The next evening, Lin Feng and the others made it back to camp without incident.

Marcus, who'd been behind the wheel the whole way, let out a long breath. The road had been rough, but the primers packed in the truck bed hadn't shifted, hadn't sparked, hadn't blown. Not a single accidental detonation.

Worth celebrating. At least a couple drinks tonight.

Lin Feng had barely stepped out of the truck when Beth came trotting over, broke into a run, and launched herself at him. He caught Beth, and Beth wrapped around him like there was no intention of letting go.

Princess spread both arms wide, grinning with exaggerated delight. "Whoa, whoa, whoa — is this some kind of grand romantic reunion?"

Lin Feng just held Beth and smiled, not bothering to answer. He waved Merle's people toward the temporary tent warehouse to start unloading, then turned to Rick.

"How are the warehouse materials looking?"

Rick pulled his gaze away from the fully loaded pickups. "Basically got everything today. We can break ground tomorrow. What about your end?"

Lin Feng walked with Beth still in his arms.

"Big haul. Both M2s are still functional, but there are no rounds for them and no bullet molds, those will need to be developed and fabricated. We brought back five reloading presses, four sets of pistol molds, two sets of rifle molds. Total cartridge casings between rifle and pistol come to roughly seventy thousand, but theoretical loaded output is around forty-odd thousand, and the real number will probably be lower."

"Also twelve modified AR-15s, seven Remingtons, three Mosin-Nagants, two old Springfields, and one Remington 700 sniper rifle, plus some other firearms we haven't counted yet."

"Ammunition itself wasn't much of a restock, roughly two thousand rounds of 5.56mm rifle ammo and fifteen hundred rounds of 9mm pistol. But there are also a hundred and fifty-plus rounds of.44." Lin Feng tilted his head toward the Colt Python riding Rick's hip. "Should keep you going for a while."

Rick's eyes went wide. Attention locked onto the numbers and didn't let go. "Holy shit, over forty thousand rounds? You sure you didn't just clean out an armory? That's enough for years."

"Don't celebrate yet. At our current production rate, just reloading them will take close to a year."

Rick opened his mouth, then closed it. Lin Feng wasn't wrong. The number was still staggering.

"And this is only the first batch. There'll be more. Glenn's come a long way, I'm planning to have Glenn put together a dedicated team just for sourcing this kind of material."

"You want to keep going?" Rick said. "Are you trying to start a full-scale war?"

Lin Feng paused mid-step and looked at Rick.

"This was always a war, Rick. Us and the walkers, only one side walks away. Set everything else aside: Atlanta alone had a permanent population of several hundred thousand. How many of them are walkers now, and how many are people?"

The color drained from Rick's face. A low ringing started up in those ears. "You mean..."

"I don't know. But I'm going to be ready, whatever it takes, so that we survive." Something flickered in Lin Feng's eyes as he said it, a quiet intensity that hadn't been there before.

"One more thing. The girl's name is Juanita, you can call her Princess too. Combat capability is average. Warm, lively personality. Quirky sometimes, but nothing wrong upstairs, and not a bad person."

"The one next to her who looks like a stiff breeze would knock them over — well, Sunil actually is sick — the name is Sunil. An architect. Basically zero combat value. Sunil will be handling the camp's construction planning going forward, but... Merle already roughed Sunil up once, so keep Sunil on the watch list."

Rick pulled together, pushed that black, bottomless dread down below the surface, and looked toward the two newcomers heading for the food line. "Understood. I'll handle it."

Lin Feng glanced at Rick, straightforward, decent Rick Grimes, and nodded. Didn't say another word.

Because honestly, Rick wasn't cut out for this kind of work. Surveillance. Clean-up. Rick's nature didn't run toward suspicion, and when it came down to it, Rick might not be able to make the call.

But there was someone in camp who could.

Lin Feng's gaze drifted to Carol, over by the dinner spread getting everything ready. The expression on Lin Feng's face tightened slightly.

Carol was exactly right for it.

Carol spent every day in camp rotating between the stove, the laundry pile, and Sophia. Low profile. Easy to overlook.

And deceptive in the best possible way, slight build, a face that always wore a mild, easy smile. The kind of person nobody looked at twice. The kind nobody feared.

