The following month passed quickly, or maybe it was just too mechanical to notice.

Eyes open, work. Eyes closed, sleep. No events, no social gatherings. Just endless labor and endless dirt.

But the results were plain to see. Eight watchtowers had risen from flat ground. The core of the farm was now ringed by a first line of trenches and chevaux-de-frise, with sandbag positions scattered at key points throughout.

Sand would have been better in theory, but without the materials, Lin Feng had simply worked with what was available and used dirt instead.

Given the state of the world, you couldn't exactly be picky.

"I hereby declare Phase Two of the farm's defensive works officially complete! For the next three days, everyone is free—go wherever you want, do whatever you want. One condition: stay safe!"

Lin Feng swept a hand through the air and announced it, and that was all it took. Tears welled up in every pair of eyes.

God only knew how they'd held on this past month. Before the apocalypse, not a single person in that group had ever put in this kind of grueling physical labor.

Standing there at the moment of completion, a swell of pride and satisfaction washed clean through the chest.

Merle's mouth was running at full volume, curses flying, as though every profanity held back over the past month was being discharged all at once.

Lin Feng tuned it out entirely. Let Merle say whatever.

After all, a hothead like that enduring a full month without constant complaining, blisters worn into both hands, back bent double with exhaustion, and still quietly seeing all the work through to the end? That alone was no small thing.

A little trash talk never hurt anyone. Let Merle vent.

But after the brief surge of emotion passed, the group collectively drifted into a kind of blankness.

The rigid daily routine was gone. Being told out of nowhere that they could do whatever they wanted felt strangely disorienting.

Like wind-up robots whose clockwork had finally run down, they didn't know what came next.

Lin Feng didn't dwell on it. Mental health support wasn't exactly in his skill set.

His mind was fixed on exactly one thing: legs.

Not black stockings, not white stockings, and definitely not Beth. Raw. Ripping.

Over the past month, walkers had barely materialized. The few that did never made it close to camp, Daryl or Merle put them down with a single shot before they got anywhere near.

Now Lin Feng wanted to go find some walkers and ruin their day. Ideally grind out a level or two and get another boost while he was at it.

That said, he'd need to square it with Rick first. Leaving camp with no one keeping watch was asking for trouble.

Actually, wait, Lin Feng had the nagging feeling he'd forgotten something important again.

Hiss... The gears in his head started turning, grinding through the past month... His expression drifted from uncertain to completely blank. Not for any particular reason. He just couldn't remember.

The camp members began drifting off on their own, heading back to their corners to do their own things.

Rick and Shane came walking over. They'd been watching Lin Feng's face cycle through expressions, and Rick spoke up. "Lin, you all right? Feeling unwell?"

"Buddy, all that labor these past weeks couldn't have actually degraded your brain, could it?"

Lin Feng: Shane, you want to say that again?!

Hold on. Shane.

A light switched on behind Lin Feng's eyes. Right. Shane. The Grand Remedy.

He broke into a grin, a full set of white teeth on display.

He'd genuinely forgotten, but one good provocation from a certain someone and it came flooding right back.

Shane, my friend. Don't blame me. You brought this on yourself.

Shane caught the shift in Lin Feng's expression and raised an eyebrow. "What—did I say something wrong?"

Oh, the nerve. Still provoking him!

Lin Feng smiled through gritted teeth. "Right, Shane. You're absolutely right."

Walkers and everything else could wait. Internal stability before external threats, he wasn't about to head out on a run and come back one designated bodyguard short.

He was still working out how to phrase it when Marcus walked over. "Lin, got a minute? Just the two of us."

Lin Feng paused, glanced at Rick and Shane. Neither reacted. He nodded. "Sure."

Marcus nodded, shot Rick and Shane an apologetic smile.

The two of them took the hint and walked off, leaving Lin Feng and Marcus alone.

Marcus looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before he spoke. "Lin—Lori might be pregnant. By the look of it, around four to six weeks."

Lin Feng slapped his forehead. Hiss. He'd nearly forgotten the camp had a top-tier surgeon on hand.

Cross-specialty or not, identifying early pregnancy in a woman was no difficult task for Marcus.

"Did you already know?" Marcus asked, frowning.

Lin Feng hesitated, then nodded. "I had some guesses. Was planning to talk to Lori about it. But hearing this, yeah. It's real."

Marcus let out a quiet breath and nodded. Good. This wasn't an orderly society anymore. A pregnant woman in camp was not good news for anyone.

"So what do you plan to do? Need my help?"

Lin Feng paused, then shook his head. "No. I'll handle it."

"All right." Marcus nodded. "Then I know where I stand. Just say the word."

Having Marcus quietly take care of the problem wouldn't be difficult. Not for someone with those skills.

But the moment it happened, Marcus would be dragged into the middle of it. Shane, obvious enough, would start nursing thoughts of a bullet in the back. Rick's anger would scale with how badly Lori's body was harmed. The conflict would escalate, and the whole thing would get messy fast.

