At the base, after Li Yu and the others had left, Second Uncle and Father Li stood guard at the entrance.
Father Li lit a cigarette and casually tossed one to Second Uncle.
The two men puffed clouds of smoke while chatting idly, killing time.
"Big brother, I feel that Xiao Yu has changed a lot, and I'm a little worried about him."
Suddenly, Second Uncle spoke.
Li Hongyuan's eyebrows twitched as he took a deep drag on his cigarette, his mood somber.
"He's doing all this for our sake. It's the end of the world now, and you never know what other people are plotting. Just like that day, those ruffians clearly intended to force their way in. Would they have brought us anything good?" Li Hongyuan said in one breath.
After speaking, remembering Li Yu's decisive manner, he looked worriedly in the direction they had left.
"I'm not saying what he did was wrong, I'm worried about the pressure he's under. I'm afraid it will be tough for him. Being the elders, we should have been the ones to take on these responsibilities. Ah, let's help him out more!" Second Uncle felt a pang of distress.
"This damn world!" Second Uncle said resentfully as he flicked away the butt of his cigarette.
Second Uncle had been working in Southern Province for many years, and in recent years had invested his savings to start a small circuit board factory.
With years of experience, keen insight, and catching the market trend,
Just as the business was about to take off,
The apocalypse struck, and everything was gone!
Yes,
Once the apocalypse struck, everything was gone!
What was left, was only family.
Fortunately, most of the family was still there!
Second Uncle felt somewhat consoled; it was a blessing within the misfortune.
Although Second Uncle had become somewhat slick and shrewd from his years of doing business elsewhere,
His heart was in the right place when it came to his family.
Every time he came home, he would bring gifts for the younger generation.
Including the computer Li Yuan used for college, the electric foot spa for Grandpa and Grandma...
Li Hongyuan looked at his brother, who was three years his junior.
He faintly remembered his little brother, always full of mischief from a young age; now he was already in his forties in the blink of an eye.
As the two were talking, a group of people approached from the woods.
Second Uncle noticed first and patted Li Hongyuan beside him.
"Big brother, there are people coming," Li Hongqian, the Second Uncle, said.
Li Hongyuan squinted his eyes, "It's the Village Chief, and some of them look like folks from our village."
Below the gate, the Village Chief and his group were approaching.
They were in a sorry state, faces covered in dirt and grime.
Their clothes were stained with mud and blood.
The seven or eight people at the front were holding kitchen knives from their homes,
Some had hoes, while others wielded fire pokers.
Seeing Li Hongyuan on the Observation Tower, the Village Chief's face lit up with joy.
"Li Hongyuan, I knew you all would be alright!" the Village Chief said, with concern in his voice.
"Village Chief, are you all okay?" Li Hongyuan, sensing the Village Chief's worry, responded.
"Not at all okay. Everywhere there are monsters eating people. Just the other day, there was a torrential downpour; never in my life have I seen such heavy rain! All of us here have nowhere else to go."
"Just look at us, ah. Da Zhuang's family is left with only her," referring to a lone girl.
The Village Chief pulled forward a little girl, who looked to be no more than 8 years old. Her face was covered in dust, her eyes devoid of spirit, only despair remaining.
All her family members were gone, leaving her alone and desolate.
Her little bunny jacket appeared to be torn by something,
And she had only one shoe left on her feet.
Previously, the days and nights were reversed, followed by high temperatures.
Then, after the 25th, there were 10 continuous days of torrential rain.
Originally, in the Southern region, the temperature in December would also be about ten degrees Celsius.
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After the torrential rain, the temperature suddenly dropped, falling below 10 degrees.
The little girl probably didn't have a chance to change her clothes because of the zombie outbreak.
She's still wearing clothes for the cooler autumn season.
Standing on the waterlogged ground, her entire body was shivering from the cold.
Her bare feet, with the skin rubbed raw, were bleeding.
She probably smeared some mud on the wounds to prevent the blood from attracting zombies and then wrapped them with a piece of cloth.
She stood timidly in front of the wall, skinny and pitiful.
"Her family is gone, it's only because everyone's been taking care of her these past days, otherwise..." The Village Chief said with a sigh, his tone full of sorrow that was heartbreaking.
"Ah, I suppose it's just us left in the village now," the Village Chief added.
He then looked up to gauge Li Hongyuan's reaction, seemingly with tears in his eyes, quickly wiping them away.
Li Hongyuan looked at the little girl in front of him, his eyes full of pity.
He had seen this little girl before when he visited Hongda's home.
Such a lively little girl she was, always smiling when she met people.
And very polite too.
Every time he went to Hongda's house, she would call him Uncle Li, her large eyes always brimming with spirit.
But now, her gaze was dull, and her white rabbit coat,
The white rabbit had turned into a black one.
An eight-year-old little girl, at an age where she is the apple of her parents' eye.
What a tragedy!
"Maybe..." Li Hongyuan hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but then he remembered Li Yu's instructions and stopped himself.
Second Uncle Li Hongda also showed a look of pity, but more one of vigilance.
He had clearly seen that a few of the people at the front of this group were well-dressed and rosy-cheeked, apparently not having gone hungry.
But those at the back were in somewhat tattered clothes, looking a bit pallid.
Hearing Li Hongyuan speak, he couldn't help but remind him, "Li Yu said that under any circumstances, no matter who we encounter, we must not open the gate!"
Li Hongyuan nodded in agreement at those words and sighed, "Ah, these people are all from our village, from the days when we couldn't avoid seeing each other. What to do with them now..."
At the foot of the wall, the Village Chief saw the two of them talking but was too far away to hear their conversation clearly.
Therefore, he tried to turn up the heat.
"Hongyuan, Hongda, we're all from the same village. I was the one who approved the permit for your base's construction. Let us in, please. We haven't had a good night's sleep in days."
Li Hongyuan seemed to be moved after hearing this, but in the end, didn't respond.
Second Uncle Li Hongda stood by with a stern gaze fixed on the Village Chief, not saying a word.
For him, if one does not look out for oneself, heaven and earth will combine to destroy them.
He didn't have so much compassion to spare; he had been deceived enough during his early days of entrepreneurship.
The Village Chief, seeing that they were unmoved, started to panic inwardly but maintained a calm demeanor.
However, the Women's Director couldn't hold back, saying, "Li Hongyuan, the land is collective property of the village, not yours alone! Are you trying to claim the mountain as your kingdom? Not letting us in is tantamount to leaving us to die!..."
After the zombie outbreak, they didn't realize that the Government had already lost control and was in a state of disarray.
They had entered into a state of anarchy.
It was only because Li Yu had informed Li Hongyuan and the others in advance, otherwise they might have been trapped by this accusation.
You're resorting to threats since the gentle approach didn't work, Li Hongda thought.
The Village Chief, hearing the Women's Director speak out, immediately got angry and yanked her hard.
His eyes were filled with fury, and he thought furiously:
Damn, this idiot ally! All my efforts to stir emotions were in vain! Do they think it's like before? Now they're the ones holding the power!
Why can't a zombie just bite her to death? If this woman wasn't so attractively presentable,
I wouldn't even bother with her!
....
Li Hongyuan and Li Hongda on top of the wall, upon hearing this, also had their faces turn sour.
The question now before them: To save or not to save?
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