The last quality wasn't there yet. Sophia was still alive and well. Camp life was comfortable. Carol hadn't been pushed anywhere near that edge.

But Lin Feng knew what Carol became at the Prison. The moment Carol sensed a threat, Carol would shoulder the sin alone, act quietly, act decisively, all to keep everyone else safe.

The mechanics weren't complicated either. Carol watches. Merle handles it.

The problem was the toll. Work like that, calling roll for the Grim Reaper, over and over, it ate at a person. The guilt alone could break someone.

The Carol standing here right now might not survive it.

Lin Feng was still turning it over when they reached the dining area. He looked at Carol, that gentle expression, that unhurried movement, and let out a quiet breath.

"Carol," he said. "Can we talk after dinner? There's something I need your help with."

Carol paused, then looked over and smiled. "Of course. Happy to help, Lin."

Rick glanced sideways at Lin Feng and caught it, that flash of conflict, there and gone in an instant. A small frown.

Conflicted? What could involve Carol that would put that look on Lin Feng's face?

An arrangement for Sophia, maybe?

Rick knew that over with the three research people, there was another little girl, Sherry Birkin.

A very quiet kid. Rarely came out of the tent. Just stayed inside, all day, every day.

Lin Feng caught the look on Rick's face. "I'll explain later."

Rick nodded and let it go. "If you run into trouble, tell me."

Lin Feng gave a low hum, then patted Beth's knee. "Time to eat."

Beth let go of the arm looped around Lin Feng, pressed a quick kiss to those lips, murmured agreement, and slid down to the ground.

Lin Feng ruffled Beth's hair and smiled.

The growl of engines rolled in from the camp entrance. A few pickups rumbled through the gate.

Shane dropped out of the first truck, spotted Lin Feng immediately, and one corner of that mouth pulled up, then just as quickly flattened back out.

Glad Lin Feng made it back in one piece. Less glad to be looking at the man who'd been working everyone to the bone.

Shane liked staying busy. Liked the fullness of it. But even a workhorse needed to breathe.

After handing the remaining supplies off to Leon, Shane crossed the camp toward Lin Feng. "How'd it go on your end?"

Lin Feng was still holding the tray. He ran through it again, the same rundown he'd just given Rick.

Shane nodded, and some of the tension eased out of that face. "So we don't have to ration every shot anymore. And we're not exactly short on hardware, either."

"Right." Lin Feng set the tray down. "After dinner, get cleaned up, but don't turn in yet. We're holding a meeting tonight, figure out the next move."

Shane and Rick traded a look.

"Works for me," they both said.

➤ Next: Future Arrangements for the Camp

Chapter 112 - Future Arrangements for the Camp

After dinner, most of the camp gathered in a circle and looked toward Lin Feng.

"We have food stores and weapons now, so I've been thinking about recruiting people on a large scale. What do you all think?"

Rick furrowed his brow. "Large scale? How large? We can't exactly broadcast over the radio."

Hershel spoke up too. "And when people show up, how do we decide who's in and who's out? Lin, we can't just take everyone who walks through."

Shane's eyes flicked to the newcomers, Princess and Sunil, then back. "I'm more worried about how we keep the camp safe when the numbers grow. We've got elderly people and kids here. If something goes sideways, it won't be a small problem."

"The method we used when we picked up Crane worked well enough," Lin Feng said. "Set up a screening station somewhere in advance, question people who want to join, keep the ones who pass, turn away the ones who don't."

Shane held Lin Feng's gaze and didn't soften it. "And then what? Lin, that does absolutely nothing against liars."

Lin Feng shrugged. "That's exactly what I've been wrestling with. That method only filters people who tell the truth. Against liars and freeloaders, it's worthless. I've thought about it for a long time, and I've only come to one answer."

He paused.

"Kill them."

The last word dropped like a stone into still water. The atmosphere seized, as though a blizzard wind had swept through and frozen everything exactly where it stood.

Only then did everyone understand. Lin Feng hadn't come here to negotiate. He'd already made his decision.

He was here to see who would stand behind it.

Merle was the first to respond. "No objections from me. If anyone can't stomach it, I'll take care of it personally."

Then Daryl. "Fine by me."

Marcus: "Agreed."