"Find a time to talk to Lori. Ask what Lori wants. Try not to tip off Rick or Shane, give Lori the choice first."

"Understood. I've actually been meaning to talk to Lori anyway, about what raising a child out here would look like."

"Good. Let Lori think it over and give an answer tomorrow. And tell Lori this, whatever the decision, there has to be real distance between Lori and Shane from here on out. Absolutely no crossing that line again. Not ever."

Otherwise, he wouldn't mind if a certain unfortunate accident found its way into the picture.

Marcus stilled at that. Then the timeline started assembling itself in his head, Rick in the hospital for a month, lying unconscious, and counting back the weeks...

The hat on Rick's head suddenly looked a little different. Shiny. Distinctly green.

Lin Feng exhaled. Well. The Grand Remedy was going to need some revisions, and this vacation that had seemed so close was already turning sour.

➤ Next: A Conversation with Lori

Chapter 58 - A Conversation with Lori

Lin Feng decided to go find Lori himself.

No particular reason, except that he'd just remembered some spectacularly melodramatic nonsense.

Back when Shane had wanted to let go, Lori had kept stringing Shane along. Subtle. Half-there, half-not. That false signal was one of the main reasons Shane spiraled into obsession.

Deep down she still has feelings for me. Once Rick is gone, she'll come back.

In the end, a fixated Shane had tried to eliminate Rick, and then, at the critical moment, couldn't go through with it. Rick killed Shane. Carl put down what got back up.

And as a bonus, that whole episode left Carl with a pretty dark stretch of psychological baggage growing up.

"Hey, Lori — got a minute? I could use some advice. Girl stuff."

Lori paused mid-hang, a shirt dangling from one hand. Thought of Lin Feng and Beth. Smiled. "Sure."

Lin Feng stepped closer. "You know I've been swamped organizing the settlement's defenses. It's meant Beth and I barely get any time together, so..."

Lori drifted for a moment, and in that moment, saw someone else entirely standing in front of her.

Rick.

That King County deputy who was always so rational, always so busy. All that drive and energy poured into work, with nothing left over for Lori and Carl.

Lori was quiet for a bit. "I don't really know how to say this. But don't let it happen. Don't let the time with your family keep shrinking. Life, work, it doesn't matter. You carve out that time. You show up."

"Got it." Lin Feng smiled. "More time on family."

"Exactly."

"What about a family member's friends? Say, a work partner?"

The smile on Lori's face went rigid. The color drained out.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. That's why I'm here." Lin Feng's voice stayed easy. "I know I probably look like the bad guy right now. I'm fine with that."

"What I'm not fine with is two people in this camp going to war over one person. Or worse, a split."

The smile never left his face, but it hadn't touched his eyes in a while. There was something cold sitting behind them. "I don't need to know what happened between you and whoever. But you said it yourself, time belongs to family. Doesn't it."

It wasn't a question.

"One more thing. Marcus told me you might be pregnant." He paused. "I wasn't going to bring it up. But you're this child's mother. You have the right to know."

Lori's face went white. A hand moved to the stomach without thinking.

"No. No — you're joking. No. This isn't real."

The words kept coming, and then the tears came with them. "So you're here to get rid of it."

Lin Feng nodded, no hesitation. "That's what I intended at first. Handle it quietly, make it look like an accident, bury it completely."

"But this isn't my child. I can't make that call." He met Lori's eyes. "So I'm leaving it with you. Think it over."

"When you've decided, tell Marcus. Keep it or end it — I'll follow your choice."

He turned and walked away without looking back.

He already knew what the answer would be. But the choice still had to be Lori's.

Lori stood watching until he was gone, then wiped at both eyes and looked down at the stomach.

Crying and laughing arrived on Lori's face at almost the same moment, neither quite winning.

Logic said handle it quietly. Don't crack what little exists between Shane and Rick. Don't make it worse than it already is.

But something else said the child hadn't done anything wrong.

And Shane, for Rick's sake, for the camp's sake, that door had to stay closed from here on out.

Lin Feng got far enough away, exhaled slowly, and kicked a rock off the path.

Damn it. Shane gets his moment of weakness, and I'm the one cleaning up the wreckage.

Was this really the entry requirement for recruiting a chaos magnet into the fold?

Couldn't Shane be more like Daryl, reliable, uncomplicated, not actively generating disasters?

"Lin? Hey. You don't look great."

He looked up. Rick.

Lin Feng smoothed his expression. "Nothing. Just thinking through next steps. Actually, you free tonight? I'm putting together a dinner. Good time to hash some things out."

Rick nodded, no surprise there. "Definitely. I've got some things I want to talk through too."

"Good. Bring Shane. I'll grab Daryl."

"Works for me." Rick smiled. "Now I'm actually looking forward to tonight."

Lin Feng looked at that smile and felt something quiet and tired settle in his chest.

Give it a few hours, bro.

He kept his face neutral, gave a short nod, and headed for Daryl's tent.

A brief word with Daryl, and then Lin Feng got to work.

➤ Next: An Unpleasant Dinner