As for Ma Di..." Xiao Jun felt somewhat bewildered, suddenly realizing that those he had been protecting for so long were all unreal, and that Ma Di before him, not being versed in medicine, couldnât guarantee the development of an antidote on his own.
Even if an "antidote" could be created, it would undoubtedly be a lengthy process.
He suddenly lost some faith in the significance of this mission.
He didnât know if what he was doing had any meaning at all.
The confusion in his eyes was fleeting.
He quickly adjusted his attitude and said to Li Yu:
"As for Teacher Ma, Iâll have to entrust him to you for now. You guys protect and take care of him first. I need to return to headquarters and discuss this matter with the leadership."
Li Yu said with a smile, "You donât need to mention it, he is one of our own, and of course, we should protect our own. But as for you, when you return this time, you will definitely face the pharmaceutical company executivesâ censure. Iâm afraid it wonât be easy for you to explain yourselves."
Xiao Junâs expression tightened as he replied:
"Donât worry, now that weâve figured out whatâs going on, they donât pose much of a threat. Itâs just that there might be some trouble with the other alliance members. But we can handle it."
Li Yu cracked a smile, extended his hand, and said, "I wish you success."
Xiao Jun also had a smile on his face, he reached out and firmly shook Li Yuâs hand, saying with a laugh, "Thank you."
Li Yu gestured for his people to put down their weapons, and Xiao Jun did the same.
The previously heavy and tense atmosphere suddenly became harmonious.
Li Yu inquired about which army unit they belonged to and found out they were from the Eastern Military District.
The two sides exchanged information, Li Yu mainly inquired about the Western Alliance, and it turned out they came from Changsha in Xiang Province next door.
He also learned about other members of the Western Alliance.
They discussed their future plans for a while, and Xiao Jun openly shared his.
Li Yu then disclosed the location of the Big Camphor Tree Base to him, even extending an invitation to visit together.
Nowadays, the location of the Big Camphor Tree Base was known to many survivors in Xin Cityâit was no longer a secret.
Hearing Li Yuâs invitation, Xiao Jun shook his head and declined, "Now that this matter is clear and the pharmaceutical companyâs conspiracy is known, I must rush back to report to my leadership immediately."
Li Yu nodded in understanding, "If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to come to us. We welcome your joining."
Seeing Li Yuâs sunny disposition at that moment, Xiao Jun found it hard to imagine that the person who was so terrifying just before was actually Li Yu.
The contrast was stark.
They talked for about half an hour.
In order to return as quickly as possible, Xiao Jun suggested saying farewell.
Li Yu did not detain them, allowing them to leave. When they left, he still had a smile on his face and waved goodbye in a friendly manner.
It wasnât until they were out of sight that Li Yu lowered his hand.
He took out a walkie-talkie and said to Third Uncle, "Third Uncle, do you think we should have someone follow them?"
Third Uncle, holding a telescope and watching Xiao Jun and his group depart, pondered for a moment before saying:
"You decide, Iâll follow through. If we are going to track them, I suggest not sending too many people. Too many would be easily exposed. If we go, just Qin and I will suffice."
Li Yu thought for a moment then said, "Alright, stay safe, Third Uncle."
This was a war, and there was no such thing as being too cautious.
Itâs not that Li Yu didnât trust Xiao Jun, but after their recent exchange, he realized just how vast the Western Alliance was. Although their size was built on multiple coalition members, together, they seemed formidable.
Although Xiao Jun had said that there were no problems, to be on the safe side, it was better to let Third Uncle and Qin go ahead to scout.
Two superior King of Soldiers who had managed to escape from a siege of thousands would find mere tracking a piece of cake.
With that matter settled.
Li Yu prepared to return to the vehicle and saw Yu Lei who had come along today, gave him a glance, and patted his shoulder.
Yu Leiâs eyes were red with emotion, his face flush with excitement.
Li Yu got into the vehicle and took a long breath.
Everyone returned to their vehicles.
The engines roared as they headed straight for the base.
There was still a lot to be done, such as building the base.
And agricultural cultivation.
....
One of which, was to increase the firepower at the Big Camphor Tree Base!
After learning about Xiao Jun, Li Yu suddenly felt that, although the individual equipment of the base was not bad, it lacked heavy weaponry.
