectly avoid every accident!
Over-relying on magic for a frontal assault would only lead to greater danger.
With limited strength, the optimal solution is always stealth, followed by assassination!
No matter how tight the factory's security is, as long as their own people need to come and go, they won't be able to stop his invisibility cloak.
Although Wingardium Leviosa isn't very offensive, it's a god-tier skill for assassination.
He could silently crush sentries, use stones to create noise for a diversion, and even manipulate weapons for precise long-range assassinations.
Moreover, for this operation, he didn't need to consider how to "rationalize" his spellcasting.
A cold glint flashed in Louis's eyes. In his view, these The Believers were already dead men.
Naturally, he would do whatever was most convenient. If necessary, he wouldn't even mind using magic to play tricks and shake their "faith" from within.
A rough plan gradually took shape.
"Child..." Hershel looked at Louis's serious expression and finally couldn't help but ask, "You don't... really want to go there, do you?"
"Yes." Louis put down his pen and looked up.
"You're just a child!" Hershel almost shouted. "What can you do?"
"Not just him, but me too."
Glenn had stood by Louis at some point, his eyes also burning with anger. "Those people stole our things and took our companions."
"I can't act like a coward and pretend nothing happened."
"Fine..." Hershel looked at them. "Then what do you plan to do?"
"Let me tell you first, those guarding the outer entrances are the The Shepherd's most fanatical The Believers; they can't be bribed or persuaded by you."
"Those security measures are mainly aimed at adults," Louis said calmly. "A child of my size might be able to find some loopholes to sneak in."
"You're too naive!" Hershel immediately countered. "I heard from Maggie that those people specifically train children to trick other survivors into trusting them! Their guard against children isn't that low!"
"Isn't that even better?" Louis asked back. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind 'taking in' one more, would they?"
Hershel was momentarily speechless. "You want to sneak in as an undercover agent? It's not as simple as you think..."
Louis certainly knew it wasn't that simple.
This was all just a surface-level explanation for the others; otherwise, he couldn't exactly say, "Don't worry, I have an invisibility cloak," could he?
"If that's the case, I can try too!" Glenn said immediately. "It doesn't have to be you."
"No." Louis shook his head. "First, you're an adult male and don't look weak; you don't fit their criteria for being 'taken in' at all."
"Second, I need you to do something else for me."
"What?"
"Find reinforcements." Louis looked at him. "Guillermo and the others from the nursing home. I'm not sure if they'll help, but more strength is always better."
"Then... what about the infiltration?" Glenn asked. "We need to know where Rick and the others are being held."
Right now, besides him, Amy was injured, and Andrea was still asleep after giving her a blood transfusion. The others were either old and weak or mothers with children; there really were no suitable candidates.
They couldn't really let Louis take the risk!
Dale spoke up then, his voice raspy. "I'm an old man, not much use anymore. Maybe I can try approaching that factory and pretend to join them."
"Not you." Louis immediately rejected the idea. "You're the only one here who spoke up for that woman. They'll recognize you as soon as you get close!"
Dale choked up at the words and slumped back into his seat.
"But his line of thinking is correct," Miranda said, as if she had thought of something. "I'll go."
"You should go with Glenn to seek help," she said seriously, looking at Louis. "You've saved their people before; it'll be easier to persuade them if you go together."
"As for the undercover mission," she took a deep breath, "it's most appropriate for me to go."
She looked at everyone and shared her thoughts: "The Observer is a woman with a child. They used that identity to gain trust, and so can we."
"A mother who lost her husband in the apocalypse and is looking for her child—I think that identity would also make them lower their guard."
"But as you said, she was a woman 'with a child'."
Louis immediately pointed out the most fatal flaw in the plan. "The child is the key. Are you going to let your child risk their life with you?"
Miranda's body stiffened. She glanced at her two children sleeping on the sofa, a flash of intense struggle in her eyes. But her gaze quickly became firm again.
Just as she was about to say something, a timid voice came from behind her.
"I can..." Sophia had woken up at some point. Clutching her doll, she spoke softly but firmly, "I can go with Aunt Miranda and pretend to be her child."
"Sophia!" Dale and Glenn were both stunned.
"No!" Miranda immediately refused. "It's too dangerous! I'll go alone; they won't necessarily reject a mother who lost her child..."
"But..." Sophia's eyes reddened. "Mom is still in their hands... I want to save her... I want to help..."
"Sophia, you're still a child..." Louis was about to patiently offer some words of persuasion.
"But Louis," Sophia interrupted him, looking up, "you're a child too."
For once, Louis was left speechless by those words.
Miranda sighed. She walked over to Louis and gently patted his back.
"She's right about one thing, Louis."
"We know you're very capable."
Miranda's gaze was complex and gentle. "You saved Merle, you lured away the horde of Walkers, you warned us of danger, and you even saved Andrea's sister like a doctor..."
"Maybe these dangers don't seem like much to you, but we can't take it for granted and let you take on the most dangerous missions over and over again."
"You're also a child," her voice carried a hint of guilt. "You should have been protected by us."