The next morning, everyone woke up and continued their journey.
The second day, they drove nearly 400 kilometers.
Seeing that Atlanta was not far away, Shawn thought for a moment and decided to push through and reach it the next day at dawn.
At this point, Atlanta was less than 50 kilometers away.
On the third day, in the misty morning, Shawn led the group on the road early.
As the fire truck continued forward, Merle and Daryl looked at the increasingly familiar buildings on both sides of the road and couldn't help but sigh.
"After all this, I didn't expect to be back in Atlanta."
"Twilight is like yesterday."
Daryl spoke a slang phrase.
"I didn't ask before, but what exactly are you doing here?"
Columbus couldn't help but ask as the fire truck began to drive deeper into the city.
This went against his survival guide; large numbers of Walkers often appeared in urban gathering places, which were far less safe than the suburbs.
For the vast and sparsely populated United States, remote suburbs and jungles were the best choice.
"Our destination isn't here, but passing through here, I need to pick up some things."
Shawn glanced at him through the rearview mirror, then reassured him.
"Don't worry, we'll leave once we've got the things; there won't be any problems."
Columbus's concerns were reasonable; no one knew if all the Walkers in the city had migrated yet.
They entered the city from the highway.
Along the way, the left exit lane was jammed with cars, while the right lane, where the fire truck was driving, was empty, forming a strong contrast.
When everyone else was fleeing, there were always some who would choose to enter without hesitation.
Dilapidated, rusty, overgrown, broken...
It seemed that after a few weeks, the area had undergone quite a few changes.
Shawn gently turned the steering wheel, letting the vehicle slow down by the side of the road.
"Do you need to go inside?"
"If not, you can stay here and watch the vehicle."
Shawn looked at Columbus and Tallahassee through the rear window.
The fire truck was already large, and with Shawn's modifications, it was difficult to drive through the current city streets.
The piles of bodies, vehicles, and broken parts in the city were trouble enough, not to mention the possibility of attracting Walkers and survivors active within the city, so it was better to proceed lightly rather than drive the fire truck in.
"Oh, we'll just stay here, please..."
Columbus raised both hands, indicating he was not at all prepared to fight Walkers.
"When will you be more of a man?"
Tallahassee frowned, looking at him with his few remaining eyebrows.
"According to my statistics, people who like to be men have now all turned into Walkers."
Columbus didn't mind, just pulled out his survival guide and repeated it.
"Forget it, I'll go with you guys." Tallahassee adjusted his cowboy hat and looked at Shawn.
But Shawn rejected his offer.
"Why?" Tallahassee asked with an exaggerated expression.
"With both of you together, I can rest assured. If he wants to stay, then you must stay too."
Shawn patiently explained.
Tallahassee's methods for hunting Walkers were formidable, which complemented Columbus's caution perfectly; they were complementary partners.
With both of them watching the vehicle, the fire truck wouldn't inexplicably be driven away before Shawn returned.
Leaving them behind, Shawn took the Dixon Brothers into Atlanta.
The city center seemed not much different from the outside; since Shawn had left, many survivors must have been active in this area.
On the city streets, there were piles of bodies, with flies buzzing around them, but fortunately, many days had passed, so the smell from these bodies was not strong.
"They should really call city sanitation and complain, ask them how they clean."
Merle grumbled irritably.
Shawn chuckled after hearing him: "Is that so? Then I'm afraid only a Walker operator would answer your call."
"Hey, we're wandering in the ruins of a city that once had 400,000 people. Can you guys be serious?"
Daryl couldn't help but interject.
"My bad." Merle shrugged.
Shawn led the two, following the treasure map's marked location on the map.
After crossing a street and reaching a corner, Shawn looked at the familiar street and felt a moment of trance.
In the middle of the road, there was a tank that had been washed by rain, and not far behind the tank, Shawn even saw some dry, mottled bones.
"It's that horse."
Shawn suddenly remembered his Horse Bone Hammer.
However, he didn't expect that the tank was still there.
"I met Rick in this tank back then. When we come back, maybe we can figure out a way to drive it away."
Passing by the tank, Shawn spoke to Daryl beside him.
"But it looks like it's no longer usable, and we can't get shells now. This big thing is just a burden to us."
"There will be a way."
Shawn had a 'repair tool' in his hand, which could directly repair such metal vehicles.
Engines, tires, and such could also be modified and replaced, so there was no need to worry about that.
As for shells, they would figure something out later...
The three continued forward.
However, strangely, the closer they got to the city center this time, the fewer Walkers they encountered.
Shawn had prepared for a big battle, but unexpectedly, there were only a few Walkers wandering on the road, nothing like the scene they had seen before.
"You're right, Shawn, they really have started to migrate."
Daryl's gaze swept alertly around, still keeping his voice low.
"But why? Do Walkers still retain some intelligence? Do they also actively seek food like survivors?"
Merle frowned, somewhat puzzled.
"Perhaps they are attracted to places where humans congregate."
"This place used to be the city center, and now it has been replaced by another place."
Shawn directly gave them the answer.
"Anyway, at least we'll have an easier time this time."
Merle chuckled, not dwelling on it or worrying about tomorrow at all.
"That's typical of you." Shawn glanced at him and continued forward.
The further they walked inward, the more signs of military activity they could see.
Armored vehicles, discarded military weapon magazines, wreckage of crashed helicopters...
Upon searching, most of the items inside had already been scavenged, with only the embedded, unremovable parts remaining.
Until they arrived in front of a large building, one of the tallest structures in Atlanta.
As Shawn slowly looked up at the building, noticing the large, floating golden exclamation mark at the top, he couldn't help but slightly open his mouth.
"No way..."
When it came to buildings, Shawn could only think of one structure... that was a five-star, highest difficulty building...
However, when Shawn arrived in front of the small exclamation mark floating at the main entrance, he truly let out a sigh of relief.
"Apocalyptic Mission: Clear the Building (One Star)"
"After the horde gradually migrates away, some Walkers are still trapped inside the building and cannot get out on their own. Please clear the Walkers inside."
Shawn read the mission once, nodded seriously, then directly ignored it and walked into the building.
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