Andrew: "Agreed."

Orion: "Agreed."

Shane: "Agreed!"

Rick: "...Agreed."

One after another, members voiced their support, and the measure essentially passed. But a number of people said nothing, Dale Horvath, Hershel, Eugene, Leon, Claire, Princess, Sunil, among others.

Lin Feng gave a slight nod and accepted that.

The ones who'd stayed silent either held a moral line they weren't ready to cross, or had never had the experience of being stabbed in the back by a stranger.

That was fine. One day, when someone tested that policy firsthand, they'd understand exactly why Lin Feng had pushed for it tonight.

For now, not objecting and not causing trouble was enough.

"Then that item passes. From here on, any scavenging team that encounters people without a permanent camp can bring them back for consideration."

He turned to Shane.

"External screening falls on you — full authority. Location's your call."

Shane nodded and took it without a word, already turning the logistics over quietly in mind.

Rick's eyes moved. Lin Feng had said external screening. Which meant there might also be an internal one.

For some reason, Rick's gaze drifted toward Carol sitting in the corner. Probably not, though. Carol wouldn't even dare kill a chicken.

"Second item: upgrading the camp's defenses. We haven't tackled this before because we didn't know where to start — but now our camp has an architect. Sunil."

"The expertise is right there. The question is, what kind of defensive structures should we actually build?"

The camp followed Lin Feng's gaze to the corner, where Sunil sat, sallow-faced and listless.

Under all those eyes converging at once, the timid Sunil shrank back, shifting slightly in the seat as if trying to disappear entirely.

Princess, sitting right beside Sunil, gave a hearty slap on the back.

"Hey! This is your moment to shine, my friend! What are you scared of?! He's not going to eat you right here, is he?!"

Sensing the awkward pause and not wanting to leave Lin Feng hanging, Sunil stood up. "I don't have experience designing defensive structures, but I can try. The blueprints will take some time. I'll need to do an on-site survey first. Is that all right?"

The words came out a little scrambled, but everyone got the picture.

Lin Feng nodded, no pressure in it. "That's fine. This isn't a workplace — but it's tighter than one, and the stakes are higher. Give it everything you've got." A beat. "Do well, and your reward is... two roast chickens?"

The corner of Daryl's eye twitched. Daryl turned to look at Lin Feng with a completely flat expression.

Again.

Lin Feng didn't feel even slightly embarrassed. You want the horse to run, you have to feed it. It wasn't like asking for two whole deer, for Daryl, that was nothing.

"Orion, Abraham, when the blueprints are ready, you two review them first and push them toward military specs wherever you can. Materials-wise, as long as it's not completely unreasonable, I'll make it work."

Orion and Abraham each nodded, accepting the assignment.

"Third item: farming. The wheat fields have already been harvested, and there are still four-plus months before November planting season. We can't leave the land sitting idle, short-term vegetables are an option. Mr. Greene, can you handle that?"

Lin Feng looked at his father-in-law and asked with genuine seriousness.

Hershel threw him an irritated look. When you need something it's Mr. Greene, when you don't it's just Hershel. Hmph.

"No problem. When it comes to farming, I'm a fair sight better than a certain someone who only knows how to boss old folks around."

Lin Feng's mouth twitched. A sheepish laugh.

Guilty. Somewhat.

"All right. Coordinate the people and equipment with Rick when the time comes. Let's plant as much as we can."

Hershel grunted and turned immediately to Maggie, the two of them dropping into a quiet conversation.

"Jade, check in on the bullet reloading operation when you have time, push them to get the production line running as soon as possible. If they need anything, take it to Rick and he'll sort it out."

Jade looked up, a little surprised at being called on, but nodded.

"Last item: patrol teams. Sunil's blueprints should be ready in a couple of days, and when we start felling timber I want to use chainsaws. That means we need two or three temporary high-efficiency patrol teams to sweep the walkers out of the surrounding area first."

"Tentative team leaders: Merle, Daryl, and Crane. Pick your own squad members."

As Lin Feng spoke, his gaze drifted to the corner where Michonne sat. "Michonne, could you come help out?"

Michonne looked up, met his eyes, and gave a small nod.

Task accepted.

➤ Next: Somewhat Irresponsible Out of Responsibility