Persuasion

Lunch was exceptionally lavish.

There was roast duck, spring chicken, steak, all kinds of melons and fruit, red wine, and pies—everything one could ask for.

It was obvious that Hershel's family took Leon's arrival very seriously. Leon also observed all the proper courtesies of a guest, behaving politely and occasionally cracking a well-timed joke. By the end of the meal, both host and guest were thoroughly pleased.

In the afternoon, Leon and Amy said they wanted to experience riding horses. Hershel then had his eldest daughter, Maggie, teach them how to ride.

From sitting posture to how to exert force and maintain balance while moving, Maggie taught them with great seriousness. She was an outgoing girl and occasionally chatted about herself and the Farm.

They rode for a little over two hours, and the experience was fairly enjoyable. Leon had basically mastered the essentials of horseback riding, while Amy was still just getting started.

He found an excuse to leave the two girls behind to continue practicing and went to find Hershel inside the house.

The old man was somewhat puzzled about why Leon wanted to see him. Leon got straight to the point and said:

"Mr. Hershel, I know your Warehouse is filled with Zombies. You believe they're merely sick people, not monsters."

"That's because they're your neighbors, relatives, and friends."

"I won't comment on your views for now, but I'd like to invite you to leave this Farm with me and see the outside world."

"Take a look at what the world truly looks like now."

"It won't take long. Just one or two hours. And as long as you stay by my side, there won't be any danger."

Hershel frowned and glared at Leon angrily. Thinking of the man's identity and the power he possessed, the old man let out a soft sigh and said:

"All right, Mr. Castor. I'll go out with you and take a look, but I hope you won't interfere with me or my family in the future."

A dozen minutes later, without alerting anyone else, Leon drove his Modified Jeep with Hershel toward a nearby town.

Halfway there, Leon spotted a suitable target and stopped the vehicle.

It was a Zombie that had only half a body left, probably after being run over by a car. Everything below its abdomen was gone. Its rotting skin and blackened organs were exposed to the naked eye. When it saw the stopped vehicle, it suddenly found new strength and began crawling desperately toward them with both hands.

Leon got out of the car and planted one foot on the Zombie's head, pinning it firmly to the ground. Then he turned to the ashen-faced Hershel and asked:

"After the first day of transformation, these things begin to rot. I don't know why they don't produce maggots, but even with bodies like this, they can still move."

"Mr. Hershel, you may not know this, but I searched the entire Atlanta area for several months and found only a few hundred survivors. Only about one person in several thousand has survived among us humans."

"Suppose we develop a viral serum in the future. Could these rotting, mutilated corpses still turn back into human beings?"

Hershel stared blankly at the half-bodied Zombie still crawling along. In the past, the Zombies he saw had been nearly intact, giving him the feeling that they might still be curable. Combined with his fantasies of reuniting with his loved ones, that had allowed him to stubbornly cling to his beliefs.

His daughters and friends had also continued living within the illusion he had woven. No one had been willing to shatter it.

But the half-bodied Zombie that could still move dealt him a tremendous shock, leaving him with the urge to escape from reality.

Leon waited for several dozen seconds. Seeing that the old man still had no answer, he shrugged and crushed the Zombie's skull beneath his foot.

The two continued on their way. Hershel suddenly said he wanted a drink, so under his directions, Leon took him to a bar in town.

Along the way, they saw even more bizarre Zombies: some with skin burned to charcoal, some missing an arm or leg where they had been gnawed away, some with several gaping holes in their chests, and one with nothing but a layer of skin wrapped around its skeleton that could still move. It was utterly unscientific, and Leon found it extremely intriguing.

Once they entered the bar, Hershel seemed deeply dejected. He took a bottle of brandy from behind the counter and began drinking by himself. Leon picked out a low-proof fruit wine, poured himself a glass, and began walking around the place.

By the time he had made a full circuit and cleared out every danger, the old man had already finished half the bottle.

Leon stepped forward and patted Hershel on the shoulder. "Take it easy, Mr. Hershel. When we go home later, your family will blame me."

The old man raised his somewhat cloudy eyes and looked at Leon.

"After coming out with you today, I saw those mutilated monsters."

"Only then did I realize that I'm nothing but a fool. Mr. Castor, my wife, stepson, and good friend have been dead for a long time. All I've been raising are a bunch of monsters."

"What hope is there left in this world? This town used to have thousands of residents, yet now we can't see a single living person."

"Everything we once knew has turned into a fleeting illusion."

Leon didn't feel much about it. Instead, he spoke to Hershel with a solemn expression:

"Whether you believe there's hope or not, Mr. Hershel, you're the pillar of your family. Your two daughters depend on you, and your friends trust you. Even if there's no hope left, you must pretend to be confident and pass that confidence on to them."

"That's the responsibility you must bear as a father and as a friend."

He patted the old man on the shoulder and continued:

"This world still has hope. Umbrella Corporation is the hope of this world. Give us enough time, and we'll definitely defeat the virus and liberate all of humanity."

"That is my conviction, and it is also my ideal."

Hershel murmured a few words under his breath before saying:

"You're truly a noble man, Mr. Castor."

Before dusk, the two drove back to the Farm. Maggie and Amy were riding horses and admiring the surrounding scenery. When they saw their father return drunk, they felt somewhat puzzled.

Leon didn't offer much explanation. Instead, he invited Maggie's family to join him that evening for a meal of delicacies he had brought from the base.

He had also brought a great deal of supplies for Glenn's team this time. He decided to take the opportunity to hold a small outdoor barbecue feast.

Before sunset, Glenn returned to the Farm with his team. They had only been there for a few days and hadn't found much, mostly food and medicine. However, three passing survivors had hoped to join Umbrella Corporation, so he had brought them back.

Leon found time to meet the three of them. They were a married couple and their neighbor, and they looked like honest, down-to-earth people. He promised to take them with him to Umbrella's base when he left and invited them to join the feast, earning their heartfelt gratitude.

With Amy handling the arrangements, the dinner went smoothly. There was plenty of good wine and meat, along with various prepared dishes and snacks brought from the base, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.

Leon didn't ruin the mood by giving some kind of speech. He simply sat quietly under Amy's care and watched everyone's reactions.

After the dinner ended, Glenn came over to find Leon. He told Leon some news.

Outside a town not far away, he had discovered a camp with around thirty people. Because they lacked sufficient information and couldn't determine the other party's temperament, he hadn't acted rashly.