"Indeed, these past few days have been quite peaceful."
Jacqui sighed, looking out the window at the open fields, her expression turning extremely serious:
"But this peace is an illusion, Rick. Take a good look at our surroundings; it's too open."
"These fences were built to keep cattle in, not Walkers out."
Jacqui pointed out the problem bluntly, "It's exposed on all sides. If a horde of Walkers passes through, or if Thugs like 'The Shepherd' attack, we won't be able to defend ourselves at all."
She then pointed at the few makeshift tents set up in the yard:
"Also, there are too many of us now. Once Guillermo and the others join us, this house won't be able to fit everyone. It's fine now while the weather is warm, but... winter is coming soon."
"Are we really going to let the children spend the winter in tents? In sub-zero temperatures outdoors, a single outbreak of disease could kill everyone."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. What Jacqui said was true; the farm was good, but it wasn't a long-term solution.
Louis sat to the side, listening to the discussion, nodding thoughtfully before chiming in at the right moment:
"Aunt Jacqui is right. With more people now, we need more than just a place to sleep."
He described with a hopeful tone, "I think... if we're looking for a new home, it's best to have something like tall, sturdy concrete walls, or barbed wire fences—the kind Walkers absolutely can't get through."
"And, ideally, it should have its own independent power supply, a large enough warehouse to store food, and even open space for us to grow some crops..."
As Louis described it, everyone envisioned a perfect fortress in their minds.
"Sigh..." T-Dog let out a heavy sigh, spreading his hands helplessly, "Louis, what you're describing is basically the CDC, isn't it?"
"But the problem is we can't get in there now."
"Surely the CDC isn't the only place with those conditions, right?"
Louis blinked, guiding everyone's train of thought, "In this world, what other places have high walls, barbed wire, independent facilities, and are especially sturdy?"
"A military base?" Shane immediately reacted, still not giving up on that idea, "Fort Benning?"
"That's too far away." Morales shook his head without even thinking, "And like Louis said earlier, we have no idea what the military's stance is."
"What if we travel hundreds of miles only to get mowed down by military machine guns?"
He looked at Shane, reminding him, "Don't forget, those 'Believers' were soldiers at the beginning too."
This statement immediately dashed everyone's thoughts about Fort Benning.
"Then where else could it be?" Glenn scratched his head, "A bank vault?"
"This won't work, that won't work..." Daryl irritably twirled the crossbow bolt in his hand, "Where else can we go? We can't just go to the White House, can we?"
Just as everyone was stuck in a deadlock, racking their brains for what other buildings might fit the criteria, Jacqui suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
She abruptly looked up, her eyes lighting up, "Wait! I know a place!"
"The prison!"
"The prison?" Everyone was taken aback.
"Yes! The prison!" Jacqui grew more convinced the more she thought about it, explaining rapidly, "prisons are designed from the start to keep people locked inside or keep people out!"
"They have ready-made high walls, watchtowers, multiple layers of barbed wire!"
"And they usually have independent backup generators, infirmaries, cafeterias, and huge warehouses!"
She gestured excitedly, "Most importantly, I remember seeing on a map that there's one not far from here, very close!"
"The prison..." Rick stroked his chin, a glint flashing in his eyes.
Indeed, in the apocalypse, the cages originally meant to imprison criminals had become the sturdiest fortresses to protect survivors.
"That's a good idea." Rick nodded, looking at everyone, "What do you all think?"
"Sounds good." Glenn shrugged, "At least it's better than sleeping in tents. As long as we can clear out the 'special residents' inside."
"I think it's good too." Shane also nodded, "With high walls, clearing out those things is just a matter of time."
"Then it's settled!" Merle played with the dagger in his hand, grinning, "I've done time in plenty of joints, I know the inside well. This time, we'll just 'do time' again."
Everyone agreed the plan was feasible and decided to scout out that prison after resting up.
Louis silently gave Jacqui a mental thumbs-up. A perfect assist, saving him a lot of talking.
"Now that we've set our goal, we need to start preparing." Rick stood up, but instead of ordering an immediate departure, he changed the subject.
"However, before that, we still need to rest at the farm for a while longer."
"Why?" Merle asked impatiently, "If there's a good place, why not hurry up and take it?"
"Because we still have people who haven't returned."
Rick's expression turned serious, "When the convoy was attacked, Ed and five or six other survivors ran off in the chaos. Even though they abandoned us at the time..."
"They did it out of fear." Rick glanced at Carol. Although he had no fondness for Ed, that abusive husband, he couldn't just ignore the other companions who scattered in panic.
"We can't just leave like this. We need to send people to search the surrounding area, at least to confirm whether they're alive or dead."
Rick's decision, though it annoyed Merle somewhat, was consistent with his usual style.
"I have no objections," Shane shrugged, "You're the boss. It'll also give us time to get more vehicles and gather more supplies."
"Then it's settled."
Rick made the final decision, "Starting tomorrow, we'll split into two groups. One group stays at the farm to help Hershel's family with defense, the other goes out to search for the missing companions."
"This time, we need to be fully prepared."
...Over the next few days, life at the farm became busy yet orderly.
Rick formed a search and rescue team with Daryl and others, driving around the nearby roads and woods every day to look for clues.
The search wasn't going smoothly. Those survivors had scattered too far, and heavy rain had washed away most of the traces.
However, during the search, they heard some troubling news from a group of passing nomadic survivors.
According to that group, there used to be a very brutal gang operating in this area.
They had tried to attack a passing father and daughter, using extremely despicable methods, but later seemed to have been driven away or scared off by The Believers.
But now, The Believers' factory was in ruins, and that powerful deterrent was gone.
"Be careful," that survivor warned Rick, "When wolves smell meat, they come back."
This news heightened Rick and the others' vigilance, making them more cautious during their outings.
Of course, no matter how turbulent things were outside, the hard work of searching, repairing vehicles, and patrolling naturally didn't require Louis to step in.
As a key protected member of the team, his daily task now was to stay safely at the farm, enjoying the rare leisure.
Of course, he wasn't idle. He used this time to leisurely and repeatedly practice that troublesome spell: the "Reparo Charm."
Although that mysterious suitcase hadn't shown any fluctuations since that day, as if it had truly become an ordinary leather case, Louis finally got some proper rest and recovered quite a bit mentally.
Just as he was debating whether to request to go out and search nearby for more suitable "spellcasting materials," a small unexpected surprise interrupted his thoughts.