The next morning at 6 a.m., Li Yu was woken by his biological clock. He put on his tracksuit and started jogging around the base.
Emerging from the villa, after a simple warm-up, he ran towards the mountain. The morning breeze was cool, and the mist that met his face made Li Yu even more alert.
Passing along the cobblestone path, he saw the garden built before, teeming with a tapestry of flowers and the evergreen trees still lush, accompanied by a faint fragrance of sweet osmanthus. Although the scent of the four-season osmanthus was not overwhelming, it had the advantage of blooming all year round.
As he looked at the osmanthus flowers on the trees, Li Yu felt exceptionally serene and thought that in a couple of days, he could pick the flowers to make wine.
The morning dew slightly dampened the hem of Li Yu's trousers. He ran from the flat path into the forest, which was diverse in plant life and showed hardly any signs of withering, even in the subtropical climate.
Li Yu manoeuvred through the woods, his running speed undiminished on the uneven ground.
After passing over a hill and arriving at the Mountain Pond, he saw a figure.
Slowing his pace, he moved closer and saw it was Grandpa Li Yushi, in his sixties, yet still robust. For someone of the older generation who had been busy most of his life, suddenly finding oneself idle could feel quite directionless.
So Grandpa preferred to toil on his small plot of land. He must have gotten up very early, and now he was by the pond feeding the fish.
As Li Yu ran by, he greeted, "Grandpa, you're feeding the fish so early?"
Li Yushi turned around with a smile on his face. Seeing Li Yu jogging had become routine; in recent months, Li Yu had come out to exercise every morning, except for those ten days of heavy rain when he had scarcely missed a day.
Li Yushi nodded with a smile, without speaking, his eyes conveyed a sense of pride looking at Li Yu.
Passing the Mountain Pond, he ran up another mountain. Upon reaching the summit, a slight sweat on his forehead, Li Yu looked over the entire base and felt very content.
The breeze swept over the hills, between two mountains lay a lake.
Building walls towering and uneven, isolating all the troubles of the world.
In just a few decades, do not waste time idly.
In Taoyuan, free time brings joy.
Save the world? He had no interest. To aid and heal in the apocalypse? Too exhausting.
Why not choose a secluded corner, hard to find by others, where one could farm when busy, and fish and drink on the lake in leisure? "Drunk and oblivious as heaven floats by, a boat full of dreams under a starry sky." Isn't such life desirable?
The dark forest law, survival of the fittest—Li Yu understood it, but the climb to the peak was too arduous. Moreover, as the tall tree attracts the wind, the higher one stands, the greater the risk, and the more tragic the potential fall. Besides, most people die on their way up.
Perhaps it was an escape, but he hoped disaster wouldn't come too soon. Yet at this moment, Li Yu already had an idea—the base didn't need to be too large; unity among its people was most crucial.
Hidden amidst the woods, showing strength from the outside, united on the inside.
If one day, a very powerful enemy invaded, his first move would be to burn down the base to ashes, letting no one benefit from it, and then fight to the death for revenge.
After all, to struggle for survival at the bottom of the post-apocalyptic hierarchy, selling one's soul for a morsel, living a humble life, was not very appealing.
Li Yu's temperament was like a stone in a latrine; smelly and hard. With the courage to face any consequence, he naturally feared nothing and liked to upend the table—someone who has never been intimidated by threats, a true loner.
Li Yu was selfish, yet at the same time, selfless.
Shaking his head, Li Yu stopped pondering for the moment, deciding to live in the present.
He ran back to the base of the villa, getting ready to enjoy a hot bath.
Seeing Second Uncle who had just gotten up, he fell into contemplation and approached to inquire, "How did last night's discussion go? Have you noticed anything?"
Second Uncle frowned slightly, thought for a bit, and then said, "It's not much different from what Yang Tianlong had introduced before. I don't know if he's disguised himself too well, or if that's just his personality, but that Dapao seems a bit simple-minded."
Upon hearing this, Li Yu also fell into deep thought. On the other hand, Second Uncle continued, "But he probably has a good nature. Tianlong is still the same old self as before, they had no guard up when drinking last night, I'll observe him more in the future."
Li Yu nodded and said with a smile while looking at Second Uncle, "It's about time for Haoxian and Haoran to start taking shifts, we should cultivate their skills more."
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Tomorrow let Uncle teach them how to use guns."
Second Uncle had no objections to this. When Li Yu returned to his room and saw little Xuanxuan who had run to his room again, a black line formed on his forehead.
Didn't I tell her to go back to sleep last night?
With a sigh, Youyou decided not to bother with it.
...
At noon, Zhao Dapao and his group came out of those flat houses.
Li Yu called them over for lunch, and when Yang Tianlong saw Li Yu's family of over thirty people dining together, he was especially shocked to see what they were eating.
It's the end of the world and they still have so many vegetables, meats. And damn, there's even fish!
Yang Tianlong, who hadn't had a good meal in a long time, helped himself to the food without being polite, not waiting for an invitation, and filled a large bowl with rice.
Seeing this, Li Yu laughed and invited Zhao Dapao to join them at the table - here, there was no need for formalities.
During their leisure time, Li Yu pulled aside Li Tie, the two brothers, Zhao Dapao, Yang Tianlong, Uncle, and others to teach the younger generation some boxing and kung fu techniques.
Everyone was enthusiastic, even Li Suxin was practicing diligently with a serious demeanor.
...
Good times always fly by. Before they realized it, Yang Tianlong and the others had already joined the base for a month.
During this month, Yang Tianlong and his group had integrated into the base. Within the entire base, everyone lived in peace—sometimes they went up to the mountains to gather fruits, sometimes to fish on the lake, and at times, to enjoy the wind at the mountaintop.
Li Yuan would often hang out with Yang Xiaozhu in the underground cinema, watching various movies and dramas together. Their relationship had always been very close, and after meeting again in this post-apocalyptic world, their sisterly bond became even stronger.
However, for the younger kids like Li Suxin, the nose-picking boy Zhang Zhixing, Zhang Zhen Ni, and little Xuanxuan, things weren't as friendly.
Lai Xiyue took out some textbooks from before and started teaching them, assigning homework. Li Yu always advocated for practical education for the younger generation. Although he also held regular classes on confronting and killing zombies, and on human nature, basic literacy and math were still necessary to learn.
For the other slightly older youngsters, Li Yu had also stockpiled a variety of books for them to learn skills that could be used in the post-apocalyptic world.
Sometimes Li Yu would take the younger brothers and sisters out through a small door surrounding the wall to kill some zombies, improving their physical fitness and reaction abilities.
As they killed more zombies, everyone gradually became less afraid of zombies, and their methods of killing became more skilled.
During this month, Zhao Dapao's smile also increased, but occasionally, when he saw all of Li Yu's family together, he would look out of the window in the middle of the night, missing his own family.
...
January 5th, light rain, a gentle breeze, a bit chilly.
Li Hang, who was on duty, was at the Observation Tower reading a novel on his phone while keeping an eye outside the wall.
Suddenly, from afar, he saw a dense cluster of shadows. Thinking his eyes were playing tricks, he rubbed his eyes and took a closer look.
He saw a dense mass of zombies pouring out from the forest, an endless stream...