Heavy weaponry?
Li Yu suddenly thought of what Luo had mentioned about tanks and armored vehicles.
Luo had mentioned when they escaped from a military base in Southern China, they had seen tanks and armored vehicles left on site.
But when they left the military base, there were still tens of thousands of zombies.
Li Yu sat in the vehicle, squinting his eyes, quietly contemplating.
Two years into the apocalypse.
It was like a dream; in the first year, Li Yu was silently gathering supplies.
But this year, as the baseâs population gradually expanded, although Li Yu tried hard to control the scale, including extra staff from the Outer City, Inner City, there were nearly 300 people.
That was no small number!
Li Yu did not rejoice over the increased headcount, all he felt was the heavy pressure.
Because he knew that the future would not get better.
In the later stages of the apocalypse, the reason no large groups had emerged,
was because the apocalypse would become more and more like the apocalypse.
Blizzards, chilling cold, torrential rain, these natural disasters of over a year have just been the appetizer!
Li Yuâs pressure was so immense, frantically stockpiling supplies outward. Even now with over 800 tons of food, he still worried about the food issue.
The reason for not blindly expanding the population was because:
The future will face even greater challenges.
Scenes unimaginable, zombies amidst the flood.
....
The apocalypse is never just about zombies; thatâs too simple.
Zombies are merely the most enduring entities in the apocalypse.
Inundation wonât kill them; even with limbs broken, they can still crawl.
Years of starvation wonât stop them from walking.
Only decapitation ensures their death.
.....
The apocalypse, so tough!
Once, he was a lone individualâfor one to eat his fill meant the whole family wasnât hungry.
But now, with so many people in the base, he had to consider the burden.
Yet, with too few people, resisting invasions from other places would be difficult.
The current number of people is about right.
As long as the Second Outer City is built, even adding another two hundred people wouldnât be a problem.
Li Yu thought this to himself.
However, all of these thoughts, he couldnât share with others.
He could only plot in secret, letting everyone carry out tasks, sometimes making mysterious arrangements that even Li Tie and others found puzzling, but Li Yu had proven the correctness of his methods countless times.
Thus, many of the arrangements at the base now were blindly followed according to Li Yuâs plans.
Li Yu knew the downsides of this, so often, he opted for holding meetings.
....
The vehicles started up, leaving the Government Building.
Below the Government Building, those few corpses were still there.
Li Yu had used too much force earlier, a few strikes and they were all blown apart.
Blown apart.
So there was no need to deal out any finishing blows.
No time was wasted burying them. Naturally, zombies, the scavengers, would come to clean up.
They set off at seven, reaching here in a few tens of minutes.
Spent roughly over an hour here.
Returning, it wasnât even eleven.
......
Across from the Government Building, Third Uncle came downstairs.
Then he went to find Old Qin for a chat.
Third Uncleâs words were simple: "Old Qin, thereâs a mission, we need to go out and carry it out."
Old Qinâs answer was equally simple: "Okay, when do we leave?"
He didnât ask what it was for, nor when theyâd return, not even who the enemy was nor what the task entailed.
Just a direct response: "Okay, when do we leave."
Third Uncle was concise: "Now."
Old Qin nodded, and then said to Old Zhou beside him: "Old Zhou, Iâll leave the brothers in your care. Iâm going out with my big brother."
Old Zhou was bewildered, blankly nodding his head.
Third Uncle packed up a bit, emphasizing on taking food, firearms, telescopes, and so on.
Downstairs.
Old Qin followed suit.
Boarding the vehicle, they followed Xiao Jun and others in pursuit.
Lightning action, not a single superfluous word.
After their departure, Old Zhou finally snapped back to reality and turned to Ah Hong beside him to ask: "What did they just say theyâre going out to do?"
Ah Hong and others, blank-faced: "...."
Did they mention it?
-------
Yesterday was exhausting with the explosive updates.
Today is just 4000 words, looking for monthly tickets, will continue explosive updates tomorrow!
10,000 words tomorrow!!!
[Thanks to jason-g,
Lei Lei (I canât type that expression),
BookFriend160718074915167,
Er Bai Without Wu,
Water-Boiled Pipi Shrimp,
A Heart Covered in Dust,
dingdell and others for the rewards]