Li Yu, upon hearing those words, pondered for a moment and said, "We'll talk about it later. Let's see how he behaves."
Second Uncle, hearing this, refrained from saying more.
Li Hang drove as Li Yu rolled down the window a crack, allowing the cool air to seep into the car, fluttering his hair. He gazed out of the gradually darkening window outside and fell into deep thought:
Yang Tianlong and his siblings grew up together. Although they have been out of touch for a while, they know each other thoroughly. From the recent interaction, the two haven't changed much, and it should be fine to let them into the base.
As for Zhao Dapao, he served in the army with Xiao Gang, Xiao Tie, and Tianlong. Li Yu knows the steel brothers and Yang Tianlong, and since the four of them could hang out together, it suggests Zhao Dapao must be alright too; otherwise, given Yang Tianlong's temperament, he probably wouldn't have accepted him.
However, Li Yu hasn't had a deep interaction with him yet, so he shouldn't rush to conclusions.
But then, just relying on Uncle Lai's family and other relatives might not be sufficient for the base. Should outsiders intrude in the future, naturally, the stronger his own strength, the better. Moreover, the farmland and supplies in the base can almost support more than 60 people now.
It wouldn't hurt to bring in some suitable people appropriately.
Let's have a look first. If he's alright, keeping him is also a possibility, Li Yu thought and slowly let out a breath of relief.
The convoy left the national road and then turned onto a country road.
After driving for a while, they took a cement side road that was unremarkable from the outside. If one didn't know to take this route beforehand, it would be easy to overlook it when driving.
Surrounded by woods, it was hard for anyone to imagine that there was such a large base not far from this rural road, hidden behind the trees.
It wasn't until they drove up to the wall that Third Uncle exclaimed, "I thought you built a farm stay, damn, this is a fortress!"
Li Yu did not respond but turned on the headlights, stuck his head out of the window, and waved his hand towards Fourth Uncle and Uncle in the Observation Tower.
Fourth Uncle, who was on the Observation Tower, saw the headlights from afar and became alert, grabbing the Crossbow until he could see clearly that it was Li Yu's convoy and relaxed.
Fourth Uncle, feeling reassured upon seeing Li Yu's wave, went downstairs and opened the inner gate, then slowly opened the main gate.
Uncle escorted Li Haoxian and others out of the car. They dealt with several Zombies that were following behind the car one by one, and Yang Tianlong, having seen this, also went over to handle the Zombies.
Li Yu looked back at his surroundings and told Li Hang to escort the younger family members inside first.
Second Uncle, having dealt with the trailing Zombies, looked at Yang Tianlong and Zhao Dapao, then turned his gaze towards Li Yu as if asking what to do next.
After Yang Tianlong finished dealing with the Zombies, he and Zhao Dapao stood under the wall, marveling in admiration.
Li Yu always operated transparently and disliked beating around the bush. He preferred to make any unpleasantness clear upfront. If he promised something, he wouldn't conceal it or drag his feet.
Looking at Yang Tianlong and Zhao Dapao, Li Yu approached them with a smile.
"Tianlong, there are some things I'd like to talk to you about first."
Yang Tianlong and the others, noticing that Li Yu had something to say, immediately stopped discussing and quieted down to listen.
Li Yu spoke directly, "On your way back, you must have realized what the situation is like now. The apocalypse has arrived.
Zombies are terrifying, and sometimes people can be too."
"Food and safety are the top priorities. I have to protect my family. For the safety of my family, I need to make some things clear to you beforehand.
You know, Tianlong, my family and I are quite kind-hearted, but driven to this extremity by the apocalypse, I've had to consider some things."
Yang Tianlong, hearing Li Yu say this, was at first unsure of what Li Yu was getting at.
Yet, Li Yu, though smiling, spoke in a tone devoid of emotion, and continued objectively:
"Tianlong, we grew up together. Although it's been many years since we've seen each other, emotionally, I trust you; but from an objective, rational standpoint, it's possible that there are changes in you that I don't know about after such a long time, so I still hold a trace of caution."
"Dapao, you're Tianlong's and Tiezi Gangzi's brother, which makes us brothers too, but let me speak frankly—we don't know each other well, so I can't fully trust you yet."
Upon hearing what Li Yu said, the two men felt sick at heart, especially Yang Tianlong, who had always considered Li Yu his brother!
Following that, Li Yu added: "I don't want to test each other's humanity. Emotions can turn sour, and interests often drive people's decisions.
Humans are selfish, and I am no exception. My selfishness lies in wanting to protect my family.
From my perspective, our base also needs some suitable people to join, and you guys, having served as soldiers, are without a doubt very suitable."
"For you, now that the apocalypse has come, food is hard to come by, and human nature can sometimes be vile. Currently, there aren't many places you can go to. I can offer abundant food, an advantageous environment, and safety!
Tianlong, we're fairly familiar with each other, so it feels safer to be together, and Xiaozhu would be safer here too. I'd be really happy if you could join."
"Dapao, I'm not one for beating around the bush or probing. As long as you're sincere about joining, I will certainly treat you fairly.
But if I find out you have ulterior motives, I'll kill you."
"Also, I'm not currently looking to save the world because I don't have the capacity. Everyone in the base is my family, and I can't be bothered to take in people whose backgrounds are unknown. It's too much hassle to manage, and there are risks involved.
So, unless necessary, I'm not particularly inclined to save other strangers."
"Lastly, for safety reasons, you might need to hand over your weapons temporarily. Are you willing?" Li Yu said.
Li Yu had said a lot, which left Yang Tianlong and Zhao Dapao silent.
But Yang Tianzhu, standing aside, seemed not to care at all. After handing over his weapon to Li Yu, he ran off to play with Li Yuan.
Li Yu's words might hurt, but they were better than hiding things and facing unthinkable consequences later on.
Yang Tianlong looked at Li Yu with complex emotions, feeling saddened, but when he saw Li Yu's family, he somewhat understood.
Zhao Dapao was also surprised as he watched Li Yu; it was the first time he had met such a straightforward person. Li Yu laid out all concerns and interests meticulously in front of them.
It's kinda hard to handle...
If it were someone else, they might not say anything but would still be on guard in secret.
But Li Yu's words, though objectively cruel and even merciless, sincerely and transparently articulated everything—cold-hearted but undoubtedly sincere!
Sincerity is a knife; it cuts whoever it touches!
They were both moved by Li Yu's frank and sincere words.
Yang Tianlong looked at Li Yu and then at Zhao Dapao.
Thinking about how so many people have died in the world, one in ten remaining, and considering that even the Government is no more,
thinking of all the couples he has seen along the way, men and women abandoning their partners without hesitation to survive, witnessed scumbags trading their wives for a packet of instant noodles...
Having served in the military for many years, he couldn't help but feel lost: to protect the people, but if most of the people no longer seem human, is there a need to protect them?
Seeing on the other side, Yang Xiaozhu was tugging Li Yuan's chubby cheeks, which were being molded into different shapes, and Yang Xiaozhu looked thrilled.
He sighed gently, well, we'll talk about the future later.
He handed over his two big iron hammers, and Zhao Dapao, unpretentious as well, passed on his Mountain Axe.
Seeing this scene, Li Yu's smile grew even brighter.
Trust is mutual; since they are willing to take a step forward, of course, I don't mind taking one too.